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Vera Menchik
Menchik 
 

Number of games in database: 374
Years covered: 1923 to 1943
Overall record: +137 -152 =80 (48.0%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 5 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Queen's Gambit Declined (20) 
    D30 D37 D31 D35 D06
 Queen's Pawn Game (17) 
    D02 D00 A46 E00
 English (16) 
    A15 A13 A14 A12
 Slav (16) 
    D13 D15 D11 D12 D19
 Orthodox Defense (14) 
    D63 D52 D55 D53 D51
 King's Indian (11) 
    E60 E67 E85 E81 E94
With the Black pieces:
 French Defense (43) 
    C14 C13 C11 C00 C02
 Orthodox Defense (30) 
    D51 D63 D52 D61 D60
 French (20) 
    C13 C11 C00
 Queen's Pawn Game (17) 
    D02 D04 D00 A46 A45
 Classical French (15) 
    C14
 King's Indian (13) 
    E60 E61 E94 E73 E85
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Menchik vs G Thomas, 1932 1-0
   Menchik vs Graf-Stevenson, 1937 1-0
   F Lazard vs Menchik, 1929 0-1
   A Baratz vs Menchik, 1928 0-1
   Menchik vs A Becker, 1929 1-0
   Menchik vs Colle, 1929 1-0
   S Khan vs Menchik, 1932 0-1
   Menchik vs G Thomas, 1936 1-0
   J Rejfir vs Menchik, 1934 0-1
   Menchik vs E Book, 1938 1-0

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Menchik - Graf (1934)
   Menchik - Graf (1937)
   Scarborough (1928)
   Maribor (1934)
   Margate (1936)
   Hastings 1931/32 (1931)
   Margate (1937)
   London (1932)
   Hastings 1933/34 (1933)
   Hastings 1932/33 (1932)
   Barcelona (1929)
   Margate (1935)
   British Championship (1938)
   Margate (1938)
   Podebrady (1936)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   1939 World (women) chess championship by gauer


Search Sacrifice Explorer for Vera Menchik
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VERA MENCHIK
(born Feb-16-1906, died Jun-26-1944, 38 years old) Russia (federation/nationality United Kingdom)
PRONUNCIATION:
[what is this?]

Vera Francevna Menchik Stevenson was born to English and Czech parents, in Moscow. She learned the game at nine and, after her family settled in England in 1921, she began taking lessons from Geza Maroczy. Her positional style and endgame expertise netted her victories against several notable male players, among them Max Euwe (twice), Samuel Reshevsky and Mir Sultan Khan.

Albert Becker quipped at the outset of Karlsbad (1929) that any men she defeated should be deemed members of the "Vera Menchik Club." He promptly became its first member. She was married to Rufus Henry Streatfeild Stevenson from 1937 until his death in 1943.

Vera Menchik was Women's World Champion from 1927 until 1944, when a German V1 rocket destroyed her London residence, killing her, her mother and her sister Olga Menchik. She is considered one of the greatest women players.

An audiovisual documentary, prepared by User: jessicafischerqueen, is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTOl...

Wikipedia article: Vera Menchik

https://britishchessnews.com/2021/0...

Last updated: 2024-06-02 00:24:58

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 15; games 1-25 of 374  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Menchik vs J Danahay 1-0371923Hastings First-Class A /24D52 Queen's Gambit Declined
2. E C Price vs Menchik  ½-½601923Hastings First-Class A /24C13 French
3. Menchik vs G M Norman  1-0261924Hastings CC Albany CupC13 French
4. J M Ilott vs Menchik  0-1361924McArthur Cup Bexhill-HastingsC02 French, Advance
5. Menchik vs F J Camm  1-0271924County m Sussex-MiddxD53 Queen's Gambit Declined
6. W H King vs Menchik  0-1321924Hastings 1st Class Section 2 /25D10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
7. Menchik vs R D Graham  0-1541925Hastings 1st Class Section 2 1924/25D08 Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit
8. E C Price vs Menchik  0-1401925Menchik-Price Match No.1C13 French
9. Menchik vs A E Smith  ½-½241925Sexton Cup Hastings v Rest of SussexE22 Nimzo-Indian, Spielmann Variation
10. E C Price vs Menchik  1-0471925Menchik-Price Match no.2C13 French
11. Menchik vs E C Price  0-1481925Menchik-Price Match no.2D02 Queen's Pawn Game
12. Menchik vs R H Birch  0-1321925County m Sussex-SurreyD06 Queen's Gambit Declined
13. Menchik vs A Teller  0-1421926Hastings Major 1925/26D44 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
14. R Lean vs Menchik  0-1261927Hastings Major Reserves 1926/27C13 French
15. Menchik vs E C Price  1-0321927World Championship (Women)A15 English
16. E M Holloway vs Menchik  0-1311927World Championship (Women)A06 Reti Opening
17. J Storr-Best vs Menchik  1-0211927Brighton v HastingsB00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening
18. S F Smith vs Menchik  1-0271927Hastings 1927/28 Major AB08 Pirc, Classical
19. Menchik vs Koltanowski 0-1211927Hastings 1927/28 Major AE60 King's Indian Defense
20. A Baratz vs Menchik 0-1261928Hastings 1927/28 Major AA01 Nimzovich-Larsen Attack
21. J W Rivkine vs Menchik 1-0311928Hastings 1927/28 Major AC11 French
22. E MacDonald vs Menchik  0-1351928West of England Major OpenA35 English, Symmetrical
23. Menchik vs C F Bolland  1-0231928West of England Major OpenA21 English
24. S F Smith vs Menchik  0-1291928West of England Major OpenC11 French
25. Menchik vs G W Powell  1-0381928West of England Major OpenA46 Queen's Pawn Game
 page 1 of 15; games 1-25 of 374  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Menchik wins | Menchik loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 8 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Apr-18-08  percyblakeney: If Menchik had survived the war and kept playing she could have stayed World Champion for a longer period than Lasker. The first World Championship after Menchik's death was contested in 1950, 23 years after she won the title. If there had existed a women's World Championship before 1927 she could probably have won it already in 1923, when she started playing in men's tournaments.

The Soviet World Champions of the 1950's never played in men's tournaments in the way Menchik did, and the difference in strength between Rudenko, Rubtsova and Bykova wasn't big. In the first post-war Championship 1½ point separated the three (their later matches were fairly even), and an old opponent of Menchik's from her +43 -0 =0 days, Clarice Benini, won with black against Bykova and drew Rubtsova.

The difference in strength between the Champions of the 1950's and later players was made clear when Gaprindashvili turned up, playing Bykova for the title in 1962. Gaprindashvili won 7 and drew 4 of the 11 games. Menchik may well have been able to keep the title until then, if she really had wanted to.

Sep-29-08  TheTamale: My brother and I were once on the same postal chess team. Our captain solicited team names. My offerings were the Virile Men-Chicks and the Near-Mieses. My brother's was the Albin Sevilles. And his idea was chosen!
Oct-15-08  gazzawhite: Were there any strong women players before Menchik's time? e.g. Anybody who was considered the strongest female player of their time, but did not have the opportunity to win a world championship (like Philidor)?
Oct-16-08  Caissanist: Louis Paulsen had a sister Amalie Paulsen who was said to be a very strong player in her own right, though so few of her games have survived that there's really no way of knowing. Unfortunately she never played in tournaments--probably at that time (1858) this was something that a "respectable" woman was not expected to do.
Oct-25-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: Vera Menchik was a member of the West London Chess Club. Here is a recollection of her by Margaret Brown:

http://www.westlondonchess.com/hist...

Oct-31-08  Karpova: Information on her sister Olga (from page 278 of Gaige's "Chess Personalia", McFarland 2005):

Olga Menchik
Mrs. Clifford Grandvill Rubery
Born: 1908 in Moscow, Russia
Died: 1944.06.26, London, England

Who knows more about her?

Nov-07-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: The trophy for the winning team in the inaugral Women's Chess Olympiad at Emmen in 1957 was named the Vera Menchik Cup.

Source: David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld, "Oxford Companion to Chess", OUP, 1992

Dec-15-08  Karpova: I found something on Olga Menchik:

She participated in two WWC events.

<1935 Varsavia (torneo): 1° V. Menchik 9/9; 2°Herlecka 6,5; 3°Harum 6; 4°O.Menchik 5,5; 5°Thierry 5; 6°-7°Hermanova e Holloway 3,5; 8°Schonsberg 3; 9°-10°Kowelska e Shannon 1,5 (10)>

<1939 Stoccolma (torneo): 1° V. Menchik 14/14, 2°Benini 10, 3°-4°Graf e Lauberte 9; 5°Bain 8,5; 6°-7°Karff e Fischerova 8; 8°-9°Gilchrist e I.Andersson 7,5; 10°-16°Hermanova, Roodzant, St.John, A.Andersson, Herlecka, Farago e Holloway 7; 17°-20°Florow-Bulhak, Harum, Reischer, O.Menchik 6,5; 21°-22°Larsen e Thomson 6; 23°Beskow 5,5; 24°Shannon 5; 25°Nakkerud 2; 25°Mellbye 1 (25)>

Source: http://xoomer.alice.it/cserica/scac...

I didn't find games played by her though.

Dec-22-08  Karpova: From Edward Winter's feature article "Chess: Hitler and Nazi Germany", 2000: http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...

BCM of August 1944, page 173:

<‘The news of this unspeakable tragedy [the death of Vera Menchik] will be received by the chess world with sorrow and with abhorrence of the wanton and useless robot methods of a robot people.

One shudders at the heritage of hatred which will be theirs, but their greatest punishment will come with their own enlightenment.’>

Dec-22-08  AnalyzeThis: <perceyblakney: If Menchik had survived the war and kept playing she could have stayed World Champion for a longer period than Lasker. >

Lasker could have given her pawn and move.

Dec-22-08  percyblakeney: <Lasker could have given her pawn and move>

I think the impressive thing with Menchik is that even though she lived in a time when the possibilities for chess playing women were much smaller than today, she still showed some very strong results.

Menchik for example won two games in a row (and had a career plus) against Euwe in the 1930s, just before he became World Champion. She was close to winning also a third game in a row:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

Capablanca was another thing though:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches...

Dec-22-08  AnalyzeThis: Yes, and Lasker slapped her around in the only game they played.
Dec-23-08  YoungEd: It so happens, <TheTamale>, that "Albin Sevilles" is an uproariously funny name. I suspect that your team was doomed to failure with the dissention and rancor that you brought to it.
Dec-26-08  TheTamale: <YoungEd>, I hope your chess is more astute than your sense of humor. That name gets a 700 rating from discriminaing chessplayers worldwide.
Dec-28-08  YoungEd: <TheTamale>, I fear that you belong on the team "Fischers of Men" with your unwaranted vitriol. You have hurt my feelings and it's time to cry into my hanky now.
Jan-21-09  Karpova: There's a picture of Olga and Vera Menchik in C.N. 5964: http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...
Mar-22-09  Karpova: Alexander Alekhine on pages 220-221 of "Gran Ajedrez" (Madrid, 1947) annotating a game of hers from 1939: <‘… it is totally unfair to persuade a player of an acknowledged superclass like Miss Menchik to defend her title year after year in tournaments composed of very inferior players. It is not surprising that after so many tournaments she has lost much of her interest, and plays some games casually, much below her strength. But such accidental difficulties could not possibly be decisive in a championship, if it were settled, like any title of importance, in a match and not in a tournament.’>

Source: Edward Winter`s "Chess and Women"
Link: http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/...

May-25-09  WhiteRook48: chiked out men
Jul-24-09  grasser: I hope I'm never killed with a famous person. I'll be listed as "Other" too.
Jul-24-09  blacksburg: i hope i'm never killed with anyone.
Jul-27-09  grasser: We don't seem to be killed very often as compared Race Car drivers, Sky Divers, Skiers and whatnot.
Aug-07-09  TheFocus: She played and beat Euwe (1930), Reshevsky (1935), Alexander (1932), Yates (1928), Colle, Opocensky, Thomas (1932), Becker (1929), Mieses (1928), L. Steiner (1936), Saemisch (1929), Milner-Barry (1934), Golombek, William Winter (1932), Tylor (1933), Book (1938), Sergeant (1938), and Sultan Khan. All are now members of the Menchik Club.
Aug-07-09  TheFocus: In a record of Menchik's tournaments that I have found so far, she finished with a plus score in 29 tournaments, an even score in 6, and a minus score in 28, with two cross-tables not found yet so these totals are not complete. Her overall record has a minus score. She was a definite team player, completing in club matches at least 50 times, with a score of 33 wins, 17 draws and only 8 losses, with 2 game results not known.
Aug-07-09  TheFocus: In match play, Vera was successful, defeating Price in 1925 with a score of +3=1-1, Sonja Graf in 1934 (+3=0-1) and again in 1937 (+9=5-2), and Jacques Mieses (+4=5-1) in 1942.
Aug-07-09  Knight13: <Jacques Mieses (+4=5-1) in 1942> You know how old Mieses was in 1942? He was born in 1865! Like that even counts....

Thought I must admit he was super good in later half of 1800s.

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