Olga Levina (draughts player)

Olga Levina

Personal information
Full name	Olga Vadimovna Levina
Nationality	Soviet Union  Ukraine  Israel
Born	October 23, 1961 (1961-10-23) (age 50) Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR
Residence	Haifa, Israel
Website	http://www.isra-trainings.com
Sport
Sport	International draughts
Team	USSR
Retired	1995
Achievements and titles
World finals	Gold(1981, 1987, 1989, 1993)

Olga Levina (Ukrainian: Ольга Вадимівна Левина; Russian: Ольга Вадимовна Левина; born on October 23, 1961 in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR) is a retired International draughts player and 4 times Women's World Champion in International draughts. Levina is a Kharkiv University alumnus.^[1] Her father, Vadim Levin, is a poet and translator, an author of numerous books for children.

Career

Olga Levina started her professional career as a Russian draughts player but once having, in 10th grade, reached a Master's level, the highest possible in this variant of draughts, has switched to International draughts.^[1] In 1981, as 19-year old, she won her first World title. In 1986 she was awarded an International Grandmaster title.^[1]

She clinched World championship title three more times, in 1987, 1989 and 1993. Her victory in Rosmalen in 1989 was particularly impressive as she managed to win all her games at that championship.^[2]

In 1995 Olga Levina emigrated to Israel and settled in Haifa. The same year she participated for the last time in the World championships; after realizing that the Israeli sports authorities cannot provide her with the kind of support she was used to in the Soviet Union, she decided to retire. Today she is a certified specialist in Neuro-linguistic programming and a traditional Reiki Master.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Interview with Olga Levina in Web-magazine "Шашки в России" ("Draughts in Russia") (Rus.)
2. ^ Tournament table of 1989 International draughts World Championship at the Koninklijke Nederlandse Dambond tournament data base

External links

• Personal Development Studio: Olga Levina's website

Persondata
Name	Levina, Olga
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 23, 1961
Place of birth	Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR
Date of death
Place of death