Niina Koskela (born 8 August 1971), married from 2004 to 2009 as Niina Sammalvuo, is a Finnish chess player. In 2006, she was the first Finnish woman to receive the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She is a three-time winner of the Finnish Women's Chess Championship (1990, 2002, 2008). Since 2012, she has played for Norway.[1]
| Niina Koskela | |
|---|---|
 Koskela in 2009 | |
| Country | Finland (until 2012) Norway (since 2012) |
| Born | 8 August 1971 |
| Title | Woman Grandmaster (2006) |
| FIDE rating | 2199 (May 2023) |
| Peak rating | 2312 (April 2003) |
Biography edit
Koskela was a participant in numerous Finnish Women's Chess Championships, an won three gold medals (1990, 2002, 2008) and three silver medals (1989, 1992, 1994).[2] In 1991, in Subotica, Niina Koskela participated in Women's World Chess Championship Interzonal Tournament and ranked in 34th place.[3] In 2000, Niina Koskela participated in Women's World Chess Championship by a knock-out system and in the first round won Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi but in the second round lost to Nana Ioseliani.[4]
She played for Finland and Norway in the Women's Chess Olympiads:[5]
- In 1990, at second board in the 29th Chess Olympiad (women) in Novi Sad (+4, =4, -5),
- In 1992, at second board in the 30th Chess Olympiad (women) in Manila (+5, =5, -4),
- In 1998, at second board in the 33rd Chess Olympiad (women) in Elista (+7, =4, -1) and won individual bronze medal,
- In 2002, at first board in the 35th Chess Olympiad (women) in Bled (+6, =6, -2),
- In 2004, at first board in the 36th Chess Olympiad (women) in Calvià (+6, =6, -2),
- In 2006, at first board in the 37th Chess Olympiad (women) in Turin (+6, =6, -0),
- In 2008, at first board in the 38th Chess Olympiad (women) in Dresden (+4, =2, -3),
- In 2014, at fourth board in the 41st Chess Olympiad (women) in Tromsø (+5, =4, -0).
Koskela played for Finland and Norway in the European Team Chess Championships:[6]
- In 1992, at second board in the 1st European Team Chess Championship (women) in Debrecen (+5, =3, -1) and won individual silver medal,
- In 1999, at first board in the 3rd European Team Chess Championship (women) in Batumi (+1, =3, -4),
- In 2003, at first board in the 5th European Team Chess Championship (women) in Plovdiv (+3, =2, -3),
- In 2007, at first board in the 7th European Team Chess Championship (women) in Heraklion (+1, =1, -2),
- In 2015, at second board in the 11th European Team Chess Championship (women) in Reykjavik (+3, =4, -1).
References edit
- ^ "FIDE Player transfers". ratings.FIDE.com. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "ShakkiNet - shakkipeli/historia". shakki.net. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "1991 Subotica Interzonal Tournament : World Chess Championship (women)". Mark-Weeks.com. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "2000 FIDE Knockout Matches : World Chess Championship (women)". Mark-Weeks.com. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "Women's Chess Olympiads :: Niina Sammalvuo". OlimpBase.org. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "European Women's Team Chess Championship :: Niina Sammalvuo". OlimpBase.org. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
External links edit
- Niina Koskela rating card at FIDE
- Niina Koskela player profile and games at Chessgames.com
- Niina Koskela chess games at 365Chess.com
   | This biographical article relating to a Finnish chess figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |