Dina Belenkaya

Dina Vadimovna Belenkaya (Russian: Дина Вадимовна Беленькая; born 22 December 1993) is a Russian-Israeli chess player, commentator, Twitch streamer, and YouTuber who holds the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM).

She is a four-time St. Petersburg women's champion, and has represented St. Petersburg at the Russian Women's Team Championship and the European Chess Club Cup for Women.

She has a peak FIDE rating of 2364.

Belenkaya was taught how to play chess at age three by her mother, a local children's chess coach.

Dina Vadimovna Belenkaya was born on 22 December 1993 in St. Petersburg.

Her mother Asya Kovalyova has been a children's chess coach for over 30 years and notably was the first coach of Anish Giri, who has since become a Grandmaster (GM) and has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world.

Belenkaya learned how to play chess from her mother at age three and began competing at age five.

When she was 10 years old, she began working with Andrey Praslov, a FIDE Master (FM) who was a coach at the same chess club as her mother.

Belenkaya reached a rating of 2000 in October 2008 at age 14 after a good performance in the Lyudmila Rudenko Memorial Women's Open where she scored an even 4/8 against opponents with a much higher average rating of 2242.

At the end of the year, she finished in joint first at the under-18 girls' St. Petersburg Championships with a score of 6½/9.

Belenkaya first reached a rating of 2100 in 2010 and a rating of 2200 at the end of 2011.

Belenkaya earned her first FIDE rating in April 2007 at age 13, starting out at 1872 after participating in the Winter on Petrograd Side Open in January.

The next month, she played the St. Petersburg Women's Championship for the first time.

She was awarded the Woman FIDE Master (WFM) title in 2010.

Despite limited achievements at the junior level, Belenkaya has had more success in adult competitions, beginning with her victory in the Russian Women's Championship First League in 2011 at age 17.

Her best result of 2011 came in February when she won the Russian Women's Championship First League in Ivanovo at age 17.

She scored 8/9 against opponents with an average rating of 2192.

She compiled a performance rating of 2543 and had three wins against players rated above 2300, namely Maria Fominykh, Inna Ivakhinova, and Daria Charochkina.

This was the last edition of the First League.

Belenkaya had her first significant rating increase since 2011 during the August 2014 rating period when she gained over 100 rating points from two tournaments to rise to 2329, above the threshold of 2300 needed for the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title.

First, she gained 30 rating points at the European Individual Women's Chess Championship with an even score of 5½/11 against opponents with an average rating of 2321.

She followed up this result by winning the bronze medal at the Open International d'Echecs d'Avoine in France behind two Grandmasters, Maxime Lagarde and Alon Greenfeld.

She scored 7/9 with a performance rating of 2557, highlighted by victories over four International Masters.

Her only loss was to the tournament winner Lagarde.

Overall, she gained 76 rating points.

She also earned her first WGM norm by scoring well above the 5½ points that were required, and also earned her first IM norm.

For much of her career as an adult, Belenkaya has kept her rating in-between 2250 and 2350.

During 2012, Belenkaya finished in joint fourth with a score of 5½/9 at the Cup of Russia women's second stage, behind Olga Girya, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Ekaterina Timofeeva, all of whom were much higher rated.

Belenkaya continued to maintain a rating in the low 2200s through mid-2014.

Early in 2013, she defeated Igor Shvyrjov, an Estonian Grandmaster rated 2470, in the IM group of the Paul Keres Memorial Festival.

After a bronze medal in the Russian girls' under-21 junior championship, she participated in the European Individual Women's Chess Championship for the first time.

With the tournament in Belgrade, she scored 5/11, highlighted by an opening round win against Elisabeth Pähtz, a German International Master (IM) rated 2454.

Belenkaya's best tournament performance was at the 2014 Open International d'Echecs d'Avoine, where she earned WGM and IM norms with a bronze medal finish and a performance rating of 2557.

She was a participant at the 2021 Women's Chess World Cup, having qualified through her result at the 2019 European Individual Women's Chess Championship.

Belenkaya switched federations from Russia to Israel in March 2022.

She earned the Woman Grandmaster title in 2016 after achieving norms at open tournaments in France in three successive years beginning in 2014.

She exceeded the score requirement for all three of her WGM norms, and earned International Master (IM) norms at each of these tournaments as well.

Having obtained all three of the IM norms that are required, she only needs to reach the rating threshold of 2400 to be awarded the IM title.

Belenkaya and her sister Asya had Twitch and YouTube channels named TheBelenkaya that were launched in 2020.

Belenkaya is also a regular commentator for online and over-the-board chess events.