Lyudmila Vladimirovna Rudenko (, ; 27 July 1904 – 4 March 1986) was a Soviet chess player and the second women's world chess champion, from 1950 until 1953.
Rudenko was awarded the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman International Master (WIM) in 1950, and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in 1976. She was the first woman awarded the International Master title. She was also USSR women's champion in 1952.
Early life and swimming career
Rudenko was born in 1904 in Lubny, in the Poltava region of what is now Ukraine. At age 10, she was taught how to play chess by her father—although, at first, she was more interested in swimming. After secondary school, she moved to Odessa and took a degree in economics. She was honored with a Google Doodle on the 114th anniversary of her birth, 27 July 2018.