International Master
Which title was conferred to Jovanka Houska in 2005?
Jovanka Houska Jovanka Houska is an English chess player with the titles International Master ( IM ) and Woman Grandmaster ( WGM ) . She is a nine-time winner of the British Womens Chess Championship and the current continuous British womens champion since 2015 . Formative years . Born in south London , her family name stems from her grandfather who was part Czech . Her first name is typically Slavic , but was chosen only to complement the family name . Chess is a popular sport in the Houska family , and she owes much of her progress to the sibling rivalry that developed with elder brother Miroslav , himself an International Master of chess , though currently inactive . She has a degree in Law . One of Englands most active professionals , she first represented her country at the World Youth Championship for Girls ( under 10 ) in Timișoara 1988 , finishing fifth after a disastrous start and despite being years younger than most of her opponents . She competed in the same event at Aguadilla in 1989 and then , for a third time at Fond du Lac in 1990 , where she won the bronze medal . There were many more successes over the next few years including another bronze medal at the European Junior Championship for girls ( under 20 ) at Erevan in 1998 . As a consequence , she was awarded the Woman International Master ( WIM ) title the same year , after securing all three norms in just over a month . Her first WGM norm was achieved at the 1999 British Championship when she was still a teenager . European success . Then , at Avilés in 2000 , her previous efforts were eclipsed by a return visit to the European Junior Championship—capturing the gold winners medal , ahead of Viktorija Čmilytė . It was a milestone victory , as it also provided a final qualification norm for the WGM title . The following year saw her take the Womens Commonwealth Championship , held in London in conjunction with the Mind Sports Olympiad . She defeated GM Dibyendu Barua in the process and gained a first IM norm . Team events . Despite her time-consuming academic studies , the next few years were notable for Houskas unstinting contribution to the England Womens team at various major competitions around the world . She participated at each of the Chess Olympiads between 1998 and 2008 and aside from her first appearance as a reserve , has played consistently on high boards , scoring in excess of 50% on each occasion . From 1999 onwards , she has also been an ever-present at the European Team Chess Championships . The teams most notable performance in this event , occurred at Leon in 2001 , where a third-place finish produced a team bronze medal . An active league chess player , she has represented SK Hofheim in the German Bundesliga , Deauville in France , and Wood Green in the 4NCL . Further progress . Following yet more successful norm-seeking , she became the third British woman to be awarded the IM title in 2005 . Voted English Chess Federation Player of the Year in 2006 , she was the first female to receive the accolade since its inception in 1984 . There were highest placed Woman prizes at the Hastings International Chess Congress 2006/7 and at Gibraltar 2007 . She also came close to winning the first MonRoi Womens Grand Prix , finally finishing second equal behind Pia Cramling . Her task was much more difficult at the fifth Howard Staunton Memorial Tournament , held at Simpsons-in-the-Strand , where she faced some of the worlds top grandmasters and finished in last place . At Liverpool in 2008 , she became British and English Womens Champion for the first time , finishing a full point ahead of closest rival Susan Lalic and a half point ahead of grandmasters Glenn Flear and Stewart Haslinger . Her second Liverpool visit resulted in a third share of the womens best performance prize ( jointly with Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant and Yelena Dembo ) at the EU Individual Open Chess Championship . Houska successfully defended her British Championship title at the 2009 , 2010 , 2011 and 2012 events . By July 2010 , her sustained good form had elevated her to an Elo rating of 2433 , making her Englands second ranked woman player ( behind Harriet Hunt ) and number fifty-one in the world among active female players . Further British Championship victories were achieved in 2016 , 2017 and 2018 . As a chess writer , she has reported on tournaments home and abroad for periodicals such as CHESS magazine . Houska completed her first chess opening book in 2007 . Written for Everyman Chess , it features a treatise on Houskas opening of choice with the Black pieces—the Caro–Kann Defence . A second book , covering the Scandinavian Defence , was published in 2009 and there followed a collaboration on 2010s Dangerous Weapons : The Caro-Kann , with fellow English masters John Emms and Richard Palliser . Personal . Houska married Norwegian chess player Arne Hagesaether on 14 March 2009 at the Ice Chapel in Alta , Norway . Notable games . At the Dresden Olympiad of 2008 , Houska won twice against high ranking opposition ; - J . Houska vs A . Stefanova , Slav Defence , 1-0 , Womens Olympiad , Dresden 2008 - V . Cmilyte vs J . Houska , Slav Defence , 0-1 , Womens Olympiad , Dresden , 2008 References . - Short bio by John Saunders - Olimpbase - Olympiads and other Team event information - 5th Staunton Memorial website External links . - Jovanka Houska chess games at 365Chess.com