Player Profile: Pia Cramling

Full Name: Pia Ann Rosa-Della Cramling

Peak FIDE Rating: 2550 Achieved in 2008

Active Since: Pia Cramling played her first tournament in 1975 until her retirement in 2024. 

Federation: Sweden

Player Description: 

When you think of Chess Grandmasters from Sweden, three names come to mind: Ulf Andersson, Nils Grandelius, and the female Grandmaster Pia Cramling. She is the best female player to come out of the country, and she is the fifth Female Player to earn the title of Grandmaster. 

Born April 23, 1963, Pia Cramling joined a Chess Club in Stockholm at the age of just 10 and played in her first-ever tournament at the age of just 12. She continued to rise quickly, as within three years, she was part of Sweden’s team in the Women’s Olympiad, where she scored 9/10. 

Cramling was ranked the undisputed number one woman in the FIDE Elo rating list in January 1984. She was also ranked joint number one in July 1984. Pia Cramling spent decades in the top 10 and the 1980s and 1990s in the top five for women.

Pia earned her final GM norm in 1992 and became the fifth female player after Nona Gaprindashvili, Maia Chiburdanidze, Susan, and Judit Polgar to earn the title of Grandmaster.

In Classical Chess, Cramling has victories over Smyslov, Spassky, Korchnoi, Geller, Taimanov, Portisch, Csom, Hort, Ftacnik, Uhlmann, Lobron, Miles, Gulko, Alburt, Browne, Benjamin, Rogers, Spraggett, Granda Zuniga, Ponomariov, I. Sokolov, or Bologan. 

Gibraltar also honoured GM Pia Cramling with a stamp in a collection of four stamps to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their chess festival.

Career Scorecard:

World Championship Cycles Appearances: 

• World Championships: 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2015, 2017

National Championships:

• European Women’s Championships: 2003 and 2010

Olympiad Medals: 

• Individual Gold Medal in the Women’s Chess Olympiad in 1984, 1988 and 2022.

Tournaments Won: 

• Women’s European Individual Chess Championship 2003 and 2010

• Accentus Ladies Tournament 2006

• Chess Olympiad 1984, 1988, and 2022

• European Club Cup for Women 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2016 (Team Gold Medal)

• MonRoi Invitation tournament, 2007

Best Games:

1. Pia Cramling vs Ulf Andersson 1989: This was the only game she played against her fellow Swedish player and the game ended in a draw. 

2. Pia Cramling vs Viktor Korchnoi 1984: This was a huge win for Cramling as she was the only Woman in the field and she defeated Viktor, who did not take the loss very well. Another game worth mentioning was against Korchnoi in 1982, which she drew at the age of just 19 against Korchnoi.