Kiolbasa Oliwia

Representing Poland, Oliwia Kiolbasa is an International Master since 2022. Her first major chess title was Woman FIDE Master in 2010 followed by Woman International Master in 2016.

She is currently ranked second in the Polish female national federation rating list – her first participation in a Women’s Grand Prix event comes as a result of the withdrawal of Poland’s number one female player, IM Alina Kashlinskaya.

Born in Augustów (north-east Poland) on April 26^th 2000, Oliwia is twenty-three years old. She won the girls' under-10 European Youth Chess Championship in Batumi 2010 – the same year that Alexandra Goryachkina won the under-12 category! – and came in second a few years later in the girls' under-14 World Youth Chess Championship.

Her FIDE peak rating is 2428 (April 2023) and she is currently #28 in the women’s world’s rankings with 2422.

Although Oliwia already finished third in the Women's European Individual Chess Championship in 2021, her international breakthrough came in 2022 at the Chennai Chess Olympiad. Playing for Poland on board three, Kiolbasa went on a huge winning streak, scoring 100% in her first nine games.

Her final score of 9.5 out of 11 was more than enough to earn her third and final IM norm, becoming at the same time the best individual player in the women's event, and taking home the individual gold medal.

Kiolbasa has kept herself busy in 2023. In the recent 23^rd edition of the European Women Chess Championship, she tied for first place with Meri Arabidze with an amazing 8/10 score, winning the silver medal on tiebreak.

She also plays regularly in the top Austrian, German, Greek and Polish chess leagues and represents her country in the main international team competitions.