Natalya Tsodikova

Natalya was born in Ukraine but migrated to Northern California in 1994.  Not long after she played in the 1995 and 1996 U.S. Chess Championship, finishing fourth in both events with plus scores. Although the tournaments were not as strong as today, they were still quite competitive with the 1996 tournament having an average rating over 2300 USCF. 

After the 1996 event Natalya took a break from competitive chess to concentrate on her family and career, but she returned to the arena and started playing regularly at the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club of San Francisco in 2013. Since then, she has been a fixture at the M.I.’s Tuesday Night Marathon, a once-a-week competition held over two months. This constant practice has helped Natalya maintain a USCF master rating similar to what she had 30 years ago. 

Natalya was second in the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Championship in 2023 and won the 2024 and 2025 tournaments, all run on the Swiss system instead of this year’s round robin format. 

Natalya was an important member of the U.S. women’s team that competed in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 World Senior Team Championships. Playing board two, she helped the United States win team silver, bronze and gold medals.

Natalya is married to International Master Rostislav Tsodikov.