Lavinia Valcu

Lavinia Valcu is one of Sweden’s brightest young chess talents, already making her mark in the national team. She made her international team debut at just 13, younger than Swedish chess legend Pia Cramling had been at her own debut, and became Cramling’s teammate at the 2023 European Team Championship.

Since then, Lavinia has represented Sweden at the Chess Olympiads in both 2024 and 2026. Playing on board three in Samarkand in 2026, she scored an impressive seven points from ten games, making her one of the Swedish women’s team’s leading scorers.

She also became Swedish Women’s Blitz Champion in 2026, opening the tournament with seven consecutive victories and finishing a full point ahead of the field. When the clock is ticking, Lavinia is clearly someone to watch.

Her talent has reached audiences beyond tournament halls too. In 2021, she became a viral hit after taking on and beating AIK football stars at the chessboard, showing that sporting fame offers little protection against a young opponent with the better moves.