WIMMargarita Potapova

Margarita Potapova grew up in Kerch and began playing chess at five. She first trained with Igor Voloshchuk at the Palace of Pioneers and later with Oksana Gritsayeva. She won Ukraine's girls' under-8 championship and collected further national youth titles, as well as three victories in Kerch's open championship. After 2014 she competed in Russian events and also trained with Andrey Zontakh. She completed school with a gold medal and entered Adyghe State University's Belorechensk branch. She won Russian junior titles in 2018 and 2019. She became Russian women's blitz champion in 2021 and regained the title in Sochi in 2026. She has also combined coaching with online educational work, appearing with Yana Mukhina and Daria Khokhlova on the Chess Girls channel to discuss chess theory, psychology and women's tournaments.