Elisabeth Pähtz is a renowned German chess player, known for being both a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and an International Master (IM). Born in 1985 in Erfurt, East Germany, she was trained by her father Thomas Pähtz, who in turn is also a renowned International Master.
Pähtz started to make her mark on the international chess scene since an early age. She became the World Youth Champion in the under-10 girls division in 1995 and the European Youth Champion in under-12 and under-14 sections in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Then, she earned the title of FIDE Women's World Junior Chess Champion in 2005.
She achieved her Woman Grandmaster title in 2003 and received her International Master title in 2004, the same year she won the European Girls Junior Championship. In 2014, she got her first victory in an open tournament for both men and women at Erfurt. Later, she won the Isle of Man International in 2017, where she scored 4½ from 9 games.
Pähtz has proudly represented Germany by being a part of the national team at several Chess Olympiads and European Team Chess Championships. Since 2015 till now, she has been participating in the Frauen-Bundesliga and has helped her team OSG Baden-Baden to win multiple titles.
In relation to education, she joined the Dresden Sport Gymnasium in 1999 before being accepted to the Clara Schumann Gymnasium in 2004. She later graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas, where she studied International Political Economy, as part of sports scholarship between her Chess federation and the University.