Vera Menchik, her mother, and her sister Olga were killed on June 27, 1944, when a German V-1 rocket struck their London home.
On June 27, 1944, during the Second World War, a German V-1 flying bomb ('doodlebug') struck the Menchik family home in Clapham, South London. Vera Menchik, then 38 years old and still the reigning Women's World Chess Champion, was killed instantly along with her mother, Olga Illingworth Menchik, and her younger sister, Olga Menchik Rubery.
The tragedy occurred during the height of the V-1 bombing campaign against London, part of the German 'Vergeltungswaffe' terror-weapon offensive that killed thousands of civilians in 1944. Menchik had continued to live and work in London throughout the Blitz, contributing to the war effort and continuing her chess career and coaching even amid the bombing.
Her death at the height of her powers—she had never lost her world title and remained undefeated in championship competition—was a profound loss for the chess world. She had been undefeated as Women's World Champion for 17 years. Her death abruptly ended what many considered the greatest female chess career of the first half of the twentieth century, and she was posthumously honored by the naming of the 'Vera Menchik Cup,' awarded in international women's team chess events, in tribute to her legacy.