IM Anna Zatonskih

Bio: Anna Zatonskih is a four-time U.S. Women's Champion, capturing her most recent title with a gutsy and grueling performance at last year's event. Including the tiebreak and playoff matches, Zatonskih played 19 games of chess over a two-week period to win the 2011 U.S. Women's title. Three years ago, Zatonskih won the U.S. Women's Championship with a dominating score of 8.5/9, but she ran into stiff competition in 2010 against her longtime nemesis IM Irina Krush. Irina will no doubt be out for revenge this year, so Anna will have to bring another dominating performance to win this year's event. Zatonskih is described in a U.S. Chess Federation biography as an intense competitor who has trouble sleeping at night during tournaments because she ponders the next day’s games. 

Anna said her chess highlights include the 2004 silver medal and the 2008 bronze she helped the U.S. team win at the Chess Olympics.

Outside of the chess, Anna has a variety of interests from bicycling to ping pong to scuba diving. She even played an underwater match while in scuba gear on a giant board. The game couldn’t go longer than 50 minutes, but she played to a draw. Coached by her husband, German Grandmaster Daniel Fridman, Anna comes into the tournament in the hopes of securing her fourth title.