IM Anna Zatonskih

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    33
  • Residence:
    Germany
  • Birthplace:
    Ukraine
  • Rating:
    2563
  • Title:
    International Master
Chess Highlights:
Four-Time U.S. Women’s Champion (2011, 2009, 2008, 2006); Gold Individual Medal in 2008 Chess Olympiad

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.

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IM Irina Krush

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    28
  • Residence:
    Brooklyn, NY
  • Birthplace:
    Ukraine
  • Rating:
    2500
  • Title:
    International Master
Chess Highlights:
Three-time U.S. Women’s Champion: 2010, 2007, 1998 (youngest winner ever at age 14); Member of 2004 Silver Medal U.S. Olympiad Team and 2008 Bronze Medal Team

Bio: Irina Krush missed out on her fourth U.S. Women's title last year after falling to eventual champion IM Anna Zatonskih in the semi-finals. Coming into the tourney second by rating, she is the most likely challenger to unseat Zatonskih at this year's event. Irina says looks forward to chess matches, but doesn’t spend much time contemplating her chess success or failures. “I’m more attached to my future accomplishments.” She said she enjoys the challenge of playing grandmasters most.

WGM Camilla Baginskaite

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    44
  • Residence:
    Sioux Falls, SD
  • Birthplace:
    Lithuania
  • Rating:
    2419
  • Title:
    Woman Grandmaster
Chess Highlights:
1987 World Under-20 Champion; 2000 U.S. Women’s Chess Champion; Six Chess Olympiads

Bio: Camilla's deep understanding of chess and years of experience at elite competitions like the Olympiad and the Women's World Championships makes her capable of major surprises despite being less active than many of her rivals. For instance, in the 2009 U.S. Women's Championship, Camilla took clear second place, winning some brilliant games in the process, and earning herself an IM norm. 

WGM Sabina Foisor

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    22
  • Residence:
    Baltimore, MD
  • Birthplace:
    Romania
  • Rating:
    2413
  • Title:
    Woman Grandmaster
Chess Highlights:
Multiple Romania girls youth champion; 2004 Multiple Romanian and European champion in blitz and rapid; finished in top 20 at European Chess Championship in 2007, qualifying her for the World Chess Championship

Bio: Sabina Foisor has been a chess dynamo since starting around age 4. While her parents have been her biggest chess influence, she says her favorite players are Gary Kasparov and the late Bobby Fischer. Like many players, she has traveled the globe playing in tournaments, and she has participated in each of the past three U.S. Women's Championships (2011, 2010, and 2009). 2012 will mark her fourth appearance. Her main goal in chess is to become one of the top 20 women players in the world.

WGM Tatev Abrahamyan

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    24
  • Residence:
    Glendale, CA
  • Birthplace:
    Armenia
  • Rating:
    2350
  • Title:
    Woman Grandmaster
Chess Highlights:
2011 and 2004 U.S. Women’s Championship Runner-Up; 2008 and 2005 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship Third Place; 2006 Pan-Am U18 (Perfect Score)

Bio: Tatev Abrahamyan started playing chess at 8 after her father took her to the Chess Olympiad games in 1996. There she met Grandmaster Judit Polgar, arguably the greatest woman player of all time and the only woman in the tournament. “I was in complete awe,” Tatev said. “My first thought was, ‘I want to be just like her.’” She was soon playing competitively among the top players her age in Europe and has played in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship eight times.

WIM Viktorija Ni

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    20
  • Residence:
    Chicago
  • Birthplace:
    Latvia
  • Rating:
    2349
  • Title:
    Woman International Master
Chess Highlights:
2010 Chicago Open, WGM norm 2009 Czech Open, 1st Latvian Rapid Women's Championship (2004, 2005), 2009 Latvian Youth Champion, 1st European Rapid Championship Girls Under 18

Bio: Viktorija Ni learned chess at the age of 7 from her mother, Polina, who is an Expert. She earned the title of Woman FIDE Master (WFM) in 2007 and the Woman International Master (WIM) title in 2010, earning her final norm at the 19th Chicago Open. Viktorija represented Latvia twice at the Chess Olympiad (2008, 2010) on the women's team. She recently switched her federation form Latvia to the United States, and will be competing in her first-ever U.S. Women's Championship.

IM Rusudan Goletiani

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    31
  • Residence:
    Hartsdale, NY
  • Birthplace:
    Georgia
  • Rating:
    2337
  • Title:
    International Master
Chess Highlights:
2005 U.S. Women's Champion, Soviet Union champion under age of 12; Georgian and Russian champion under 14; World Junior Champion under 14, 16, 18

Bio: For about as long as Rusudan Goletiani has been playing chess, she has been among the elite players, and that includes the ten years she has spent in the United States. The winner of the 2005 U.S. Women’s Championship says she can’t pick out one or two highlights that stand out. “Every accomplishment means a lot,” she says, adding that her ultimate chess goal is to become a grandmaster.

WIM Iryna Zenyuk

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    25
  • Residence:
    Pittsburgh, PA
  • Birthplace:
    Ukraine
  • Rating:
    2329
  • Title:
    Woman International Master
Chess Highlights:
First Woman to Win Jerry Simon Memorial (2006); 2007 MVP of NY Knights Chess Team and Best 4th Board; 2450 Tournament Performance Rating in 2008 Berkeley International

Bio: Iryna Zenyuk has two huge goals in life: To be a chess champion and to help the environment. She has a good start on her chess goal, ranking as one of the top 10 women players in the U.S. And she is active with her second goal too, currently pursuing a master’s and eventually a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She plans to use the degree to develop ways to make renewable energy more prevalent. Iryna defines her interests this way: Chess is her love, it’s fun.

FM Alisa Melekhina

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    20
  • Residence:
    Philadelphia, PA
  • Birthplace:
    Ukraine
  • Rating:
    2321
  • Title:
    FIDE Master
Chess Highlights:
Represented the U.S. in Eight Consecutive World Youth Tournaments and Three Pan-American

Bio: Alisa Melekhina started playing at age 5 and entered her first tournament at age 7. In less than three years, she was winning prestigious international tournaments. the 2012 U.S. Women's Championship marks her fourth time competing for this sought-after title.

Alisa has already earned an International Master norm, which she considers her top chess accomplishment so far, but her ultimate goal is to become a grandmaster.

Alisa learned chess from her father, who was her first coach and remains a strong influence today.

WFM Alena Kats

  • Status:
    Accepted
  • Age:
    17
  • Residence:
    New York
  • Birthplace:
    Minsk, Belarus
  • Rating:
    2233
  • Title:
    National Master
Chess Highlights:
Became National Master at age of 15, 4th place at World Youth Chess Championship (WYCC), four WYCC appearances, 3rd place in 2008 Pan American, 1st place in all girls nationals in 2006

Bio: Two years ago, Alena Kats became the youngest female master in the country at the age of 15. Currently she is the second-youngest female master and is number three in the nation for women under the age of 21 behind only U.S. Women's Championship competitors Viktorija Ni and Alisa Melekhina. Alena started playing chess at the age of 4 and credits her mother for helping develop her early interest in the game. She started playing tournament chess at the age of 9 and is currently being coached by her father, Mikhail Kats.