LUDUS: Irina Krush

venerdì 19 ottobre 2012

Irina Krush

Irina Krush (born December 24, 1983) is an American chess player who has won the U.S. Women's Chess Championship in 1998, 2007,^[1] 2010,^[2] and 2012. She holds the title of International Master (IM), and has one of three tournament results (norms) necessary to qualify for the International Grandmaster (GM) title. On the May 2012 FIDE rating list for women, Krush has a FIDE rating of 2457, 28th best among active female players,^[3] and second best among active American female players.
Krush was born in Odessa, USSR (now Ukraine). She learned to play chess at age five, emigrating with her parents to Brooklyn that same year (1989). Krush attended Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, whose chess team is considered by many to be one of the top high school teams in the U.S.
At age 14 Krush won the 1998 U.S. Women's Chess Championship to become the youngest U.S. Women's Champion ever. She has won the U.S. Championship on three other occasions, in 2007, 2010, and 2012.^[4]
Krush became widely known for her series of chess training videos, the "Krushing Attacks" series.
Krush gained an additional measure of fame both inside and outside chess circles during the well-publicized "Kasparov versus the World" chess competition in 1999. Garry Kasparov played the white pieces and the Internet public, via a Microsoft host website, voted on moves for the black pieces, guided by the recommendations of Krush and three of her contemporaries, Étienne Bacrot, Elisabeth Pähtz and Florin Felecan. On the tenth move, Krush suggested a novelty, for which the World Team voted. Kasparov said later that he lost control of the game at that point, and wasn't sure whether he was winning or losing.^{[citation needed]}
Krush currently plays for the New York Knights in the U.S. Chess League, and both she and her ex-husband Canadian Grandmaster Pascal Charbonneau^[1] have played in the United Kingdom league for Guildford-ADC. In 2006 they were students in Paris.^{[citation needed]}
She played first board on the U.S. Women's team in the 38th Chess Olympiad, when the U.S. team scored a bronze medal.^[5]
In the 2008 U.S. Women's Chess Championship, she lost by one second on time controls in a playoff with IM and WGM Anna Zatonskih. In frustration, Krush slapped her king off the table (hitting a spectator) and walked away. This moment was captured in a video on YouTube.