Defending champion Anna Zatonskih reclaimed her title as U.S. women’s chess champion in a tournament in St. Louis. She also wins a $15,000 first-place prize.
The former Long Island resident is the nation’s top-ranked woman player. Zatonskih said she recently moved from Farmingdale to Germany.
She beat nine other players, who were all ranked among the Top 12 women in the country. The 31-year-old qualified for the next Women’s World Championship, which will be held in Istanbul in 2010.
The women’s event ended Tuesday at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. Zatonskih, a Ukrainian native, is an International Master and Woman Grand Master who won a gold medal at the 2008 Chess Olympiad.
She said tournament chess is tough, but not as demanding as raising her 2-year-old daughter.
On the Net: http://saintlouischessclub.org/
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.