Anna Zatonskih (born Hanna Vitaliivna Zatonskih, July 17, 1978) is a Ukrainian American

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player who holds the titles

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

(IM) and

Woman Grandmaster FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

(WGM). She is a four-time U.S. women's champion, as well as a former Ukrainian women's champion.

Career

Born July 17, 1978, in

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

, Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union), Zatonskih learned chess at age five from her parents, who are both strong players. Her father Vitaly is rated about 2300, while her mother is a candidate master. Anna beat her mother for the first time at age 14. Zatonskih won many Ukrainian girls' titles in several age categories. In 1999 she was awarded the WGM title by

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

. She won the Ukrainian Women's Championship in 2001. She represented Ukraine in two

Women's Chess Olympiad The Women's Chess Olympiad is an event held by FIDE (the International Chess Federation) since 1957 (every two years since 1972), where national women's teams compete at chess for gold, silver and bronze medals. Since 1976 the Women's Chess Olympia ...

s, at Istanbul 2000 at Bled 2002, and in two Women's European Team Championships, Batumi 1999 (where she won a silver medal on her board) and Leon 2001. She has played on the U.S. national team in all Women's Olympiads since 2004 and in four Women's World Team Championships. Her team won the team silver medal in the 2004 Olympiad and the team bronze in the 2008 Olympiad; she also won the gold medal on at the 2008 Olympiad, and the silver medal on board one at the 2017 Women's World Team Championship. In 2023, she played on Board 2 for Team USA in the FIDE Women's Team Championship, helping Team USA reach the semifinals. Zatonskih won the United States Women's Chess Championship in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011. In 2008, she defeated the defending U.S. women's champion,

Irina Krush Irina Borisivna Krush (; born December 24, 1983) is an American chess Grandmaster. She is the only woman to earn the GM title while playing for the United States. Krush is an eight-time U.S. Women's Champion and a two-time Women's American Cu ...

, in a playoff held with the "" format.

Personal life

Zatonskih is married to Daniel Fridman, also a chess player. They have a daughter, Sofia, and a son, Joshua.Tom Braunlich (2008-06-13
"Interview with Anna Zatonskih"
United States Chess Federation.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zatonskih, Anna 1978 births Living people Chess International Masters Chess Woman Grandmasters American female chess players American chess players Ukrainian female chess players Ukrainian chess players Chess Olympiad competitors Sportspeople from Mariupol Ukrainian emigrants to the United States 21st-century American sportswomen