Anya Sun Corke (born 12 September 1990 in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, USA) is an American-born English

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 holding the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She played for

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, where she was the top ranked chess player, until 2009.

Career

Corke earned the WGM title with her performance in the 36th Chess Olympiad, playing for the Hong Kong men's team. She was the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 Hong Kong National Champion (for men and women), one of the youngest national champions ever at the age of 13 years and 9 months. She was the British Junior Under-11 Champion in 2002 and the Under-12 Champion in 2003, the first girl to win either of these age groups. In 2004, she became joint British U-14 Champion. In December 2004, she won the Asian Youth Girls U-14 Championship in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. In August 2005, she jointly won with Alisa Melekhina and Abby Marshall the second annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls under-19. Corke represented the England Women's team at the 2012 Chess Olympiad in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and the 2013 European Team Championship in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Personal life and education

In 2013, Corke graduated from Wellesley College summa cum laude with a B.A. in Russian and Philosophy. In 2014, she started a Ph.D. program in Slavic Languages and Literatures at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. She obtained an M.A. and M.Phil Slavic Languages and Literatures (specializing in Russian). In 2019, Corke started the J.D. program at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

. Corke is married and lives in the United States with her husband.

Media

Her photograph was misappropriated by supporters of Barisan Nasional, the ruling political party of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, to depict the victim in a controversy alleging sexual misconduct by the son of Lim Guan Eng, who is one of the leaders of DAP, a Malaysian opposition party. DAP and their supporters then contacted Anya Corke to obtain an official denial that she knows Lim Guan Eng's son; she confirmed that the allegations were false, and that the photo was used without her knowledge or consent. The original photo used in this controversy was stolen from an article on the website ChessBase News, and had the chess board cropped out.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corke, Anya 1990 births Living people Chess Woman Grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors Hong Kong chess players English chess players English female chess players American emigrants to Hong Kong American female chess players American chess players Wellesley College alumni Yale University alumni Yale Law School alumni 21st-century American sportswomen 21st-century English sportswomen