Ruth Inez Haring (January 23, 1955 – November 29, 2018), also known as Ruth Orton, was an 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 held the

FIDE title 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 ...

of Woman International Master (WIM). She competed in the United States Women's Championship in the 1970s and 1980s, and represented the US in the 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, and 1982

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in FIDE Onli ...

s. Haring was elected to the

US Chess Federation The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in The World Chess Federation (FIDE). USCF administers the official national rating sys ...

Executive Board in 2009 and served as vice-president for two years, then as president for four years. She was reelected in 2013 for a three-year term, and served on the executive board for seven years. She served on the CalChess Board of Directors, and was the

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 ...

Zonal President for zone 2.1, the U.S.A.

Personal life

Haring was born January 23, 1955, on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

Barnstable County, Massachusetts Barnstable County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 228,996. The county seat is Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. The county consists ...

. She starting playing chess while growing up in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

. She joined the

at the age of 14 and first played competitively in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

. She graduated from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, where she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology, and studied computer science at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

. Haring worked for companies including

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

and

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

prior to her work at the

. Her first husband was Bill Orton, who was also a chess player. She married chess Grandmaster Peter Biyiasas in 1978 and divorced in 2005. She and Biyiasas had three children: Lauren, Tina, and Theodore.

Death and tribute

Haring died November 29, 2018, at the age of 63, in

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 United Sta ...

. In 2019, US Chess renamed the National Girls Tournament of Champions to the Ruth Haring National Girls Tournament of Champions (RHNGTOC) in her honor.

References

External links

* * * * * * * 1955 births 2018 deaths American female chess players Chess Woman International Masters 21st-century American women Chess Olympiad competitors Sportspeople from Barnstable County, Massachusetts San Jose State University alumni 20th-century American chess players 20th-century American sportswomen {{US-chess-bio-stub