Anna Zatonskih

Title:

International Master

Rating:

2517

Federation:

Hartsdale, NY

Age:

39

Bio:

Zatonskih was born in Maripol, Ukraine and immigrated to the U.S. in 2004. In 2009, Zatonskih won the U.S. Women’s Championship with a dominating score of 8.5/9, but she ran into stiff competition in 2010 against her longtime nemesis (then) IM Irina Krush. Zatonskih recaptured the title in 2011 with a gutsy and grueling performance. Including the tiebreak and playoff matches, she played 19 games of chess over a two-week period to win the 2011 U.S. Women’s title. In 2012, Zatonskih suffered a heartbreaking loss in a playoff match against Krush, who went on to win the event. Outside of chess, Anna has a variety of interests from bicycling to ping pong to scuba diving. She even played an underwater match while in scuba gear on a giant board. The game couldn’t go longer than 50 minutes, but she played to a draw. Coached by her husband, German Grandmaster Daniel Fridman, Anna comes into the tournament in the hopes of securing her fifth title.