-- The 2004 US Women's Olympiad Chess Team has just made history by capturing Silver, the first ever Olympic medal for the United States. The international competition consisted of 87 teams from around the world and represented the strongest Women's Olympiad since its inception in 1924.
The US team finished second behind China but ahead of Russia, the famous chess powerhouse, who took home the Bronze medal. Although the US Women's team defeated China in a head-to-head match, China's total number of points scored against other teams allowed them to capture their third consecutive Olympic Gold.
The US team consisted of four players, a team captain/manager, head coach and special theoretical consultant. The team members included:
Board 1: Grandmaster Susan Polgar (Queens, NY)
Board 2: International Master Irina Krush (Brooklyn, NY)
Board 3: International Master Anna Zatonskih (Bowling Green, OH)
Reserve: Women International Master Jennifer Shahade (Brooklyn, NY)
Captain/Manager: FIDE Master Paul Truong (Queens, NY)
Head Coach: Michael Khodarkovsky (Montville, NJ)
Theoretical Consultant: Grandmaster Alexander Chernin (Budapest, Hungary)
GM Susan Polgar captured a total of 4 medals during this Olympiad. In addition to the team Silver medal, GM Susan Polgar also took home the Silver medal in scoring percentage on board 1, Gold medal for most points scored with a total of 10.5 out of 14 games, and Gold Medal for the best overall performance of the Women's Olympiad.
According to Head Coach, Michael Khodarkovsky, the first ever US Women's Olympiad Training Program began 18 months ago, as team members were able to go head-to-head with the world's best players. Their dedication and hard training paid off, as our women performed extraordinarily, taking home the Silver.
The team is sponsored by The Kasparov Chess Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. KCF provided the financial and training resources necessary to support a winning performance.
The U.S. Women's Chess Olympiad team has made their country proud. The team is looking forward to the next World Chess Olympiad to be held in Turin, Italy in 2006.
Founded by World Chess Champion
Garry Kasparov, KCF's mission is to bring the many educational benefits
of chess to children throughout the United States by providing a
complete chess curriculum and enrichment programs. The Foundation
promotes the study of chess as a cognitive learning tool in curricular
classes and after-school programs for elementary, middle and high
schools, both in the public and private school sectors. The not-for-profit
educational organization also organizes tournaments and competitions
on a local and national basis. For more information, please visit
http://www.kasparovchessfoundation.org.
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