Anna Zatonskih (; born
Mariupol,
Ukrainian SSR, June 17, 1978) is a
chess player from the
United States. She is a
Woman Grandmaster, as well as an
International Master. She is a chess professional, who coaches players and competes in tournaments. Zatonskih is the 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011 U.S. Women's Chess Champion.
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.
Anna won many Ukrainian Girls' titles in several age categories. She was awarded the WGM title in 1999. She twice won the Ukrainian Women's Chess Championship, in 2001 and 2002. She represented Ukraine in two
Chess Olympiads: in 2000 at
Istanbul, she scored 7/11 (+5 =4 -2) on board two; and in 2002 at
Bled, she scored 3.5/7 (+2 =3 -2) on board three.
She represented the U.S. in the Chess Olympiads of
2004,
2006, and
2008. The Americans won the team silver in 2004, their highest finish ever. Zatonskih won the United States Women's Championship in 2006, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, she beat the defending U.S. Women's Chess Champion, Irina Krush, by a single second. She had to withdraw from the 2009
US Championship because of illness. She is married to Latvian-born
Grandmaster Daniel Fridman.
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