Irina Krush

Who is Irina Krush?

Irina Krush is an American chess International Grandmaster who has won the U.S. Women's Chess Championship in 1998, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013. On the October 2013 FIDE rating list for women, Krush has a FIDE rating of 2502, 16th best among active female players, and first among active American female players.

Krush was born in Odessa, USSR. She learned to play chess at age five, emigrating with her parents to Brooklyn that same year. Krush attended Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, whose chess team is considered by many to be one of the top high school teams in the U.S.

At age 14 Krush won the 1998 U.S. Women's Chess Championship to become the youngest U.S. Women's Champion ever. She has won the U.S. Championship on four other occasions, in 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013.

Krush became widely known for her series of chess training videos, the "Krushing Attacks" series.

Krush gained an additional measure of fame both inside and outside chess circles during the well-publicized "Kasparov versus the World" chess competition in 1999. Garry Kasparov played the white pieces and the Internet public, via a Microsoft host website, voted on moves for the black pieces, guided by the recommendations of Krush and three of her contemporaries, Étienne Bacrot, Elisabeth Pähtz and Florin Felecan. On the tenth move, Krush suggested a novelty, for which the World Team voted. Kasparov said later that he lost control of the game at that point, and wasn't sure whether he was winning or losing.