[imagefield_assist|fid=17194|preset=fullsize|lightbox=true|title=GM-elect Irina Krush, the reigning U.S. Women's Champion, should officially receive the GM title in December.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=600|height=400]
(Originally posted on stlbeacon.org on Friday, October 11.)
VIEW THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE AT STLBEACON.ORG
By Brian Jerauld, special to the Beacon
It’s a great time to be a woman in chess. I think.
To be sure, I should ask GM-elect Irina Krush, who is in town for the month as the resident grandmaster at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center in the Central West End. Krush is the reigning U.S. Women’s Champion, a five-time winner of the event, and the 16th highest rated woman in the world. She will handle the club’s weekly programming while she is here [through October 20th], undoubtedly providing a boost to the Thursday night ladies’ class.
She was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and emigrated to the U.S. at five years old – apparently learning the game of chess on her flight over here. Conveniently, she landed in Brooklyn, NY, and eventually attended Edward R. Murrow High School, which boasts one of the best scholastic teams in the nation. GM Alex Lenderman, the 2005 World U16 Champion, also hails from Murrow High, as did the late Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys. (Clearly, the chess rubbed off quite well on Krush, but the jury is still out on her rapping career.)
