This team brought home the silver medal from the
2004 Olympiad at Calvia. The team consisting of the coaches Paul
Truong (team captain), Garry Kasparov, Michael Khodarkovsky, and Alexander
Chernin help prepare the players for this tough contest. The starting line
up consisted of GM Susan Polgar, IM Irina Krush, and WGM Anna Zatonskih.
Coming off the bench and pinch hitting was WIM Jennifer Shahade. There
was great expectations placed on this team.
The team was being sponsored by the Kasparov foundation. The US women
were seeded 3rd. After 14 tough rounds, team work prevailed. The Ladies
gritted it out and finish in 2nd place, a half point ahead of the Russians.
The US women defeated China, the eventual gold metal winner, in
their head to head match by a 2-1 score.
It takes True Grit to place 2nd in a very tough Olympic field.
The top 3 standings are as follows:
Gold - China 31 points
Silver - US - 28 points
Bronze- Russia 27.5
Ladies individual scores:
Susan Polgar - 10.5 out of 14
Anna Zatonskih - 9.5 out of 14
Irina Krush - 7.5 out of 12
Jennifer Shahade - .5 out of 2
They say diamonds are a girls best friend, but for these women, I think
gold is.
This reporter hopes to see the US ladies in gold and diamonds in 2006.
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