IM/WGM Rusudan Goletiani - USA

In case you haven't heard the news by now, at the Dresden Chess Olympiad (November, 2008) the USA Women's Chess Team won a Team Bronze Medal. Adding icing to the beautiful cake, an individual Gold Medal was won by Anna Zatonskih (current U.S. Women's Chess Champion) and an individual Silver Medal by Rusudan Goletiani for their respective board performances. Hooray for USA! (BTW, the USA Men's Chess Team also won a Team Bronze Medal.) This was the second Women's Team Medal EVER won by a U.S. team. GM Susan Polgar led the way for the U.S. Women's Team at the 2004 Chess Olympiad to win the FIRST EVER Team Silver Medal, and GM Polgar earned yet another individual Gold Medal for her performance at that Olympiad. In 2006 the U.S. Women's Team had to settle for 4th place overall, losing a Team Medal by a hair. The U.S. Women's Team came back with a vengence this year! You can read all about it at Chess Femme News. The USCF's print magazine, Chess Life, for February 2009 features Goletiani on the cover, as part of a feature story at its website (you must be a member to access). Now, Jennifer Shahade, one of the ground-breaking chess femmes on that 2004 U.S. Women's Chess Olympiad Team, has a sit-down interview with Goletiani also online at the USCF website that everyone can read (no membership required). Please check out both articles, and learn more about women chessplayers in the United States.