Mona May Karff (née Minna Ratner; 20 October 1908[1][2][3] – 10 January 1998) was an American chess player. She dominated U.S. women's chess in the 1940s and early 1950s: she held seven U.S. Women's Chess Champion titles and four consecutive U.S. Open titles.[4]
Karff, along with Gisela Kahn Gresser and Mary Bain, dominated U.S. women's chess in the 1940s and early 1950s. Mona May Karff won her first U.S. Women's Chess Champion title ahead of Mary Bain and Adele Rivero in 1938. She competed and won the title six more times, in 1941, 1943, 1946, 1948 (sharing it with Gresser), 1953 and in 1974 (at age 66). She also won four consecutive U.S. Open titles: 1938, 1939, 1948, and 1950 (shared with Lucille Kellner).
Personal lifeedit
Karff was born in Bessarabia, a province in Tsarist Russia. Sometime after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, her family moved to Tel Aviv, in what was then Palestine. Her father, Aviv Ratner, a wealthy Jewish land-owner, had taught her to play chess when she was 9 years old. Because of her natural ability, she started playing in tournaments in Tel Aviv and developed into a strong player.
In 1930, she moved to Boston and became a U.S. citizen, aged 21. There she met and married her cousin, an attorney named Abraham S. Karff (15 March 1901 – 16 February 1995). The marriage was brief. She never remarried, but her long-time romantic relationship with Edward Lasker (a five-time U.S. Chess Open champion) was not a secret.
Karff was also a stock investor who was worth a small fortune. She spoke eight languages fluently and traveled extensively. As an art lover, she spent a good portion of her fortune on modern art. She died in Manhattan on January 10, 1998.
^Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. (18 January 1998). "Mona May Karff Dies at 86; A Dominant Figure in Chess". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
^Anne Sunnucks, The Encyclopaedia of Chess, St. Martin's Press, 1970, p. 243.
^"FIDE Assembly Makes Many Decisions At Successful Copenhagen Meeting" (PDF). Chess Life. August 20, 1950. pp. 1–2.
External linksedit
Mona May Karff player profile and games at Chessgames.com
January 03, 2024
mona, karff, née, minna, ratner, october, 1908, january, 1998, american, chess, player, dominated, women, chess, 1940s, early, 1950s, held, seven, women, chess, champion, titles, four, consecutive, open, titles, contents, chess, career, personal, life, also, r. Mona May Karff nee Minna Ratner 20 October 1908 1 2 3 10 January 1998 was an American chess player She dominated U S women s chess in the 1940s and early 1950s she held seven U S Women s Chess Champion titles and four consecutive U S Open titles 4 Contents 1 Chess career 2 Personal life 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksChess career editKarff played in three Women s World Chess Championships 1937 Stockholm playing for Palestine and placing sixth won by Vera Menchik 1939 Buenos Aires playing for the U S and placing 5th also won by Menchik 1949 Moscow playing for the U S won by Lyudmila Rudenko When FIDE established titles in 1950 Mona May Karff was one of three American women to receive the title of International Woman Master 5 6 Karff along with Gisela Kahn Gresser and Mary Bain dominated U S women s chess in the 1940s and early 1950s Mona May Karff won her first U S Women s Chess Champion title ahead of Mary Bain and Adele Rivero in 1938 She competed and won the title six more times in 1941 1943 1946 1948 sharing it with Gresser 1953 and in 1974 at age 66 She also won four consecutive U S Open titles 1938 1939 1948 and 1950 shared with Lucille Kellner Personal life editKarff was born in Bessarabia a province in Tsarist Russia Sometime after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 her family moved to Tel Aviv in what was then Palestine Her father Aviv Ratner a wealthy Jewish land owner had taught her to play chess when she was 9 years old Because of her natural ability she started playing in tournaments in Tel Aviv and developed into a strong player In 1930 she moved to Boston and became a U S citizen aged 21 There she met and married her cousin an attorney named Abraham S Karff 15 March 1901 16 February 1995 The marriage was brief She never remarried but her long time romantic relationship with Edward Lasker a five time U S Chess Open champion was not a secret Karff was also a stock investor who was worth a small fortune She spoke eight languages fluently and traveled extensively As an art lover she spent a good portion of her fortune on modern art She died in Manhattan on January 10 1998 See also editList of Jewish chess playersReferences edit Massachusetts State and Federal Naturalization Records 1798 1950 U S Social Security Death Index 1935 2014 U S Naturalization Records Indexes 1794 1995 Thomas Robert McG Jr 18 January 1998 Mona May Karff Dies at 86 A Dominant Figure in Chess The New York Times Retrieved 17 January 2019 Anne Sunnucks The Encyclopaedia of Chess St Martin s Press 1970 p 243 FIDE Assembly Makes Many Decisions At Successful Copenhagen Meeting PDF Chess Life August 20 1950 pp 1 2 External links editMona May Karff player profile and games at Chessgames com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mona May Karff amp oldid 1185316326, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
