The 37th World Chess Olympiad will be held May 20-June 4 in Turin, Italy, and the United States may field its strongest team ever! At the previous Olympiad (Calvia 2004), our team narrowly missed a medal, finishing fourth, and we could be much better this year. In 2004 we had only one player with a FIDE rating over 2620; this year three Americans with FIDE ratings of at least 2650 have qualified. Among those eligible are the following top GMs:

Hikaru Nakamura: The world's highest rated player age 18 or below as of 4/1/06, winner of the 2005 US Championship and many other strong tournaments, probably America's most serious threat to win the World Championship since Fischer. Not on the team in 2004; would be a spectacular addition!

Gata Kamsky: Once rated 2790 by USCF, and strong enough to qualify to play a match against Karpov for the FIDE World Championship in 1996. He was then inactive for eight years, and upon his return in 2004 did not seem the same player, as his rating dropped to a low of 2684 in January 2005. Since then, however, his old strength has returned; he has gained rating points in almost every tournament, and is now up to 2737 USCF after tying for first in Group B at the US Championship. Not on the team in 2004; could be another sensational pickup!

Alex Onischuk: Recently won the 2006 US Championship, undefeated, with a USCF performance rating over 2800! In 2004 he played first board for our Olympiad team and had a FIDE 2700 performance, against super tough opposition.

Ildar Ibragimov: One good result after another, and he has gained 125 USCF rating points in the past two years to move his USCF rating solidly over 2700, and his FIDE up to 2637. Silver medal winner with 4.5 out of 6 at the 2005 World Team, recently tied for first in the Western States Open and National Chess Congress, tied for second behind Nakamura in the North American Open, tied for second behind Onischuk in Group A, US Championship. Not on the team in 2004 and another great addition!

Gregory Kaidanov: Long one of the top rated players in the US, he won the silver medal for Board 4 at the 2004 Olympiad with a score of 8-2, a FIDE performance rating of 2760!

Varuzhan Akobian is a 22 year old Grandmaster from Los Angeles. He's won numerous American opens, including clear first at the 2004 World Open. Originally from Armenia, "Var" moved to the United States in 2001. Shortly thereafter, he won the Samford Scholarship which gave him the support and time he needed to quickly earn the GM title, which came in 2004. This will be the first time Varuzhan steps up to the American Olympic team.

USCF is also sending a team to the Women's Olympiad, where we won the silver medal in 2004. This years players include US Women's Champion Anna Zatonskih, Irina Krush, and Rusudan Goletiani.

Newly crowned U.S. Women's Champion Anna Zatonskih is a strong International Master who recently achieved a personal goal: breaking the 2500 USCF rating barrier. At the 2004 Calvia Olympiad, Anna tried a new opening virtually every day, something most professionals are too scared to do. Her bravery contributed to the team's historic silver medal finish. Known for calculation skills that even Garry Kasparov praised at a 2004 Olympic training session, Anna is determined to turn in another stellar performance in Italy. Anna was born in Maripol, Ukraine in 1978. She now lives in Holtsville, NY where she coaches the Great Knights chess team.

22-year-old International Master Irina Krush keeps everyone guessing. She first shocked the American chess community in 1998, when she swept the U.S. Women's chess championship 8.5/9 to become the youngest ever American champion. In 2001, she won the Mayor's cup, along with her first Grandmaster norm. A well-rounded player, she wins in both technical endgames and with brilliant attacks. Mostly loyal to d4, she is also known to assay the occasional 1.e4. Irina has been a valuable team member at the past two Olympiads, narrowly missing an individual board medal at the 2002 Bled Olympiad. In both the 2002 and 2004 Olympiads, she defeated the current World Women's Champion Xu Yuhua. These wins led to back-to-back American victories over the Chinese women's squad. (Despite these scalps at the hands of Americans, China has won gold medals every year since 1998.) Irina moved to New York from Odessa, Ukraine when she was five years old. In May 2006, she will graduate from NYU with a degree in International Relations.

25 year old International Master- elect Rusudan "Rusa" Goletiani is known for her strong nerves and fighting spirit. Whether she is playing a much lower rated player or a GM for the championship game, she leaves all her energy on the board. In 1995-97, Rusudan won three World Youth competitions. In 2004 she was awarded the Samford Scholarship, which gives American World Championship contenders the financial security to focus solely on chess for two years. In 2005 Rusa became the U.S. Women's chess champion. She was born and raised in the women's chess Mecca of Georgia. Georgia, a tiny country bordering Armenia and Azerbaijan has borne two World Women's Champions and three gold Olympic team medals. Rusudan moved to the U.S in 2000. She now lives in Westchester, New York.

Women's Grandmaster Camila Baginskaite is a strong positional player with a deep understanding of the game. In 2000 she won the U.S. Women's championship title, defeating Elina Groberman in a tiebreak match. She moved from her native Lithuania to the United States in 1997 and married Grandmaster Alex Yermolinsky. She inspires other women by teaching a weekly female only class at the legendary Mechanics Institute. She lives in San Francisco with Alex and her two children.

Unfortunately, it is expensive to send ten players and two captains overseas- about $60,000 to $70,000, depending on how much the players are paid. We appreciate the help of our official sponsor, the Kasparov Chess Foundation ($30,000) and our supporting sponsor, the Internet Chess Club ($5000), but without more donations, USCF will be over budget and the players cannot be paid what they deserve. It would be a shame to send less than our best team, or to provide our brightest stars with inadequate support, so I appeal to all members to please contribute whatever you can afford. Donations are tax deductible if made payable to the US Chess Trust; write "Olympiad" on your check and send to Olympiad Appeal, c/o USCF, PO Box 3967, Crossville TN 38557. Thanks for your help!

Women's bios were provided by Jennifer Shahade.