by
John Bain
Coronavirus Strikes! See below.
In March 2020, 36-year-old Irina Krush contracted coronavirus and fiercely battled and beat it.
Irina Krush was born December 24, 1983 in Odessa, USSR (now Ukraine). Her father taught her to play chess at age five.
Also at 5 years old, Irina moved with her family from Odessa to the United States–in a wave of Jewish emigration from the USSR–and settled in Brooklyn, New York.
In Brooklyn, Irina attended P.S. 254, where she learned English, and later she went to Edward R. Murrow High School.
At 6 years old, she won her first tournament at the Marshall Chess Club in Manhattan, and took home a $20 check. She now teaches at the club!
At 14 years old, Krush won the 1998 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship to become the youngest U.S. women’s champion ever.
She went on to win the championship on six other occasions as well–in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Irina krush 15 years old at chessboard in high school
In 2013, Irina earned the Grandmaster title.
Irina Krush after earning Grandmaster title in 2013
Coronavirus Strikes! What happened?
In recent years, Irina’s focus shifted from competitive chess to teaching. After the last class she taught at the Marshall Chess Club in early March before getting sick, a student told Irina she was not riding the subway home for fear of the coronavirus.It was the first time that Irina began to consider the implications of the disease in the United States.
Then on March 12, Irina fell sick. By March 17, she developed breathing problems. The next day, she went to urgent care at the Community Hospital in Brooklyn–not far from where she played chess as a child–and tested positive for COVID-19. She spent two days in the hospital.
She returned home, still feeling miserable, and on March 22 she developed severe breathing problems that left her in agony. She could barely sleep–having to sleep sitting upright to alleviate the chest pain.
Fearful that she might not survive, she reluctantly returned to urgent care that night.
“I didn’t want to just die at home alone,” she said.
Irina back at chessboard recovered from COVID-19
In the days that followed, Irina began to think about the similarities between her ordeal and a very challenging chess game, how everything she had learned through chess was helping her–like staying calm, moving quickly in a difficult situation to prevent further damage and maximizing her chances.“It’s not just a disease,” she said. “It’s a life trial. Chess players know what it’s like to be in a bad position, to suffer. I realized it was going to be a long game, with no easy victory.”
Recovered now and with her health improving daily, in May 2020, Irina Krush played for the USA team in the FIDE Online Nations Cup.
On Saturday, July 11, 2020, Irina is schedule to play in the “4th Unruly Queens All-Female Online Chess Tournament,” consisting of 9 Rounds, Game 3 minutes + 2 seconds a move blitz chess!
Teach Chess
like Irina Krush
Teaches Chess!
Get the best materials for your chess club!
The World’s Best-Selling
Scholastic Chess Workbooks!
Beginner’s Book – Chess Rules For Students
“Knights Battle”
Chess Rules For Students is a workbook for students learning the game of chess and for beginning students returning to the game. No previous knowledge of chess is necessary. Parents unfamiliar with chess will find this booklet a valuable guide to their child’s new interest.
Chess Rules For Students is designed with students, coaches, and parents in mind. Reading level is appropriate for grade-school use. All major rules of chess are covered, and algebraic notation worksheets are included. Each page is in easy-to-use worksheet format.
A student-friendly Answer Key makes self-correction fun!
Beginners & Intermediate Book – Checkmate! Ideas For Students
“Knight Checkmates King!”
Checkmate! Ideas For Students is a workbook for beginning and intermediate students. Checkmate! covers the tactics used in checkmate attacks with clear explanations, diagrams and arrows to pinpoint the key features.
Unlike many other basic checkmate books, Checkmate! categorizes the checkmates by the tactics used to force the checkmate–like Pins, Sacrifices, Removing the Guard, Attraction, Clearance and Attacking Flight Squares–rather than only the checkmate pattern itself.
The worksheets and Answer Key are clear and simple for the student to use, and easy for the parent, teacher and coach to correct! Fun!
Intermediate & Advanced Book – Chess Tactics For Students
“Profiles Face-Off in King’s Shadow”
Chess Tactics For Students contains 434 carefully selected problems in worksheet format.
Chess Tactics has been extensively field tested with elementary, middle-school, and high-school students over a four-year period. This book is ideal for independent seat work as well as for homework and classroom instruction.
The worksheet format and Answer Key enable self-correction with minimal dependence or direct help from a chess teacher, coach, or parent.
