Mona May Karff ^People

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 becamea U.S. citizen, aged 21.Karf 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 forthe 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 InternationalWoman Master. 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 River in 1938. She competed and won the titlesix moretimes, 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). Karff was alsoa stock inves- tor 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.