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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
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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
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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.
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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
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161:, 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
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established titles in 1950, Mona May Karff was one of three
American women to receive the title of
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player. She dominated U.S. women's chess in the 1940s and early 1950s: she held seven
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338:"FIDE Assembly Makes Many Decisions At Successful Copenhagen Meeting"
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Massachusetts, State and
Federal Naturalization Records, 1798-1950
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134:, playing for the U.S. and placing 5th (also won by Menchik);
98:; 20 October 1908 – 10 January 1998) was an American
218:(a five-time U.S. Chess Open champion) was not a secret.
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Emigrants from
Mandatory Palestine to the United States
297:"Mona May Karff Dies at 86; A Dominant Figure in Chess"
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126:, playing for Palestine and placing sixth (won by
284:U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995
446:American people of Palestinian-Jewish descent
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273:U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
295:Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. (18 January 1998).
436:American people of Moldovan-Jewish descent
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202:. Her father, Aviv Ratner, a wealthy
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327:, St. Martin's Press, 1970, p. 243.
64:Manhattan, New York, United States
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416:Chess Woman International Masters
120:Women's World Chess Championships
16:American chess player (1908â1998)
347:. August 20, 1950. pp. 1â2.
138:, playing for the U.S. (won by
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426:Jews from Mandatory Palestine
401:American female chess players
194:of 1917, her family moved to
364:player profile and games at
243:List of Jewish chess players
106:titles and four consecutive
441:20th-century American women
104:U.S. Women's Chess Champion
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391:20th-century chess players
325:The Encyclopaedia of Chess
148:International Woman Master
73:Woman International Master
411:Palestinian chess players
186:, a province in Tsarist
406:American chess players
209:In 1930, she moved to
118:Karff played in three
233:on January 10, 1998.
190:. Sometime after the
396:Jewish chess players
192:Bolshevik Revolution
198:, in what was then
155:Gisela Kahn Gresser
85:2135 (January 1990)
301:The New York Times
182:Karff was born in
153:Karff, along with
221:Karff was also a
132:1939 Buenos Aires
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304:. Retrieved
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167:Adele Rivero
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128:Vera Menchik
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114:Chess career
96:Minna Ratner
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60:(1998-01-10)
386:1998 deaths
381:1908 births
136:1949 Moscow
375:Categories
345:Chess Life
306:17 January
249:References
227:modern art
184:Bessarabia
48:Bessarabia
41:1908-10-20
231:Manhattan
200:Palestine
163:Mary Bain
159:Mary Bain
108:U.S. Open
237:See also
196:Tel Aviv
142:). When
110:titles.
50:, Russia
27:Country
211:Boston
204:Jewish
188:Russia
75:(1950)
341:(PDF)
100:chess
94:(nÊe
69:Title
308:2019
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157:and
144:FIDE
55:Died
35:Born
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