New Windsor, NY � Four-time Women�s World Champion and three-time Olympic Champion Susan Polgar made it official on Sunday, March 16, 2003 at the Executive Board meeting that she will indeed lead the US Women�s Olympiad Team to go for the Gold Medal in the 2004 Chess Olympiad in Menorca, Spain.

John McCrary, president of USCF, and the Executive Board warmly welcomed the team. The team members were presented beautiful commemorative chess sets by Frank Niro, Executive Director of USCF and the team�s number one supporter. Malcolm Pein of the London Chess Center also presented the ladies with latest chess software for training, courtesy of ChessBase.

Even though the final team selection will not be announced until around mid 2004, the rest of US Women�s Olympiad Training Squad consists of true superstars of women�s chess in America today. These beauties and brains include two US Women�s Champions and two-time Olympians IM Irina Krush and WIM Jennifer Shahade, two-time Ukrainian Women�s Champion and two-time Olympian WGM Anna Zatonskih, and three-time World Junior Champion WGM Rusudan �Rusa� Goletiani.

The US Women�s Team has never won a medal in the Chess Olympiad in the past. However, this team will be considered as one of the top three favorite teams to win the Gold medal in 2004. To ensure that our women would have a great chance to make history, a number of sponsors such as USCF, US Chess Trust, IBM, Kasparov Chess Foundation, World Chess Network, ChessBase, Susan Polgar Foundation, International Chess Marketing, etc., have agreed to step forward to help. More sponsorship is greatly needed and definitely welcome.

The first ever Olympic Gold is within our reach. But without sponsorships, we have little chance to defeat the world�s bests to bring home the first ever Gold medal for America.

For additional information about the 2004 U.S. Women�s Olympiad Team or how to sponsor the team, please feel free to contact Paul Truong at (917) 224-6824 or at [email protected]

The United States Chess Federation, founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and is devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. It promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, and as a means for the improvement of society. The USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization with more than 90,000 members. For more information, please see http://www.uschess.org.