Born: 20 October 1908, Moldova
Died: 10 January 1998
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Minna Ratner
Alongside Gisela Kahn Gresser and Mary Bain, Moldovan-American chess player Mona May Karff was one of the top women’s chess champions in the 1940s and early 1950s United States, with seven U.S. Women’s Chess Champion titles (1938, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1948, 1953 and 1974) and four consecutive U.S. Open titles (1938, 1939, 1948, and 1950). When FIDE established titles in 1950, Karff was one of three U.S. women granted the title of International Woman Master. She also competed at the Women’s World Chess Championships in 1937 (placing 6th), 1939 (5th) and 1949.
Born in Bessarabia, her family moved to Tel Aviv after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Her father thad taughter her to play at age 9, and she began playing in loccal tournaments in Tel Aviv. Karff moved to Boston at age 21, becoming a U.S. citizen.
Karff also accumulated a significant amount as a stock investor, was fluent in eight languages, travelled extensively and collected modern art.