Laura is also the only girl in America who is rated number one in competition against boys her age.

Laura Ross

There are several boys who are stronger than Laura, but they are older as well. If Laura ever got to be as old as they are, she would no longer be number one but, alas, she can never quite seem to catch up with them in age.

Laura is nine years old. Her February USCF rating was 1598. She is actually much stronger than that but, by the way, she just competed in the New York Open Chess Championship where the top prize for players rated under 1600 was $8,000 (eight thousand dollars). Laura's rating of 1598 maximized her winning chances. She did not win first prize, but scored a credible 6 1/2 - 2 1/2 and won $350.

All of Laura's opponents were adults.

Laura's career as a Class C player is now over. Her new rating on the list for April 1, 1998 is 1664.

You can now look up the official rating of Laura Ross at the US Chess Federation web site.

Here is a link: Hikaru Nakamura makes chess master at age 10 years, 2 months.

Here is another link: Hikaru Nakamura makes The New York Times.

Laura is still the highest rated player her age, either male or female, in the USA.

• Report on the World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul
• Chess Rating of Laura Ross
• USCF Top-50 Girls List
• World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer Interviewed over the Radio
• Roza Eynullayeva, Sensational New Star at the US Open
• Katharine Pelletier, new chess prodigy
• My son, Peter, played the sensational game of the 2002 World Open
• Maurice Ashley makes The New York Times
• Hikaru Nakamura makes master at 10 years, 2 months
• USCF website
• US Chess Federation Ratings
• FIDE Ratings
• The Laura Ross, Igor Khmelnitsky, Olga Sagalchik incident cannot be swept under the rug