Анжелина Белаковская: от шахмат к финансам и образованию.

American chess player

Anjelina Belakovskaia (Анжелина Белаковская; born May 17, 1969) is an American chess player holding the FIDE title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She is a three time U. S. women's champion, with victories in 1995, 1996, and 1999.

Belakovskaia grew up in Odesa, Ukraine, and is a graduate of the Odesa Agricultural University. She came to the United States to play competitive chess. She recalls flying from Moscow to New York City and arriving with little money and knowing only a few English words. Belakovskaia became a naturalized U. S. citizen on November 24, 1999. Later that year, she began graduate work at New York University, and in 2001 earned a Master's Degree in Mathematics in Finance. Soon after, she got a position as a trader at Williams Cos. in Tulsa, Oklahoma in weather derivatives. In May 2001, Belakovskaia became the head of the Weather Derivatives desk at Williams EM&T (Energy, Marketing, and Trading). There, she was recognized as Best Female Employee for her contribution to the company's success. Since January 2011, Belakovskaia has taught finance classes at the Eller College of Management at The University of Arizona.

In July 1991, she came to the U. S. to play in the Chess World Open in Philadelphia. Belakovskaia won the New York Women's Chess Championship three times and played on the U. S. team in the Chess Olympiads in 1994, 1996, and 1998. In 1995, she won the first of her three US Women's Chess Championship titles, tying for first with Sharon Burtman. The next year, she won the title outright. In 1997, she took second place in the US Women's Championship. In 1999 she became champion for the third time. Her third tournament was won through her "superior grasp of the middle game." In 2010, Belakovskaia started a chess program for children in Tucson, Arizona. She is also a member of the FIDE Chess in Schools commission. In 2013, she coordinated an all girls' chess tournament in Tucson during the month of April.