Viktorija Ni

Title: 
Woman International Master
Rating: 
2353
Federation: 
Chicago, Illinois
Age: 
21
Status: 
Accepted
Chess Highlights: 
2010 Chicago Open, WGM norm 2009 Czech Open, 1st Latvian Rapid Women's Championship (2004, 2005), 2009 Latvian Youth Champion, 1st European Rapid Championship Girls Under 18
Bio: 

Viktorija Ni learned chess at the age of 7 from her mother, Polina, who is an Expert. She earned the title of Woman FIDE Master (WFM) in 2007 and the Woman International Master (WIM) title in 2010, earning her final norm at the 19th Chicago Open. Viktorija represented Latvia twice at the Chess Olympiad (2008, 2010) on the women's team. She recently switched her federation form Latvia to the United States, and this will mark her second U.S. Women's Championship.

Viktorija is a formidable competitor, coming into the tournament ranked sixth in the country by rating for Women. She is the wife of GM Yury Shulman, and they both live just outside of Chicago with their son Gabriel. Their son was born during the 2010 U.S. Championship, in which Yury finished second.