{{short description|American chess player (born 1985)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}} {{Infobox chess player | name = Cindy Tsai | image = CindyTsai0301 045.jpg | caption = Tsai at the 2003 U.S. Chess Championships | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|7|9}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois | country = United States | peakrating = 2204 (October 2002) | title = Woman International Master (2002) | rating = 2152 (July 2006) [inactive] }} '''Cindy Tsai''' (born 9 July 1985) is an American chess player.
== Biography == Tsai was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Gainesville, Florida. Her family is from Taiwan, including her great-aunt Tsai Chih-chan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uschess.org/content/view/8814/49/|title=The United States Chess Federation - Jennifer's Last Word From Beijing|last=Shahade|first=Jennifer|website=www.uschess.org|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref> At age 7, chess teacher George Pyne taught Tsai how to play chess. In later youth, her trainers were George Rottman, Arno Nolting, Tim Hartigan and grandmaster Gabriel Schwartzman.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afn.org/~chess/chessnuts/3-2/3-2.html|title=Chess Nuts Web Edition: Volume 3, Issue 2 (December 1995)|last=Cook|first=David|website=www.afn.org|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref> At Stanford University in Stanford, California, she was awarded the Chapell-Lougee Scholarship for psychology research on elite chessplayers in France and Switzerland in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford20050610-01.2.16.1#|title=The Stanford Daily 10 June 2005 — The Stanford Daily|website=stanforddailyarchive.com|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref> After graduating, she became a manager at smartphone company Peek in New York City.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindyjtsai|title=LinkedIn|last=Tsai|first=Cindy|date=2016|website=linkedin.com|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref> From 2009 to 2011, Tsai completed the Master of Business Administration program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University near Chicago, Illinois.
== Chess career == The World Chess Federation FIDE awarded Tsai the lifetime title of Woman International Master in 2002 when she was age 16.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=2019264|title=Tsai, Cindy FIDE Chess Profile - Players Arbiters Trainers|last=Administrator|website=ratings.fide.com|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref> Tsai achieved 2 of three Woman Grandmaster (WGM) norms. As a professional chess player, she played 147 total games from 1995 to 2008 with 65 wins (44.2%).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.365chess.com/players/Cindy_Tsai|title=Cindy Tsai chess games - 365Chess.com|website=www.365chess.com|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref>
From 1995 to 2003, Tsai competed for the US team in annual World Youth and Pan-American Youth Chess Championships in Brazil, France, Spain, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador and India. At the World Youth Chess Championships, Tsai finished 5th place twice. In Pan American Chess Championship for female youth, Cindy Tsai won 5 titles: U14 in May 1998 in Florianópolis,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brasilbase.pro.br/p14g1998.htm|title=Florianópolis 1998 - 10° Campeonato Panamericano u14 (girls)|website=www.brasilbase.pro.br|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref> U16 in June 2000 in Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brasilbase.pro.br/p16g2000.htm|title=Bento Gonçalves 2000 - 14° Campeonato Panamericano u16 (girls)|website=www.brasilbase.pro.br|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref> U16 in June 2001 in Guaymallén Department,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brasilbase.pro.br/p16g2001.htm|title=Guaymallén 2001 - 15° Campeonato Panamericano u16 (girls)|website=www.brasilbase.pro.br|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref> U20 in June 2002 in La Paz,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brasilbase.pro.br/p20g2002.htm|title=La Paz 2002 - 8° Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil Feminino|website=www.brasilbase.pro.br|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref> and U20 in September 2004 in Guayaquil.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.brasilbase.pro.br/p20g2004.htm|title=Guayaquil 2004 - 10° Campeonato Panamericano Juvenil Feminino|website=www.brasilbase.pro.br|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref>
In her early career, Tsai played for the Hidden Oak Elementary School in Gainesville, Florida.
In the British Four Nations Chess League (4NCL), she played in 2005/06 two games for the Oxford team. Tsai was inactive since the 2005/06 until she played for the US women's national team at the 2008 World Mind Sports Games in Beijing, China.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.365chess.com/players/Cindy_Tsai|title=Cindy Tsai chess games - 365Chess.com|website=www.365chess.com|access-date=2016-11-24}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsai, Cindy}} Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:American female chess players Category:Chess Woman International Masters Category:American people of Taiwanese descent Category:Kellogg School of Management alumni Category:Game players from Chicago Category:People from Gainesville, Florida Category:21st-century American women Category:Stanford University alumni Category:21st-century American chess players