Sabina-Francesca Foisor

Sabina-Francesca Foisor at the 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk in 2010.
Full name	Sabina-Francesca Foisor
Country	Romania, United States
Born	August 30, 1989 Timișoara, Romania
Title	Woman Grandmaster (2007)
Peak rating	2386 (Jan 2008)

Sabina-Francesca Foişor (born 30 August 1989 in Timișoara, Romania) is a chess Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She played in the 2008 FIDE Women's World Chess Championship knockout matches. She has represented the United States, where she currently resides, since December 2008.

Chess career

Foisor represented Romania at the European Youth Chess Championship in various age categories, winning three medals: silver (Ürgüp 2004 Under 16), and two bronze (Budva 2003 Under 14, and Šibenik 2007 Under 18). She represented Romania twice, in 2004 and 2007, in the European Junior Chess Team Championships, winning three medals: two gold (2004 individual medal, 2007 team medal) and bronze (2007 individual medal).

Foisor was awarded the Woman International Master (WIM) title in 2005. She gained the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title in June 2007, after scoring 6/9 and finishing equal 3rd in the 2006 Acropolis women's tournament in Athens, and scoring 7.5/11 and finishing equal 5th in the 2007 European Individual Women's Chess Championship.

Her result at 2007 European Chess Championship, qualified her for the Women's World Chess Championship 2008 in Nalchik, Russia. The final armageddon tiebreak game of her first round match against Monika Soćko ended in controversy. Foisor only needed a draw to advance to the next round, and reached a drawn ending with each player having only a king and a knight. Although Foisor ran out of time, the arbiter initially ruled that the game was a draw. Soćko appealed, pointing out that what matters is not whether checkmate can be forced, but rather if it is possible. Soćko won the appeal and advanced to the next round, eliminateing Foisor from the event.

In 2007 she jointly won the Villard-de-Lans open in France. In 2008 she jointly won the Liege Masters tournament in Belgium.

Foisor moved to the US in 2008 to study at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and has participated in each of the past five U.S. Women's Chess Championships (2009-2013).

She has represented the United States in three Chess Olympiads, in Khanty-Mansiysk 2010, Istanbul 2012 and Tromsø 2014.

Personal life

Foisor comes from a family with a rich tradition of chess. Her parents, International Masters Cristina Adela Foișor and Ovidiu-Doru Foisor, were multiple Romanian chess championship medalists and have represented Romania in international chess events. Her younger sister, Mihaela-Veronica, is a chess Woman International Master.