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World Women Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk has started a great Women Chess Star interviews Series. Wonderful idea by the Chess Queen! See her new blog for the details: chessblog.com

It’ an honor for Natalia Pogonina to become the first Women Chess Star to be interviewed by Alexandra.
Here’s the full story:

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Standers-by see more than gamesters. That’s why the posts in Pogonina.com blog will not be limited to Natalia’s and her grandmaster colleagues’ – it’s time for an insider amateur’s opinion!

Few people know what it’s like to be a top chess player. The “mastodons” of the game fly too high to communicate with the public, and limit their comments to “that was a nice tournament, I gained 10 rating points and had a good time” or “what a terrible performance – I lost 15 ratings points + the organizers haven’t paid me the appearance fee!”.

Let’s peek into the soul, no, shower, no, daily life of our charming sportswoman, and see what her workdays are like. Of course, you can ask Natalia yourself (via the Guestbook or by email - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), but, remember, standers-by see more than gamesters. So if you send me your questions about Natalia, I will try to spread some light on the topics in the next episodes of the “24/7 with Natalia Pogonina” show.

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Women's World Chess Champion and Co-Chair for Commission for Women's Chess Alexandra Kosteniuk has published an interesting open letter to FIDE. There she raises some serious issues connected with women's chess and suggests possible solutions to the existing problems. A must-read.

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I rarely rest for too long between tournaments. Usually, I take part in at least one competition a month. This approach has both advantages and shortcomings. The benefits are that playing regularly keeps you in good trim, offers chances to earn money and boost your rating. On the other hand, each chess player needs to take breaks from time to time in order to think over his Chess Way, spend some while studying productively, and just get a life!

I hate long gaps between tournaments. This dwells on my nature - I'm a player to the bone, who likes to feel the atmosphere of competition and chess struggle. Diligent home studies before playing in an event appeal to me much less, "maybe yes, maybe no".

Currently I'm having a rest, which will probably last until the end of June. It's very hard to make plans since the information on upcoming events is rather inconsistent, and I'm still waiting for news about Urals Cup-09 super tournament. I've also got university exams and private matters to see to.

Anyway, right now I'm as keen as ever on the latest chess news, so if you have any questions or topics you'd like to discuss - feel free to ask! I'd also be happy to hear your advice on improving and expanding the website.

Let's keep in touch! :-)

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Russian Chess Club Cup in Dagomys, Sochi is probably the most elite national chess league in the world. Top players from Russia and other countries participate in this event annually.

This year Natalia Pogonina played for the team AVS and managed not to lose a single game (4 out of 6 points, performance - 2510). Her team won the silver medal in this prestigeous event. Congratulations!

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A picture of Natalia Pogonina and Peter Zhdanov proudly appears on Peter's book "Debates. The art of winning".

Official release date: April, 10th. Information regarding purchasing this book will be available later.

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Natalia Pogonina earned the bronze medal at the X Women European Chess Championship!

Surfing through the rigorous tournament without losses, Natalia scored 8 out of 11 (performance 2540) and successfully won all the tie-break matches on her way to the medal:

Ekaterina Kovalevskaya (2.5-1.5), Monika Socko (3-1), Maia Lomineishvili (3-1).

More info: http://wiecc2009.com

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