Natalia Pogonina: Playing for the Russian Team is an honor for me... |
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| Sunday, 03 January 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A new interview with Natalia Pogonina (originally published in Polish here)
nowadays? Most young people spend a lot of time on the web they hardly ever visit chess clubs, and prefer to play online. Therefore, it is essential to promote chess on the Internet: publish articles, share advice, establish playing zones and chess forums, make chess videos, etc. The more exciting and unusual the activity is, the higher the chances are that it will grab peoples attention. For example, right now Im playing a vote chess game against the World at Chess.com a few thousand chess players from all over the Earth are participating. The second and even more important part is to promote chess in the media and make it more prestigious. Young people are smart enough to understand what counts: they will never spend their time on something which they dont consider cool or financially promising. The more we spread the chess is an elite game for smart and cool people message around the globe, the better. And not only spread, but work in that direction, improve the situation in the chess world.
Natalia Pogonina also promotes chess as a model
ask how important is internet, and in general - computers, in your chess preparations? Modern technologies make studying chess much easier and more comfortable. I can analyze the positions using chess engines, download the latest games to see whats new, use databases to find interesting plans, play blitz online, discuss variations with my coach or seconds via Skype, receive instant feedback from my friends at my website or other chess portals and forums, etc. Its hard to imagine how people managed to work on chess in the good old days when all those luxuries of nowadays havent been available! - When exactly you have started to treat chess seriously, as a profession ? Was it in 1998 or maybe later? Yes, at about that time. I and my family decided that I should move to Saratov in order to have access to proper chess coaching & receive a sponsorship from the university. That was a turning point in my chess career since I wouldnt have had any chess future if I had stayed.
While being a junior player, she made a difficult decision to move to a different city for the sake of her chess career. Now, as a professional, she can travel all over the world
- What is more important for you as a chess player - individual career or being a member of Russian team? Playing for the Russian team is an honor. For example, my friend Evgeny Tomashevsky (rated 2700+ and the reigning European Chess Champion) once said with irony that Russia is the only country which can afford not to include the Champion of Europe on its team rightfully! I am happy to make my contribution to my countrys achievements in chess. There is no need to separate these two: the better I am as an individual player, the higher my results will be when playing for the team. - What do you think is the reason that chess is obviously a male-dominated game? Its one of the most widely discussed subjects in the chess world. I have summarized my views on the subject in my article for ChessBase called Women and Men in Chess Smashing the Stereotypes - When you play a tournament game is it important who is the opponent (his or her behavior, rating, age, etc) ? Does it have any influence on you? Not really. Im used to playing both against women and men. Swiss tournaments teach you to respect any opponent, no matter how high or low his rating is. - I've read that you have many hobbies, can you tell something more about it Yes, I have lots of hobbies: modeling, flamenco, singing, music, photography, active sports, travelling, literature & poetry. I am also studying for an MA in Law. However, right now I have to sacrifice some activities for the sake of being a good mother: our baby Nikolai is less than 2 months old, so I am spending most of my time with him.
- Do you remember some funny or untypical situation observed on tournament that you participated? Entertaining situations happen all the time. For instance, once I was playing in the Russian Rapid Cup. I and WIM Alexandra Shumilina both had black and were sitting next to each other at adjacent boards. I was to play WIM Svetlana Vasilkova, who appeared in the playing hall andcomfortably seated herself in front of Alexandra! The trick is that we look alike. After a few seconds Svetlana started glancing at me, then at Alexandra, then at me again. Eventually she understood what happened, smiled and relocated. - On your official site we can read some of your plans for 2010. What are your most important goals to achieve for upcoming year?
The Natalia Pogonina vs. the World game is taking place at Chess.com
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