Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-11 |
| Written by Administrator | ||||
| Воскресенье, 11 Июль 2010 | ||||
 Image courtesy of Pufichek After a break we are back with the Q&A section! Today's post is brought to you by RedHotPawn, where Natalia regularly replies to questions asked by chess fans in her special blog. You can also contact us and find out something new! Q1: What do you think of this division into male and female grandmasters? Are you opposed to it? Do you think it is currently gradually eroding? A1: I believe that separate titles for women and men should exist until we have more strong female players. Currently only Judit Polgar is on the world's top-100. It is eroding slowly, but inevitably. In the future there will be more proficient female chess players. Q2: At what age do you think chess players peak? Is the amount of learning and preparation required by grandmasters increasing in modern times? A2: The average age of peak level is probably about 35. At that time people already have a lot of experience, but are still young, have the energy it takes to play chess, a good memory. Of course, one needs to know much more these days than in the good old times when Botvinnik had a secret notebook which had some 5 moves for each side or so and the evaluation. Nowadays one has to memorize a myriad of 20+ move lines and generally study all aspects of chess more. Q3: Wondering if there may be several unusual/infrequently played openings you're fond of and experiment with in informal games. A3: I am rather conservative in opening choice and play virtually the same variations in blitz as in standard games. After all, blitz is just a way of training for me Q4: I have found that becoming a parent has lessened my ability as I have less opportunity to play matches and even when I do have time I still feel rushed. How do parents cope in the professional chess world? A4: Being a parent provides one with more energy and motivation, but it is very hard to find spare time for chess. Generally, both married and single players excel in chess, both with children and not. Having a child is not something that is totally incompatible with playing on top level (or, at least, I hope so). :) Q5: Is Peter a good chess opponent? A5: Peter is a strong candidate master. We played a few games when we first met, but don't do it anymore since both of us have enough chess at work, no need to practice it at home. Q6: Also meant to ask for your take on the positional/overall adequacy (as opposed to incidental shock value) of a7-a6 and b7-b6 to e4 and d4. A6: These moves are good for a one-time surprise (e.g. Karpov-Miles), but no good in terms of employing them regularly since they are a) inferior b) aren't based on sound chess principles. Q7: Will you marry me? =) A7: You're too late :) Related articles: Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-10 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-9 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-8 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-7 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-6 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-5 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-4 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-3 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-2 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina 
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| Last Updated ( Воскресенье, 11 Июль 2010 ) | ||||
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