The women's world chess championship title is returning to Ukraine for a second time. Lviv Oblast native Mariya Muzychuk defeated Russia's Natalia Pogonina on April 5 in Sochi by a score of 2.5-1.5 after four matches in the annual competition administered by FIDE, the world chess governing body.
The international master and woman
grandmaster became independent Ukraine’s second world champion following Anna
Ushenina’s 2013 title win. Muzychuk, 22, earned $60,000 as part of the
distinction ahead of the 64-player field.
Playing with the white pieces, the
12th highest ranked active woman drew Pogonina in the fourth and final match in
a Scotch Four Knights game that yields both opponents an almost symmetrical
position in the opening. She had entered the match leading the series 2-1.
“A sharp and dynamically
balanced position arose, with both sides having pawn weaknesses,” a FIDE
analysis of the game said. “Tension grew with every minute. Black had a couple
of opportunities to seize the initiative, but did not use them.”
Muzychuk’s sister Anna, 25, who
captains the Ukrainian women chess team, had also played in the tournament in Russia.
She lost to Sweden’s Pia Cramling after three rounds of play. After defeat,
Anna stayed behind to cheer her younger sister to victory.
Family support is credited for the
sisters’ chess successes whose parents officially train them.
Natalia and Oleh Muzychuk taught their
daughters how to play chess when they were 3 years old.
“It’s easy to explain to a child which
is a knight (a horse in Ukrainian) and which is a bishop (an elephant),”
Natalia Muzychuk told the Kyiv Post by phone.
After completing university studies,
the Muzychuks founded a chess school in their hometown of Stryi in Lviv Oblast.
Their daughters also attended this school.
The Muzychuk sisters started as local
champions. After achieving chess titles at the national level, they started
spending their free time in training. Their parents were happy to oblige them.
“We had to sacrifice everything – playing and walking less,” Natalia said.
Besides chess, Mariya intends to
receive a Master of Arts degree this summer from the Lviv State University of
Physical Culture, her parents’ alma mater.
Also when Mariya returns, she will
prepare for her title defense against China’s Hou Yifan, a former women’s world
chess champion. The match will take place this autumn.
Beginning from 2010, the women’s
world chess championship has been held annually in alternating formats. A
64-player knockout system is used one
year. The following year, the title holder faces the winner of the most recent
FIDE women’s grand prix.
Unlike most sports, women are able to
compete against men in chess, and so some of the strongest women don’t compete
for the women’s title. Notably, the only
two women rated in the top 100 in the world, China’s Hou Yifan and Hungary’s
Judit Polgar, didn’t compete in this year’s knockout tournament.
The awards ceremony to honor Muzychuk
will be streamed live on FIDE’s webpage at 7 p.m. on April 6.
Kyiv Post staff writer
Yuliana Romanyshyn can be reached at [email protected].
