‘My heart and soul are with the people in Ukraine’

Anna Ushenina came to India twice within the space of three months. Both trips proved hugely beneficial for the 37-year-old Ukrainian. If she helped her war-ravaged country win gold at the Chess Olympiad in Chennai in August, she took the women’s rapid title at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament in Kolkata early this month. “Maybe I should play only in India,” she said, smiling after her triumph.

Shortly after Ukraine’s victory at the Olympiad, she had said: “But the medal can’t stop a war.”

True. There are few signs of the war ending anytime soon. Russia is continuing its air strikes, leaving nine million people without electricity, according to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ushenina is one of the millions of Ukrainians who were forced to flee the country. The Hindu caught up with the former World champion shortly before the closing ceremony of the Kolkata tournament. Excerpts:

What were your expectations when you came here?

I was hoping to finish inside the top three and getting the first prize in the rapid section is great. Yes, I was a bit lucky in the tie-breakers against Nana Dzagnidze, but you need some luck to win an event like that. Among my games in the rapid section, I liked the one against [compatriot] Mariya Muzychuk. It was a very strong tournament with some great, experienced players in the field, and there were some talented youngsters too. I am very happy that I won such an event. It was certainly one of my best performances in rapid chess.

You could not do as well in the blitz event. Were you surprised that India’s R. Vaishali became the champion?

No, I wasn’t surprised. India has a young generation of strong chess players. And Vaishali played really well. As for me, maybe I didn’t have the power after the rapid tournament.

The Tata Steel Chess India had equal prize-money in the open and women’s sections. It is possibly the first time a major chess tournament has had equal pay.

I think it is a great move. Women also do the same job, right? People follow our games too. Maybe we make more mistakes [than men] but then [our games] are funnier. I don’t see why there should be such a difference in prize-money for men and women. I would like to congratulate the organisers here on making such an important opening move. I hope it becomes a tradition [and not a one-off event].

India has been lucky for you…

Yes, I enjoy being in India. My first visit to this country was in 2004 for the World junior championship at Kochi. I like India a lot, especially its culture and hospitality.

How do you look back at winning the Women’s World Chess Championship in 2012? You were seeded 30th in what was a very strong knock-out tournament.

Yes, it was a great success for me. And it was, I guess, the strongest tournament until then. So many strong players were there [such as Hou Yifan of China and Koneru Humpy]. I wanted to do well and play some solid chess match after match. I met some strong opponents, including Antoaneta Stefanova [of Bulgaria] in the final.

You have also had excellent results in team events, such as the Olympiad. You were part of the team that won the first ever gold for Ukraine, in 2006, dethroning China, which had been the champion in the four previous editions.

Yes, that was a very good Ukraine team [Natalia Zhukova, Kateryna Lagno and Inna Gaponenko were the others]. We were all very happy to win the gold. And I am glad that I was part of the team when we won the gold again, 16 years later in Chennai, but for me the excitement wasn’t as big as it was when I won in 2006 [at Turin]. Of course, winning in Chennai during the war was special.

And the Olympiad was originally scheduled to be held in Russia. FIDE had to move it to India.

Of course, we could not have played in it if it was going to be held in Russia.

You have had to leave your home in Kharkiv because of the war…

Yes, just before the Olympiad, my family had to move to Europe. My mother and grandmother hadn’t wanted to leave initially; they were hoping the war would finish quickly. It was very hard for them to leave. My city is badly affected as it is near the Russian border. Something [bad] was happening to the city all the time. My heart and soul are with the people in Ukraine. I hope they stay strong and they stay alive. We all miss home very much and hope the war is over and that we can return. We are grateful for the support for Ukraine from around the world. And all of us are proud of the way our army has been fighting in the war.

Who have been your favourite chess players?

I respect Judit Polgar very much. She is the best of the best.  She fought against the men and beat them. Among the men, I admire Viswanathan Anand and Anatoly Karpov. Anand was very fast but very strong when he was young. And his ideas [on the board] were understandable.

How is chess doing in Ukraine?

It could be better. At one time there was a plan to teach chess at school, but that did not happen. In the past, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, there was a lot of support for chess players. Chess was very popular earlier but now it is becoming less so. There are not many chess clubs or professional coaches. I guess it is a problem with the new generation.

We have some new talents coming up in Ukraine, but not as many as you would find in countries like India or Uzbekistan. Of course now is not the time to think about the problems chess is facing in Ukraine. We have bigger problems to deal with.