Khanty-Mansiysk Women's World Chess Championship Round 3: Socko, Galliamova, Zhukova Lose!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The Khanty-Mansiysk Women's World Chess Championship 2012 continued with its unpredictable streak in the third round that began on Saturday. The first games of the round were played with five of the eight games turning out to be decisive.
Results: Round 3, First Game
Alisa Galliamova - Marie Sebag 0-1
Mariya Muzychuk - Xue Zhao ½-½
Anna Ushenina - Natalija Pogonina 1-0
Lela Javakhishvili - Dronavalli Harika ½-½
Monika Socko - Antoaneta Stefanova 0-1
Qian Huang - Irina Krush 0-1
Tatiana Kosintseva - Nadezhda Kosintseva ½-½
Wenjun Ju - Natalia Zhukova 1-0
Monika Socko had knocked out reigning Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan in the previous round. She began Round with a loss. Socko's 20th move was a blunder and she could not recover thereafter. Ironically, Natalia Zhukova who had knocked out top-rated player Humpy Koneru also lost. Alisa Galliamova, who had knocked out Valentina Gunina also lost. Replay the game in the Chess King applet in the extended post below.
In the position below, Socko plays 20.Qe3. Can you see the strong move from Black that eventually gave Stefanova her win as Black?
Read more »Labels: Alisa Galliamova, antoaneta stefanova, khanty mansiysk chess, Monika Socko, natalia zhukova, women's world chess championship 2012
Sensational Chess Results in Khanty-Mansiysk: All Top Stars Hou, Kosteniuk, Koneru, Gunina, Lahno, Muzychuk Knocked out from World Championship 2012
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hello everyone,
Polish Grandmaster Monika Socko has knocked out Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan of China in the second round in Khanty Mansiysk. The Polish grandmaster told journalists about her victory against the World Champion: It certainly wasn’t easy. I expected a different line of the Sicilian, but Hou Yifan decided to play 6.Bb5, after which we both were out of book. The last moves I remembered were 5…Nc6 and 6…Nd7. I think 8.b3 is already a bit passive. Maybe she started to play for a draw, which is not always a good idea. My plan was very simple, and soon I had a bishop pair in an open position as well as a strong d-pawn.
Q: Hou Yifan usually plays quite actively. Did you feel her hesitation during this game? Maybe she started to play for a draw indeed, and such attitude was the main reason of her defeat?
– I was also surprised to see her playing like this. Maybe she simply did not expect the Sicilian and prepared for the French. I wasn’t sure about my opening choice until the very end, but fortunately made the right decision. This is my first victory against the World Champion in a classical game. Before that I could only beat her in rapid chess, and in classical chess I made two draws and lost a few times.
Players proceeding to Round 3 include: Monika Socko, Antoaneta Stefanova, Marie Sebag, Valentina Gunina, Nino Khurtsidze, Lela Javakashvili, Tatiana Kosintseva, Nadezhda Kosintseva, Natalia Pogonina, Anna Ushenina, Huang Qian, Irina Krush, Ju Wenjun and Natalia Zhukova. It's just one of the most shocking World Chess Championship result to have all the top stars eliminated from Hou Yifan, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk, Kateryna Lahno, Humpy Koneru and Valentina Gunina.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
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Labels: Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk, Hou Yifan, Humpy Koneru, kateryna lahno, khanty mansiysk chess, Monika Socko, valentina gunina, Women's World Chess Championship
Khanty-Mansiysk Women's World Chess Championship 2012 R2: Humpy Loses to Zhukova
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Wednesday, November 14, witnessed 32 participants of the Women's World Chess Championship 2012 play the first game of the second round in Khanty-Mansiysk. There were fewer decisive games compared to the first round, and the reason is obvious – the strength gap between the players was much narrower.
Natalia Zhukova who brought down top seed Koneru Humpy.
Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan (China) beat Monika Socko (Poland). Another thriller produced Natalia Zhukova (Ukraine), who, also as Black, defeated the rating favorite Humpy Koneru (India). Zhao Zue (China) crushed Nino Khurtsidze (Georgia), Pia Cramling (Sweden) won against Irina Krush (USA), Harika Dronavalli (India) defeated Elina Danielian (Armenia), and Maria Muzychuk defeated the hero of the starting round Maritza Arribas Robaine (Cuba). The rest of the games were drawn.
Russian players Nadezhda Kosintseva, Tatiana Kosintseva and Olga Girya made draws against Lilit Mkrtchian (Armenia), Hoang Thanh Trang (Hungary) and Marie Sebag (France) respectively. There are two all-Russian pairs in the second round: Alisa Galliamova plays with Valentina Gunina, and Alexandra Kosteniuk faces Natalia Pogonina. These games also ended in draws, despite being the longest in the round.
Results:
Socko, Monika (POL) – Hou, Yifan (CHN) 0-1, Koneru, Humpy (IND) – Zhukova, Natalia (UKR) 0-1, Ushenina, Anna (UKR) – Muzychuk, Anna (SLO) draw, Zhao, Xue (CHN) – Khurtsidze, Nino (GEO) 1-0, Javakhishvili, Lela (GEO) – Lahno, Kateryna (UKR) draw, Kosintseva, Nadezhda (RUS) – Mkrtchian, Lilit (ARM) draw, Huang, Qian (CHN) – Cmilyte, Viktorija (LTU) draw, Sebag, Marie (FRA) – Girya, Olga (RUS) draw, Galliamova, Alisa (RUS) – Gunina, Valentina (RUS) draw, Cramling, Pia (SWE) – Krush, Irina (USA) 1-0, Hoang, Thanh Trang (HUN) – Kosintseva, Tatiana (RUS) draw, Harika, Dronavalli (IND) – Danielian, Elina (ARM) 1-0, Muzychuk, Mariya (UKR) – Arribas Robaina, Maritza (CUB) 1-0, Kosteniuk, Alexandra (RUS) – Pogonina, Natalija (RUS) draw, Zatonskih, Anna (USA) – Ju, Wenjun (CHN) draw, Stefanova, Antoaneta (BUL) – Zhu, Chen (QAT) draw.
The 8th Ugra Governor Cup starts on Thursday in Khanty-Mansiysk. This is a part of the Russian Cup series, the prize fund is 1 million 641 thousand roubles, which is slightly more than $50,000. More than 100 players from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan already registered for the event, including Anton Korobov (2702), Nikita Vitiugov (2700), Alexey Dreev (2654) and Igor Kurnosov (2645). Evgenia Ovod (Russia) and Madina Davletbaeva (Kazakhstan), who already busted from the World Championship, will join the field as well. The tournament will run until November 24th.
Here are some nice chess games from the second round at the Khanty-Mansiysk Women's World Chess Championship 2012 with Chess King:
Labels: dronavalli harika, elina danielian, Hou Yifan, khanty mansiysk chess, koneru humpy, Monika Socko, women's world chess championship 2012
Women's Chess Grand Prix in Ankara: Koneru Humpy Wins Gold
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Congratulations to GM Humpy Koneru for winning the sixth edition of the Fide Women's Chess Grand Prix in Ankara, Turkey. She is now placed second in the overall Grand Prix series after Hou Yifan. That is an interesting situation. If Hou Yifan were to retain her world chess title later this year, it would be Koneru Humpy again becoming her challenger. However, if Yifan were to lose her title, it would be Yifan challenging whoever is crowned the women's world chess champion this December!
The Chinese has already clinched the first place in the overall Grand Prix cycle and is a current World Champion among women. Round eleven was as thrilling as it was expected. All the attention turned to the games which would identify the winner of Grand Prix in Ankara.
Humpy Koneru confidently won against Monika Socko and had to wait for the final outcome of the game between Ruan Lufei and Anna Muzychuk. The victory could have given Slovenian player the second place in the Series but she missed a good chance for advantage and game was drawn.
Another important game for the final standings was played between Zhao Xue and Tatiana Kosintseva. A draw guaranteed Zhao Xue the bronze medal in GP in Ankara, which she earned. Both Turkish players Kubra Ozturk and Betul Yildiz lost in the 11th round to the higher rated Viktorija Cmilyte and Antoaneta Stefanova respectively. Munguntuul Batkhuyag won against Ju Wenjun and finished the tournament with +1.
Labels: ankara women chess grand prix, Anna Muzychuk, koneru humpy, Monika Socko
Monika Socko's nice performance at Najdorf Memorial Chess Tournament
 GM Monika Socko
Hello Everyone,
The Miguel Najdorf International Chess Festival celebrated the 100th anniversary of the great player from July 17-25 in Warsaw. The events organized included Section A for players with an ELO equal to or greater than 2000, Section B for players with Elo less than 2000 and Section C for players born in and after 2000.
GM Monika Socko, despite losing her last two games, is gaining rating points from the tournament. She was the second best woman at the tournament after WGM Beata Kadziolka. Here is a nice game by Socko against GM Jon Ludvig Hammer.
Here is the nice game Socko-Hammer that you can run in our pgnplayer or watch in flash below.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's Also see her personal blog at Labels: Monika Socko, Najdorf International Chess Festival
Braving the Arctic Chess Challenge
 Hi everyone!
It is not very often that a woman wins a tournament which has an average rating of 2590 of its top-10 participants. But GM Monica Socko did it by winning the Arctic Challenge in 2009 in the city of Tromsø. On her way to winning the tournament she had also beaten her husband - the top seed - GM Bartosz Socko!
I wish Monica good luck as the defending champion this year at the Arctic Challenge which will be held in August.
This year the field will be even much stronger. Many people from around the world like to go to the Arctic Challenge also to enjoy the opportunity for several other sports activities like hiking, fishing, swimming etc.
Another interesting thing about this year's Arctic Challenge is going to be the record number of couples who will take part. These include:
- GM Bartosz Socko and GM Monika Socko from Poland
- GM Yuri Drozdovskij and WGM Natalia Zdebskaja from Ukraine
- GM Zoltán Gyimesi and IM Nóra Medvegy from Hungary
- GM Mateusz Bartel and WGM Marta Przezdziecka from Poland
- GM Vadim Malakhatko Vadim and WGM Anna Zozulia from Belarus
- GM Loek van Wely The Netherlands and WIM Lorena Zepeda El Salvador
- IM Gediminas Sarakauskas and WIM Zivile Sarakauskiene from Lithuania
You can read in detail about the tournament and registration here.
Meanwhile, here is an endgame position from GM Monica Socko's game against GM Emanuel Berg at the Arctic Chess Challenge, 2009.
This was the position after 62...Re4xh4, Monica is playing Black. Tablebases say it is mate in 35 moves. Monica Socko had to accept a draw after pressing on for 72 moves!
More information about last year's event can be found on ChessBase.
Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk
Women's World Champion
www.chessblog.comLabels: Arctic Challenge, Monika Socko
Today's Stars - Jovanka Eric and Monica Socko
 of the 8th of March Women's Chess Tournament
Hello everybody!
Here are two nice wins by the winner:
White just played 14. Kh1, what is the best move for Black?
[Event "42nd WGM"] [Site "Belgrade SRB"] [Date "2010.3.4"] [Round "2"] [White "Petrenko,S"] [Black "Eric,J"] [Result "0-1"] [Eco "B92"] [Annotator ""] [Source ""]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.f4 b5 10.Bf3 Bb7 11.a3 Nbd7 12.f5 Qc7 13.Qe2 Nc5 14.Kh1 Na4 15.Nd1 d5 16.Nf2 Rac8 17.c3 Qc4 18.Na5 Qxe2 19.Bxe2 Ba8 20.exd5 Bxd5 21.Bd1 Bd8 22.Nb3 Bb6 23.Nd2 e4 24.Nh3 e3 25.Nf3 Bc4 26.Re1 Ng4 27.b3 Nf2+ 28.Nxf2 exf2 29.bxc4 fxe1=Q+ 30.Nxe1 Nxc3 31.Bf3 Rxc4 32.Nc2 Ne2 33.Be3 Bxe3 34.Nxe3 Rc1+ 35.Rxc1 Nxc1 36.g4 Nd3 37.Nd5 Ne5 38.Be2 Rd8 0-1
Black just played 9. ... h6, what is the best continuation for White?
[Event "42nd WGM"] [Site "Belgrade SRB"] [Date "2010.3.8"] [Round "6"] [White "Eric,J"] [Black "Petrovic,Mari"] [Result "1-0"] [Eco "B06"]
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Be3 d6 5.Qd2 Nd7 6.Nf3 Qa5 7.Bd3 Ngf6 8.O-O Ng4 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bxe7 Qc7 11.Bh4 Ngf6 12.e5 Nh7 13.exd6 Qb8 14.Qe3+ Kf8 15.Qe7+ Kg8 16.Bxg6 1-0
7 rounds have been played so far and Monica Socko (on the photo below playing White against Tatiana Kosintseva) is in the lead with 6 points out of 7.
She is followed by Antoaneta Stefanova, Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Viktorija Cmilyte, Lilit Galojan, Pia Cramling and Yelena Dembo, all with 5,5 out of 7. Tomorrow, March 13, is a free day and on March 14 the tournament will continue with 4 more rounds to go.
The shortest decisive game of the championship so far is the encounter between Aginian and Goslawska which lasted for only 16 moves:
[Event "11th EICC Women"] [Site "Rijeka CRO"] [Date "2010.3.6"] [Round "1"] [White "Aginian,N"] [Black "Goslawska,C"] [Result "1-0"] [Eco "C66"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.c3 Be6? 5.d4 Bd7 6.O-O Nf6 7.Re1 g6 8.Nbd2 exd4? 9.cxd4 Bg7 10.e5 dxe5 11.dxe5 Nd5 12.Ne4 Nde7?? 13.Nf6+ Bxf6 14.exf6 Be6 15.Qxd8+ Rxd8 16.fxe7 1-0
The longest game has been the game between Baira Kovanova and Monica Socko which lasted for 129 moves:
[Event "11th EICC Women"] [Site "Rijeka CRO"] [Date "2010.3.8"] [Round "3"] [White "Kovanova,B"] [Black "Socko,M"] [Result "0-1"] [Eco "B30"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.O-O Ne7 6.d3 Ng6 7.Nc3 d5 8.b3 Bd6 9.Ba3 O-O 10.Re1 f6 11.Na4 Qe7 12.Qd2 Rb8 13.c4 e5 14.h3 Nf4 15.exd5 Qf7 16.Bxc5 Bxc5 17.Nxc5 Bxh3 18.g3 cxd5 19.d4 Qh5 20.Nh2 Rbd8 21.dxe5 fxe5 22.Qe3 Rde8 23.gxf4 Rxf4 24.Kh1 Bg4 25.Kg2 Ref8 26.Nd3 Bf3+ 27.Nxf3 Qg4+ 28.Kf1 Qh3+ 29.Ke2 Rxf3 30.Qxa7 Rxd3 31.Rg1 Qf3+ 32.Kf1 g6 33.Qb6 Qh3+ 34.Ke1 Qf5 35.cxd5 Rxd5 36.Rc1 Rd4 37.Rg2 Rh4 38.Rg1 Rh2 39.Rc2 Qxc2 40.Qe6+ Rf7 41.Qe8+ Kg7 42.Qxe5+ Rf6 43.Qe7+ Rf7 44.Qe5+ Kf8 45.Qb8+ Ke7 46.Qxh2 Qb1+ 47.Ke2 Qxa2+ 48.Kf1 Qb1+ 49.Kg2 Qe4+ 50.Kf1 Kf8 51.Qd6+ Re7 52.Qd1 Kf7 53.Qg4 Qd3+ 54.Kg2 Qxb3 55.Rc1 Qd5+ 56.Qf3+ Qxf3+ 57.Kxf3 h5 58.Kg3 Kf6 59.Rc5 Re5 60.Rc6+ Kf5 61.Rc8 Ra5 62.f3 Kg5 63.Rc4 Rf5 64.f4+ Kh6 65.Rc3 Rd5 66.Rb3 Kg7 67.Ra3 Kf6 68.Rb3 Kf5 69.Ra3 Ke4 70.Ra6 Rd3+ 71.Kg2 Kf5 72.Kh2 Rf3 73.Kg2 Rxf4 74.Kg3 Re4 75.Ra5+ Re5 76.Ra8 Re3+ 77.Kg2 g5 78.Ra2 g4 79.Ra8 h4 80.Rf8+ Ke4 81.Re8+ Kd3 82.Rg8 Rg3+ 83.Kf2 Rf3+ 84.Kg1 g3 85.Rh8 Rf4 86.Kg2 Ke3 87.Re8+ Re4 88.Rf8 Rd4 89.Kh3 Rf4 90.Ra8 Rd4 91.Re8+ Kf2 92.Rf8+ Ke3 93.Re8+ Kd3 94.Rg8 Re4 95.Rf8 Re1 96.Rd8+ Ke2 97.Kg2 Ke3 98.Re8+ Kd2 99.Rd8+ Kc3 100.Rc8+ Kd4 101.Rd8+ Kc5 102.Rd2 Re4 103.Kh3 Rd4 104.Re2 Kd5 105.Re8 Re4 106.Rd8+ Ke5 107.Re8+ Kf5 108.Ra8 Kf6 109.Ra2 Rf4 110.Ra6+ Kg5 111.Ra5+ Rf5 112.Ra4 Rf4 113.Ra5+ Kf6 114.Ra6+ Ke5 115.Ra5+ Kd6 116.Ra6+ Kc5 117.Ra2 Kb4 118.Re2 Kc3 119.Ra2 Rd4 120.Ra3+ Kd2 121.Ra8 Ke3 122.Re8+ Kf3 123.Rf8+ Rf4 124.Ra8 Kf2 125.Ra4 Rf3 126.Ra2+ Kg1 127.Ra1+ Rf1 128.Ra2 Kh1 129.Rg2 Rf2 0-1
If you want to watch the games interactively, the best way to do so is to COPY the moves (in the case above 1. e4 c5 etc.) and PASTE them in my PGN PLAYER, then you'll be able to play the games on-screen.
Posted by: Alexandra Kosteniuk Women's World Chess Champion Labels: Eric Jovana, European Women's Chess Championship, Monika Socko
Monica Socko 2010 Women Polish Champion
Hello all!
The year 2010 just began but many interesting women's chess events are in full swing right now.
won 2-0 against the reigning Polish champion Iweta Rajlich and got the title 2010, congratulations!
The super strong Corus Chess Tournament started on the 16th of January in Wijk-aan-Zee. In the A-group with an average rating of 2719, top world grandmasters such as Anand, Carlsen, Kramnik among others take part. After 2 rounds Alexei Shirov is in the sole lead with 2 out of 2. In the "B" group, in the tournament with an average rating of 2629, after 2 rounds Anish Giri is in the lead with 2 out of 2. There is also one female representative in this group - Anna Muzychuk (on the photo below).
She is doing pretty well for the moment, with 2 draws out of 2. Her younger sister Maria Muzychuk, as well as the world girls champion under 20 Soumya Swaminathan are taking part in a very interesting "C" group. The average rating of the "C"-group is 2455, and for the moment Ray Robson is in the lead in this group with 2 out of 2. The tournament has a very nice video coverage by WGM Bianca Muhren, you can watch it on the official web-site, here.
The chess year is about to begin for me as well. This Tuesday I will be leaving Miami and will head to Europe where I will have quite a busy schedule. On January 21, 2010 my best friend Almira Skripchenko and I will be giving a tandem simul in Monaco, then on January 23 we will have another simultaneous exhibition in Brussels, after that on January 25 I will fly to Gibraltar where will take part in a super-strong open-tournament, with very attractive prizes for women. I promise to keep you updated on my traveling and games so make sure to come and visit my blog often :-)
Posted by: Alexandra Kosteniuk Women's World Chess Champion Labels: Anna Muzychuk, Gibraltar, Melia Salome, Monika Socko, Wijk-aan-Zee
Turner - Socko by Monika Socko
Hi all! Monika Socko just sent me her comments to the game with GM Turner that she won in the 5th round of the tournament in Tromso. [Event "Arctic Chess Challenge 2009"] [Site "Scandic Hotel, Tromsø"] [Date "2009.8.1"] [Round "5"] [White "Turner, Matthew J"] [Black "Socko, Monika"] [Result "0-1"] [Eco "B22"]
White just played 28.Qxb7
Qf6Here I could have played effective 28...Nxf2!? but it only gives a draw: 29.Qc7 ( 29.Kxf2?! Re8! 30.Qa7 Qe2+ 31.Kg1 Qxb5 and black's position is a bit better due to weak opponent's king) Re8 30.Nd6 Nxh3+ 31.Bxh3 Qe3+ with perpetual. 29.Rf1 Nd2 30.Rd1? Here he should have played 30.Rc1! Ne4 (30...Be4 is also possible 31.Qc7 Bxg2 32.Kxg2 Qf3+ 33.Kg1 Rf8 34.Qg3 Qe2 with and equal position) 31.Rf1 with repetition. Worse is 30.Re1 Be4 ( 30...Nf3+? is a big mistake now due to 31.Bxf3 Qxf3 32.Qd7 Rf8 33.Re8 and White wins!) 31.Qc7 Bxg2 32.Kxg2 Qf3+ 33.Kg1 Rf8 and in this sharp position black has better chances. 30. ... Nf3+ 31.Kh131.Bxf3 Qxf3 32.Rd2 Be4 and Black checkmates. or 31.Kf1 Bd3+ ! 32.Rxd3 Qa1+ 33.Ke2 Ng1+ 34.Kd2 Qb2+ 35.Ke3 ( 35.Kd1 Qe2+ 36.Kc1 Qxd3 ) Re8+ -+ 31. ... Bc2 32.Rf1 Bd3 33.Rc1 Bxb5! 34.Qxb5 Qf4! and black won the game 35.Bxf3 Qxc1+ 36.Kg2 d4 37.Qb6 Qg5 38.a4 d3 39.a5 d2 40.Bd1 Qd5+ 41.Kg3g6 42.b4 Re8 43.a6 Qh1 44.Ba4 Qa1 45.Bxe8 Qe5+ 46.Kg2 Qe4+ 47.Kg3d1=Q 0-1
Here is the pgn of the whole game:
Turner - Monika Socko
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Be3 cxd4 6.cxd4 Bg4 7.Ne2 Nc6 8.Nbc3 Qa5 9.h3 Bf5 10.a3 e6 11.g4 Bg6 12.Bg2 Bd6 13.O-O O-O 14.Qb3 Qa6 15.Nb5 Rfd8 16.Nec3 Rac8 17.Rac1 Na5 18.Qa4 Bb8 19.b3 Nc6 20.Rfd1 Ne7 21.Bg5 Qb6 22.d5 Nexd5 23.Nxd5 exd5 24.Be3 Rxc1 25.Rxc1 Qe6 26.Bxa7 Bxa7 27.Qxa7 Ne4 28.Qxb7 Qf6 29.Rf1 Nd2 30.Rd1 Nf3+ 31.Kh1 Bc2 32.Rf1 Bd3 33.Rc1 Bxb5 34.Qxb5 Qf4 35.Bxf3 Qxc1+ 36.Kg2 d4 37.Qb6 Qg5 38.a4 d3 39.a5 d2 40.Bd1 Qd5+ 41.Kg3 g6 42.b4 Re8 43.a6 Qh1 44.Ba4 Qa1 45.Bxe8 Qe5+ 46.Kg2 Qe4+ 47.Kg3 d1=Q 0-1
You can copy the moves and paste them into pgnplayer.com
Posted by: Alexandra Kosteniuk Women's World Chess Champion www.chessblog.com
Labels: Monika Socko
Monika Socko winner in Tromso
Who says that women play chess worse then men? Show me one man on the planet of Earth who  will be capable of taking care of 3 children, of a spouse, of the house and at the same time will be able to become a GM, to play strong and exciting chess and sometimes win chess tournaments. If you will find such man, please let me know, but I doubt there is one. At the same time, I can name you one woman who is not only doing all the things that I wrote above, but who also is a great and very kind person who is always ready to help.
I'm very glad to introduce to you today the women's chess star - Monika Socko!
A.K.: Dear Monika! Congratulations on your impressive victory in Tromso! What are your impressions of Tromso and the tournament?
Monika Socko: Tromso is a lovely city surrounded by mountains and sea. It is located near the Arctic circle, but the weather was really nice during the tournament!
I have really nice memories from Tromso. Not only because of my result but also because of many nice activities I had, like excursions, fishing trips etc.
A.K.: What is the best game of yours in the tournament? Can you comment a small fragment of any of your games of Tromso?
Monika: I would say the game against GM Turner was the best. I played Sicilian as black, sacrificed a pawn and got a strong initiative.
A.K.: You came to Tromso with your husband and your son, how did you manage to prepare, play and take care of your family?
Monika: My son is a very quiet child (as opposed to my daughters), so he was not a problem during my preparation.
A.K.: I noticed that your son was also playing in Tromso, do you want to see your children as professional chess players in the future?
Monika: We'd like them to play chess of course, but the choice of being professionals is theirs.
A.K.: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What is your date of birth?
Monika: March 24, 1978
A.K.: Where were you born?
Monika: Warsaw (Poland)
A.K.: Where do you live now?
Monika: During my childhood I lived in Rybnik - a town on the south of Poland, but now we all live in a small village near Warsaw.
A.K: How did you start playing chess?
Monika: My father wanted to teach his son football, but he has 2 daughters so he teached them to play chess.
A.K.: Who was your first coach and with whom you are working right now?
Monika: It was my father, of course. Then I worked with IM Matlak, and now mostly I'm working together with my husband.
A.K.: What are your main achievements in chess?
Monika: Gold medal in the European Team Championship in 2005, bronze medal in the Olympiad in Bled in 2002. I also won the European Club Cup twice with the Monaco team. Individually I was 3 times champion of Poland. I won a strong closed tournament in Baku 2007. My win in Tromso is also a great success.
A.K.: What is your peak rating?
Monika: My best rating was 2505 a year ago, and I hope to have a better one soon.
A.K.: Do you consider yourself a professional chess player?
Monika: Yes. I'm not doing anything else, but I must say that taking care of my family and home is really a full time job also.
A.K.: I've always admired you and your energy. You have a big family and still play chess very successfully. Can you tell us a little bit about your family and share the secret about how do you manage to be a mom, a wife and a strong chess player?
Monika: We have 3 lovely children (Weronika 9, Szymon 7 and Julia 3). There is really a lot to do with them, so we don't have much time to work on chess at home, but we try to spend every free moment on chess. I treat tournaments like a holiday from the work in the house, so maybe this is the reason of my recent success... :)
A.K.: Do you believe in the future of women’s chess? And what do you think we need to do in order to make chess more popular?
Monika: Yes, I think women's chess has a future. My daughter plays in junior tournaments and I can see many young girls playing chess. This is good. The only problem is the insufficient number of good women tournaments, but I think it is changing slowly.
A.K.: What is the best chess country in the world?
Monika: Russia. But there is a strong opponent - China.
A.K.: What is the best organized women’s tournament you took part in?
Monika: This was closed tournament in Baku in 2007. I wish I could play there again!
A.K.: What is your dream in chess?
Monika: To win the last game in the World Championship.
A.K.: What is your favorite chess piece?
Monika: The pawn. It has a future!
A.K.: What is your favorite place in the world?
Monika: Rio de Janeiro
A.K.: What is your favorite kind of food?
Monika: I really like soups. The best is Polish "Zurek"
A.K.: What are your plans for this year? In what tournaments are you planning to play?
Monika: I will play the Polish club championship, and then the European Club Cup and the European Team Championship.
A.K.: Thank you very much, Monika! I'm very grateful to you for this wonderful interview! Good luck in your future tournaments and all the best to you and your family!
Posted by: Alexandra Kosteniuk
Women's World Chess Champion
www.chessblog.com
Labels: Monika Socko, Woman Chess Star
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