Least But Not Last

In an interview to Sergey Yevgenyevich Kim published February 12, 2020 on ChessPro.ru, Russian-Belgian Grandmaster Vladimir Nikolaevich Chuchelov, among other matters, recalled his experience as 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s second in the controversial Women’s World Chess Championship 2016: “I remember when I helped 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) in the match with Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk. It was a very difficult match...”, he said. “Even though the final score indicates the opposite”, the interviewer objected. But no. Chuchelov does not tell what cannot be told, but he tells enough to bring out the value and the significance of 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s victory against all odds. “The end result often does not reflect the essence of the match! There were moments of hesitation, psychological insecurity. It was a hard work indeed! Any World Championship match is not a cakewalk! On paper, there is a favourite to win, but, in fact, it’s mostly for the sake of the public and journalists. In reality, everything is not so simple”, he said.