It So Happened That

Women’s Chess World Cup queen Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina and Executive Director of Chess Federation of Russia Alexander Vasilyevich Tkachev held a press conference Wednesday, August 30, 2023, at the International Multimedia Press Centre MIA Rossiya Segodnya — in fact, one of the most governmental media outlets — in Moscow, Russia, to comment and discuss on topical issues related to chess. In most cases, under such circumstances, one cannot help but count down the number of unconventional answers to conventional questions. And in this sense it should be noted that the tsarina of Russian chess confirmed that no one assisted her in her victorious march through the Women’s World Cup. “Chess is a specific discipline. We still can work on our own”, she said. “As for women’s chess, it is much better if you can work alone. It so happened that no one really helped me [through the World Cup]. I am flattered when I read pundits labelling my opening preparation with annotations such as ‘She is clearly aided by a strong Grandmaster’. Nonsense! I’m all by myself, alone!”. Photos: Eteri Kublashvili/MIA Rossiya Segodnya.