Adam and Eve

In an interview with Timur Airatovich Ganeev for Sport-Express of December 22, 2023, three-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina said she does not feel very ambitious of conquering the world in Samarkand, mainly due to her dislike of the blitz and rapid formats, which “absolutely are not my favourite discipline”. Apparently she is already thinking of another thing, much more important for her career, that is, the Women’s Candidates Tournament 2024 in Canada. A long way to go, but she already starts to worry whether she will get the visa. It’s noteworthy that, if she had free time, she would spend it before the TV rather than at the board. And not surprisingly one of her favourite TV series is, in compliance with gender equality principles, Why Women Kill. In other ways, however, Goryachkina prefers reality to fiction, and she is not attracted at all by virtual reality as a surrogate of original concreteness. So finally, who are the best players in history according to her? Do not expect surprises, reticence, hints, or half words. She has no doubts: the best are Magnus Carlsen and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). The question arises spontaneous: what about Judit Polgár? Her answer may sound a bit paradoxical: “She didn’t play that much in women’s competitions, she didn’t win that much. In men’s, she reached the top 10. It deserves most respect. But, in my opinion, if you play only with men, then you need to win something significant”. For the same reason, she does not consider permanently moving to the other half of the sky: “It’s too late for me. I’m not competitive in men’s chess. I should have started played only men from the very beginning. And I never considered unisex tournaments seriously; I played them exclusively for training purposes, although sometimes I even won something”. The interviewer eventually asked her a provocative question about whether it is right that 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) should hold her number one ranking though she rarely plays chess anymore. But Goryachkina doesn’t take the bait and as always sticks to hard facts: “She plays three game a year, and that’s enough for her to hold her ranking. Is this weird? Yes. But no one is able to reach up to her numbers on the rating list. So everything is objective”.

Goryachkina at the gala dinner of the “PE✪PLETALK Heroes” awarding ceremony held December 12 in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Alexey Rodin and Denis Shumov.