The reigning winner of the Women’s Championship of Moscow 15-year old Polina Shuvalova is among the leading group in the Moscow Open Women’s Cup of Russia tournament. The chess player from the capital kindly agreed to answer several questions after the victory over Marina Baraeva in the third round.
- Hello, Polina! How can you evaluate your performance in the tournament?
- Last year I played not that well, I started quite successfully but then something went wrong and the tournament was ruined. Now I’m trying not to repeat the same mistakes. I was very lucky in the game of the second round, so I will try to be onto the good thing.
- Last year your results seriously improved. Tell us, what happened?
- I can tell that the victory in the Junior Women’s Championship of Russia was a success as it was a very long-awaited victory. I also played quite well in the Team Championship of Russia for the Yunost Moskvy sports school, I gained some experience. I became the Champion of Moscow among female players.
I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or a rule but at the end of the year before last I moved to the Yunost Moskvy sports school and started to train with Sergey Nikolaevich Zagrebelnyy, then successes in the tournaments arrived.
- You lived in Orsk before, why did you decide to move to the capital?
- I moved to Moscow several years ago and I believe it provides more opportunities in the sports field and education. And of course it’s more interesting to live in the capital than in the small city.
- Have you already thought what university you’ll enter after you finish school?
- I am finishing school this year and plan to enter the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport and Tourism. I didn’t think of any other profession, as now I am playing chess really well and I want to concentrate on it.
- Where do you plan to play chess in the nearest future? What are your goals?
- The Junior Championship of Russia in Loo is the closest tournament, and then I’m going to play in the Team Championship of Russia and in the higher league of the Women’s Championship of Russia. I am also planning to work on the fulfillment of the woman international grandmaster standards in the nearest future.
- What do you do in spare time? Do you have hobby?
- I love to play table tennis and football, usually I am doing it in the course of tournaments or camps. When I’m at home I’m trying to keep fit.
Alina Bivol asked the questions.