Polina Shuvalova: What Matters is a Sound Mind in a Sound Body!
The U21 Russian Champion and her coach Sergey Zagrebelny answer questions of Dmitry Kryakvin
- Please accept my congratulations on your victory! How was the tournament shaping for you?
- Polina Shuvalova: Thank you! The tournament was in general a rather smooth one for me. There was a minor hiccup at the start in rounds three and four when I had two draws. I need to mention, however, that my position against Rodionova was a not very good one, so that a half point was not the worst outcome possible. Then things worked out for me as I won three games in a row to break away from my pursuers. The finishing games were not so strenuous for me as I had a cushion of points as reassurance. I was calm in the decisive ultimate-round game and it all ended well for me!
- Polina, has it been your first attempt to conquer the U21 summit or did you try to win the junior championship sometime in the past?
- P.S. Well, this is my second time here as my first attempt took place in 2015. Back then I ended up seventh after having taken some beating. A year later I was already willing to enter the junior level and played in my age group because I had a qualifying right no longer.
- It's probably very difficult when it comes to choosing between a junior "robin" and a Swiss tournament with your peers, right?
- Sergey Zagrebelny: My personal experience tells me that you need to harmonize your wishes with your abilities. It is often the case that young chess players, participating in some prestigious tournaments as obvious underdogs and hoping to get some training and experience, end up demonstrating weak performance. However, if you take status tournaments contesting the medals, then you need to be where you are likely to claim the highest places. As for training, open tournaments seem to suit this purpose admirably. There is quite a number of them nowadays, including in Russia. Therefore, playing in the junior championship last year was out of the question since the specific task was to take "gold" in the age group. This is what Polina has coped with quite perfectly.
This year we showed up for the junior event since Polina was already a rating favorite and no longer a whipping girl. Competing in the U17 group made absolutely no sense. This decision proved right as she performed well to earn a right to represent her country in the world championships of both her age group and among juniors.
- If I am not mistaken, Polina now represents "The Moscow Youth" and the two of you collaborate within the framework of the wonderful children school, which we have for so many years used to know under the name of Tigran Petrosyan, right?
- S.Z. It is very important to have a young chess player assigned to a school, because when Polina was left to her own devices there would be no one helping her, even though she is a very gifted girl. I remember getting to know each other in 2015 when Polina came to me on the tip from Ludmila Sergeevna Belavenets. We were introduced to each other, and our collaboration started to yield first fruits. It goes without saying that Polina could not but feel being backed up by a strong organization and a steady coach, which, in turn, could not but influence her positively.
"The Moscow Youth" is one of the capital city's leading chess powerhouses. Last year we won three gold medals at the children's championships in Loo, including Polina's one. What I say is about classical chess only! We have a host of medals taken by our trainees in blitz and rapid chess. Without any exaggeration, "The Moscow Youth" is a school best known by its practical results! Besides Polina, it was Ivan Yeletsky who has distinguished himself in the U19 group this time around as well.
- Not so long ago we were in the Sirius center on the same shift with the future female champion. Please share your impressions.
- P.S. It was my first shift in the Sirius center. I really liked how everything is seamlessly well organized there. What counts most is comfortable conditions. They include six-time meals, a library to borrow books, excellent classrooms. In addition to chess, they have school lessons with teachers, which was another thing that significantly added to my happiness.
Whose group were you assigned to?
- P.S. My group of four was assigned to Konstantin Rufovich Sakaev. When analyzing games, Konstantin Rufovich would very often come up with accurate recommendations and assessments. We have just reached a certain position and start looking into it, and here he is to immediately suggest, "What about this move?" I would later find out his suggestion to be computer line one, which speaks volumes about our coach’s getting straight at the heart of the position. This environment is undoubtedly inspirational for studies. Given another opportunity to go to Sirius, I will do it by all means provided that there is no overlap with any scheduled tournament.
- You mentioned school studies. How do you catch up with the school program, where do you go to school?
- P.S. I have finished school this year. It has become a trendy thing for strong athletes to study externally, and I was not an exception. USE (Uniform State Exam) is still ahead of me, but everything preceding it is over for me now. It has not caused me any special problems. My ambition is to enter the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism.
- What other achievements can one of the most promising young chess players of our country boast of and what competitions are in store for you?
- P.S. I will compete for the team of Moscow in the Russian team championship to be held in "Zhemchuzhina".
- S.Z. Last year we went into the Russian women's championship with a team consisting of our school members only, and back then board one Polina gave a hard fight to Alexandra Kosteniuk and other heavyweights of the Russian and world chess. Her performance there with 4 out of 8 was very successful. This is very cool, given the lineup's caliber. She will now play for the reigning champion team, even though as a reserve player only. However, this is an elite team already!
New challenges are on the horizon, a smooth transition into adult chess is underway, the Higher League of the Russian Championship in "Roza Khutor" is coming, in which Polina will compete for qualification into the Superfinal. The upcoming autumn championships among age peers and junior girls only add to the tight schedule. There is no time to rest on laurels.
- Polina, do you keep track of the highest level chess? Who are your favorite chess players?
- P.S. I keep track in between my tournaments by all means, but when playing myself I would never get around to it for lack of time. It goes without saying that during the New York match I was rooting for Karjakin. I am a patriot after all!
Where do your interests lie besides chess? What about your hobbies?
- P.S. When faced with this question, I would invariably answer "sport." I mean football, table tennis and others. It is vital for an athlete practicing any activity, chess included, to have a sound mind in a sound body. This is why physical activities feature so largely in my daily life.
- What about reading books?
- P.S. It essentially boils down to school literature and Russian classics. This is perhaps a rare thing these days, but I do not read fiction for it has no appeal to me. I have recently been reading the works of Japanese novelist Yasunari Kawabata, nowadays he is considered a classic of the Eastern literature. I have immensely enjoyed the novels by Márquez, especially his One Hundred Years of Solitude. Now I try to read at least one book of each of the world-famous authors. It helps me broaden my horizons. Talking about poetry, I most of all like the works by representatives of the "Silver Age”. My mom believes that lack of poetry and music would have made this world quite a different place to live in, and I share her point of view.
- Sergey, please tell me how easy was it for a famous grandmaster and a prize-winner of the 1992 Olympic Games to switch to coaching female players?
- S.Z. Before I met Polina my attitude towards women’s chess was nothing else but being aware of its existence! I would never watch their tournaments, nor would my knowledge reach beyond knowing the reining world champion’s name. I would never analyze their games. Why do it if there is men’s chess? This was not a male chauvinism, however, but a purely professional perception of things. Working with Polina made me significantly reconsider my attitude. Last year had me carefully studying the Higher League games, let along the Superfinal ones, and I did so for each game and not just those played by my student. I would do it for each round for this matter!
It turned out to be a real goldmine, but I should add that Polina differs from many chess players whom I had chanced to come across before. I would usually have to spoonfeed simple things and go over same stuff more than once at that. They would not take much pleasure in doing their homework. Coaching felt more like a baby-sitting! My first encounter with Polina gave me an immediate recognition of her as a very self-sufficient chess player who is willing to study, who is fond of and is used to doing her exercises for many hours a day. Therefore, we have never been up against any of the problems otherwise haunting the women’s chess.
Seeing that Polina's whole way of life is tailored and meant for chess, I immediately recognized what a gift she was for a coach to work with. Our lessons would not be even tied to any timetable because as soon as an opportunity presented itself she would plunge into training. It was anything but formalism! Given an excellent mutual understanding and her attitude to studies, Polina’s success was not long in coming.
- What other achievements have you enjoyed other than in Loo?
- S.Z. It is not unusual for young chess players’ progress to bear resemblance to leapfrogging. It starts with knowledge accumulation and then spills over into an active progress phase. When Polina joined the "The Moscow Youth" she was in a certain period of stagnation, whereas there began an explosive growth in the spring of 2016 as she took the Women’s Moscow Championship with a score of 8.5 out of 9, won the Russian championship among girls and went on to perform well on board one of the Russian women's championship. Her rating soared by 200 points and overstepped the 2400 level! Despite having played well in the Higher League, she unfortunately did not make it into the Superfinal by a half point only. She has also become national champion in the team championship among boys and girls as a member of "The Moscow Youth". Last but not least, third place in the Girls’ World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk has landed her straight into this year’s junior championship without having to go through any qualification cycles.
With spring giving start to Polina’s cycle of events, the year 2017 has started off with her success in the junior championship. My last year’s article in one of the "64" magazine editions was titled "The Golden Spring of Polina Shuvalova." I do want to have a happy reason to write the followup article "The Golden Spring of Polina Shuvalova-2"! I am confident that conquering the next level is just around the corner.
- Let me again congratulate you on your success! Now, here comes the last question. Polina, if we imagine that the notorious goldfish granted you three wishes to choose from, what would you wish for then?
- P.S. Thank you! What springs to mind first is a victory in the Women’s World Championship, and then I would take a beautiful, expensive car. Let the third wish be a large house overlooking the sea.
