Photo courtesy of GM Anna Muzychuk
GM Anna Muzychuk is the winner of 3 FIDE World Championship events, and is consistently amongst the highest-rated woman players in the world. In 2012, Anna made history when she became the 4th Woman in history to cross the 2600 FIDE rating. After a lull during the Covid-quarantine, Anna has been actively competing again, and she made a deep run in the FIDE World Cup. Anna came in 4th place in this prestigious event, which earned her a coveted spot in the 2022 Women’s Candidates Tournament. The winner of that Candidates Tournament will challenge GM Ju Wenjun for the Women's World Championship title. As we discuss, Anna’s schedule of competitions is generally packed, but the Covid quarantine gave her a chance to try out commentating, Twitch streaming and even organizing a tournament, with her sister GM Mariya Muzychuk. We discuss which new hobbies Anna is likely to stick with, as well as her thoughts on many recent and upcoming events, and, of course, Queen’s Gambit. As always, timestamps and the details of all that we covered can be found below.
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0:00- We begin by discussing the recent FIDE Women’s World Cup. Anna finished in 4th place and qualified for the 2022 Candidates Tournament for the Women's World Championship.
Mentioned: GM Ju Wenjun, GM Tatev Abrahamyan
13:00- What sort of training did Anna do during the Covid quarantine, and what does she recommend in general?
Mentioned: Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual, Theory and Practice of Chess Endings by GM Alexander Panchenko, the books of GM Jacob Aagaard, Chess Calculation Training: Middlegame by GM Romain Eduoard,and Learn from GM Michal Krasenkow .
19:00- What is it like to repeatedly play her own friends and relatives in the Elite Woman’s events?
Mentioned: GM Mariya Muzychuk, IM Elisabeth Paehtz, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina
23:00- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by Chessmood.com. Chessmood offers a huge library of instructive videos. You can hear GM Avetik Grigoryan on Episode 192 of Perpetual Chess. Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel here.
24:00- Anna discusses the 2022 World Championship Candidates Tournament and her upcoming schedule.
28:30- Patreon mailbag question: “How have you balanced competing and preparing for top women events with trying to improve your chess level by playing significantly stronger opponents? What do you focus on to improve versus stay in good form?”
Mentioned: 2021 European Club Cup
31:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What has led to her decisions regarding which country to represent?” Anna has played for Slovenia at times, and is now back to representing her native Ukraine.
Mentioned: Boris Kutin, GM Levon Aronian, GM Alireza Firouzja
38:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out their latest offerings here.
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39:00- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out the site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.
40:00- Anna and Mariya’s parents are both professional chess trainers, Anna shares a bit about the way she and her sister were taught as they amassed many youth championship titles.
48:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How should club level players approach game analysis?”
55:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What is the key to calculating at an elite level?”
57:00- Patreon mailbag question: “What did Anna think of Queen’s Gambit? Did Beth Harmon’s life resemble Anna’s in any way?”
Mentioned: GM Garry Kasparov visits US Chess Girls Club
1:06:00-Anna famously refused to play in the 2017 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz in Saudi Arabia when she would have been required to wear a hijab and an abaya during the tournament competition. Patreon mailbag question: “Does she think that her stance helped change things?”
Mentioned: Anna’s Facebook Post is here
1:11:00- Anna discusses the details of recently hosting a tournament, The Muzychuk’s Sisters Cup, in Ukraine.
Mentioned: Read Anna’s Chessbase article here
1:14:00- What are Anna’s plans for her Twitch channel?
Mentioned: Challenger’s Chess Cup
1:22:00- Thanks to Anna for joining the show! Here are the best ways to keep up with her. Twitch channel- https://www.twitch.tv/annamuzychuk
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/anna.muzychuk.9,
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/anna_muzychuk.official/