The European champion tells about her draw with Alisa Galliamova in the first game of the second round and her rest day experience.
– It was a very long game. I had to defend for quite a while, got a slightly worse ending, however, I never had a much worse position today.
– What is your score with Alisa Galliamova?
– I don’t remember, but I won our last game at the Superfinal as Black.
– Your first opponent was from China, was it a difficult match?
– Playing first games is always difficult, as one had to get into form. I was lucky I didn’t have to face Hou Yifan (laughs)!
– How do you usually play against the Chinese?
– I made a plus score at the two latest matches against China national team.
– Who assists you at the championship?
– I came to Khanty-Mansiysk with my coach Andrey Deviatkin. I would like to work with him more and travel to all events together, but unfortunately I have to pay the expenses myself.
– You didn’t have to play tie-break in the first round. How did you spend the rest day?
– Well, I explored the city at the Olympiad already, and it is a very beautiful place. This time we decided to go to cinema to see some cartoon. However, the show was interrupted right in the beginning (laughs).
Official website: http://chess2012.ugrasport.com
The Russians are being eliminated. Unfair.