Viktoria Cmilyte visited the press center despite being eliminated from the tournament by Meri Arabidze, and shared her impressions about the championship.

Anastasia Karlovich: Viktoria, could you tell us about your three matches here?

Viktoria Cmilyte: This is my seventh World Championship, and I just followed the usual routine. The first two matches were easy, the third one obviously did not work out well. Objectively my opponent played better, so the outcome of the match is just. In the first classical game I was simply lost at some point…

Today I lost the first rapid game as White almost without a fight, which was very unfortunate. In the second game it looked like I had good chances to tie the score, but it did not happen. It is like a lottery – somebody has to get lucky.

The third round kind of separates successful championships from average championships. It think losing in the third round is normal. If I advanced to the fourth round, I would consider it a success.

– What is your best score at the World Championships?

– In 2006 I was in the Semifinal. This was by best championship, no doubt.

– What did you expect from this event?

– First of all, I could not make up my mind whether I should go here until the very last moment. My younger son is just 7-month-old, I haven’t play any chess from a long time, more than a year, and my preparation was poor. On the other hand, I was hungry for chess and really wanted to play. All in all, I am glad I decided to come here, it was the right decision.

– How quickly did you gain your form after such a long break? It seems you did not have any problems with it.

– Yes, it was not difficult. I really enjoyed playing. When you play non-stop, you get tired of chess, it becomes boring, but here I felt excited. Even preparation was interesting – studying all the new variations that appeared during my absence… It was fun!

– Where do you find motivation to continue your chess career when you have three kids?

– The answer is very simple – I love chess, it is a life-long love. I will always play chess, no matter how many children I have. It is just so enjoyable! Naturally, preparing for tournaments becomes more difficult, and every tournament trip is a compromise – there are always many things to do at home. However, I really want to play chess, and every tournament makes me very happy.

– Did you like the organization in Sochi?

– Yes, I liked everything here very much. Sochi is a beautiful city, the championship is organized very well, everything is perfect!


Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar