Natalia Pogonina defeated Marie Sebag on the tie-break and advanced to the Quarterfinals. After a doping test she came to the press center, and her press-conference was longer than usual…
Anastasia Karlovich: Natalia, could you tell us about your games today?
Natalia Pogonina: First of all I would like to mention this was my first tie-break at the World Championships ever. And I am playing my fourth championship.
The first game developed in a relatively quiet way. I got a good position as Black and had enough time on the clock, while Mary was taking a lot of time – it seems she disliked something about her position. She understandably tried hard for a win, but blundered badly when she was very short on time. So there was no real commotion for me in the first game.
The second game was a lot more fun, so to speak. Marie surprised me with her opening, and we played the Catalan. I did not handle it in the best way. The strange position that arose was probably in Marie’s favor. Her knight on c3 was very strong, so I decided to sacrifice an exchange, also winning two pawns. Of course I was content with a draw, but passive play could be very dangerous for me, as my opponent had a clear plan of improving her position.
This is when it became wild. I am not sure I can give sensible commentary without analyzing the game first. The key moment occurred when I decided to take a pawn on a7, rather naively I guess. I could simply stand still instead, and Black could not do anything.
– You could stand still, but you wanted to play actively…
– Apparently, yes, although my position is not passive even if I don’t take on a7. Anyway, my move led to an extremely double-edged game. Black threatened mate, I threatened promoting my pawn, and we both had about a minute left on the clock. In the final position, where Marie overstepped the time limit, I was already winning, but before that she had a chance to turn the tables. It is hard to play perfectly under such time pressure, of course.
– It seemed Marie overreacted a bit to her time loss. Tournaments of this format are very stressful, right?
– Nervous tension is huge, yes, but it is harmful to one’s play. We must learn to keep calm! A stressed player performs ten times worse. Keeping calm is an art on its own, and it takes a lifetime to master. Excessive stress drains energy and time, and leads to bad moves.
– Do you feel extra pressure being the last Russian standing?
– I don’t think I should. I would rather continue playing like I did. Taking extra responsibility is counterproductive. The fact that I am the last player from Russia here is sad, I’d like to see more of our girls competing for the title, but this is what happened. When I returned to the hotel yesterday, I opened the computer to follow Valya Gunina’s game. Unfortunately, she did not manage to come back…
– Your next round opponent is Zhao Xue from China. You met a few times at the board, and she also played for Saratov in team competitions. Does knowing your opponent make it easier playing her, or you would rather face someone you don’t know?
– I am not sure whether playing someone you don’t know is easier or harder. And I think the players remaining at the championship all know each other quite well. We indeed played a lot with Zhao Xue, starting from junior events, also at the Olympiads and in Russia-China matches. Whether it will be helpful or harmful, I don’t know.
– What is your personal score against her?
– I don’t know. I don’t even remember whether we both played for the Saratov team at the same time, you know!
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