NIC Podcast #79: GM Ruslan Ponomariov

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, my guest is Ukrainian grandmaster Ruslan Ponomariov.
Born in 1983, Ruslan embarked on his career as one of the most astonishing prodigies in chess history. When he was 12, he won the U18 European Championship, when he was 14, he was the youngest grandmaster in the world, the youngest ever at that time.
When he was 18, Ruslan won the FIDE World Championship by defeating his countryman Vasyl Ivanchuk in the final of the 2002 knock-out World Championship.

There are many excellent reasons to have Ruslan Ponomariov on the New In Chess podcast, but the main reason this time is the victory earlier this week of the Ukrainian national team, led by Ruslan, at the European Team Championships in Batumi. A victory that made his country proud in incredibly difficult times, as Ukraine continues to suffer day in day out after Russia’s brutal invasion three years ago.
It's also a highly emotional moment that offers a brief moment of reprieve for the chess fans and other citizens of this great chess nation.

I’m delighted that Ruslan immediately accepted my invitation when I reached him as he was travelling back from Batumi to his home in the vicinity of Bilbao, the Basque city in the north of Spain, where he settled some thirteen years ago and where he lives with his wife Ines and their two kids.
We spoke extensively both about the European Championship and about the situation in Ukraine. How difficult life is for those who remain in Ukraine and for those who are scattered around Europe.
Of course, we also talked about the stars of the winning team, 16-year-old former prodigy Ihor Samunenkov from Kyiv, who excelled at the bottom board with a 2714 performance, and 36-year-old Igor Kovalenko, who interrupted a stay of more than two years at the war front to divert his mind at the chess board.
Igor Kovalenko contributed heavily to the team’s success with a 2827 performance and impressed and inspired his team mates with his optimism and fighting spirit before he returned to the front again to defend his country.
And there’s more, such as Pono’s view on FIDE’s half-hearted attitude towards his world title and his advice to chess prodigies. Don’t miss it.

0:00 - Intro 

2:36 – Ukraine’s emotional victory at the European Team Championships

5:05 – What were Ruslan’s expectations of the tournament, being that Ukraine was the 9th seed?

7:44 – How difficult was it to get the Ukrainian team together?

9:20 – Igor Kovalenko’s fantastic performance while also fighting in the war with Russia

18:13 – What role does the war play in Ruslan’s life?

21:26 – AD BREAK

22:00 – How complicated is it for Ruslan to have a Russian FIDE president?

24:30 – The composition of the Ukrainian team

30:25 – Ihor Samunenkov

35:25 – Ruslan celebrating his 42nd birthday on the rest day of the tournament

42:20 – Where was Vasyl Ivanchuk?

46:07 – AD BREAK

46:40 – How does this European victory compare to Ruslan’s two Olympiad wins?

50:50 – Becoming “best friends” with Garry Kasparov after finishing second behind him in Linnares

53:30 – The match with Kasparov that never took place

55:22 – FIDE’s weird attitude towards Ruslan’s world title reign

59:28 – What are Ruslan’s current chess ambitions?

1:04:00 – Does the life of a chess prodigy look much different than in Ruslan’s time?

1:05:34 – AD BREAK

1:06:35 – What does Ruslan do in his free time now?

1:11:08 – Ruslan calls upon the people of the world to support Ukraine