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Published: January 23, 2010

Can chess be erotic? Yes, according to the movie “Joueuse,” which was released last month in France and Germany.

 

In “Joueuse,” the French actress Sandrine Bonnaire plays Hélène, a maid whose marriage and life are passionless. One day, while cleaning a room, she sees a couple (Jennifer Beals and Dominic Gould) playing chess. As they play, they touch each other suggestively and exchange smoldering glances. Aroused, Hélène vows to learn the game and teach it to her husband to see if she can rekindle their romance. He shows no interest, and she decides to learn more about chess. She turns to a character played by Kevin Kline, whose house she cleans, and he becomes her teacher. She eventually surpasses him as a player.
 

Chess as a metaphor for sex may seem far-fetched, but it has been used before, as in a tension-laden scene between Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway in the 1968 movie “The Thomas Crown Affair.”
 

What may seem even more far-fetched is the idea that there is a way to apply ideas about sex to improve chess skills, and vice versa. But Natalia Pogonina, who is No. 17 among women, and her husband are writing a book about just that. The book is titled “Chess Kamasutra.”
 

“We will be reviewing the most interesting openings and middlegame positions and relating them to positions from Kama Sutra,” Pogonina said in an interview last year with Chessbase.com.
 

Given her ideas, it is hard to know whether to read anything into Pogonina’s style as a player. She likes classical openings, but is not afraid to mix it up, as she did against Joanna Dworakowska of Poland at last year’s European Individual Women’s Championship. Pogonina ending up taking third, on tie-breakers.
 

Against Dworakowska, Pogonina chose the Ruy Lopez, a traditional system.
 

Pogonina’s 11 ... ed4 was surprising, as Black surrenders the center. But Pogonina had played the move before. Dworakowska’s reply, 12 Nd4, was a new idea, and Pogonina had to improvise. She adjusted, obtaining a queenside pawn majority.
 

Dworakowska blundered with 25 Bh4, but Pogonina failed to take advantage, as she could have after 25 ... Bf3 26 Be7 Bg2 27 Bd6 Qc6.
 

Pogonina pounced on her next chance, playing 28 ... a5 to create two connected passed pawns. Dworakowska could not play 29 ba5 because 29 ... Bc5 would win White’s queen.
 

Pogonina missed opportunities: She could have played 33 ... c3, as 34 Rb3 Qc4 wins a piece. And 35 ... Nf4 followed by 36 ... Ree5 would have been better than 35 ... Re5. But the result was never in doubt. Dworakowska resigned because she would have been down a rook, with no hope, after 43 Be7 Rc8.

A version of this article appeared in print on January 24, 2010, on page A18 of the New York edition.

Source: The New York Times

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The Cacereno Chess Club began a series of interviews with top chess players to try to help stimulate women's chess. Natalia Pogonina was their #1 candidate for an interview.


Natalia Pogonina (WGM 2501 FIDE) is one of the most promising players on the international scene. Currently the world No. 14 and No. 3 in Russia.  Gold medal women's Olympic team in her country and won big tournaments such as 2 times European Champion sub18 and under 16, No. 1 in numerous international tournaments (2005 - Bykova Memorial, 2007 - Memorial Rudenko, 2009 - Moscow Open, etc. ). This year has surpassed the 2500 ELO barrier and is a serious candidate for the female world crown. She combines her brilliant career in chess with first steps as a model, and is also writing a book with her husband, Peter Zhdanov (they married on June 5), the revolutionary "Chess Kama Sutra"

1 . - A player like you has had the opportunity to see classmates and friends that started in chess but with the passage of time left chess.  It's something we see often in chess schools in our region, girls are initiated and then abandoned the game as the boys continue to play. Why do you think this happens?

Professional chess occupies a person’s mind, and takes a lot of his time. So, many people just view chess as a pastime, or an educational technology which is used during the school years, and then left behind. As to girls – many of them get distracted by other interests, lose motivation (since the earnings of women chess players are relatively small), start a family, etc.

2 .- The smaller clubs have few means to work, how we can promote women's chess without falling into the "positive discrimination"?

Let me quote myself, an article I have written for Chessbase:

Steps to take

Final question – what should we do to make chess more popular among girls?
 

Run an educational campaign aimed at parents to help them learn that chess is a great game that develops the person’s mind. Crush the stereotypes and provide enough information about the benefits of studying chess, and parents will be encouraging their daughters’ interest in chess!
 

Introducing chess in the school curriculum could also be a great step towards providing girls with opportunities of becoming good chess players.
 

Another key thing is sponsorship – women chess is very attractive and exciting, so it’s worth investing into. If prizes in women’s events increase to the same level as in men’s, then girls (and their parents) will have a good financial motivation to consider chess seriously.
 

Finally, the girls themselves should know that they are equal to men in terms of chess talents, play in men’s tournaments, study hard and believe in their powers. If most women start acting that way, then one day quantity will lead to quality, and the world chess elite will be enjoying more female players.

It’s essential to remember that the sky is the limit and all the obstacles are in our heads…

Press "Read more" to see the whole interview

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I have recently been interviewed Marcel Blanchard for the “e5!” magazine (Uruguay, in cooperation with the Russian “64 Chess Review” magazine).

1-Could you tell us about your city?

I live in Sararov. It’s a nice city with a population of about 1 million people, located on the brink of the Volga river, in the European part of Russia.

2-What do you like most about Russia?

Russia is a very large country, each part of it is wonderful, every city is beautiful in its own way. I like the diversity.

3-Have you considered moving to a different country? And what about Moscow?

Yes. When I was a child, I wanted to relocate to Spain. I like this country. Moscow also looks appealing to me.

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