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Natalia Pogonina facts for kids

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In this article, the patronymic is Andreevna and the family name is Pogonina.
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Natalia Pogonina
Natalia Pogonina 8.jpg
Full name Natalia Andreevna Pogonina (Наталья Андреевна Погонина)
Country Russia
Born (1985-03-09) March 9, 1985 (age 40)
Vladivostok, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Title Woman Grandmaster (2004)
FIDE rating 2475 (June 2025)
Peak rating 2508 (July 2014)

Natalia Andreevna Pogonina (born March 9, 1985) is a talented Russian chess player. She has the special title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM). This means she is one of the best female chess players in the world. Natalia was the runner-up in the Women's World Chess Championship 2015. She also won the Russian Women's Championship twice, in 2012 and 2018.

Natalia Pogonina was part of the Russian team that won gold medals. They won at the Women's Chess Olympiads in 2012 and 2014. Her team also won the 2011 Women's European Team Chess Championship.

Natalia Pogonina's Chess Journey

Natalia Pogonina started playing chess when she was five years old. Her grandfather taught her the basic rules of the game. She began studying chess more seriously in 1993. This was after she won a checkers tournament at her school.

Early Achievements in Chess

Natalia first gained attention in 1998. She won the Russian under-14 girls championship that year. She also won two gold medals at the European Youth Chess Championship. She won in the U16 girls group in 2000. Then she won in the U18 girls group in 2003.

In 2004, Natalia Pogonina earned the title of Woman Grandmaster. This is a very high honor in chess. Some of her other wins include:

  • Winning the Bykova Memorial in 2005.
  • Winning the Rudenko Memorial in 2007.
  • Earning a bronze medal at the North Urals Cup tournament.
  • Sharing first place at the women's World University Chess Championship in 2008.
Natalia Pogonina 3
Natalia Pogonina playing in a Russia vs. China match in 2008.

In 2008, she won a gold medal in team blitz chess. She also won a bronze medal in team rapid chess. This was at the first 2008 World Mind Sports Games in Beijing. She played very well for the Russian team at the Women's 37th Chess Olympiad.

Major Wins and Team Success

In 2009, Natalia finished first at the Moscow Open. She scored 8 points out of 9 games. She also won a bronze medal at the Women's European Individual Chess Championship that same year.

In 2011, Pogonina won gold medals at two big events:

  • The Women's European Chess Club Cup.
  • The European Team Chess Championship.

She also got a silver medal at the Women's World Team Chess Championship. In August 2012, she won the Women's Russian Chess Championship. She did not lose any games in this tournament.

In 2012, she played for the Russian women's team at the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul. Her team won the gold medal. Natalia played on the reserve board and won a gold medal for her individual performance. In 2014, she played for the Russian women's team again. They won another gold medal at the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø.

She reached the final of the 2015 Women's World Chess Championship. She played against Mariya Muzychuk but lost the final match.

Other Chess Activities

Natalia Pogonina has been a writer for Chess.com since 2009. She also has chess blogs on Sports.ru and RedHotPawn.com. She has hosted and commented on chess events for websites like ChessGames.com and Chessdom.com. In 2009, Natalia Pogonina became an ambassador for the Chess Elite software.

Personal Life

In 2008, Natalia Pogonina was studying law at the Saratov State Academy of Law. She was working towards her MA degree. Her hobbies include flamenco dancing, music, photography, traveling, sports, reading, and poetry. Her username on the Internet Chess Club is "Bagira".

On June 5, 2009, she married Peter Zhdanov, who is an IT specialist. Later in 2009, she gave birth to their son, Nikolai.

A Sample Chess Game

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
Pogonina vs. Stefanova, Krasnoturinsk 2007
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black queen {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 8
7 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn 7
6 {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 6
5 {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 4
3 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white queen {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn 3
2 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king 2
1 {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white rook {{{square}}} white king {{{square}}} black king 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
In this position after move 15 in the 2007 North Urals Cup game between Natalia Pogonina and Antoaneta Stefanova, Pogonina (White) sacrifices a pawn to start a strong attack.

This game was a 25-move victory for Natalia Pogonina. She played the Neo-Archangelsk variation of Ruy Lopez. Her opponent was former FIDE Women's World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova. After this win, Natalia Pogonina became a co-leader in the North Urals Cup-2007 tournament.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bc2 d6 8.a4 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 b4 11.a5 O–O 12.d3 Rb8 13.Nd2 d5 14.exd5 bxc3 15.bxc3 Nd5 (See diagram) 16.d4 (More solid is 16. Qe4 with similar ideas, but without giving up a pawn.) 16...exd4 17.Qd3 g6 (17...Nf6 doesn't work because after 18.Ne4 Nxe4 19.Qxe4 White gets a winning fork.) 18.Qc4 (18.Qxa6 could be met with 18...Ne5 with the idea to counter 19.Ne4 with a nice move 19...Nxc3! White has to decide whether to force a draw by playing 20.Nxc5 Ra8 21.Qb7 Rb8 or to try to show the power of the passed a-pawn, supported by two bishops, after 20.Nxc3 dxc3 which led to a position with chances for both sides.) 18...Rb5 19.Ne4 Ne5? (White's strong play is rewarded surprisingly quickly. This mistake seems unusual for Antoaneta Stefanova, who is usually good at playing complex positions with chances for both sides. After a reasonable 19...Nc3 White would have faced some problems. For example, 20.Bg5 (White's queen is in a bad spot. So, 20.Nxc5? loses right away to 20...Ne5, while after 20.Nxc3 dxc3 the threats Ne5 and Nxa5 make white uncomfortable) is answered by 20...Qc8 21.Nc3 (21.Nxc5? Ne5) 21...dxc3 22.Bf6 (22.Qxc3? Bd4 23.Qxc6 Bxa1 and white has no real compensation for the sacrificed material) 22...Qe6 23.Qxc3 Bb4 White can't create an attack: 24.Qf3 Ne5 25.Qf4 Rxa5 26.Rab1 Be7 27.Bxe7 Qxe7 28.Rfe1 f6 leaves black with two "healthy" extra pawns for no real compensation. However, after Black's mistake the rest is simple:) 20.Qxd5 d3 21.Qxd8 Rxd8 22.Ba4 Rxa5 23.Bg5 Rb8 24.Bf6 Bf8 25.Bxe5 (25...Rxe5 26.Nf6+ and 27.Nd7) 1-0

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Natalia Pogonina para niños

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