Kalmykia for me is a special place

Ekaterina Smirnova met the winner of the rapid competition winner of the First Buddhist chess tournament “The spirit of Dharma” GM Sanan Sjugirov

Sanan, good day! What is so special about Kalmykia for you? Why is it sodear to you?

Kalmykia is my motherland. I was born and brought up here that is why it is a special place for me. My parents and relatives live here. I hope I will spend more time in Kalmykia.

What do you think about the organization of the first Buddhist chess tournament in Kalmykia?

The organization is simply wonderful, all th small details were taken into consideration. I can only compare it to the organization of top-class tournaments and I am not sure whether they are really better organized. So I am glad they have managed to organize a tournament in here and they did well.

How does it feel like to win in your native city?

I am glad because a victory in Elista is very special. We have not had a top-level competition for a very long time that is why I was very motivated. I am glad I haven’t failed my local fans.

What can you say about chess development in Kalmykia and Russia in general?

I think that chess is being developed very actively in Kalmykia and lots of things are done for chess players and especially for kids. I hope to see more talented chess players apart from Roma Shogdzhiev. As for the Russian chess in general, I think that the main thing is to support young talents and mass sport. I think that the situation concerning this is good so the chess development is rather perfect.

A lot of foreign guests attended the tournament. Have you managed to talk to anyone and to learn something new about the culture of foreign countries?

Unfortunately, pretty no as the tournament took most of my time, besides I wanted to meet lots of guys from Kalmykia and to know what they were doing. I hope there will be enough time to talk to foreign friends. There is a blitz tournament yet to come.