Today we welcomed a special guest – famous Ukrainian chess player, grandmaster, European Women’s Champion (2010, 2015, 2019) Natalia Zhukova. Ever since her debut in 1996, Zhukova has played for Ukraine in 13 Olympiads. This week she spent in Washington, playing for Ukraine at DC 10th Cherry Blossom Classic.

Natalia uses her voice in chess sports to advocate for Ukraine and to fundraise in support of Ukraine’s chess players, whose families were affected by russia’s full-out aggression. The #1/2023 issue of professional journal New in Chess published a long interview with Natalia. Among other things, in her interview Natalia reminded how Russia is using international sport for propaganda purposes: “In Russia chess has always been at the head of politics… If you look at the board of trustees of the Russian Chess Federation you see that the chairman is Dmitry Peskov, who is the spokesperson of Putin… Politics and chess are connected, but this goes for all sports. The Russian flag right now is smeared with blood. Under this flag the military is murdering and raping our children, women… Some Russian sportsmen, who are against the war, are still competing under the Russian flag… You can’t be against the war AND remain under the Russian flag”, - she stressed in the interview.

Today Natalia is flying back to Odessa, where she serves as a deputy of the Odesa Municipal Council. In January, when she was interviewed by New in Chess, the city suffered from regular electricity blackouts. A famous Ukrainian chess player, Natalia says she is a citizen like all other Ukrainian, living in a war. “It’s like our president said: we can go without, light, without heat, without gas – as long as we are without the Russians.”