Episode
#79. Ruslan Ponomariov On His Recent European Team Victory With Ukraine, FIDE World Title Reign, And More!
- Podcast
- New In Chess Podcast
- Published
- Oct 17, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 4408
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Summary
In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam interviews Ukrainian grandmaster Ruslan Ponomariov. Born in 1983, Ruslan embarked on his chess career as one of the most astonishing prodigies in history. When he was 12, he won the U18 European Championship, when he was 14, he became the youngest grandmaster in the world, the youngest ever at that time. When he was 18, he won the FIDE World Championship by defeating his countryman Vasyl Ivanchuk in the final of the 2002 knock-out championship. There are many reasons to have Ruslan on the New In Chess podcast, but the main reason this time is the victory earlier this week of the Ukrainian national team, with Ruslan on first board, 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. Ruslan spoke from 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. The conversation focused not only on the European Championship, but also about the situation in Ukraine, for those who remained and for those who are scattered around Europe. And you’ll get to know more 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 the amazing 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…