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Natalija Pogonina
N Pogonina 
Photograph courtesy of pogonina.com.  

Number of games in database: 1,622
Years covered: 1996 to 2025
Last FIDE rating: 2371 (2329 rapid, 2279 blitz)
Highest rating achieved in database: 2508
Overall record: +634 -320 =484 (60.9%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 184 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (236) 
    B92 B33 B32 B42 B58
 Ruy Lopez (72) 
    C78 C65 C77 C69 C70
 French Defense (72) 
    C03 C07 C05 C10 C04
 French Tarrasch (63) 
    C03 C07 C05 C04 C09
 Sicilian Najdorf (59) 
    B92 B90 B91
 Caro-Kann (57) 
    B12 B18 B17 B15 B16
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (149) 
    B76 B52 B22 B78 B50
 Ruy Lopez (97) 
    C78 C95 C92 C69 C65
 Queen's Gambit Declined (85) 
    D37 D35 D30 D38 D36
 Sicilian Dragon (77) 
    B76 B78 B70 B72 B77
 Modern Benoni (74) 
    A57 A58 A59 A56
 Queen's Pawn Game (71) 
    A46 D02 A45 E10 E00
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   N Pogonina vs V Gunina, 2012 1-0
   G Swathi vs N Pogonina, 2008 0-1
   N Pogonina vs N Dzagnidze, 2009 1-0
   The World vs N Pogonina, 2010 1/2-1/2
   N Pogonina vs The World, 2009 1-0
   N Pogonina vs I Krush, 2004 1-0
   N Pogonina vs C Roelli, 1998 1-0
   Korbut vs N Pogonina, 2007 0-1
   L Kalinina vs N Pogonina, 2005 0-1
   X Zhao vs N Pogonina, 2015 0-1

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Russian Championship Superfinal (Women) (2018)
   Russian Team Championship (Women) (2018)
   European Club Cup (Women) (2007)
   Russian Championship Superfinal (Women) (2016)
   Russian Championship Superfinal (Women) (2019)
   Russian Championship Higher League (Women) (2012)
   Russian Club Championship: Women (2006)
   European Championship (Women) (2009)
   FIDE Women's Grand Prix Tehran (2016)
   World Junior Championship (Girls) (2005)
   European Championship (Women) (2008)
   European Championship (Women) (2012)
   European Championship (Women) (2011)
   Dresden Olympiad (Women) (2008)
   Istanbul Olympiad (Women) (2012)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   White Sicilian Wins by Hvalros
   Black Sicilian Wins by Hvalros
   C78 Spanish: Archangelsk [Black] by chess.master

RECENT GAMES:
   🏆 Aeroflot Open
   N Pogonina vs A Galaktionov (Mar-06-25) 0-1
   N Pogonina vs D Charochkina (Mar-05-25) 1-0
   M Lavrov vs N Pogonina (Mar-05-25) 1/2-1/2
   Z Sichinava vs N Pogonina (Mar-04-25) 1/2-1/2
   N Pogonina vs A Zhukov (Mar-03-25) 0-1

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Natalija Pogonina
Search Google for Natalija Pogonina
FIDE player card for Natalija Pogonina

NATALIJA POGONINA
(born Mar-09-1985, 40 years old) Russia
PRONUNCIATION:
[what is this?]

WFM (2001), WIM (2002), WGM (2004).

WGM Natalija Andreevna Pogonina was born in Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai and learned to play chess at the age of 5 from her grandfather.

Championships

Pogonina's early successes include winning the Russian U14 Girls championship in 1998. She was =1st at the Russian U18 Girls in 2001 and is two-times European girls champion (U16 in 2000, U18 in 2003), bronze winner at the World Championship (U18) (Girls) in 2003, =1st at the Russian Junior Championship (Girls) in 2003 and 2004, and outright winner of that event in 2005, She also won bronze at the European Championship (Women) (2009). She contested the 2004 Women's World Championship and the Women's World Championship Knockout Tournament (2010) but was eliminated in the first round on both occasions. In March 2012, she scored 7.5/11 in the European Championship (Women) (2012) (EIWC) to place =5th (10th on tiebreak and with a TPR of 2501), and then followed up in June 2012 by scoring an undefeated 8/11 (TPR 2514) to take outright second place in the Russian Championship Higher League (Women) (2012), signaling a return to her playing strength of a couple of years ago. Her latter result also qualified her to participate in the Russian Championship Superfinal (Women) (2012), in which she went one better to win outright with 6.5/9 (+4 =5), and a TPR of 2611. In August 2013, she scored a solid 7.5/11 at the European Championship (Women) (2013).

Pogonina qualified for the Women's World Championship Knockout Tournament (2012) and defeated compatriots, IM Svetlana Matveeva and former Women's World Champion, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, in the first two rounds before losing to the eventual winner, Ukrainian IM Anna Ushenina, in the third round, thereby bowing out of the title contest. Her result in the 2012 EIWC qualified her to play in the Women's World Championship Knockout Tournament (2015). There she won through to the final, defeating Qi Guo, Wenjun Ju, Marie Sebag, Xue Zhao and Pia Cramling in the preliminary rounds (also winning the IM title and a GM norm for her efforts), to play for the women's crown against Mariya Muzychuk. Unfortunately for her, she lost the final match by 2.5-1.5 (+0 =3 -1).

Classical Tournaments

Pogonina won the L'viv Hopes-5 Women in 2002 with 11/13 and the bronze medal at the North Urals Cup (2007). Co-winner of the 2008 Student World Championship, and first at multiple prestigious international tournaments: 2006 Bykova Memorial with 8.5/9, the Rudenko Memorial 2007 with 8/9 and the C section (women's) of the Moscow Open 2009 with 8/9, Pogonina also came equal first (2nd on rapid game tie break behind Alisa Galliamova) in the Russian Championship Superfinal (Women) (2010). In 2011, she scored 6/10 in the Gibraltar Masters (2011) and in 2014 she scored a respectable 5.5/10 at the Gibraltar Masters (2014). In May-June 2014, she competed in the Rashid Nezhmetdinov Cup, and played strongly to score 6/9.

Team Play

<Olympiads> Pogonina represented Russia in the Dresden Olympiad (Women) (2008) scoring 6/7 (+5 =2 -0) on first reserve, and was top board for Russia 2 in Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad (Women) (2010), scoring 5.5/11. She achieved her best result so far when she won team and individual gold (playing on board 5) in the Istanbul Olympiad (Women) (2012) held in Istanbul, scoring 6.5/8 (+6 =1 -1). She again played board 5 for Russia at the Tromso Olympiad (Women) (2014), remaining undefeated to score 5.5/7 and help her team to another gold medal for the event.

<National and Club events> She won team gold as a member of her Russian team for the women's blitz final and the bronze medal in the women's team rapid final at the 1st International Mind Sports Games in 2008. 2011 was an excellent year for Pogonina in team play. Playing for her club, AVS Krasnoturinsk, she won team gold and individual silver at the European Club Cup (Women) (2011), and playing for Russia, she won team gold and individual gold at the European Team Championship (Women) (2011) and team silver and individual silver medals at the FIDE Women's World Team Championship (2011). The combination of winning in both the European Club and European Team championships in the same year is unique in both the women's and men's competitions. Playing board 3 for Russian, she won bronze and helped her team to a bronze medal at the Women's World Team Championship (2013). She helped her team Ugra to win gold at the Russian Team Championship (Women) (2013), also taking individual gold for her 4.5/5 points, which represented a 2757 rating performance. Pogonina wound up 2013 playing board 3 for Russia in the European Team Championship (Women) (2013), helping her team to silver and winning individual bronze for her board.

In 2014, she played board 2 for Yugra (Khanty) in the Russian Women's League and helped her team to win the gold medal. She also played board 2 for the Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk region club in the 2014 European Women's Club Cup, scoring individual bronze and helping her team to 4th place in the event.

Personal

Pogonina has an MA in law from the Saratov State Academy of Law. Her hobbies include flamenco, music, photography, traveling, sports, literature and poetry. She is married to Peter Zhdanov (User: Peter Zhdanov), and they have a son, Nikolai (born 18 November 2009). She is also a member of chessgames.com as User: Natalia Pogonina, and an occasional commentator and analyst here for live broadcasts of games.

Award

Pogonina was awarded the national title of <Russian Grandmaster> in 2006 or 2007 in recognition of her achievements and contribution to the game in Russia. (1)

Rating

Pogonina's highest rating to date was 2508 in July 2014 when she was ranked the No. 15 woman player in the world. Her highest ranking was No. 14 on the women's list in April 2009 and May 2010 when she was rated 2501.

Sources

(1) Natalija Pogonina, Wikipedia article: Гроссмейстер (шахматы); http://www.rg.ru/2007/12/08/sport-d... and Natalija Pogonina (kibitz #657).

Live rating: http://pogonina.com/index.php?optio...; Website: http://pogonina.com/; Wikipedia article: Pogonina

Last updated: 2024-04-23 05:32:24

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 65; games 1-25 of 1,622  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. N Pogonina vs Y Kaschenko 1-0381996Volgograd opB45 Sicilian, Taimanov
2. N Zajnullina vs N Pogonina ½-½161996Volgograd opB00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening
3. N Pogonina vs I Vasilevich  0-1281996Volgograd opD16 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
4. N Pogonina vs A Kizhikina 1-0321996Volgograd opA70 Benoni, Classical with 7.Nf3
5. M Dolgova vs N Pogonina 1-0451996Volgograd opB18 Caro-Kann, Classical
6. V Savchuk vs N Pogonina  1-0481996Volgograd opC60 Ruy Lopez
7. T Baranchikova vs N Pogonina  ½-½311996Volgograd opB24 Sicilian, Closed
8. N Pogonina vs A Sorokina  1-0481996Volgograd opC42 Petrov Defense
9. N Pogonina vs I Vasilevich  ½-½381997RUS-ch U12 GirlsB45 Sicilian, Taimanov
10. N Pogonina vs M Zabiran  1-0501997RUS-ch U12 GirlsC52 Evans Gambit
11. N Pogonina vs E Karnaukhova 0-1251997RUS-ch U12 GirlsB00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening
12. N Pogonina vs L Kucherova  1-0601997RUS-ch U12 GirlsB33 Sicilian
13. T Eremina vs N Pogonina  0-1361997RUS-ch U12 GirlsB90 Sicilian, Najdorf
14. T Kosintseva vs N Pogonina  1-0631997RUS-ch U12 GirlsC42 Petrov Defense
15. J Gokbulut vs N Pogonina  ½-½811997RUS-ch U12 GirlsE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
16. E Meshcheriakova vs N Pogonina 0-1381997RUS-ch U12 GirlsC42 Petrov Defense
17. L Dezhurko vs N Pogonina  0-1371997RUS-ch U12 GirlsB27 Sicilian
18. L Galustova vs N Pogonina  0-1661998RUS-ch U16 GirlsB01 Scandinavian
19. Y Melnikova vs N Pogonina  ½-½521998RUS-ch U16 GirlsC49 Four Knights
20. O Druzhinina vs N Pogonina  0-1611998RUS-ch U16 GirlsD02 Queen's Pawn Game
21. N Pogonina vs N Zajnullina  1-0171998RUS-ch U16 GirlsC50 Giuoco Piano
22. N Pogonina vs I Vasilevich  1-0231998RUS-ch U16 GirlsB47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) Variation
23. N Pogonina vs O Kuchkova 1-0331998RUS-ch U16 GirlsC05 French, Tarrasch
24. N Pogonina vs Korbut  1-0291998RUS-ch U16 GirlsB32 Sicilian
25. N Pogonina vs M Komiagina 1-0401998RUS-ch U16 GirlsB92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation
 page 1 of 65; games 1-25 of 1,622  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Pogonina wins | Pogonina loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 29 OF 29 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Feb-12-17
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: Or because she doesn't like creepy stalkers. I know the feeling.
Feb-12-17  morfishine: <HeMateMe> Drop it, you are a slobbering, drooling, overage social media user, who has WAY too much time on your hands

There are much more fruitful ways for you to spend your quickly decreasing remaining time on this planet

*****

Feb-12-17
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: < morfishine >

go away, loser. This is a chess site, not yahoo.

Feb-12-17  WorstPlayerEver: Yeah, there must be more in life than being an anti-pun freak lol joke's on you, morfy.
Sep-28-18  waustad: It seems that chess2700 has a different result for her game in round 2 of the olympiad. That site lists it as a draw, but all of chessbomb, chess-results and the official site list it as a loss.
Oct-02-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Natalie and super chess vet Pia Cramling

<http://www.chessdom.com/wp-content/...>

This must be Andreikin with Pogonina, the winners of the 2018 Russian championships.

<https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DmWXeY6...>

<http://www.chessvibes.com/sites/def...>

I've never seen Chuckie all groomed up and well dressed, as here

<http://kingpinchess.net/wp-content/...>

She looks so pretty here, like two kids on a date.

Oct-14-18  sonia91: Russian women's champion again in 2018, after beating Olga Girya in the playoff: https://chess24.com/en/read/news/an...

A shame cg.com didn't cover the Russian Superfinals this year, as they are the world strongest national championships...

Jul-24-22  carpovius: What a beautiful woman!
Mar-09-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: Remarkable this is Fischer's birthday too.
Mar-09-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: Same coincidence happens every year. Spooky.
Feb-03-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: <MissScarlett> Yes, I ran into trouble at the pharmacy with this, trying to fill a forged prescription (opium). "What is your birthday?" in front of thirty people in line. OK, "March 9th." "What year?" "Every year." Stupid people.
Feb-03-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: Yes, I have all the Fischer radio interviews, which are getting hard to find. In one interview from Fischer's jail cell, Fischer declined Spassky's offer to join him if a chess board could be brought in. Fischer declined. "Nah, bring me a chick. What's that chick's name, uhhh... the Russian chick?" Her name is Pogonina, Bob, and she can play blindfold, no board needed.

By the way, I cannot play blind, and the skill mystifies me.

Feb-03-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: Here is Natalia's website http://www.pogonina.com/index.php?o..., and it is better than Playboy. I must learn to play blind so that I can challenge Natalia to a match.
Mar-09-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: Happy Birthday, Natalija Pogonina!

Желаю вам прекрасного дня рождения!

Хорошего дня рождения!

Прекрасного дня рождения!

Mar-09-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: <Yes, I have all the Fischer radio interviews, which are getting hard to find. In one interview from Fischer's jail cell, Fischer declined Spassky's offer to join him if a chess board could be brought in. Fischer declined. "Nah, bring me a chick. What's that chick's name, uhhh... the Russian chick?" Her name is Pogonina, Bob, and she can play blindfold, no board needed.>

He was talking of Kostenuik, of course. And the interview wasn't with Spassky nor from a prison cell. But the rest is spot on.

Mar-09-24  stone free or die: Here's a nice recent photograph of her from the Russian Championships (2023):

https://static.tildacdn.com/tild633...

.

Jun-09-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: No, no, the interview was not with Spassky. But Bob was responding from his jail cell to Spassky's public offer - made in protest of Bob's imprisonment - to join Bob in jail if a chess set were provided. After all, Spassky reasoned, he was guilty of exactly the same 'crime' of playing chess!

Yes, the interviews seem to me - except for the extreme antisemitism - less crazy as time goes on. I do not know of any chess players, including Jewish players, who took the statements terribly seriously or who thought less of his contribution because of them.

Jun-09-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: Alexandra Kosteniuk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexa...

How do you know he was referring to Alexandra?

Jun-09-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: I remember. Plus, Kosteniuk was something of a chess celebrity by 1999-2001 (I'm sketchy on the timeline of these radio interviews which stretched across Fischer's time in Hungary to the Philippines and Japan), whereas Natalia was practically unknown.
Jun-26-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: OK. I have all the interviews. Fischer was in jail 2004-2005 so Natalija would have been about 20 - and a WGM. But as I recall there's no way to tell from the interview to whom Fischer was referring. It's been a while since I listened to the interviews, but I keep them all with backups. They're growing rapidly in popularity!
Jun-26-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: She would have been 19. Alexandra is only one year older than Natalija. Here are their games against each other, played for the prize. https://www.chessgames.com/perl/che...
Nov-17-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  MissScarlett: You were right about the prison cell, but I was right about Kosteniuk:

<Anchor: Bobby, how about the letter by Boris Spassky on your behalf?

Fischer: I saw it, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the tone – he was trying to make me sound like a weirdie. And he is begging Bush for mercy? What is this?

Anchor: He said that if you had done something wrong he had done the same and should be put into your cell with you.

Fischer: I don’t want him in my cell. I want a chick. How about that Russian chick, what’s her name, Kosteniuk? This Spassky, he is a very good “frenemy” of mine – a friend and enemy.>

https://en.chessbase.com/post/liste...

Nov-17-24  stone free or die: Fischer had his Spassky, Daniel had his Missy.
Mar-18-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  Diocletian: Thank you for the excellent link!
Mar-19-25  stone free or die: Looks like her website:

http://www.pogonina.com/index.php

isn't working at the moment.

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