Tanja’s first encounter with chess couldn’t have been more coincidental: at 6 years of age while walking back home from dance lessons with her sister and mom, they saw a chess club. On the spur of the moment they decided they wanted to play chess and the rest as they say, is history. Now she is an accomplished WGM and an IM (as is her sister, Nadezhda with whom she studies a lot), and has a long list of achievements: twice the European youth champion (under 12 and under 18), tying for first twice in the world youth championships, Russian women’s champion and an integral part of the Russian Olympic team for the last several years (in Turin she had a marvelous 9.5/12 result).

A self described active who enjoys sharp positions, the young IM from Arcangelsk remembers a book with games by the late world champion Alekhine as her first source of serious study. She further mentions Kasparov and Fischer as players whose games she especially enjoys and appreciates. Tatiana is a busy law student in the university of Pomor in her hometown (her sister is too), and toggles her studies with chess work. She will be the underdog in Corus – one of the toughest events for her yet, but this girl can certainly hold her own.