EP 277-GM Kirill Shevchenko and WFM Maria Emelianova, a Ukrainian GM and a Russian Chess Streamer, on How the Russian-Ukrainian War Impacts their lives, their Careers and the Chess World

This week on Perpetual Chess we are joined by a Ukrainian and then a Russian guest to discuss the impact that the Russian-Ukrainian war has had on their lives and on the chess world. My first guest is GM Kirill Shevchenko. Kirill is a 19 year old rising star in the chess world, currently ranked #92 in the world, and #6 among juniors. He joined me from Germany, where he is in between tournaments, after leaving Ukraine to pursue his chess career. Kirill spoke very movingly about the devastation Russia’s attacks have wrought on his loved ones and his country, and about how he balances that with his chess career. Kirill continues to compete, and will soon play in his first Grand Chess Tour event.  Following Kirill, I am joined by chess journalist and Twitch streamer, WFM Maria Emelianova. Maria is Russian, but like Kirill, felt compelled to leave her country when news of the attack broke. Maria has been an outspoken critic of the war, and has been working hard to raise funds to support Ukrainians. As Maria explains, this war has divided and scattered her family, an unfortunate situation which is not uncommon in Russia. I found both interviews to be quite enlightening, and I am inspired by the spirit of the chess community in trying circumstances. Please read on for interview timestamps and relevant links. I apologize for the background noise at points in these interviews, if you would like to read an edited transcript while you listen, you can do so here: EP.276-KirillShevchenkoandM... | Public Trint | Trint You can also view a ‘read only’ lightly edited transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQG2m9fXCK23o0UBTkWzBhhS_dss2ogQneNnTU2Za0GpkSTInIRY-59QzWIl0vEVhm_nVODtvrcuJTr/pub You can donate to Kirill’s charity, Care with Team Hikaru, here: https://events.softgiving.com/donate/Team-Hikaru-CARE-For-Ukraine Or donate directly to Ukrainians in need via WIM Nastya Rakhmangulova here: https://linktr.ee/nastiachess 0:04- Kirill joins the show  42:00- Maria Emelianova joins the show! Follow Kirill on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/chesser_22?lang=en Maria’s Twitch- : https://www.twitch.tv/photochess  Maria’s Instagram-  https://www.instagram.com/photochess/?hl=en Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com and Chessable.com  For full show notes, please go here: Listen to Episodes! — The Perpetual Chess Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices