Last spring, the Russian chess community was shocked by two high-profile transitions. Alina Kashlinskaya and Alexandra Maltsevskaya, who until recently were considered the team’s most valuable assets, unexpectedly left the national team. Furthermore, both girls chose a rather unusual direction to move and began performing under the Polish flag.
However, Kashlinskaya’s decision soon found an understandable basis. A few years ago, the girl married a Polish grandmaster and moved to her homeland; this was also observed in the Russian Chess Federation (RFC). With her 20-year-old colleague, things were more complicated.
hope team
Maltsevskaya began her chess journey from a section in Volgograd. The girl really became interested in sports after getting her first victory in competitions. Sasha dreamed of becoming famous and began to study even more diligently, showing rapid progress.
The brilliant Russian champion moved to the Polish national team. At home they only supported her!
At the age of 10, the chess player became a candidate for a teacher in sports and soon her parents decided to transfer their talented daughter to home education so that she could focus on chess. A few years later, the family moved to Rostov, where world champion Alexey Dreev began training Maltsevskaya.
At that moment, Alexandra’s enormous potential was already evident. The chess player has already won gold at the Russian Championship in her age category, to which she later added gold at the European Championship. The peak of Maltsevskaya’s youth career came in 2018, when the girl became the winner of the World Junior Championships.
Social networks of Alexandra Maltsevskaya
It was then that the athlete was first talked about as the hope of the Russian national team and one of the main talents of the generation. Maltsevskaya continued to win national tournaments and gradually developed on the international stage, performing already among adults … However, the girl was ultimately unable to realize her potential in her homeland, or rather, she did not want to. do it.
“Life is not fair”
The possible departure of Maltsevskaya from the national team was first discussed in 2021. Then her mother Tatyana spoke about the situation of the chess player, publicly criticizing the FSR leadership. Her father said that only athletes who had influential sponsors could rise up the professional career ladder in the country. The family did not look for a protégé for Alexandra, so the federation ultimately simply left the girl without support, despite her unconditional talent.
– So the result is random. There is no growth. No prospects. Sasha can’t stand it, get over it. You are an adult. Yes, life is unfair,” Tatiana quoted words from conversations with officials.
This situation clearly did not suit the chess player or her family. In the summer of last year, Maltsevskaya Sr. criticized the FSR’s policy in detail, saying he wanted her daughter to represent “a federation that values and supports her.” Apparently, it was not possible to achieve changes in attitude towards Sasha, so the family made a different decision.
FIDE
Alexandra’s change of citizenship became known in January 2022. According to sources, for the transfer of the athlete to Poland, the FSR demanded relatively small compensation – 6 thousand euros, that is, about half a million rubles at the exchange rate of The time.
The organization did not put any other obstacle to the transfer of the girl, so in the spring her name disappeared from the Russian ranking and a Polish flag appeared on international portals next to her photograph. Currently, Maltsevskaya is ranked 66th on the FIDE list, making her the fourth strongest chess player in Poland.
