Interview with Anna Levina
U.S. Championship, January 2003

Interview by Jim Perry

When she is playing chess, it is impossible not to notice just how absorbed Anna Levina is in the chessboard and playing pieces, which are the object of her attention. Anna seldom leaves the board during a game, even while it is her opponent's turn to move. Instead, leaning forward, cradling her head in her hands, she sits calmly, but intently studying the position, her eyes darting about here and there over the board.

Concerning this, she explains simply, "I'm just used to concentrating that hard. I try to conserve time that way, to see what my opponent is going to do, so I can make my move."

And although the occasion -- the chess championship of the United States -- could hardly be a more unlikely setting for this young, 17 year old girl, she seems completely oblivious to her surroundings as she delves into the intricacies of the game in progress. What makes the setting even more unlikely is that Anna was born into a vastly different culture half a world away in Leningrad, in what was then the Soviet Union. Could she have possibly imagined when she was growing up that she would one day be playing in the chess championship of the United States?

It was in Russia that Anna learned to play chess, coming to the United States when she was just 10 years old. Regarding her early chess playing experiences in her native country, Anna says, "In Russia, chess is a lot more important, but being in the United States has helped me to improve my game. Here I'm able to travel to tournaments and to participate in tournaments like the U.S. Chess Championship. In Russia, I would have been able to improve, but probably not as much as here."

There is one other unusual feature about the setting. For until recently Anna, along with other women, would not even have been playing in this event. Prior to that time, women were relegated to a separate, little noted championship of their own.

And as with the event itself, which is in its second year under the new, unusual, mixed gender format, this is Anna's second appearance in the U.S. Chess Championship.

Regarding the format of the event, Anna says, "I like it because it gives me an opportunity to play against top players and with the prize fund being what it is, I don't have to worry about losing money or anything. Playing against top players is always good."

When the new format was first introduced, some people worried that the women would find themselves overmatched by the top grandmasters and the steady diet of very difficult games might actually have an adverse effect on their development as chess players. Asked whether this might happen, Anna replied: "It could happen. It kind of happened to me last year but I still think it is just better to play against top players.

"You just have to take it one game at a time, but you have to be realistic. If you are playing against a 2600 player, there is a better chance you'll lose. But then you have no pressure if you are playing against top players, because they are the ones who are expected to win. So they should be scared. That is my experience when you are playing against lower rated players."

If one of the ideas behind the mixed gender format is that, by matching up the women consistently with top rated players, the long-term result will be an improvement in their level of play, then Anna agrees, saying: "Yes, I think it is true. If you look at last year's women's championship, women were beating the men. Cindy [Tsai] beat Browne, and I drew with a grandmaster and a 2400 player."

But apart from isolated wins, there is also the question as to whether the girls will ever beat the boys outright, for example, by winning the overall title. Can this happen?

Anna says, "I think they can. I'm not sure it will happen in my life. I hope it will, but . . . there is potential for it if they get the right coaching. In China, women are getting coached by GMs, and their top women players are really good."

Anna feels strongly that "chess is a sport just like any other sport such as soccer or basketball." In support of this, she cites its competitive nature and how hard one has to work at it, going on to say that "it should be in the Olympics just like any sport," adding that such inclusion in the Olympics would benefit chess because "people would think it is important and there would be sponsors for chess just like there is for soccer or basketball."

With some, chess can become an all-consuming passion. As for Anna, she says, "Chess is a big part of my life. I started playing chess when I was just 5 years old and I try to devote as much time as I can to the game."

But even so, she maintains an active life off the board, including such physical activities as running and playing badminton in her school where she is currently a senior.

While at school, Anna signed up for "a course called authentic scientific research. I enrolled in it and after being to tournaments and seeing how chess is important to kids, I decided to do my research project on chess. I searched through a lot of abstracts and articles and found a number of studies. Margolis did a study in New York City which showed that chess is important for reading. The kids who participated in chess increased their scores on reading tests more than kids who did not participate in chess." Her own project is on the "effects of chess on memory and grades in an academic setting".

"There are aspects of chess, such as logical thinking and spatial orientation and the kids who play chess become more interested in reading and science and are able to function better."

As for herself, Anna reports that her involvement with chess has helped in her own schooling "because it helped me in math and in science. Chess is important. If you work at chess, you'll get better at math or science."

As Anna looks to the future, she expects to go to college and eventually to med school. "And I hope to continue playing chess and improve as much as I can," she adds.

"I want to see more people understand what chess is. I live in a small town in upstate New York which doesn't support chess very much. Where I live, people think, 'Chess, oh it's just a game, like checkers'. I want people to see that it's not. There are many beneficial aspects to chess. It's more than just a game."

END