By Jim Perry

JFP: You are playing here in this tournament with your husband. I was wondering what would happen if the two of you got paired?

Tsagaan: I hope it's not going to happen.

JFP: Have you ever been paired with him in a tournament before?

Tsagaan: Yes, I have. Before we were married, we played one tournament in Mongolia. Actually, at the time we were kind of dating and at that time we had just broken up. It wasn't a good time. I was so mad I wanted to crush him. And he was so nervous. He wanted to be careful. He didn't want to beat me. He didn't want to upset me. But I played so hard and I just beat him.

It's a long time ago, though. Now the story happens again. Yes, we just got back together.

JFP: I understand that you are a college student at UMBC? And UMBC is

Tsagaan: The University of Maryland in Baltimore County.

JFP: And you are attending this on a chess scholarship, I believe?

Tsagaan: Yes, I am so glad I have a full scholarship from UMBC, paying my tuition. It's great. I heard a lot about UMBC and it is a really good school. And they offer really good scholarships for chess players, even for young players! They can qualify even though they are still 13 or 14. They have a really good program. They have a lot of GMs now.

JFP: Do you think chess is a sport? And if so, do you think that chess belongs in the Olympics?

Tsagaan: Yes, definitely chess is a sport, because sometimes you can make mistakes and that's the nature of sport. And we should belong to and play in the Olympics Games.

JFP: Do you think that being in the Olympics would benefit chess and if so, how?

Tsagaan: I'm not sure about that, because the time schedule is so different in the Olympics. Usually athletic events run over 2 or 3 days, but chess takes maybe longer than a week. So there could be a time issue, but still I think there should be some system that could include chess in the Olympic Games.

JFP: What about the role of chess in your life. Are you one of the "chess is my life" people, or is it just a part of your life and how big a part of?

Tsagaan: I have played chess since I was 5 or 6 years old. It is a really important part of my life, but I cannot say it is just [the whole of] my life because I already have a life with my kids, I have a family -- that's the first thing -- but chess does play a big role now because my kids are learning and I think kids can benefit from chess very much.

JFP: You learned to play chess in your native country of Mongolia where you played for many years and were many-time Mongolian champion. How would you compare chess in the United States with chess in Mongolia?

Tsagaan: We don't have many tournaments [ed - in Mongolia], but they do try to promote chess. Chess in Mongolia is a really popular game compared to United States. Everyone, or mostly everyone, plays chess. It is really common, it's popular. People love chess.

But I think this tournament [ed - referring to the U.S. Chess Championship] is close to European style. In Mongolia, we used to play one game a day, but in America there are often tournaments where you have to play 2 or 3 games a day. This is different for me but now I am getting used to it. I really like the schedule playing one game per day. That way you can just play your best.

JFP: This is the second year now that the U.S. Championship has been held on a mixed gender basis. In Mongolia, did they have separate gender tournaments, or was everyone mixed in together?

Tsagaan: We have a championship where women play other women. But we don't have a mixed championship like this. However, we do often have tournaments where I do play other men.

JFP: Swiss system?

Tsagaan: Swiss system, right.

JFP: What about this format where the championship is mixed gender. Is that something you like?

Tsagaan: It's definitely hard for us to even make a draw against the men, but that's going to benefit us, because by playing stronger players even though we lose, we learn a lot and eventually our skill will improve.

JFP: Do you think there is going to come a time when the girls are going to beat the boys? Win this event perhaps?

Tsagaan: Jennifer [Shahade] had a really big surprise last year. She proved we can play against the men, so I'm hoping it's not going to be much difference between men and women. But maybe a woman has more responsibilities in her life. We are taking care of kids, sometimes leaving not much time for studying chess. I don't think there is much difference as far as capability of playing chess.

JFP: In this country, the vast majority of players at all levels are men. Why do you think that there are so few women who play chess?

Tsagaan: I don't know. Maybe it's a culture difference. It is a good thing that the number of women who are playing chess is increasing. That's a good thing.

JFP: Do you think the game will ever become "played out" as Capablanca once feared it might in, say, 50 years time.

Tsagaan: I don't think so. Chess has been here in history for many, many years. No one tried to change even the rules. I don't think it's going to be run out. It's still going to be a game.

JFP: What is the one thing about chess in America that you would like to see different?

Tsagaan: I like Mr. Seirawan's chess program -- the kid's scholastic program here in Seattle. I hope it is going to spread out over the whole country -- nationwide. So that it could benefit other schools. Like New York's "Chess in the Schools" program. They do have really good programs. Chess is a part of their program. At least they can have a chess club in every school and have a tournament running all the time. People -- kids especially -- will get a lot of benefit from it.

JFP: I understand that you teach chess. In elementary schools?

Tsagaan: Yes, yes I do. I love teaching chess. It is just more fun actually than just playing.

JFP: You seem to enjoy it, but is there anything about it that is sometimes maybe frustrating?

Tsagaan: Kids don't like to lose. That's the thing. They just have to handle how to lose. It's not going to be winning all the time even in real life, so sometimes it is frustrating to teach them, let them know that sometimes you are going to lose, but that it is just a game.