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Zhao Xue: I want my husband was not a chess player |
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Tuesday, 04 May 2010 |
 - How many times have you been to Russia?
- I can’t say for sure because I have been to Russia more than ten times.
- How old were you when you started learning to play chess?
- I was eight and a half. Actually it’s a very late start. The whole thing is that chess isn’t so popular in my hometown.
- Where do you live now?
- I have lived in Beijing for more than 10 years now. I have a coach. We’ve been working together since 2003.
- Why did you move to live there?
- We’ve got a peculiar system in China. The only place where you can study chess on a professional basis is Beijing. It has a special chess centre, so, for the most part, our national players live there. Sometimes I go to study in that centre as well.
- Do you actually live in that centre?
- Well, at the moment, I’m studying at the university, which is the
oldest one in China, so I live in a dorm.
- What is your specialty?
- Politics and, specifically, governmental management.
- Are you planning to be a politician?
- No, politics is not the only subject we study there. We’ve got many
more: economy, sociology, history and law. I became a student to learn
more about life which, I’m sure, will help me play chess better.
 - What
do you suppose you will do when you’re through with chess? Pia Cramling,
for example, has said that she will keep playing for all life.
- Well, you know, she’s been one of the world’s best players for many
years now. She won the European championship and is still keeping on
with her chess career. I think I wouldn’t be able to do that.
- But you today’s game was brilliant.
It is OK. But it’s not that my play was brilliant, it’s that my
opponent’s one was not very good. She made a serious mistake, and I won
easily.
- Do you travel alone?
- Mostly, yes. Sometimes my coach accompanies me, sometimes he doesn’t.
It is not a big problem for me, because I am not a little girl, I feel
quite comfortable by myself.
- How do you prepare for a game?
- I always get in touch with my coach through the Internet, and he
always gives me some advice. I don’t feel quite good over here.
Sometimes my play does not look like mine, and I can’t focus.
- What does your usual day look like when you are at home?
- I have little free time because usually I am very busy. I must study
hard now – examinations are coming soon. So, when I go back home, I must
catch up with the other students.
- What kind of music do you like?
- I like popular music. I listen to western music, because it helps me
to learn English.
- What was the last movie you saw?
- I can’t remember that now, but I love American serials like “24
hours”, “Vampire’s diary”. And my favorite movie is “Beautiful life”.
It’s a Polish film about the World War II. I like historical movies.
- Do you go in for sports?
- Yes, I like badminton. I think I’m the best badminton player in our
chess team. I also love playing table tennis but I’m a lot better at
badminton.
- Do you have a driving license?
- No, I don’t, but I want to learn to drive.
 - And what
about cycling?
- Bicycles are very popular in China, especially among students. Our
university is very big, so we move around the campus on bicycles.
- Do you like Russian food?
- Yes, I do. As a child, I used to love meat, fish and yoghurts. Russian
yoghurt is better than Chinese.
- Can you cook?
- I can cook Chinese noodles.
- Are you thinking about a family?
- Of course, I am. Sometimes chess players feel very lonely. I want to
have my own family, but it is not so easy to do. It depends upon a lot
of things.
- Will your future husband be from the chess community?
- I think, no. I am a chess player myself, and I don’t want my husband
to belong to this community. I want us to be different, so we could
learn new things from one another.
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