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January 8, 2025 42 mins

111 She does it all. WIM Svitlana Demchenko is a course creator, coach, streamer, and high-level chess competitor. Born in Ukraine and a long-time Canadian citizen, Svitlana proved herself early in chess, becoming a five-time Canadian girls champion. In more recent years, she’s competed in the Chess Olympiad three times as part of the Canadian women’s team.

She’s also published several fantastic opening and strategy courses for ChessBase. And, each week, she streams chess on Twitch.

Finally, rounding out her chess activities, is a regular video show called Smart Moves, where Svitlana coaches an amateur player. In the process, she focuses on key topics that’ll help any club player improve their chess.

In this episode, we discuss: 

  • The undervalued topic of imbalances in chess and why club players should probably spend more time on this concept.
  • How Svitlana juggles her pursuit of a medical career and a robust chess life.
  • Her chase for the WGM title. 
  • Her thoughts on the World Championship event and Gukesh as the new champ.

More From Svitlana:

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