Valentina Golubenko
Encyclopedia
Valentina Golubenko is a chess
Woman Grandmaster and Girls' World U-18 Champion
of 2008. Golubenko is the first and only World youth chess champion born in Estonia thus far. Although a resident of Estonia, Golubenko plays under the Croatia
n flag as she is not qualified to represent Estonia
owing to her Russia
n citizenship.
Valentina Golubenko was born to a chess family. Her father, Valery Golubenko is a mathematician and chess player who won 1993-1995 championship of Estonia in rapid chess and a triple winner on board one in Estonian Team Championships. Valentina's mother, Anastasia Golubenko is a qualified chess coach with many years of experience, making the finals of the Moscow women’s championship in 1986.
Valentina was coached by her parents and very soon showed amazing chess talent. She won the Estonian championship in different age categories – three times for girls under 10 (1998–2000), once for boys under 10 (1999), five for girls under 12 (1998–2002), four for girls under 14 (2001–2004); twice for girls under 16 (2003–2004); and once for girls under 18 (2004). She was the rapid chess champion six times (for girls in 2001-2005 and for boys in 2007); and command champion for boys (2003) and for girls (2003 and 2004). In six of those tournaments she obtained 100% score by winning all the games. She also obtained high results on a number of international tournaments. In the European Chess Championship in Dresden in April 2007 Golubenko shared 5..19 places and qualified for the grandmaster title. She officially received this title in Antalya
in November 2007, becoming the first ever resident Estonian woman to receive it.
On October 2008 Valentina Golubenko won the Gold Medal of the World Youth Chess Championship
in the Girls Under 18 category. She received 9 points out of a theoretically possible 11 and was ahead of the Silver Medal winner, R. Preeti from India, by one point. She also participated in the Women's World Chess Championship 2008
but lost to Viktorija Čmilytė
from Lithuania
in the first round.
agrees with this opinion. Still the Estonian Chess Federation has not allowed Golubenko to play under the Estonian flag despite open letters to FIDE written by both Golubenko's parents, because of the requirement of citizenship set in the Sport Act. As a solution, the Estonian Chess Federation proposed Golubenko to apply for Estonian citizenship; this proposal was rejected by the Golubenko's family. As Golubenko was denied to play for Estonia and her strength was not enough for Russia she decided to play under the flag of Croatia, which was allowed by FIDE.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
Woman Grandmaster and Girls' World U-18 Champion
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also...
of 2008. Golubenko is the first and only World youth chess champion born in Estonia thus far. Although a resident of Estonia, Golubenko plays under the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n flag as she is not qualified to represent Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
owing to her Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n citizenship.
Achievements
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
in November 2007, becoming the first ever resident Estonian woman to receive it.
On October 2008 Valentina Golubenko won the Gold Medal of the World Youth Chess Championship
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18.The first predecessor of the youth championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18. The 1975 and 1976 editions were also...
in the Girls Under 18 category. She received 9 points out of a theoretically possible 11 and was ahead of the Silver Medal winner, R. Preeti from India, by one point. She also participated in the Women's World Chess Championship 2008
Women's World Chess Championship 2008
The Women's World Chess Championship 2008 consisted of a tournament for the Women's World Chess Championship which took place from August 28, 2008 to September 18 in Nalchik in Russia. It was won by Alexandra Kosteniuk, who beat Hou Yifan in the final by 2½ to 1½.-Participants:Players were seeded...
but lost to Viktorija Čmilytė
Viktorija Cmilyte
Viktorija Čmilytė is a Lithuanian chess player with the titles of Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster . She won the gold medal at the Women's European Individual Chess Championship in 2011...
from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
in the first round.
Conflict with Estonian Chess Federation
Despite being born and having lived all her life in Estonia, Valentina Golubenko and her parents decided to hold Russian citizenship. Thus, since 2003 she has not been allowed to represent Estonia in the international chess championships, as according to the article 8 of the Sport Act of Estonia only citizens of Estonia and children under age of 18 residing in Estonia and without citizenship of any other country can (as individuals or team members) represent Estonia in international championships, such as World and European championships and Olympic Games. Golubenko's family claims that the decision of the Federation contradicts FIDE's General Rules for participation in FIDE events. Estonia's leading grandmaster Jaan EhlvestJaan Ehlvest
Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest (born 14 October 1962 is a chess player, who was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1987 and was named Estonian sportsman of the year in 1987 and 1989...
agrees with this opinion. Still the Estonian Chess Federation has not allowed Golubenko to play under the Estonian flag despite open letters to FIDE written by both Golubenko's parents, because of the requirement of citizenship set in the Sport Act. As a solution, the Estonian Chess Federation proposed Golubenko to apply for Estonian citizenship; this proposal was rejected by the Golubenko's family. As Golubenko was denied to play for Estonia and her strength was not enough for Russia she decided to play under the flag of Croatia, which was allowed by FIDE.
External links
- Press release by Valentina Golubenko
- Chess games by Valentina Golubenko
- Valentina Golubenko receives the Gold Medal of World Youth Championship youtubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video