USCAK's sponsorship assists young chess stars in Ukraine (01/02/00)

USCAK's sponsorship assists young chess stars in Ukraine

by Dr. Orest Popovych

HOWELL, N.J. - Three youngsters representing Ukraine won two gold medals and one bronze at the 1999 World Chess Championship for boys and girls, which ended on November 11, 1999, in the Spanish town of Oropesa del Mar. A total of 497 boys and 269 girls from 56 countries competed separately in several age categories.

Nine-year-old Kateryna Lahno of Lviv topped a field of 62 to become the girls' under-10 world champion. Her score was 9 1/2:1 1/2 . Prior to this accomplishment, Katya had won the under-10 championship of Ukraine four times.

In the under-14 category for boys, Zakhar Yefymenko of Uzhorod and Andriy Volokytin of Lviv shared 1-3 places in a field of 109 by each scoring 8 1/2 points out of 11. On tie breakers Mr. Yefymenko won the world championship and the gold medal, while Mr. Volokytin finished third and took home the bronze.

It is important to note that neither Miss Lahno nor Mr. Volokytin could have represented Ukraine in the 1999 World Chess Championship without financial assistance from the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada (USCAK). This was acknowledged by Miss Lahno in an interview she gave to the Lviv newspaper Moloda Halychyna on November 13, 1999.

Similarly, in a letter to USCAK President Myron Stebelsky, the parents of Mr. Volokytin, Oleksander and Maryna, wrote: "Without the financial assistance provided to Andriy by USCAK it would have been impossible for him to participate in many tournaments this year, for which we thank you sincerely."

In the last three years USCAK has sponsored three additional young Ukrainian chess stars, enabling them to represent Ukraine in the international arena. They are: Anna Muzychuk of Stryi, the under-10 European champion among girls in 1996 and 1998; Tetiana Kononenko of Kramatorsk, the runner-up in the 1996 European under-20 championship: and Ruslan Ponomaryov, also of Kramatorsk. Mr. Ponomaryov became the youngest grandmaster in the history of chess, then captured the world under-18 championships in 1997 and the men's championship of Ukraine in 1998.

USCAK's sponsorship of these and other talented youngsters who represent Ukraine is possible only due to generous donations from the Ukrainian American community to the Fund for the Rebirth of Sports in Ukraine, which is administered by the federation.

To contribute to the fund send checks to: USCAK, 680 Sanford Ave., Newark, NJ 07106.

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