From his father’s violence and beatings to the world title. The story of Volodar Murzin

Not a day goes by in which the game of chess is used as a metaphor to describe episodes of war, violence, conflict or ‘stalemate’. In this regard, the phrases of great chess players, such as Kasparov and Fischer, are often quoted, whose words are translated to describe two conflicting parties, two sides, two visions of the world. So, when within this world unknown to most, stories of real violence emerge, which happened ‘outside that battlefield’ called the chessboard, everything seems even heavier, more burdensome, more melancholic. There are chess players and chess players fleeing from their countries because they are at odds with dictatorial regimes or because they are the scene of senseless wars, chess players who have to give up national flags and anthems because of the crazy ambitions of others. And then there are stories like that of Volodar Murzin. Stories of escapes and fears, of estrangements and difficulties caused by a hell that broke out only within their home walls.

Murzin is a very young Russian chess player18 years old, surprisingly became the new Rapid world champion on New Year’s Eve, i.e. reduced time, in this case 15 minutes plus 10 seconds increment after each move made. Murzin’s name emerged from the rear while in New York, the venue for the event, all attention was paid to Magnus Carlsenthe great favorite of the day before, as well as the defending champion, whose voluntary withdrawal, due to ‘jeansgate’, had caused a sensation and raised a useless fuss of chatter. Murzin took advantage of the opportunity by imposing himself on the other favorites of the day before and playing a perfect tournament. Starting 59th, he climbed the rankings remaining undefeated in all 13 rounds, 7 wins and 6 draws, overcoming high-sounding names such as Caruana, Bortnyk, Nakamura, Duda and Praggnananadhaa.

But who is Volodar Murzin?

Blond, blue eyes, gaze always focused on the chessboard. A few half smiles and a few words. Child’s face, of course, but with that profound expression of someone who has had to grow and mature quickly. Murzin spoke to the Russian sports site Championat about the violence he suffered from his father, also because of chess, the escape with his mother and sisters, the need to win prize money to escape poverty and the rebirth with the first tournaments won and the arrival of the sponsors. A movie story. A story that could have had another, and much more terrible, ending if only the pieces of the puzzle hadn’t fit together so perfectly.

Murzin, despite playing without representing his native country, still lives in Russia today. He was born in Nizhny Tagilan industrial city that developed between the mid-1700s and 1900s around the factories that processed the metals and minerals of the region, under the protection of the Ural Mountains, very far from Europe. The famous Soviet-style tanks, the T-90s, were also produced here, while today it is above all an important site for steel and railway manufacturing. Murzin remained there until the age of 11 when his mother, Ekaterina, took him and his four sisters, Agata, Adelina, Ruzanna and Rimma, and took them away from a violent and dangerous father. Today they all live in Khimki, a suburb of Moscow, kilometers and kilometers away from that stormy past.

A violent father, a future at risk

“The relationship with my father? I don’t remember if it was ever normal,” Murzin explained to the Championat journalist. “In any case, he started beating me constantly when I turned 7. And he used a shovel to hit my older sister when she and another sister of mine went to visit him. At the time she was only 14 years old. He threatened my mother, showering her with insults. For him, at home, physical violence was an action that was part of the order of things ”. A situation that in a short time it became unmanageable. First the divorce, then the escape. “When the opportunity to escape arose, we did it. I was 11 years old at the time and not long before I had won the European Championship in the category” Thanks to his skills, Murzin earned an offer to attend the ‘Sergei Nesterov’s Chess Club’ which brought together the most promising chess players. “As soon as we received an offer we ran away from Nizhny Tagil. moving to Khimki, to a service apartment, empty at first, where we still live.”

The father, however, does not disappear from his life so soon. Volodar is strong but still underage. And to go abroad he needs parental consent which his father denies him. “He exercised the ban when I was 14. It happened when I had practically obtained the last norm (last necessary condition, ed.) to become a Grand Master. I just needed to participate in a tournament but I couldn’t do it. For a year and a half we have been trying to lift this ban. Until my coach, Mikhail Kobalia, went to Tagil to talk to him. Thank God, now that I’m 18, he can’t do anything anymore.” The cost of this slowdown is quickly quantified by Murzin himself: “Almost two years, considering my chess development, were simply thrown away.”

His first home teacher

It was his grandfather who taught him chess, even though his gaze had already rested on the pieces before. “In Nizhny Tagil I really wanted to go to the chess club but they wouldn’t take me. Maybe because I was too young. I learned to play chess with my maternal grandfather, my first and very good teacher. It’s true, I immediately started beating him I often went to visit him so I could stay over. Everything was fine as long as it wasn’t my house. They helped me with everything.” make a final choice. “My favorite subject was physical education, I loved all kinds of sports.”

Chess, delight and torture

Having a champion son didn’t help anything. Murzin’s father was against chess. “He constantly said that chess is the devil’s game”, he confesses in the interview. “But at the same time he forced me to play until I lost my strength. It kept me up playing until four in the morning. My eyes closed, I couldn’t think of anything, I had to get ready for school in three hours, but he wouldn’t let me go. Play, play, play, he repeated.” And nothing changes despite the fact that little Volodar is practically unbeatable. “Even my successes had no effect on the situation. He simply behaved completely inappropriately.” Murzin then recounts the daily torture he had to undergo, together with his sisters. “He insisted we wash our hair only with raw eggs. He would take an egg and crack it over my head or my sisters’ heads. And if anyone dared to object or argue, their head could be slammed against the wall”.

Violence that today represents the past. “Absolutely yes. I’m sure it’s the same for all of us. It is difficult to forgive and forget what happened. When he and my mother divorced, he paid alimony for the five of us, 2,000 rubles a month (just under 20 euros, ed.). So when we fled to Khimki, we didn’t even have anything to sleep on, as we moved into an empty apartment. We bought air mattresses so we wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. I initially left with my mother and my older sister, because we were the most troubled ones, then my mother moved the other sisters too. But at first it was very difficult, sometimes there was nothing to eat”.

Gli sponsor e New York

At a certain point, however, the sponsors arrived and, in particular, T-Bank, a Russian credit institution. “It was a simple miracle. My mother had contacted various organizations asking for help in planning a trip and tournament for a young chess player who had already achieved excellent results. Maybe a letter arrived at T-Bank. And the bank decided that they would support me. It’s as if I suddenly had the winning lottery ticket in my hands. If it weren’t for the sponsors, I definitely wouldn’t be in the world of chess.” Today, an established champion, Murzin also receives offers from the USA to go and play on the other side of the ocean but, faithful to the help he received, he has always remained with the sponsors who helped him excel.

All this despite the fact that its growth is not particularly linked to the Russian chess federation: “I became a Grandmaster without their support. The most difficult thing is to start and to show certain results. Then, when you are established, everything becomes much easier. So I didn’t expect and don’t expect anything from the Federation.” And then came the exploit in New York: “I was very nervous throughout the tournament, but especially on the last day. I understood that ‘here it is’, an opportunity not to be missed had arrived. I really wanted to become World Champion.” Also inspired by Gukesh: “Without a doubt. I figured if he could do it, then I could do it too. And now I intend to become a world champion in classic time too.”

This year, in Italy, we will have the chance and the fortune of seeing Murzin at work. The 18-year-old Russian, in fact, accepted the proposal of the Sicilian club, Pedone Isolano, to be part of the team that will participate in the Master, i.e. the ‘Serie A’ of chess, the most important team tournament in our country. The best way to observe a talent that, without a series of lucky and daring twists of fate, we risked losing.