She might be the only female minister in the world to win a world championship. Dana Reznicki-Ozola, the former Minister of Economy and Finance of Latvia at the time, smiled broadly when asked about her stunning victory over Hu Yifan, the second highest-ranked female chess player of all time.
Politician is just one of Resnessi-Ozola’s many hats. She was also a board member of the World Bank and the European Investment Bank. She is now the Managing Director of the World Chess Organization, FIDE.
She has also had an amazing career as a chess player. She is a top expert and has played in eight Olympic Games as part of the Latvian national team. And in one of those Olympics in 2016, she stunned the four-time world champion from China, who had 400 Elo points. At that time, she was the finance minister, but found time to play at the top of the Latvian board.
“Sometimes when you’re away from regular chess, it gets a bit sparkly,” Rezniki-Ozola told The Hindu with a smile. “I come from a country with a strong tradition of chess and school, and it’s like learning to ride a bike; you will never forget it.”
The Olympics in Baku (Azerbaijan) were her last. “2018. I was too busy running for my country during the 2018 Olympics,” she says. “Now it’s a bit strange to be here at the Olympics because it’s usually from fighting for your country.”
I was impressed with the way India handled the Olympics even though it only took four months to prepare. India has done an amazing job, completing the mission was impossible. Everyone knew that India had the resources to host the Olympics, but no one thought it would be done at this level.
Reizniece-Ozola is pleased that Vishwantan Anand has joined FIDE as Administrator in the capacity of Vice President. She looked a little disappointed that Magnus Carlsen won’t be defending his world title next year.
“I’m very sorry he left the way he did,” she says. “It would have been fairer if he had announced his decision before the candidate tournament. But I also understand (his lack of motivation). I hope Magnus gets his hunger back.”
