Renjuplayers in the world - 47. Alexej and Olga Skuridina

0. Your name, your nationality, your age, male or female.

Alexey Skuridin, Russian, 34 (I was born in 1965), male.

Olga Skuridina-Jonsson, Russian (other information you can see on photo).

1.     When did you start to play renju and how did you learn it? How many years have you played renju?

Alexey:  I have played renju since 1983. For 3 or 4 years before I had played Five-in-row. In 1980-82 there were several championships in Five-in-row in my school.  In 1982-83 I found some articles about renju in «Nauka i Zhizn» («The Science and the Life») magazine. In 1984 I with my friends (one of them - Vladimir Filinov - plays renju for the present time, but now he lives in S-Petersburg) founded a renju club in Gorky (the previous name of Nizhny Novgorod). Since that time, I am the chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod renju club.

Olga:  My brother always been very companionable person. Therefore, since almost beginning he tried to involve me into the same hobby that he got. In about 1985 he got success.

 2.     Do you play in a club? In which clubs have you played?

Alexey:  I play in the Nizhny Novgorod renju club. But in 1987-88 I visited Moscow very often and played in Moscow renju club too (took part in Moscow Championship and Moscow Cup).

Olga:     I am a member of two Renju clubs. The first of all it is, of course, Nizhny Novgorod Renju club – the club that made a renju player from me. Moreover, because now I live in Sweden, inside Sweden I play for Jonkoping Renju club.

3.     Which are your best results in national and international tournaments. Which is your international rating for the moment?

Alexey:   Three times I was the champion of Nizhny Novgorod and one time the winner of the Nizhny Novgorod Cup. In the Russian Highest League I took 7th place in 1998. I was second in the Open Ukrainian Championship in 1990. The most successful year for me was 1995 - I won 4 tournaments one after another (the Nizhny Novgorod Championship, the Nizhny Novgorod Open tournament, the «Sever» regional Championship and the «Volga» regional tournament).

Olga:      Unfortunately, I almost never trained seriously. Because of that, I was always quite unstable player. I can admire some of my games – there is absolutely no shame to show such games, but some others… compel me to feel real shame. That why I have almost nothing special to be very proud of. So, maybe, for example 2^nd place in the Russian Female Renju Championship in 1995 can be considered as the best. But, honestly, I made a lot of really stupid mistakes then, my opponents just only did not want to win.

             I prepared a little for the World Female Championship in China this year, but I was a little unlucky that time – a local flu attacked me in the first day. It is very difficult to think about anything with a great headache and heart beating somewhere in the throat. When I got medicines, I almost slept on games. That why I made a draw in the game that Ants Soosyrv commented in the last “Renju World” (№ 32)

             I got some 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd places in my life, but it was not so great for my level.

4. Which is the best player you have met?

Alexey: - Ando Meritee.

Olga:     I had three trainers in my life: Ando Meritee, Vladimir Filinov and, of course, my brother. All of them are very good trainers and players.

4.     Can you explain why do you enjoy renju?

Alexey:      First of all, it is a very interesting game. Second thing is that Renju gives me very close friends in many cities in Russia and some other countries. At last Renju gives me possibility to journey (tourism is my hobby too).

Olga:     Of course, renju is a very interesting game, that kind of games that fascinate you till bottom of your soul. Of course, it gives possibility to travel much (first – to tournaments, second – to visit friends that you meet on tournaments). And I have one more reason to be grateful to renju – thanks to renju, I met my husband (my lovely husband).

5.     Which are your plans for the future as a player?

Alexey:  At the present time I have lost playing ambitions. However, it does not mean I am going to stop continue play Renju. I will play Renju as long as I am alive and maybe several times I will manage to get into the Russian Highest League. I see my future in Renju as following:

a)    to be a good coach (now it is my profession) - to teach as many children and adult people to play Renju as possible, to write some materials and articles how to play and how to teach Renju for beginners and other coaches;

b)    to be a referee and organizer of Renju tournaments - our game needs professional referees and administrative workers - and I am going do my best in this way.

Olga:     To play! And to invigorate my heath that nothing any more will stop me on my way to victories.

7. Is your image is already on the RIF site and we should use it or do you attach another image?

Alexey:  My photo is on the RIF site already (There are some images, made in the 4 WC in Tallinn in 1995, where             I was the chief referee).

Olga:       There is also my photo somewhere on the RIF site. But I have the better one. It was made in Tallinn in 1995 by Peter Jonsson – my future (in that time) husband.

8. Have you anything else interesting to tell that you think that I should have asked for?

Alexey:  So, Renju is not my hobby only, it is my profession, my job, my life. Another my hobbies are bridge (I’m a member of The Nizhny Novgorod bridge club. Artur Gorshenkov is my favourite partner. By the way, Renju club and Bridge club in Nizhny Novgorod have a good friendly relations, and sometimes help each other to solve some problems.), tourism (I have visited many interesting places in the former USSR from Crimea and Caucasus in the south to Karelia in the north), rock music (but to listen only; «The Beatles» and «The Credence Clearwater Revival» are my favourite groups).

            I have a son. He is 1,5 years old. I hope in future he will be much stronger renju player then his father             is.

Olga:      Have somebody seen a (for example) hockey competition, where one minute before match one of teams announces suddenly: “We don’t know how to play hockey, so we want to play football”?! You think, probably: “Their problems. They must learn how to play hockey first, after ask about playing in hockey competition.” All sport federations think so. But not Swedish Renju Federation! In Sweden you really can meet such situation: one minute before game in, as you think, renju tournament (at least you were invited to renju tournament), somebody inform you that you have to play not renju. You don’t know what is it, you never played such thing before, but in Sweden it will be your problem, your weaker opponent can invent completely unknown rules and you will have to be agreed. The Chairman of the Swedish Renju Federation apologizes it by desire to have more members in Federation. I don’t understand why not in such case to call Federation – “The Football, Hockey, Tennis, Golf, … Renju United Federation”. The number of members, probably, will be much higher. I wonder when this outrage will be over.

Alexey:  The Nizhny Novgorod Renju club was described by my sister Olga (see Newsletters 70).

Here I would like to add only few words. Our club was founded in 1984. There are about 100 players in Nizhny Novgorod, but most of them are small children, which have made only the first steps in renju learning. There is the Sport and Training Centre of Intellectual Games (established in 1994) with three departments (Chess, Go and Renju) in Nizhny Novgorod, where many children study Chess, Go and Renju. Three coaches work in the Renju department.

The strongest players in our club at the present time are:

Annually we hold the Nizhny Novgorod Championship (semi-finals and final), the Nizhny Novgorod Cup (many-staged competition), the Nizhny Novgorod Open tournament (Friday - Sunday in the middle of March; every players from all over the world are welcome) and many competitions for children and beginners.

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