A sports fan, who enjoys music and sewing
The 2026 European Women’s Championship was won by a young player whom hardly anyone had expected to contend for the title: Anastasiia Hnatyshyn. The 15-year-old from Ukraine, who turns 16 on 12 June, was only 76th on the starting list among 165 participants, based on her rating. However, she began the tournament with six wins, defeating several women grandmasters (WGMs) along the way. Among her opponents, Latvia’s Mai Narva had the highest rating, at 2426, more than 200 points above Hnatyshyn’s own rating of 2207.
Photo: European Chess Union
The London System is one of the most popular openings at every level of chess but not all Londons are the same. In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: 5…cxd4 6.exd4 Qb6 sidelines
In round seven, Anastasiia Hnatyshyn suffered a defeat against Meri Arabidze, but she recovered well and scored three points in the final four rounds, with two wins and two draws, which was enough for outright tournament victory. Hnatyshyn was the only player to finish on 9 points, with an exceptional performance rating of 2580.
Photo: European Chess Union
In the next rating list, Hnatyshyn will be listed with a gain of 215 points. In the women’s live world rankings, Hnatyshyn climbed 216 places thanks to her performance, and now occupies the 17th place. In the girls’ ranking (for women players under the age of 20), the 15-year-old displaced Russia’s Anna Shukhman, who is two years older, from first place. In the Ukrainian women’s ranking, Hnatyshyn now stands second, behind Anna Muzychuk.
It is an extraordinary success, especially given the difficult conditions in which the young Ukrainian and her family have to live in their home country.
Anastasiia Yurievna Hnatyshyn was born on 12 June 2010 in Lviv. The city lies some distance from the border with Russia, but even there a Russian missile can strike at any time and destroy the lives of people nearby, as has already happened on many occasions.
Although her apparent surge in performance may come as a surprise, it did not come from nowhere. The first tournament in which Hnatyshyn’s name appears took place in Ukraine in 2017, when she was seven years old. Two years later, she won the silver medal at the European Under-10 Girls’ Championship, behind Anna Shukhman. In 2022, she became world champion in rapid chess and blitz chess among girls under 12.
Photo: Sport.ua
In 2025, she won the European Under-16 Girls’ Rapid and Blitz Championships. She has also won numerous medals in competitions in Ukraine. Hnatyshyn finished third in the 2024 Ukrainian Women’s Championship. In 2025, she became Ukrainian national champion in rapid and blitz chess among girls under 20.
In a qualifying tournament for the selection of the women’s team for the Chess Olympiad, Hnatyshyn finished second, thereby qualifying for the team, and will represent her country at the upcoming Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan. At the tournament in Uzhhorod, she defeated, among others, former national team players Inna Gaponenko and Natalia Zhukova.
At the Mitropa Cup in St. Veit an der Glan in mid-May 2026, Hnatyshyn was already part of the Ukrainian team in the women’s competition and contributed 5 points from 7 games to Ukraine’s gold-medal finish. Overall, Hnatyshyn has taken part in no fewer than 185 over-the-board tournaments over the course of her nine-year tournament career. In addition, she has played numerous online blitz tournaments.
Photo: Sport.ua
Anastasiia Hnatyshyn comes from a chess-loving family and has five brothers and one sister. Almost all of them play chess. She learned to play at the age of five from her father. Since she was immediately enthusiastic about the game, she received lessons from coach Anton Romashov. Viktor Zhelyadinov and Martyn Kravtsiv then took over her training. She is currently coached by Volodymyr Grabinsky and Adrian Mikhalchishin.
A new course by Mikhalchisin:
After mastering positional play in Volume 1 and learning how to convert small advantages in Volume 2 of the Master Your Technique series, GM Mikhalchishin now presents Essential Techniques, covering topics from playing on the flank versus the center to maintaining tactical vigilance. In this volume, we dive into core aspects of chess technique. Smyslov taught the principle of tactical hierarchy, “checks, double attacks, and unprotected pieces”, and Mikhalchishin demonstrates how this method of calculation is vital. He shows how top players apply it, but also how even grandmasters sometimes miss critical resources, highlighting the necessity of developing a strong “tactical sense.” This approach encompasses tactical vigilance and scanning for sacrifices, but is also highly relevant to the second part of the course, which focuses on more strategic elements such as the use of heavy pieces and endgame technique.
Free Video Sample: Simple Tactics
Free Video Sample: Mating Net: Ne7+ Qxh7 Rh5+
The two earlier volumes:
Every player must develop the necessary classical knowledge of technical manoeuvres. With this video course I give you the essential knowledge for your own practice.
After laying the groundwork of positional excellence in Volume 1, Volume 2 dives even deeper into the technical core of practical play. This new training course focuses on converting advantages, handling typical endgame imbalances, and mastering essential attacking and defensive techniques. Whether you‘re up a pawn, or striving for activity in a simplified position, the right technique makes all the difference.
Free video sample: Precise Endgame Technique
Free video sample: The Power of Double Attack
Anastasiia Hnatyshyn has also taken part for five years in courses run by the Kasparov Chess Academy, either online or at seminars held in Zagreb and Vienna.
Chess, however, is not everything in the life of the young Ukrainian. Alongside chess, Hnatyshyn practises fly yoga, is generally keen on sport and closely follows the successes of Ukrainian athletes at the Olympic Games, both in summer and especially in winter. She also appears to have a liking for high-risk sports and would like to try parachuting one day. She is also interested in music and likes sewing.
In Anastasiia Hnatyshyn, Ukraine, a nation of 40 million people, has once again produced a player with the potential to reach the world elite from what appears to be its deep reservoir of chess talent. Other countries find this feat considerably more difficult.
Two games from the European Championship:
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