SÅNTA

I often hear different stories about myself - about where I come from and who I am. So let me say it clearly, in my own words. Today, I live an international life. But to understand me, it’s important to start with where everything began. I was born in 1990 in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. On my father’s side, my roots are Ukrainian. In 2000, my family moved to Germany. I grew up there, was educated there, and today I hold only one citizenship - German. Germany is where I was formed as a person. My family story is also connected to Russia. My mother is Russian, and I spent part of my life there as well - both as a child and later as an adult. So my background was never one-dimensional. Ukraine, Germany and Russia all shaped different parts of my life - through family, language, education, culture and personal experience. This dual reality is not a political position. It is part of my personal story. My connection to chess started early. As a child, I would sit with my grandfather and analyse Bundesliga games. At the age of nine, I told him that one day I would win the Bundesliga. In 2001, I joined a gymnasium in Düsseldorf, where I met my mathematics teacher, Mr. Koch, who also led the school’s chess club. He played an important role in introducing me to structured thinking and competitive chess. I sometimes joked with him that if he had given me better grades, perhaps my path would have been different. After classes, he organised additional chess sessions, where I met Manfred Schneider and Thomas Fiebig. Through them, I was introduced to a real chess club and that is where I met my first professional coach and mentor, Rainer Becker (pictured in the attached photo as team captain alongside Manfred Schneider). I did not come from a wealthy family. Travelling to tournaments was not easy for us – my parents did not even have a car at the time. Rainer Becker often drove me to tournaments himself. This is something I will always remember and be grateful for. Looking back, I understand how important those early influences were. Teachers, mentors, and access to education shaped my path. Germany has one of the strongest education systems in the world, and I am proud to have grown up in that environment. It also shaped how I see the role of chess today. For me, chess is not just a sport. It is a tool - for education, for discipline, for thinking, and for creating opportunities. I experienced this personally, and that is why I am committed to giving others the same chance. I want more children to be introduced to chess through schools. I want them to have access to mentors, to tournaments, and to an environment where they can grow. One of my early memories dates back to 2004, at a youth competition in NRW, where we were among the strongest players in our age group. On the far left in the photo is Matthias Blübaum. Back then, I had the upper hand. Today, things might look different and that is exactly the point. It is a reminder of how paths evolve, and how strong this generation of players has become. Over the years, I have lived and worked in different countries, including Germany, Switzerland, the UAE, the USA, and Singapore. These experiences shaped my international perspective and the way I approach both business and chess. In my next post, I will explain how this background shaped my decisions and how it influences the way I build and run my business today.