Dinara Wagner was born in 1999 in Elista, Kalmykia. As a girl she won several high-ranking girls' chess championships under her then name Dinara Dordzhieva and played for the Russian Chess Federation until 2022. Since 2020 she has held the title of Women's Chess Grandmaster.

In addition to her chess career, Wagner is also an economist: she studied world economics at the University of Economics in Moscow and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 2020. She then moved to Germany and completed a Master's degree in Economics at the Ruprecht Karls University in Heidelberg. In December 2021 she married the German chess player Dennis Wagner.

After the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Wagner left the Russian Chess Federation and joined the German Chess Federation in May 2022. In the same year she won the women's German Masters. She was one of 12 professional chess players to qualify for the World Chess Championship in May 2023 at the Women's Grand Prix in Cyprus -... and won!!

We talk to Dinara about what chess and economics have in common, and why women are significantly less common than men in both subjects.

Dinara, you are a professional chess player and economist at the same time. What similarities do you see between chess and economics?
I think that in both disciplines similar skills are important to succeed. As a chess player, I am used to not only calculating several steps in advance, but also correctly evaluating the resulting position. Moreover, in chess you often have to make exactly the right decision under time pressure and high tension. There are definitely more parallels between chess and business than one might think at first glance.

Various research by Fund Women and other studies show that significantly fewer women work as portfolio managers and in other leadership positions in the financial industry than men. It is no different in chess. What do you think is the reason why women have less steep careers than men?
It is true that women are underrepresented in leadership positions, both in business and in chess. The reasons for this are many and can vary from case to case. Even though society is changing, I think that on average women still take on more family responsibilities and, when in doubt, prefer family over career advancement. Furthermore, women still have to deal with stereotypes and prejudices, especially when it comes to leadership positions.

There are no women among the top 100 chess players. Do you have an explanation for this phenomenon?
Apart from the above, there is also a large gap in chess between the number of male and female chess players. Unfortunately, chess is still predominantly seen as a man's sport and few women choose to pursue a professional chess career. For this to change in the future, it is essential that the promotion of women in chess is further improved. On the one hand, more top-class tournaments must be offered for women and on the other hand, these must also become more financially attractive.

You are socialised in Russia. It is often observed that women in former socialist countries are more confident and have more successful professional careers. What can Western women learn from this? What tips do you have for us?
I am convinced that every person, regardless of gender and background, has the potential to achieve great things. It is important to believe in yourself and follow your passion. Of course, it is also important to be encouraged in your own strengths. I was lucky that my family supported me from the beginning, both financially and organisationally.

What are your career plans in chess, and what in economics?
I'm currently 31st in the women's world rankings and second in Germany. My goal is to work my way up and firmly establish myself among the world's best. I'm also aiming for the grandmaster title. I'm currently on a good path and would first like to fully exhaust what I can achieve in the chess world. After that, I could well imagine a job in economics. I'm very interested in that and I'm glad to have created such a second mainstay for myself with my studies.

Could you imagine starting a career in the finance and investment industry? Why yes /why no?
The finance and investment industry is definitely an exciting field of work. At this point, I don't have a clear idea of what profession I'll end up in later on, I'm keeping all my options open and I'm excited about the future.

Thank you, Dinara, we keep our fingers crossed for your further chess career, and hope to meet you again soon in the financial sector!

 

Fotos: Mark Livshitz

Profilbild von Anke Dembowski

Anke Dembowski

Anke Dembowski is a financial journalist and author of various investment fund-related and other financial books. She is also a co-founder of the "Fondsfrauen" network.

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