Sozonov Award for 2024

The award named after Evgeniy Sozonov is a private national annual award. It was established by Olena Boytsun in 2013 with the aim of supporting talented children aged between 10 to 16 years old, who show good results in both chess and school studies. Since 2019, the Sozonov Award has been issued in two age categories: from 10 to 13 years (inclusive) and from 14 to 16 years (inclusive).
For 2024, the Award was presented for the tenth time. Applications for participation in the competition for the Sozonov Award were accepted from November 22, 2024 to December 17, 2024, the results were announced on December 20, 2024.

26 applications were received for participation in the competition, 15 out of them in the age category of 10-13 years, 11 in the age category of 14-16 years. Boys made up 61,5% of participants, while girls – 38,5%. One more application was submitted after the deadline and therefore was not considered.

The participants represented different regions of Ukraine:

For 2024, the Sozonov Award was awarded to the winner in the age category from 10 to 13 years (prize amount – 15,000 hryvnias) and to the winner in the age category from 14 to 16 years (prize amount – 15,000 hryvnias). In each age category, two runners-up were also determined, the prize money for the runners-up was 3,000 hryvnias each.

On December 28, 2024, the winners and finalists of the Sozonov Award for 2024 met with the Founder of the Award, Olena Boytsun, to share their achievements, hobbies, and plans both in chess and beyond. The event took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere of sincere communication.

The results of the 2024 Sozonov Award Competition

Age category from 10 to 13 years

Winner

Rudenko Taras (Poltava)

Taras Rudenko

(Poltava, age at the time of receiving the award: 13 years, Candidate for Master of Sports of Ukraine in chess)
Trainer: Vusatyuk V.

Taras Rudenko is a student of 8-G class at Lyceum No. 26 “Shevchenkivskyi” under the Poltava City Council. His favorite subjects are algebra, geometry, geography, history, physics, and chemistry. Taras actively participates in mathematic competitions, earning first places in city and regional stages. Taras has been playing chess for eight years. His first coach was Volodymyr Kurylenko. Currently, he trains individually with Volodymyr Vusatyuk. Taras is a Candidate Master of Sports and a participant and winner of numerous Ukrainian and international tournaments. In 2024, Taras Rudenko won 1st place in the Ukrainian Championship among boys under 14 years old (rapid), became the city champion of Poltava among men (classical chess). Taras composes chess compositions, which have been published in the journals “Problems of Ukraine,” “Tehtäväniekka” (Finland), and “The Problemist” (England). He is a silver medalist of the Ukrainian Championship in solving chess compositions among men, a silver medalist of the European Championship in solving chess compositions among boys under 14 years old, and a winner of the Ukrainian Championship and Cup in solving chess compositions among juniors, among others. In addition to chess, Taras studies English and German and practices swimming. Taras was a runner-up of the Sozonov Award for 2021

“

We sincerely thank Olena Boytsun and the entire team for their hard work, faith, and support!
It is truly motivating and contributes to the continued development of children!
We wish everyone peace, good health, and the fulfillment of all dreams!!

“

Zinaida Rudenko

Mother of Taras Rudenko

Runners-up

  • Russeva Svitlana (Izmail, Odesa region)
  • Svitenko Solomiia (Horodok, Lviv region)

Світлана Руссєва

Svitlana Russeva  

(Izmail, age at the time of receiving the award: 10 years, 2nd rank in chess according to the Ukrainian system)
Trainer: Semenov D.

Svitlana Russeva is a 5th-grade student studying simultaneously at two schools: the “Sveti Knyaz Boris I” College (Burgas, Bulgaria) and Izmail Lyceum No. 1 (Ukraine, remotely). Her favorite subjects are informatics, physical education, and art. Svitlana has been playing chess for six years and trains at the Chess School under the guidance of Dmytro Semenov. Her first coach was Olha Apostolakii. Svitlana is a winner and prize-winner of international tournaments in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, and Turkey. In 2024, she became the European Champion in classical chess among girls under 10 years old and the European Champion in solving chess positions among girls under 10 years old. After winning the European Champion title for girls under 10, Svitlana was awarded the international title of FIDE (WCM), which she will officially receive upon reaching an ELO rating of 1800 (classical chess). Svitlana holds the 2nd rank in chess according to the Ukrainian system. She attends additional classes in Bulgarian language, history, and computer design, and practices gymnastics

Яна Марусин

Solomiia Svitenko

(Horodok, age at the time of receiving the award: 11 years, 1st rank in chess according to the Ukrainian system)
Trainer: Grabinsky V.

Solomiia Svitenko is a 6th-grade student at Horodok Educational Complex No. 2. Her favorite subject is physical education. Solomiia has been playing chess since the age of 6, beginning her training in a school chess club under the guidance of Volodymyr Meleshko. She is currently training at the Children and Youth Sports School “Debut” (Lviv) under the mentorship of Ukraine’s honored coach Volodymyr Hrabinskyi. Solomiia has achieved numerous victories in national and international competitions. She is a two-time European Champion in rapid chess among girls under 10, a silver medalist in the European Blitz Chess Championship among girls under 10, and a European Champion in rapid chess among girls under 10 as part of a team. In 2024, Solomiia became the Ukrainian Champion in classical chess among girls under 12 and secured third place in the Ukrainian Blitz Chess Championship among players under 14. Additionally, she won the Lviv Regional Championship in classical chess among girls under 12. Beyond chess, Solomiia actively participates in extracurricular activities, including swimming

Age category from 14 to 16 years

Winner

Dehtiarov Roman (Kharkiv)

Роман Дегтярьов

Roman Dehtiarov

(Kharkiv, age at the time of receiving the award: 16 years, FM)
Trainer: Farafonov Y.

Roman Dehtiarov is a first-year student at Karazin Kharkiv National University. In just one year, Roman completed two grades of school and gained admission to university. He has also participated in various student competitions, including the Karazin Mathematical Olympiad, where he secured 3rd place. Roman began playing chess at the age of 5 under the guidance of his coach, Yurii Farafonov. Over the years, he has consistently achieved success as a winner and medalist in national and international chess tournaments. In 2024, Roman became the silver medalist in the European U16 Championship held in the Czech Republic (rapid) and achieved his first International Master (IM) norm. He also won the Ukrainian U18 Championship (rapid) and the Ukrainian U20 Championship (blitz), earned silver in the Ukrainian U18 Championship (classical chess) and became a silver medalist in the Ukrainian U20 Team Championship (rapid and blitz). Beyond chess, Roman is actively studying foreign languages and enjoys reading. Roman was a two-time runner-up of the Sozonov Award for 2022 and 2023

“

I would like to sincerely thank Olena Boytsun and the entire team of the All-Ukrainian Charitable Foundation “Chess for Children” for their significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian chess. For three consecutive years, my son participated in the competition for the Yevhen Sozonov Award, and he has finally achieved victory. I am deeply grateful to you for recognizing my son. He put in a great deal of effort to achieve outstanding results both in chess and in his studies.

I hope you will continue to honor talented children, as it means so much to them. A testament to this is that some of the award winners have already become grandmasters and international masters, proudly representing our country on the international stage.

“

Olena Dehtiarova

Mother of Roman Dehtiarov

Runners-up

  • Lyakh Vasyl (Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region)
  • Trofimova Evelina (Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region/ Ivano-Frankivsk)

Василь Лях

Vasyl Lyakh

(Kryvyi Rih, age at the time of receiving the award: 16 years, Candidate for Master of Sports of Ukraine in chess)
Trainer: Kazmiruk V.

Vasyl Lyakh is an 11th-grade student at the “International Perspectives” Academic Lyceum in Kryvyi Rih. His favorite subject is geography. Vasyl has been playing chess for 10 years, with his first coach being Nataliia Sukha. He currently trains at the Children and Youth Sports School No. 3 in Kryvyi Rih under the guidance of Vadym Kazmiruk. Vasyl has repeatedly been a winner and prize-winner in tournaments and holds the title of Candidate Master of Sports of Ukraine. In October 2024, he fulfilled the norm for the Master of Sports title. In 2024, Vasyl became a bronze medalist of the Championship of Ukraine among boys under 16 in classical and blitz games and among boys under 20 in classical games, champion of Ukraine among boys under 18 (blitz), champion of Ukraine under 16 and under 20 as part of a team (classical game, rapid, blitz), champion of Dnipropetrovsk region among boys under 16, 18 and 20 in classical and rapid chess, silver medalist of Dnipropetrovsk region among men. Beyond chess, Vasyl actively participates in football and table tennis trainings and is preparing for admission to a higher educational institution.

Евеліна Трофімова

Evelina Trofimova

(Nikopol / Ivano-Frankivsk, age at the time of receiving the award: 16 years, 1st rank in chess according to the Ukrainian system)
Trainer: Tsyrakovskyi S.

Evelina Trofimova is a student in the 11th grade at Nikopol Lyceum No. 8 (specializing in foreign philology) and studies online while temporarily residing in Ivano-Frankivsk. Her favorite subjects are English and French. Evelina has achieved notable results in city and regional academic competitions in various disciplines, particularly in English and French. Evelina has been playing chess for six years. Her first coach was Valerii Benderskyi, and she currently trains under the guidance of Serhii Tsyrakovskyi. In 2024, Evelina won five prizes at the Ukrainian championships among girls in the categories under 16 (3rd place, blitz), under 20 (3rd place, blitz) and as part of the under 20 team (1st, 2nd, 1st places, classic, rapid and blitz games, respectively). Evelina actively promotes chess and engages in online activities. She streams chess matches on her YouTube channel. In addition to chess, Evelina is self-learning Italian, enjoys reading literature across various genres, and is preparing to enter a higher education institution