All posts by David

Frequently Asked Chesslife Academy Questions

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What is Chesslife Academy?

Chesslife Academy is an evolution from Chesslife.

  • It showcases our focus on education and the systematic approach to learning chess
  • It provides the basis to ensure 100% of students reap rewards from the benefits that come from learning chess
  • Chesslife Academy will have dedicated programs for schools, individuals and groups, catering to their unique needs and wishes
  • Bringing quality coaching through the Steps Method, Thinkers Publishing books and the Chesslife Academy designed programs.

 

What will be different?

Chesslife Academy will continue to develop and create a chess community and culture that enriches lives around Australia, and we have made some changes:

  • Students, schools and parents enroll in one of the Chesslife Academy programs
  • Students will receive a Chesslife Academy wristband when joining one of our programs
  • Student will join in a graduation when completing the program or progress to the next level in the Steps Method
  • Students will receive discount on Thinkers Publishing books
  • Students will receive support during tournaments

 

What is this wristband all about?

This unique gift is a token of our dedication to your chess learning when you sign up for the Chesslife Academy.

  • The wristband makes you part of a community that has seen 100% of students reap rewards from the benefits that come from learning chess!
  • The wristband makes you part of a community that includes all current South Australian State Champions!
  • The wristband makes you part of a community that has seen thousands of students learn chess in Adelaide and across Australia!

 

What is the Steps Method and how do I qualify for a graduation?

Widely used throughout schools and chess clubs in Europe and increasingly the world, the Steps Method provides trainers and students with a logical way to introduce chess concepts at exactly the right level for their experience with the game. Steps Method is praised as one of the most innovative chess instructional programs in the world.

Presented in a series of six steps, each with an accompanying series of workbooks, the Step Method introduces chess material in increasing complexity, all the way from beginner’s chess in Step One to master level play in Step Six.

Each Step consists of a Starting book, then an Extra book, followed by a Plus and then lastly Mix. So for example there is Step 1, Step 1 Extra, Step 1 Plus and Step 1 Mix. Not every student will complete each book within each step, some may skip Step 1 Plus for example.

Students qualify for a graduation when they have completed all their required books within a Step and are ready to move on to the next Step. For example after completing Step 1 Mix, students will move to Step 2 and will qualify for a graduation ceremony that year.

 

What are the Thinkers Publishing books and why would I want them as part of my learning?

Chesslife Academy is the Australian distributor for Thinkers Publishing chess books. A publishing house based in Belgian, which has some of the world’s greatest young chess minds write, like Australian’s own Grandmaster Justin Tan!

In the past, books were supposed the place where to find information. We did not have the Internet, so books were the place where all information was saved, in case we needed it. Things have changed dramatically along the years. Every year, there is more and more information available, but books are still shown to be the best tool to learn new skills. This is why we strongly encourage chess books as part of the journey of a competitive player.

 

Orange, Orange, Orange!

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By now you would have seen the great orange wrist bands that all Chesslife Academy students receive when they sign up for our programs. This unique gift is a token of our dedication to your chess learning when you sign up for the Chesslife Academy.

The wristband makes you part of a community that has seen 100% of students reap rewards from the benefits that come from learning chess!

The wristband makes you part of a community that includes all current South Australian State Champions!

The wristband makes you part of a community that has seen thousands of students learn chess in Adelaide and across Australia!

So why an orange wristband you may ask? Good question! We felt it was the perfect colour for the Chesslife Academy considering its strong association to the King of Orange, our Dutch heritage and the majestic royal game of chess.

The color orange refers to the family name of the Dutch Royal Family, the House of Orange-Nassau. Their ancestor, William of Orange, is the founding father of the Netherlands. Orange symbolizes national unity, and the Dutch signify national pride by wearing orange.

On royal birthdays, the Dutch tricolor is flown with an orange pennant above it. Each year on April 27, Amsterdam — and indeed the entire county — turns orange. Why is the Dutch flag not orange? The flag was actually originally orange, white and blue, designed by William of Orange himself. The first theory is that the dye used to stain the flags orange was prone to changing to a red colour over time, and so to avoid confusion the flag was officially changed to red.

The Netherlands also has a very strong chess history, which includes a world champion! Machgielis “Max” Euwe was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. Euwe served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.

Currently the Netherlands has the following titled chess titles registered with FIDE;  39 Grandmasters, 4 Women Grandmasters, 98 International Masters, 14 Women International Masters, 185 FIDE Masters and 11 Women FIDE Masters.

So taking that all into consideration, we think Orange is the perfect colour for the Chesslife Academy wristband!

 

 

Change is Coming – Announcing Chesslife Academy!

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Chesslife is very excited to be announcing some changes in the very near future!

Over the last decade we have built a thriving chess community where 100% of students have reaped the rewards from the many benefits that come with learning chess. Chesslife is passionate and has been teaching chess with a purpose. Our programs have enabled young people to become somebody they hadn’t imagined.

Chesslife’s Vision is to create a chess community and culture that enriches lives around Australia.

In schools and community groups, chess often serves as a bridge, bringing together children of different ages, races, and genders in an activity they can all enjoy. Chess helps build individual friendships and school spirit when children compete together as teams against other schools. Chess also teaches children about sportsmanship – how to win graciously and not give up when encountering defeat. For children with adjustment issues, there are many examples where chess has led to increased motivation, improved behaviour, better self-image, and even improved attendance. Chess provides a positive social outlet, a wholesome recreational activity that can be easily learned and enjoyed at any age.

We have developed programs for every skill level and ambition, which has resulted in some amazing outcomes over the years. When Chesslife started in South Australia, there were very few students participating in the local championships at that time. We are now proud to see the chess centre filled with 80+ students each school holiday and many of those students having learned through the Chesslife programs. Over the years, Chesslife has assisted over hundreds of school teams to participate in the Interschool championships, and we have seen Chesslife coached schools take out Primary C Grade, B Grade and A Grade championship titles as well as the Secondary 3rd and 2nd Division year after year.

We have encouraged hundreds of students to play in state championships and take out dozens of titles and awards every year. In fact, the current U18, (no U17 awarded), U16, U15, U14, U13, U12, U11 and U10 and U8 state champions are all students that have been part of Chesslife coaching programs.

Chesslife students are actively playing in interstate tournaments and are often the only South Australian juniors representing their state at these events. Chesslife students have often been the only South Australian junior students that have qualified for the Junior Elite Training Squad year after year and not only has the founder of Chesslife David Koetsier been the Australian coach for the U16 World Olympiad and U18 World youth, Chesslife students have also represented Australia at International events.

So, the time has come to bring that amazing community together; to showcase the programs and their results.

Therefore, we are proud to announce that Chesslife will soon become Chesslife Academy!

To recognise the first phase of this transition, we will start providing all Chesslife students with an orange Chesslife Academy wristband. You can wear it at the local state championships, wear it to the school chess or wear it when you go out and meet your friends for a game of chess!

We would like to see a sea of orange wristbands at the upcoming events in the chess centre!

And to celebrate, you can be in the running to win a FREE coaching session with David! Tag a photo of you wearing your wristband with #chesslifeacademy  and you will go in the draw to win some coaching time with Chesslife founder and head coach David!

ZOOM – Tips to use safely

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Some of you may have seen messages on social media and through large media providers around the potential risk to businesses using the application ZOOM for their meetings. It was noted that there was a risk for people joining the call and potentially either hearing confidential information or disrupting the meeting.

We are using ZOOM for our online chess classes, so we wanted to update you how we ensure your safety in our classes. We have so far not seen any issues, but we take your safety and privacy very seriously.

What can we at Chesslife do?

  1. We are not sharing confidential information in our classes. Chess is an amazing game and we are sharing our skills and knowledge with students.
  2. If someone has attended that is not registered or is unknown by us, we will kick the user out of the meeting.
  3. Once everyone that has registered is online, we lock the meeting so that no unauthorised people can join.
  4. We can add a password to the meeting. If required, we will add this feature and email all registered students the password.

 

What can students do in the meeting?

  1. Don’t use the ZOOM chat option for private messages
  2. Don’t share personal information
  3. Don’t mute or turn your video off, so we can see who is interacting

 

What can parents do to assist with Zoom?

  1. Help your children understand the importance of online security and privacy
  2. For younger students, stay with your child during the class
  3. For older kids, teach them good video conferencing etiquette, including not using the chat for private messages and not downloading files via Zoom. (If we have files to share with you, we will email these)
  4. Consider whether using an online alias instead of real names is appropriate. Make sure to let us know your alias so that we know who is joining!

 

We have been assured that ZOOM takes security and privacy very seriously and that the pressure from the community has increased that commitment. We will continue to use ZOOM for the time being, but please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any concerns.

Do you have to know chess to become an arbiter?

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What is an Arbiter, why would you want to be an arbiter and how do you become and arbiter? We hear it quite frequently, so today we answer all your questions with an interview with Australia’s very own Female International Arbiter Alana Chibnall!

Alana and Mathew during the 2018 Doeberl cup prize giving

Tell us a little about yourself

I live in Canberra ACT and have most of my life. I have been playing chess since I was about 11 years old in 2003 when I started in Year 6 at Primary School after going to an interschool competition. I hold the Women’s FIDE Master (WFM title) which I won last year in a competition in Auckland.

I am an International Arbiter (IA – the highest arbiter title in chess) and the only active female IA in Oceania (and I think the fourth female IA in Australian history).

Outside of chess, I have just finished my Bachelor of Information Technology (IT) at the University of Canberra, and I am starting a Graduate position with the Department of Defence in Canberra in February next year. Yay for Government jobs!

How long have you been an arbiter?

I’m not sure when I started being an arbiter, but it would have been about 2008/2009 when I was in Year 11 or 12 at school. I was playing a lot of chess with my junior chess league in Canberra and started showing interest in helping run some of the younger events which I wasn’t eligible to play in. I think I did an Under 10 Championship with another person as my first event and have gone from there. I have been an International Arbiter since September 2016.

What is an arbiter?

An arbiter is basically the chess equivalent of an umpire or referee in other sports. We keep an eye on the games of chess in progress and step in if we get called over or see something wrong in a game. Arbiters must make decisions based on the current Laws of Chess using our judgement based on the evidence we have from the game.

The chess handbook for arbiters

Arbiters are also required to do other jobs for the event such as setting clocks, putting out scoresheets, entering results of games and generating the pairings for the next round using a computer program, printing out pairings, standings and cross tables to keep players informed of what is happening in the tournament and making announcements.

Local tournaments usually only have a very small number of arbiters, so they end up being responsible for a lot of games at once. At the top-level international events, such as the World Championship or World Chess Olympiad, arbiters are usually only expected to look after 1-4 games at once.

How do you become an arbiter?

The best way to become an arbiter is to go up to the arbiter at your local club or tournament and say you are interested in becoming one! For events which are only Australian rated, you don’t need to have any qualifications – just a general knowledge of the laws of chess and rules of the type of tournament it is (or a willingness to learn them). Arbiters are generally willing to train others and most states and territories have at least 3-4 who can be called on to run events.

There are different arbiter titles for those who want to work at more events, which are National Arbiter (NA), FIDE Arbiter (FA) and International Arbiter (IA). The requirements are different depending on the title, with FAs and IAs having to pass a 3-hour examination about the laws of chess.

David and Alana in New Zealand during the 2019 Oceania Youth Championships

Why would you want to be an arbiter?

A lot of people become an arbiter for many reasons. Often, arbiters are players who have volunteered to help at their local club or tournament, or parents who have decided they have nothing better to do and are bored! This is the case of one of the top IA’s in New Zealand, who has admitted that he hates the game but only started doing it because he was bored waiting for his son to finish.

In my case, becoming an International Arbiter has given me opportunities to travel both interstate and overseas that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I’ve been an arbiter overseas in Thailand, New Zealand and Georgia.

Do you have to know chess to become an arbiter (can a parent become an arbiter?)

To be able to be an arbiter, you do need to know the rules of chess, but you’re generally not required to be a good player. To get started, arbiters usually only need to know how the pieces move (and what an ‘illegal move’ is) and what the different chess terms mean (e.g. check, checkmate and castling). All of these are easy to learn and not much else is required for lower level tournaments (e.g. younger junior events and interschool tournaments).

Depending on the type (and strength) of tournament the rules can be slightly different, so it is important for arbiters at higher events (especially anything FIDE rated) to understand what rules are used in what situations. Arbiters at higher events are expected to have a very good understand of the laws of chess, so they can make decisions quickly and soundly when required.

What has been your most amazing arbiting experience?

I have had a lot of great experiences since becoming an arbiter, but my favourite so far was probably when I was selected as the only Australian representative at the World Chess Olympiad this year in Georgia.

Spectacular dancing during the closing ceremony

The World Chess Olympiad, for those who don’t know, is the biggest chess event in the world. Players compete in teams of five (four players plus one reserve) representing their countries. In the event this year there were 180 different countries competing in the Open and 146 competing in the Women’s.

I was a Match Arbiter, so I was responsible for looking after one match of four games of chess each round. Through this, I got to see players from all over the world compete.

Alana during the Olympiad in Georgia

I have of course had many other arbiting experiences which have been highlights, such as working in Thailand at the Bangkok Open and being an arbiter at the Australian open twice.

The Method 教育方法

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Chess Step-by-Step方法由Rob Brunia和Cor van Wijgerden于1987年开发，旨在教孩子们下棋。 荷兰皇家国际象棋联合会采用这种方法成为荷兰最受欢迎的方法。它遍布整个欧洲，现在可以在全世界范围内使用。 Chess Step-by-Step方法被誉为世界上最具创新性的国际象棋教学计划之一。

使用Chess Step-by-Step 的国家有：

荷兰

德国

奥地利

意大利

美国

南非

瑞士

比利时

澳大利亚

土耳其

加拿大

法国

这种逐步方法包括六个步骤。每个步骤都有一个练习簿，其中包含学生的练习和摘要以及教师/教练/家长的随附手册。 工作簿中的练习按主题分类。一个典型的页面有一个标题表示问题和12个谜题图表。工作簿对自学也非常有用。 手册包含教师的完整脚本课程，以及解决儿童学习阶段和发展的辅助工具。工作簿练习的答案也可以在手册中找到。国际象棋循序渐进的方法适用于所有教学情况，包括学校、国际象棋俱乐部和个人课程。Step-by-Step是适合所有年龄段的有效教学工具。

Books for teaching and learning chess
用于教学和学习的书籍

Chess Step-by-Step用于教学和学习国际象棋的教育系统。工作簿和手册的结合创造了类似学校的情境。所有课程都是结构化的，包含明确的目标这些书涵盖了从步骤1中的棋子移动到步骤5和6中的重要残局策略的所有内容。

最受关注的是策略。该系统的优势在于它将所有策略分成几个小块。带着主题去解决国际象棋的问题比没有主题要容易得多。不仅所有战术都被分类，Chess Step-by-Step也为每个主题提供搜索策略。学生将培养对战术位置的感觉，警觉以及利用错误位置和弱点的感觉。每个步骤之间的合作变得更加重要。

The Manual 手册

该手册提供了广泛的支持。它包含每个主题的完整脚本课程，使国际象棋知识不那么重要。它解决了课程的目标，课前所需的知识，并提供了用于演示的示例和练习的答案。它还讨论了如何处理国际象棋和教学相关的问题。
对于没有教学经验的国际象棋教练，包括关于国际象棋指定儿童发展的文章。它提高了培训师的教学技能，并解决了学习阶段。该系统提供了如何保持孩子的动机以及如何构建课程以保持最佳集中的想法。

Workbooks 练习簿

练习簿里充满了练习。理想情况下，每个学生都有他/她自己的练习簿（就像在学校一样）。通过这种方式，培训师可以轻松地跟踪学生的进度。为了解决问题，学生可以绘制线条（特别是在简单的练习中）或在图表下记录动作。
对于年幼的孩子，该方法又引入了两本书：踏脚石1和踏脚石2。
了解世界的学习方式！我的所有课程都基于此步骤方法，并且所有级别的练习簿都可用。

BACK TO HOMEPAGE 

Welcome! 欢迎

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Chesslife的愿景是创造一个丰富澳大利亚生活的象棋社区和文化。
我们是澳大利亚领先的国际象棋教育机构，通过国际象棋游戏教授年轻人和老年人的学习和成长。

我们使用荷兰人的 “Step-by-Step”方法进行指导，是澳大利亚思想家出版社国际象棋书籍的独家提供商。 除了学习一些惊人的国际象棋技能外，我们的课程可带来的诸多好处包括：

建立友谊

时间管理

前瞻思维

策略计划

公开演讲

通讯

谦卑地赢得胜利

失去尊严

处理焦虑

姿势

提高数学技能

发展集中力量

对你的行为负责 �’

成为你想要在非评判性和自闭症友好环境中的人。

Chesslife充满激情，并且有目的地教国际象棋。我们希望在充满关爱的环境中实现最佳。我们的计划使年轻人成为他们想象不到的人。 成为重要事物的一部分！  

联系我们获取更多信息：

大卫 (David): 0433 693 990

萨布丽娜 (Sabrina): 0424 593 737

电子邮件：admin@chesslife.com.au

提供的计划

给我们打电话或发电子邮件，讨论哪种情况最适合您的情况。

Chesslife与南澳大利亚国际象棋协会，南澳大利亚少年国际象棋联盟，澳大利亚国际象棋联合会和澳大利亚少年国际象棋联盟密切合作，确保各种各样的比赛，成就以及来自州和国家的学生。Chesslife不仅是澳大利亚辅导协会的成员，为您提供高标准的辅导和责任，大卫（David）是注册的权威导师。

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Girl Power!

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Imagine living in a dream location; tropical climate, delicious food and relaxed Caribbean atmosphere. Surely if that is your every day life, would you be competitive enough for a tournament like the Olympiad? Well you can bet your bottom dollar these girls are!

Today we meet with three fascinating ladies, 17-year-old WCM Polina, 15-year-old Trinity and 15-year-old Daijah. Just to give you an idea how tough these women are – Polina plays on board one in the Open team and Daijah plays on board one in the Women’s team.

Having a female play on board 1 in the Open category is quite rare. There are several female players in the Open category, but so far, we have not seen any of them appear on board 1. Polina speaks up: “It really should not matter whether I am male or female, I qualified at home for the Open team and I should therefore be allowed to play in the Open team”.

And we could not agree with her more! We need to consider this when we have girls play in tournaments; too often they are awarded the ‘girls prize’ in stead of the actual placement, whether it is 1st, 2nd or 3rd. We may be thinking that awarding a girl’s prize to the top scoring female will allow more children to be awarded a prize, but we are in fact telling this girl that her hard work does not matter too much. She could have ended up eg 9th in the tournament and still be awarded the same prize.

So, let’s all start taking Polina’s example and speak up for our girls!

But for the moment, we need to return to our interview. What are the Bahamas like? We all read about the relaxed atmosphere and the sub-tropical climate as a great tourist destination and the girls certainly agree that the Bahamas is the place to visit! Native dishes like crab & rice and corn fritters are a must try when you travel!

From left to right: Polina, Daijah and Trinity

So where did it all start for you?

Polina – I started playing chess when I was four years old. I saw a girl at church play chess and returned home excitedly, asking my mum about this strange looking game. I learned quickly, entered my first tournament when I was five and when I was six I won the U10 national title. At the age of 8, I won the U18 national title. I took a break from chess when I was 11 years old for health reason and returned when I was 14 years of age.

Trinity – I started when I was 10 years of age at my local school. I was fascinated by the game and when I discovered my grandad also played chess, I was completely hooked.

Daijah – I also started learning the game at the age of 10 at my local school. (different school) and in 2015 I came third in a Caribbean tournament in Costa Rica. This is where I obtained my WCM title.

Polina before the start of round 10

What has chess taught you about life?

Daijah – you need to think before you act. Every decision you make is important and will have consequences. You need to deal with your consequences as they always come back to you. Chess is the gift that keeps on giving – lets face it; I’m in Europe right now, who would have thought that!

Trinity – Chess is life. It will teach you right from wrong. A real eye opener for life.

Polina – What else can I add, they have said it all so well.

 

What is the junior chess league like in the Bahamas?

Polina – It is certainly improving, and the federation is started to bring in more players. Of course, these are mainly boys, but girls should not be scared to join. Girls may feel they don’t belong in this community, but they do!

 

What kind of chess player are you?

Polina – I am still trying to figure this out. My style has changed since I returned to chess. I like both tactical and positional play and find rook endgames very interesting. The Kings Indian Defence is my main opening, but I love to learn from everyone and every situation.

Trinity – I am a very attacking and aggressive player. I tend to play the Queens Gambit.

Daijah – I am more of a positional player, but also tend to play the Queens Gambit.

Daijah during round 9

Who is your favourite player and what is your favourite chess book?

Daijah – my favourite player is local legend Warren Seymour. He has established most of the school chess clubs and is a great local hero. My favourite book is ‘Think like a Grandmaster’ by Alexander Kotov. It is not only very informative, it is also written with a great sense of humour, making it easy to read.

Trinity – The Polgar sisters! My favourite book is the Queens Gambit Accepted written by Alex Raetsky and Maxim Chetveruk (published by Everyman chess). It really helped me understand the opening.

and Polina – The Polgar sisters! They have inspired generations and continue to do so. When I started playing chess, my favourite book was 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games written by Laszo Polgar (Father of the Polgar sisters). Nowadays I study more by combining books and online.

 

What is a game you will never forget?

Trinity – That would be my loss at this Olympiad in round 4. I was in time trouble and blundered. I have reviewed this game over and over again to make sure I never do that again!

Polina – In December 2017 I played (and won) in the Peruvian Cup a game against IM Orlando Husbands from Barbados. It was my first win against an IM and that is something I will never forget!

Daijah – In March 2018, I drew against our highest rated player, Ted Cross from the USA (rated 1998). This was a huge upset in the tournament and I could not believe I drew. Polina and Trinity pipe up at this stage and add ‘the worst part is that she could have won!’ I guess that is the psychological element of chess, it is sometimes hard to believe you could actually beat a much higher rated player.

Click on the board below to read David’s annotation on Trinity’s game in this Olympiad. This is a great opportunity where we review our games and make sure we learn!

What are some of your dreams and goals?

Polina – I am hoping to still improve, perhaps obtain the WGM title one day. I would love to play more internationally and develop a career that is related to chess through either computer sciences or psychology.

Trinity – I want to obtain a FIDE rating! I think I am sitting around 1200 and can’t wait to get my rating.  I want to become a lawyer and hopefully, one day, open my own firm.

Daijah – I would love to be an accountant and obtain a CPA. I believe chess will always be an asset and a part of my life.

Trinity deep in thought during round 7

Lastly, what advice do you have for Australian Junior players?

Trinity – Keep focussed and chase your dreams!

Polina – Don’t give up and don’t limit yourself!

Daijah – Don’t let people tell you that you don’t count, you do count!

 

Meet the next generation!

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Throughout the Olympiad we have introduced you to young players up to 18 years of age and even though that is very young, the next generation of players is already on their way! Today we meet 10-year-old Samantha Edithso from Indonesia. Currently rated 1805, she is quickly on her way to become a new face of chess. She has been attracting a fair bit of publicity and you may have already watched the interview that Chessbase India published earlier this week, but we were delighted to have the opportunity to chat to Samantha after another win. We sat down with her and her coach Peter Long.

From left to right: David, Samantha and coach Peter Long

When did you start playing chess and what does your chess career look like so far?

I started playing chess when I was 6 years old, so four years ago. I won the Asian Youth U10 Rapid and Blitz championships and I am the current World Cadets U10 Rapid Champion and working hard on my standard chess. When I first obtained my standard rating, it was 2031 (now sitting at 1805). I have lost a few points, but I am learning a lot.

We would like to add, that not only did Samantha win the Rapid U10 championships, she did so with a perfect score (7/7) a full 1.5 points ahead of the rest. She won the blitz with 7.5/9. Both scores are truly remarkable!

Samantha before the start of round 10

What is the junior chess league like in Indonesia?

There are not too many juniors playing chess.

Peter Long also explains that Indonesia is very large with different islands, making it difficult for juniors to come together. Chess is of course very popular in Indonesia, you will see it being played on the streets everywhere, but this is not very structured and serious.

 

What is your favourite chess book?

Jacob Aagaard’s book ‘Attacking Manual’.  It is fascinating and instructive as it is a treasure about attacking, which is what I like to do.

 

What are your goals and dreams?

I would like to increase my rating and get a title. Preferably as soon as possible, but a WGM before I am 16 would be great!

At this stage we can let you know that Samantha has qualified for a WFM norm during the Olympiad with a score of 5/7, so she is on her way to achieving her goals!

 

What other talents and hobbies do you have?

“I like drawing.” Samantha says. Peter speaks up again and confirms that not only does Samantha like drawing, she is also very good at it! When we ask her if she likes drawing more than chess, she confirms chess is her favourite. Peter thinks drawing is both an expression and an outlet for her creative side.

 

Who is your favourite chess player of all times?

‘Mikhail Tal’ she immediately replies. He is of course a tactical master and with Samantha’s game style following that same style, we understand why she is so drawn to that.

 

Samantha deep in thought during round 7

How are you going in this tournament and what do you think about the Olympiad?

This tournament has the longest time control I have ever played. My game in round 5 lasted for over five hours. I sleep in a lot to make sure I am fully rested.

The time control for this tournament is as follows:  the World Chess Federation FIDE has a single, classical time control for most of its major events, 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.

 

Click on the board below to read David’s annotation on Samantha’s favourite game this Olympiad!

 

 

Lastly, what is your advice for Australian Junior players?

Enjoy the game!

 

David and Samantha

 

 

 

 

Playing at the top!

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We can hear you thinking: “What would it be like to play against the top players of the world” and “Surely you have to be older and more experienced to be playing with the legends”.

Well, today we get to know one of the teams that has been playing at the top during this Olympiad. The Vietnamese Open team came in ranked 27th out of 185 teams and as expected was playing on board one by the time round 4 came around. On board four is 16-year-old IM Anh Khoi Nguyen, who has been playing every single round without a break. His coach confirms ‘He is young and fit and can handle playing continuously’.

Interview in the hotel lobby. Photo courtesy of Lam Minh Chau

Anh Khoi is a talented player, having been crowned the U10 and then U12 world champion. However, this tournament is not going the way he had hoped with four draws, a win and a loss by the time we meet. ‘I hate draws, I always try my hardest to get to a win’ Anh Khoi says. He also explains that he seems to be either playing a difficult opening and coming to a draw later or playing an easier opening and coming to a draw early.

Anh Khoi was taught how to play chess when he was 6 years old at a small local club and quickly started improving when he started private coaching. He gained quite a bit of popularity when he obtained the U16 Rapid and Blitz world titles.

Anh Khoi during round 9

The Women’s team was ranked 17th at the start out of 150 teams. After 10 rounds, they are placed 14th. That is an incredible feat, considering they have played the top Georgian team and Iran.

For the Women’s team we meet 15-year-old WFM Ngoc Thuy Duong Bach. She is very shy, but we can immediately tell, a very kind person. And with a rating of 2161, she is certainly a force to be reckoned with! In fact, after playing 7 rounds, she has a score of 6! This is her first time at an Olympiad representing her country. She was taught by her brother when she was 8 years old and obtained her WFM title in 2014. Her first international tournament was the 2013 Asean Youth Championships in Thailand.

Ngoc Thuy during round 7

Both players tell us that they don’t know too much about the current state of the Vietnamese Junior League as they are now in the national team. However, they know it is growing and the popularity of chess is increasing. New chess schools are opening, including a new school by their coach. Having Vietnam play at such high level nowadays, may very well be starting to influence parents to pick up chess for their children!

So what do you like best about being a chess player and what has it taught you about life?

Anh Khoi – I have been able to travel the world and getting to meet people. Chess has also taught me to remain calm when you are in trouble and to work on damage control – there is always an alternative solution.

Ngoc Thuy – To be more patient.

Click on the board below to read David’s annotations on this very exciting, first game Anh Khoi played at the Olympiad.

What are some of your personal and chess goals?

Anh Khoi – I would like to study medicine and make a greater contribution to the world. Of course, gaining my GM title would be one of my chess goals, but that will require a lot of hard work as I still have three norms to gain as well as increase my rating! Unfortunately, I have not been able to spend a whole lot of time on chess as I needed to focus on school. There is no opportunity of home schooling in Vietnam, so I either need to drop school completely or continue to go to school despite trying to maintain my chess career.

Ngoc Thuy – I love chess and would love to make it my profession. I would love to become a WGM and am working hard to obtain a norm here at the Olympiad.

When we asked both players what advice they had for Australian Juniors, we were given an answer that we immediately understand to reflect their kind and humble personalities; ‘I don’t think I am good enough to give advice’ says Anh Khoi.

We are convinced this is not the last we see of these junior legends!

Photo courtesy of Lam Minh Chau