Our blog about juniors at the Olympiad would just not be complete without our very own Australian Superstar 15 year old Anton Smirnov! After round 10 he is still undefeated and has obtained 2 GM norms.  With a rating of 2482 he is currently the top U16 player in Australia and also the 3rd ranked U16 player across Asia! He is also currently the 8th U16 player in the world! (source FIDE website).

Once he completed his analysis with his oponent Bogdan Bocinovic from Croatia and playing for the International Chess Committee for the Deaf (ICCD) he took the time to sit down with us so we could ask him some questions.

Chesslife: For those that may not be aware – How old are you?
Anton: I am 15 years old.

Chesslife: What age did you start playing chess?
Anton: My father started teaching me when I was 4 years old, but that did not work. I just wanted to move the pieces and did not understand the rules. When I was four and a half he tried again, but this time using the Chessbase program ‘Fritz and Chesster’. This programs uses fairytales and stories to teach very young people the rules of chess.

Chesslife: How many hours per day or per week do you study?
Anton: I don’t know. I study every day, but don’t keep track of how much time I spend. I meet with my coach via Skype twice a week for 2 hours.

Chesslife: What was your first chess book?
Anton: I used to have a small tactics manual wiith around 1000 problems that I enjoyed very much.

Click in the board below for a review of the game between Anton and Aryan Tari from Norway

Chesslife: How old were you when you obtained your first title?
Anton: When I was 12 years old in 2013 I obtained my FM title. This was at a zonal in Fiji and in fact my live rating reached the required level at the same time as I reached my norm. It all came together at the same time.

Chesslife: What was your first international tournament?
Anton: That was the World Youth Chess Championship in 2007 in Turkey. I played in the U8 category.

In this tournament Anton did not have a FIDE rating yet and played among 16 (!) other Australian comrades, among which are Emma Guo (U12 girls) and Alexandra Jule (U18 girls), who are currently playing in the Womens Olympiad team.

Chesslife: How have you socially or mentally benefitted from chess?

Anton: I’m not so sure if it helped me socially, I guess it gave me many friends around the world. But my memory power has certainly increased as  well as my problem solving and concentration.

Click on the board below for a review of the game between Anton and Evandro Barbosa from Brazil in Round 6

Chesslife: How do you describe you style of play?
Anton: I like to think I play pretty universal. I like tactical more, but also play a little positionally. I prefer more tactical games.

Chesslife: What has been your most memorable game this Olympiad?
Anton: I thought the game I won against GM Ante Brkic, rated 2584, pretty nice.

Click on the board below for an analysis of the game between Anton and Mateusz Bartel from Poland.

Chesslife: What are you goals for the future?
Anton: To get my GM norm of course! I don’t know what I would like to do after that.

Chesslife: What advice would you give to Australian Junior Chess players?
Anton: Play lots of tournaments and study a lot. Oh and have a coach, that is important too.

Click on the board below for a game between Anton and Bogdan Bozinovic from Croatia

This Olympiad we have been reporting about the many juniors playing and representing their country. But it is not only behind the boards that we see junior players, in the press room we can find 13 year old Aydan Huseynova from Azerbaijan behind a laptop.

Her father, chess journalist Rasim Huseynov, taught her chess at the very young age of 3 years old!  Eventhough she does not play chess at school, she has been fortunate to travel around the world and play chess in tournaments in Montenegro, Turkey and Greece. And with a rating of 1542 she can certainly hold her own behind the board.

Chesslife: We have been seeing you work very hard, what kind of things have you been doing?

Aydan: I have been helping my dad with the cropping and editing of photo’s. They have then been published on the Baku Olympiad website.

Chesslife: We have been seeing you here, but should you not have gone to school during the week?

Aydan: We are in the middle of our school holidays, so plenty of time for me to help out dad.  Next week school returns, I go to a public school here in Baku.

Chesslife: So what makes you want to come out here and work and not stay at home and spend time with your friends?

Aydan: I would like to learn and grow as a person. Sitting at home would just be boring. Here I can meet interesting people.

Chesslife: Returning to your own chess. What is your favourite chess book?

Aydan: My favourite book is one of tactics by Leonid Kubbel. He was a Russian composer of chess endgame studies and problems.

Chesslife: Who is your favourite player?

Aydan: That would be the late Vugar Gashimov.

For those that may not  be aware – Vugar Gashimov was an Azerbaijani Grandmaster and played in the Olympiads in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. At his peak in 2009, he was the number 6 player in the world. Unfortunately in February 2000 he was diagnosed with epilepsy and doctors found a brain tumour shortly after that. While receiving treatment for the brain tumour, he died in Germany in January 2014. He is buried in Baku at the Alley of Honour, a cemetery for famed Azerbaijani’s.

Chesslife: What is your most memorable game from this Olympiad?

Aydan: The game that is currently in play in the third Azerbaijan team. If Abdulla Gadimbayli wins, the team wins, if he draws the team draws, if he loses, the team loses.

The third Open team from Azerbaijan is nicknamed ‘The Small Tigers’  and with the players aged from 13  to 16, they are showing how strong Azerbaijan will remain for many years to come.

Click on the board below for the game of Abdulla Gadimbayli against Jose Manuel Dominguez.

Chesslife: What would you like to do in the future?

Aydan: I would like to become a criminologist, a lawyer specialising in crime. Chess is just a hobby, but I may hopefully one day become a WCM (Womens Candidate Master)

Chesslife: Don’t you want to become a Women’s Grandmaster?

Aydan: That is impossible!

Chesslife: Your level of English is amazing, where did you learn?

Aydan: I have a tutor to teach me English.

Chesslife: So besides chess, journalism and criminology, do you have any other hobbies?

Aydan: I like to listen to music and play footbal and volleybal.

Chesslife: What advice would you give to Australian Juniors?

Aydan:

Do something you love, not what your parents want you to do!

Great advice Aydan and we love the work you have been doin! You are an inspiration to many young people out there!

The next Aydan and Rasim took us to the grave of late GM Vugar Gashimov. An amazing place that is a worthy resting place for such a chess legend.

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We were then taken to the famous Baku Chess Club, where you can feel the decades of chess history

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18 year old Kathie Lebrelato with a rating of 2079 is Brazil’s youngest player on the Women’s team. She is currently the top female in Brazil U18 and the 7th ranked female U18 in South America. In this Olympiad she has been selected to play board 4, but has played a couple of games on board 2 and 3.

Brazil, the largest country in South America stretches from the Amazon Basin in the north to vineyards and massive Iguaçu Falls in the south. It is the world’s fith largest country. Rio de Janeiro, symbolized by its 38m Christ the Redeemer statue atop Mount Corcovado, is the capital. Unlike some of the other South American countries, the language spoken in Brazil is portugese.

Of course we are all familiar with Brazil, not only for their excellent soccer team, but also for hosting the Olympics and Paralympics this year. Who can forget all our swimmers, cyclists and athletes proudly representing Australia only a couple of weeks ago. Perfect time to ask Kathie about her journey from Brazil.

Chesslife: How old were you when you started playing chess?

Kathie: I started playing chess when I was about 10 years old at school. I started playing seriously with coaching when I was about 13 years of age.

Chesslife: How much chess do you study per week or per day?

Kathie: I study every day, approximately 3-4 hours. I have started studying endgames now as there is so much I don’t know yet.

Chesslife: What is your favourite chess book?

Kathie: I enjoy reading ‘Excelling at Chess’ by Jacob Aargaard [published by Everyman chess in 2002]. I am reading this is in Spanish not English.

Chesslife: Is this your first Olympiad and what was your first International Tournament?

Kathie: Yes this is my first Olympiad. My first international tournament was in 2015 in Colombia, the Sul Americano U20.

Chesslife: Who is your favourite player?

Kathie: I love watching Alexandr Fier, a Brazilian Grandmaster currently playing on board 1, but of course Caruana and Carlsen are also on the top of my list! I love their dynamic playing style.

Chesslife: What is the junior chess league llike in Brazil?

Kathie: There are quite a few juniors playing, but not many progress.  I think this is because there appears to be no incentive for them to continue playing. My city Icara has many tournaments and is supportive of chess, so I have been very lucky.

Chesslife: What has chess taught you?

Kathie: Chess has taught me many things. It has allowed me to play in many cities around Brazil and the world. I am a very shy person and chess has taught me to talk and interact with different people. Something I would have never done without chess. I am more social now. Lastly I have matured a lot through chess. I am taking responsibilities for decisions in life.

Chesslife: How would you describe your style of play?

Kathie: I am trying to become more dynamic, but I am a very positional and quiet player, which matches my personality. I enjoy playing solid games. At the moment I play very dynamic for Black, but am looking at changing that to a slower Kings Indian variant.

Chesslife: What is your most memorable game?

Kathie: I truly enjoyed the game I played against Wales in the Olympiad in round 6. I was a very positional game, well balanced.

Click on the board below for a review of Kathie’s game against Imogen Camp from Wales in round 6

Chesslife: What are your goals for the future?

Kathie: To continue to improve my chess and play at the next Olympiad for Brazil. This means I will need to play in many tournaments in the next couple of years, for example the Brazil Open. For the slightky longer term, I would like to become a WGM.

Let’s give you a bit of an overview of the difference between GM (Grandmaster) and WGM (Women’s Grandmaster):

The title Grandmaster is awarded to outstanding chess players by FIDE. Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Woman Grandmaster (achieved at some time a rating of 2300) is the highest-ranking chess title restricted to women aside from Women’s World Champion. FIDE introduced the WGM title in 1976. The WGM title represents a level of chess skill lower than that of the unrestricted Grandmaster (GM) (2500) title, and WGM requirements are also a little bit lower than the requirements for the unrestricted International Master (IM) (2400) title. The winner of the World Girls Junior Championship is automatically awarded the WGM title. (information obtained from Wikipedia)

Chesslife: What advice would you give to Australian Junior chess players?

Kathie:

Do what you like! If you like chess, play chess!

You should never fear major challenges. You should always seek to play against the best and not fear  this as it will evolve your chess and you will become a better player.

Play chess with Joy!

Click on the board below for an analysis of Kathie’s game against Aynur Katanova from Azerbaijan.

Myanmar – or Burma as some people know it – is a country that has been in the news for many years and to see the  Open team so proudly behind their boards is exciting.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma is a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon is the country’s largest city, while Naypyidaw is the country’s capital.

The first thing Maung Maung tells us proudly is that his sister is currently stuyding accounting in Melbourne, so being interviewed by Australia only seems fitting. Currently ranked the top player U16 in Myanmar with a rating with 2031, he plays on board 4. His english is excellent, but our trusty google translate is showing that burmese is a beautiful language, so our first question is as follows:

Chesslife: How old were you when you started playing chess?
သငျသညျ စစ်တုရင် ကစားခြင်း ကိုစတင် တဲ့အခါသင် ဘယ်လို ဟောင်း ခဲ့ကြ

Maung Maung: I started when I was 7 years old and was taugt by my dad. I then played at school and progressed from there.

Chesslife: How many hours per week do you study?

Maung Maung: I study between 2-3 hours per day. Mainly middle games, combinations and strategies. The magazine ‘New in Chess’ is my favourite source.

Chesslife: What is your favourite chess book?

Maung Maung: ‘Openings for White according to Kramnik’. Although I also love using the ‘Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations’ David agrees – yes I call that the ‘Chess Bible’, definitely a good one!

Chesslife: Is this your first Olympiad and what was your first International Tournament?

Maung Maung: Yes this is my first Olympiad and my first international tournament was in 2013 in China, the China vs Asean Junior Chess Classic.

Chesslife: Who is your favourite player?

Maung Maung: That would be Sergey Karajakin. I like his playing style and think he will be the next World Champion!

Chesslife: What is the junior chess league like in Myanmar?

Maung Maung: Chess is not very popular in Myanmar. People consider it boring, but it is getting abit better now that the government is involved and is introducing chess in schools.

Chesslife: What has chess taught you?

Maung Maung: It has taught me to analyse situations in life before making a decision. It has also given me friends around the world.

Chesslife: How would you describe your style of play?

Maung Maung: If I need to win I can play very aggressively, but normally I play very positional and slow. With white I play Nf3, while with Black I play the Caro-Kann or the Slav.

Chesslife: What is your most memorable game?

Maung Maung: That would have to be the game against Andorra! I loved that one!

Click on the board below for a review of Maung Maung’s game against Daniel Queralta from Andorra in round 4

Chesslife: What are your goals for the future?

Maung Maung: I hope to obtain an FM title in this tournament. To do that I need 7/10, so as I have 2.5/4 at the moment, I might still have a good chance! Of course a big goal is to become a Grandmaster and hopefully a career in chess.

Chesslife: What advice would you give the Australian Junior Chess players?

Maung Maung: You need to try your best and find a balance between school and chess. Hopefully I will meet some of the Australian Junior players at the World Youth Chess Championships next year!

Click on the chess board below for the game by Maung Maung against Calvin Klaassen from South Africa in round 3.

From afar you know where the women’s team from Barbados is playing this afternoon. Their dedication to their national colours is apparent in their hair and outfits. The bright yellow and blue stand out against the many grey’s and black’s that are being worn this Olympiad. And while we chat to the girls about chess it is clear that their personality matches their bright outfits!

Barbados is nested among the Caribbean islands.  It is 34 kilometres in length and up to 23 km in width, covering an area of 432 km². As a popular holiday destination and combining its English, African and West Indian roots, Barbados has a very own distinctive identity.

Gabriela with a rating of 1312 is currently the 4th ranked female player in Barbados and Segan with a rating of 1226 is following close behind on the 8th place.

Chesslife: How old were you when you started playing chess?

Gabriela: I was 8 when I started at a chess camp. My 2 older brothers wanted to go and already knew how to play. My mum decided to send me along as well.

Segan: I was 10 when my mother taught me how to play chess.

Chesslife: What is your favourite chess book?

Gabriela: I don’t really have a favourite one.

Segan: Mine is the one my mum bought me ‘How to reassess your chess’ by IM Silman.

Chesslife: How much chess do you study per week?

Gabriela: Around 1 or 2 hours per day. When I practise online I use chesscube.com

Segan: I study around 1 hour per day, but when a tournament is coming up I may increase this to 3-4 hours per day. When I play online I use chess.com or playchess.com

Chesslife: Is this your first Olympiad and what was your first International Tournament?

Gabriela: This is indeed my first Olympiad and my first international tournament was in 2012 in Trinidad, called CARIFTA.

Segan: I played the same tournament, but in 2015.

Chesslife: Who is your favourite player?

Both girls reply in unison ‘Magnus Carlsen!’

Chesslife: What is the junior chess league like in Barbados?

There are not many juniors playing in Barbados. Chess is not a very popular sport and not advertised very well. There are also many more boys than girls.

Chesslife: Do you mind playing boys all the time?

Gabriela: No not at all, it allows me to proof that I can beat the boys

Segan: I don’t mind either, in fact, I prefer playing against boys.

Chesslife: What has chess taught you?

Gabriela: If you want something, you need to put the effort in.

Segan: It has shown me to be dedicated in order to improve. It helps with my school work and focus.

Chesslife: How would you describe your style of play?

Gabriela: I prefer playing positional and like playing the Giuoco Piano. I sometimes play tactical as well. With black I am currently trying new things and have not really got a set repertoire yet.

The Literal translation for Giuoco Piano is translated ‘quiet game’ and begins with the moves 1.e4 e5  2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5

Segan: I definitely enjoy playing positional and play the Scottish with white. I have not developed a style yet with black, but am certainly considering the Caro-Kann as I find the Sicilian far too aggressive.

Chesslife: What was your most memorable game?

Gabriela: That would have been at the subzonal this year in Barbados.

Segan: That was a game against Justin Parsons a 1400 rated player, while I was still unrated. Unfortunately, I do not have the PGN for that.

Click on the board below to find a game from Segan at the CARIFTA tournament in 2015

Chesslife: What are your goals for the future?

Gabriela: To someday become a world champion.

Segan: To become a titled player and to return to another Olympiad.

Click on the board below to review the game from Gabriela against Edit Machlick from Norway in the Olympiad

Chesslife: What advice would you give to Australian Junior Chess Players?

Gabriela: Work Hard! You may have to wait a very long time to see results, they will come. Chess will also provide great opportunities.

Segan: It takes time to grow as a chess player. Make sure the big people notice you and hope for the best.

Click on the board below to find an analysis of a game by Segan against Myra Ollet from Guam during this Olympiad.

Ieon Seak Hin is a 16 year old player from Macau. He is playing board 3 with a rating of 1841 after having competed in the World Youth U16 Olympiad in Slovakia in July. He is currently the top U16 player in Macau and ranked number 19 in his country.

Macau is an autonomous region on the south coast of China, across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. With an estimated population of around 652,500 living in an area of 30.5 km2 (11.8 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world.

We find Ieong in the lobby of his hotel busily preparing for his game against Trinidad & Tobago later that afternoon. He apologizes before hand for his level of English, but we remind him that his English is still much better than our Chinese! Again with the help of Google Translate we start our interview.

Chesslife: How old were you when you started playing chess?
Ieong: I started when I was 4 years old. My grandfather taught me the rules. I then continued playing chess at school. I also know how to play chinese chess.

Chesslife: How much chess do you study per week?
Ieong: I study approximately 2 hours, twice a week, so 4 hours in total. I also use a chinese website {ourgame.com} to practise chess on.

Chesslife: What is your favourite chess book?
Ieong: I love reviewing openings from Encyclopedia’s.

Chesslife: Is this your first Olympiad and what was your first International Tournament?
Ieong: This is my first Olympiad and my first international tournament was in 2008 for the World Youth Championships in Vietnam.

Chesslife: Who is your favourite player?
Ieong: I love Magnus Carlsen’s game style, but I also really like Hou Yifan. She was the first Chinese player I knew.

Chesslife: What is the Junior Chess League like in Macau?
Ieong: It is very small, but growing.

Chesslife: What has chess taught you?
Ieong: It has taught me how to think. It has also improved my school subjects like mathematics.

Chesslife: How would you describe your game style?
Ieong: I love to attack in my big games. If I can find a chance to attack, I will. I especially like to attack Kings side. I am more of a positional with White. For Black I am currently studying the Dragon variation.

Chesslife: What is your most memorable game?
Ieong: The one I played this month in Taiwan. Unfortunately I do not have a PGN available for you.

Chesslife: What are your future goals?
Ieong: I would like to improve and become a better player.

Chesslife: What advice would you give Australian Junior Chess Players?
Ieong: Chess is very good, it gives you a lot of fun and it will help you in your life.

Click on the board below for a review of Ieong’s game in round 2 when he drew against Toby Brookfield from Guernsey.