How many after classes activities did you attend as a kid? Sports, creative and even needlework circles have seen a huge number of children, but not every child hobby can eventually become a profession. The President of the Chess Federation of Zhytomyr region Sergei Trokhimyshyn once happened to be at the chessboard, but today he does not understand how it is possible to live without chess at all. About the exciting game and talented players Sergey told the Zhytomyr.Travel team on the eve of the championship of Ukraine, which will be held soon in Zhytomyr
«Dad was able to play, but at home chess we did not appear in our neighbors. We lived in a hostel at the time. Memories from childhood there are a bunch of children. This is about me. One day, our neighbors were presented with chess, which they put in the corridor. So my brother and I became interested in playing. Then I was given a gift when I enrolled in chess school. Nobody started me, nobody insisted. I found out where the chess school was and decided it was worth a try. Just at some point there was an environment that was playing. And then I decided that it is high time to try»
«My first trainer was Yulia Morozova. We worked with her until her from abroad. We are now friends on Facebook, sometimes chatting. Coach has not gone anywhere, she sees what I do. I followed her chess competitions. She played for the Belgium national team on the first board. She moved there, works there and acts for that country»
«That fact that people are leaving the country is a shame. And in chess it is very revealing. Last year, five young grandmasters from Ukraine went to the United States to study there. They were offered very comfortable conditions and I do not know if they will return. The departure of five promising grandmasters is a big blow to the national team, and now the big question is who will play. Previously, seven young top grandmasters entered the national team, now only two. Not that kind of a competition. And competition in sports plays the most decisive role: the higher the competition, the faster the growth. Your rivals stimulate you to grow faster, to develop faster. I was lucky: I grew in the conditions of great competition. And as a chess player I formed in three years – it’s fast. It’s harder for kids now because they have no competition. Then, when they get into competition with fierce competition, they leave the chess, because it’s not their business. In fact, they believe that chess should constantly look for healthy competition, look for opponents who will be stronger and give the necessary experience. My position is this and it has been confirmed for years»
«I didn’t choose a profession of a sportsman, I went to college in the ninth grade. Then I decided, I chose – after that for me this is the optimal solution. The year before we became champions of the city, but at that time in the professional chess activity I still did not see myself – went into the financial sphere»
«Chess give you an opportunity to learn how to concentration. This is especially important for modern children. And for adults, too. To sit on the chessboard for several hours you need to have great willpower and concentration. Especially for those kids who are two minutes here and then … Here he ran again – something happened without him, and he needed to look. Chess gives you the ability to calculate your moves ahead and take into account your opponent’s plans. These skills are also very important for adults: people learn to plan their lives for a year, for five … Chess keeps our brain activity in tune..You keep your brain at work. You constantly play, you think some processes. For me, chess and recreation and entertainment, and at a certain time in my life – a means of subsistence when I was making money through playing and coaching activities. For a while, I played in commercial tournaments for prizes, with the prize first, not game skill, in the first place. Now I play for fun or experience, I want to play with grandmasters to make it more interesting»
«FIDE is now working to ensure that chess conditions are equal for all. Not only for women and men, but in general. Now it is forbidden during the party to go, only allowed to drink water. We were at the European Championships in Bratislava, and we were immediately stressed: «No t-shirts with insulting inscriptions in all languages of the world, no eating at the table, as this can somehow affect the opponent. No caps, hats, because everyone has to play on equal terms». The organizers argued that it was possible to put a headset under the cap and listen to the tips or just interfere with the opponent. Many people are working on it now, especially after the cases of our chess players who refused to wear hijabs in one of the eastern countries. At that time they refused to participate in the championship because they had to play in hijabs according to the laws of the country where the competitions took place»
«There are mixed tournaments in chess where women and men play together. But women can take tournaments, and men can’t play in women’s tournaments. Since there are fewer women playing chess, then where to play healthy competition? With some time this situation changed and now there are many more chess players. Especially due to the unlimited participation of the Internet, but still more men. Due to the imposed stereotypes, women are being sent to a different direction. I disagree with that. This is a good example of the Polgar sisters who played on a level with men. Judith Polgar was a very strong player, could compete in the men’s chess match, and is now considered to be the strongest female chess player in history. So is Chinese Hoy Lfang, who has announced her career in women’s chess and only plays in men’s tournaments. That is, there are no restrictions, there is a planned movement to the goal. You always need to move forward, and such women are a good proof of that»
«Soon we will host the Ukrainian women’s championship. In September 15-27 will be the semifinals of the classic chess, as well as the finals of tournaments in a row. Participants will be from Zhytomyr. We will try to use all the slots and put the largest team in order for our girls to gain experience. We understand that it is easier and less expensive to organize a championship in Zhytomyr than to send 15 participants to the competition, since the cost of living and travel costs will be higher»
«The Zhytomyr chess community is quite successful. This year our Petrenko Marina won the first place at the Ukrainian Championship of Classical Chess among girls under ten. Recently the national team of the region performed at the championship of Ukraine among children under 12 … In the recent period the Zhytomyr region went up: in 2016 there were no medals, then in 2017-2019 they won nine medals and came in eleven ranked in areas. Kids are successful, and we are thinking about how to keep it and improve the results. The idea next year is to constantly hold training sessions from the Chess Federation to gather talented children, to bring a grandmaster from Kiev who will teach them for two to three days, to prepare better for the competition. This idea has long been in existence, and I hope that our team, which is now working successfully, is implementing it»
«I do not motivate children directly. By the way, it should be asked in children that they are motivated to play chess. I think that they are motivated by participation in competitions, prizes in tournaments … Our champions go to the championships of Ukraine. The child knows that if she has won the championship of the region, then she goes to the championship of Ukraine not at the expense of parents, but at the expense of the regional budget. The same scheme works at the championships of Ukraine: who wins, goes to the European or world championship (optional) for free»
«Material incentives are always added to the intangible. Usually sportsmen travel a lot. If you choose the profession of chess player, it is likely that in a short time a person will travel all over Ukraine, participating in competitions, and then Europe and the world. Now, for example, our team went to China. Isn’t it a motivation? If I had been told in the years when I was starting out that you could go to China for competitions, I would practice day and night … And some glory and other things that are hard to measure. For example, when you write about the winner in various editions, websites, or just on Facebook. This is also a kind of motivation. And not only for children, for adults too»
«I certainly met talented children, but in chess, talent are only five percent. 95% is hard work, and this formula has been around for years. Now there is little talent. The digital age has made it possible to engage a grandmaster from anywhere in the world with a mobile phone. Dwarf chess states that have never competed are getting smaller and the competition is growing. Formerly old Europe was out of competition, now India, China and more than fifty countries, which nowadays grandmasters have appeared, are still doing well, and they do not change from the competition. That is important only hard work day in and day out. And that is the only way in chess to be successful. In Bratislava, we took four medals – three bronze and one silver. In some categories were in the top ten. When we were listening to the winner’s anthem, we really wanted our anthem to be played. They hoped that Anatasia Gnatyshyn from Lviv would take the first place, but it did not happen – the finish. However, second place is also very good for her chess career. They won four passes for the next pic for the children who will go to the European Championships with public money. Next year the team will be a priori bigger – four medals this year, 12 champions and extra players to go on their own»
«Psychology is something you still need to work on in chess. When I worked as a coach, I understood the simple truth: I cannot motivate as it is must be motivated, for example, in boxing or football. What works in these sports does not work in chess. Especially with children. I read a lot of literature and realized that, in addition to working with a psychologist, you need to have an extra psychologist coaching to help motivate children or just set them up for a game … What role does psychology play in chess, we saw in the championship finals Ukraine in 2017, when Osmak Yulia and Babiy Olya played in the last round. The winner became the champion of Ukraine. The latest installment of the classic of the genre, when no one is satisfied. Only a victory! Olga was attacked and pressed the whole party. Yulia Osmak played the entire tournament, each game played with inspiration, with expression – combination attacks, exchange of blows. In the last party, she is her own, and then something happened. There is such a thing as not being «control» in chess: in forty moves, each participant is additionally given half an hour to think. So, after control Julia was able to survive all the attacks and she opened her second breath. And Olya could not put the mat in the main time, and we saw how it «fades» gradually. We’ve seen the win on the board several times, and she, a skilled chess player, could have counted it, but she didn’t see it. Something broke down inside and the other player started to play better and better. Agree, strange things: you attack, you understand that you can win, but you do not see this win! When an opponent swaps multiple pieces and repels an attack, you need to adjust to start a new stage – start from scratch. If this is not done internally, the game is lost. Julia Osmak then won. This is the psychology of chess»
«I recently watched an interview with Vichy Anonda, the world chess champion. He said that during some parties he listened to his opponent breathe. Breathless breath meant that the opponent was scared of something, so he needed to better monitor his capabilities, or nothing was missed. Thus, according to Vichy Anonda, he won more than a dozen parties … In children up to twelve games of expression on the face: it is clear whether they now think about chess, or somewhere «flying in heaven», whether they are satisfied with their position on blackboard. The slightly older players already have a «pocker face» – they have already learned to hide their emotions, so that it is not time to open up to the opponent»
«Chess is not just about developing a strategy. It is both a discharge for the mind and an intellectual holiday for many people. There is even a discipline of chess boxing, when athletes play chess for a while, then go to the ring and continue to play again. This is a symbiosis of chess and boxing, and as far as I know, boxers are often advised to play chess, as they need to build a strategy for the entire fight and for each of the twelve rounds separately. Vasily Lomachenko, for example, plays chess, has a wonderful library. He constantly reads and grows, because in physical terms he is not the strongest fighter, but wins tactics. Even as I was preparing for the marathon, I realized that not the muscles were winning. It depends on building your own strategy. During my run of being in Berdichev, I showed a much better time due to the fact that I calculated speed in certain areas, took into account resources and reserves. Similarly, in other sports, chess only helps to achieve better results»
«The sense of healthy adventurism does not disappear anywhere. Sometimes there are times when there is no time to think and calculate moves. You just have to take and act, making the important steps for yourself intuitively … Sometimes I like spontaneous adventures. For example, I can afford to hitchhike. Of course, I plan the cities I want to visit, but whether the transport stops, whether it will be overnight – will be decided on the spot»
«If I had a business partner I can’t count on, it would be difficult enough to work with; if the opponent, then this is another: it would be a natural curiosity, and this is only fun. A new contender is a new strategy … In fact, we are in chess as to who and how to make the decision … When a person thinks non-pattern, it is interesting to play and interact with him. I think for myself that even in business it would be interesting: if it comes to an agreement, we will complement each other, a synergistic effect will be obtained and our results will be very high. Maybe that’s why all my adventures and adventures end normally. Here it is with the idea that everything will go well, it will work out in principle»
«I would like to have a little more public space in Zhytomyr, where people can just gather. These could be local spaces, but in each district of the city – on Malyovanka, in Malikovs, in Kroshna. There, people will be able to relax, listen to one another, communicate so that there is no lack of communication between the authorities and the community. Public space is needed to discuss questions and suggestions so that you can understand what is missing and what you need to work on»
«There were such situations when I wanted to drop everything, and there was a time when I lived in another country. Tried, lived. Okay, all right, good city, good standard of living, and found work and friends. But I thought about what I could achieve in that country, about relatives, friends, acquaintances who stayed in Ukraine. It flashed in my head: «Who, if not me? I have something to change in my country». We must learn to set goals and to reach them. One has to be optimistic and move forward. Chess only help this»
