Youngest Chess Players from BiH Travel to Greece for World Championship: Going for Medals Without State Support

The Youth Chess Club Junior held a press conference today on the occasion of the departure of representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the World Youth Championship, which will be held in Halkidiki, Greece, reports the Patria news agency.

This year's representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Championship are 11 competitors, five in the women's and six in the men's category, from nine chess clubs. They are: Hadžiabdić Nađa (8), Mešić Ismet (8), Joksimović Dušan (10), Mikić Ivana (12), Zenelaj Samuel (12), Tomić Jelena (14), Karalić Evel (14), Tomić Vladanka (16), Marković Dino (16), Kokanović Žana (18), and Čunjalo Faris (18).

The Youth Chess Club Junior was founded in November 2013. It found its home in the International Center for Children and Youth Novo Sarajevo. The target group is children aged 6 to 16. The chess school is continuously attended by about thirty students. The children are taught by established players and licensed coaches Zvonimir Meštrović (IM) and Azra Mahmutagić (NI).

In less than two years, competitors of the Youth Chess Club Junior have participated in about 15 competitions, official championships, and international tournaments. They achieved notable results at the 2015 FBIH Championships, winning 6 medals: two gold, three silver, and one bronze.

At the 2015 BiH Championship, they took two medals: silver and bronze. First places at the BiH Youth Sports Games, first places at the Sarajevo Canton Elementary School Championship, numerous medals at youth tournaments in the region, along with participation in international tournaments where they gain experience.

- This year we have a girl, Nađa Hadžiabdić, who qualified for the World Championship – says Azra Mahmutagić.

They have established cooperation with clubs working with children across BiH and also with Slovenia. They organized two Chess Festivals for cadets as part of the celebration of Novo Sarajevo Municipality Day, in which more than 200 competitors participated.

In November, they will be the technical organizers of the Open Sarajevo Canton Cadet Championship, which will be organized by the Sarajevo Canton Chess Association.

Journalists were then addressed by Rešad Tutić (FM), president of the Sarajevo Canton Chess Association.

- The difficult financial situation in society is directly reflected in sports. Disciplines that are not marketable are particularly affected, and one such discipline is chess. The Law on Sports at the state level from 2008 defined organizational structures, but what is most important, it did not define the method of financing sports collectives (clubs and associations). Because of this, we have a problem when certain collectives achieve results, but adequate financial support is lacking. This is something that must be defined either by law or by by-laws, which should clearly define the criteria, how, when, and who finances sports associations, clubs, and sections.

The current situation is left to the discretion of municipal, cantonal, entity, and state services to allocate funds according to their own judgment or based on internal acts, which generally have not covered all the specifics of individual sports disciplines, and these funds usually do not bring what they were given for, which is results, as the only measure of success, both in life and in sports.

The only real solution for chess is the introduction of chess into schools as an elective or regular subject, because chess as a discipline unites culture, science, art, and sport. It is a logical discipline that simultaneously develops the left and right hemispheres of the brain, forces a young person to take responsibility, make decisions in time trouble, plan, and calculate ahead - said Tutić.

Kemal Hadžiabdić, Nađa's father, said he recommends to all parents to put a chessboard among their children's toys.

- Just as a five-year-old child has a ball or a doll among their toys, there is no reason why chess should not be there as well. This is evident in children who play chess in a multitude of things. From more independent decision-making to easier solving of logical tasks. Chess certainly teaches a child patience as well. Nađa loves chess festivals and competitions. Every medal boosts Nađa's self-confidence. I am sorry that BiH society still does not pay more attention to chess – emphasized Hadžiabdić.

Nađa Hadžiabdić, vice-champion of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a third-grade student at Elementary School Ćamil Sijarić. She has been learning chess for less than two years, and her trophy cabinet is adorned with about twenty medals.

- She studies diligently and is regular at training sessions. The trip to the Championship will be an opportunity to see where we stand compared to others, and a nice and extremely useful experience – emphasized her coach Mahmutagić.

When asked by journalists how she chose chess, Nađa said she likes to think, work in silence, and solve tasks.

- Chess training is fun. We solve tasks, learn how to win, checkmate... and we find time to play and joke around. We often travel to tournaments, so I meet new friends – says little Nađa.

Azra Mahmutagić informed those present about the difficulties in organizing transportation for competitors, coaches, and chaperones to the European and World Championships. This year, the entire burden again fell mainly on the parents' shoulders. There were few clubs that could pay the transportation costs for their competitors.