Kübra gives check!
As previously reported, the Turkish newspaper Milliyet has nominated two candidates
from the chess scene for its traditional “Sports People of the Year”
award. After our
story appeared 15-year-old chess gold medalist Kübra Öztürk
rose to second place on the list, immediately behind Neslihan Demir, the star
of the National Volleyball Team. The other chess candidate, Ali Nihat Yazici,
is in third place in the voting for “Best Sports Manager of the Year”.
Milliyet article: Kübra give check!
In a Milliyet story entitled “Kübra gives check!” the newspaper
says that one of the factors leading to her rise in the polls was the fact that
ChessBase, “the most popular chess web site in the world”, published
a story and asked its readers to support a rising Turkish chess star.
Kübra winning Gold at the European Championship under 16
Thas is only half the truth. Apart from ChessBase, Kübra’s club,
the Besiktas JK, mobilized its fans to vote for two candidates from the club:
Kübra Öztürk and Ibrahim Üzülmez (the captain of the
football team, who was nominated as a candidate for the Best Footballer of the
Year award).
The rival: Turkish vollyball star Neslihan Demir
We will see whether Kübra will be able to catch Neslihan Demir, the famous
volleyball star, and win “Sports Person of the Year” award. That
would be an incredible success for chess in any country in the world. In Turkey
it would give the game a further boost, adding to the already remarkable progress
made by the Turkish Chess Federation in the past few years.
If
you still want to support this pretty young chess player, you can still vote
for her. Do it! The Neslihan Demir fans have been lobbying hard
for their favourite. Voting ends on December 29.
Interview with Kübra Öztürk
Few days ago, Kübra visited the Atatürk Chess Centre in Ankara. TCF Press
Officer and chess columnist of Sabah Newspaper, Özgür Akman,
conducted a short interview with her.
Kübra dropped by the Turkish Chess Federation for this interview after
school
Özgür Akman: When did you start playing
chess?
Kübra Öztürk: I started playing chess when
I was around 7-8 years old, with the encouragement of my teachers at school.
My first chess trainer was Islam Osmanli. He is the one who made me fall in love
with the game.
Akman: When did you play in your first tournament?
Öztürk: It was at the World Youth Championship [Girls
U10 girls – O.A.] in 1999. I played in that event directly, without any
qualification tournament. It was amazing for me to be participating in such
an event at such an early age. My trainer promised my parents that I would achieve
a gold medal some time in the future. I am glad his prophecy did not turn out
to be wrong. I would like to thank him again for giving me that chance.
Akman: When did things get serious for you?
Özturk: When I started chess, it was just a hobby for
me. However, with the increasing number of successes in Turkey, people around
me and I started taking it seriously. Within one or two years I started taking
chess much more seriously than a hobby.
Akman: Does your family support you?
Öztürk: From the moment I started moving the pieces
until I got the gold medal!
Akman: How often and much do you study chess?
Öztürk: Two or three hours a day, with a computer.
Once a week I study with my trainer Teoman Ulucan, for three to four hours.
WFM Kübra Öztürk at work. In case you are curious, the
game she is
analysing is Atalik-Greenfeld, St.Lee Cup 1996.
Akman: How did chess become a passion for you?
In which way did it contribute to your self-development?
Öztürk: The fact that it was a mind sport attracted
me. Now, I think it is very important as a branch of sports. It taught me to
be patient on board for many hours. It negates hatred and it also contributed
to my math and science courses at school. The similarity between chess and life,
the need to anticipate the future beforehand, is an important aspect that appeals
me.
Akman: What are your future goals, both in life
and chess?
Öztürk: I would have liked to become a genetic engineer,
but that has changed now. I want to study law – in two years I will enter
the University Entrance Exam. For chess I would like to win a medal, if not
gold in World Championship, then at least I would like to be among the top ten women.
Akman: How is life for you as a young lady and
a chess player? Is it difficult?
Öztürk: Life is difficult for any young chess player
in Turkey. You have to be successful in school if you want to continue playing
chess seriously. One must always work and develop oneself. There are not many
woman players in Turkey at the moment, and in order to develop yourself you
have to struggle with men. I think there will be more successful players in
the future. I achieved a gold medal, but now I have to try even harder and try
to win a gold medal in the World Championship in my category.
Struggling against men, part of her development as a chess player
Akman: What do you do in your spare time?
Öztürk: Actually I don’t have much spare time
from studying for school and chess. But I love playing volleyball and like reading
books.
Akman: What do you like reading?
Öztürk: I like reading Peyami Safa and Halide E.
Adivar. [Safa and Adivar are two Turkish writers who lived in the first half
of twentieth century. The former was a journalist and wrote novels about problems
of modernization in Turkey, social changes during the late Ottoman Empire period
and the early Turkish Republic period, while Adivar is one of the earliest prominent
women figures of the earlier Republic who wrote novels about the War of Independence.
– O.A. )
Akman: Who are your favorite players in chess?
Ozturk: Bobby Fischer.
Akman: How did you hear about your nomination
for Sportsperson of the Year award?
Öztürk: My elder sister called me on the phone and she
saw it on the Internet. As far as I know it is the first nomination for chess.
This is an honor for me, and being in the top three in the voting is an even
greater honor. My own and our Federation President’s nominations show
that chess is becoming more popular in Turkey, and that chess players are saying,
“We are also here!”
Kübra winning silver at the Turkish Championship 2007(!), which was
played last month. Behind her in the picture is her father.
Akman: What do you think about your chances of
winning? What do you think about your opponents?
Öztürk: I hope I will remain in the top three.
I follow the games of Neslihan Demir, she is a great player and I really admire
her. But even if I don’t win the award this year, I think that I will
have good chances of winning it if I bring a medal home from the World Championship.
I also hope our President will win the award.
Akman: Thanks for the interview, Kübra.
Good luck in the future.
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