Anna Kohut, lives in Gliwice, Poland. Anna has been playing chess since she was 5 years old, but finished her career as a player at the age of 18. As a junior, she  represented Poland at the European and World Championships. Anna has the title of Woman Candidate Master.  

Anna Kohut about herself:

"At the moment I don't play so much anymore because the enormity of work doesn't allow for chess training. I am also qualified as a referee, but referee occasionally.

For the last 13 years, my work has only been related to chess. I started by teaching children in kindergartens and schools. I have trained more than 2,000 children. Chess in Poland is very popular and you can already see it in almost every kindergarten. Children start learning from the age of 3!

In 2015, I founded my chess school Hetman Gliwice. Children of pre-school age started competing in chess tournaments with success. What I have noticed during my many years of working with children is that the earlier they start playing in tournaments the better. By starting chess in kindergarten it is natural for them to learn and they are less stressed. However, the most important thing is that they are emotionally prepared and can cope with failure. Here it is already the role of the coach and the parents. This is why I started organising tournaments for children in a friendly atmosphere. I also organise chess camps for children with a combination of different sports, such as judo or football. Physical fitness, as we know, is very important in chess players.

In the following years, I started to cooperate with the Silesian University of Technology at the Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation, where I conducted several workshops for more than 300 participants. It was at this faculty that I organised the 3rd Kindergarten Chess Olympiad in May. It was a huge event and children came from all over Poland! I am very grateful that ChessBase became one of the sponsors of the event and donated Fritz&Chesster children's products. In 2017, together with the company, I produced the game 'Fritz and Chesster' in Poland, which is very popular with the little ones.

What I like most is when something happens! I like new challenges and working at full speed.

The most exciting and thrilling experience was working together at the World Rapid Chess and Blitz Championships in Warsaw (December 2021).

Recently, the National Team training of our Polish Juniors was held in Zakopane at the Central Olympic Sports Centre. I had the pleasure of being the manager of the team and gained valuable experience.

There are many ideas, but my Hetman Chess School is just me. I do not employ coaches and I carry out all projects myself. In Poland it is not easy to find sponsors to create a professional chess club.

Committed coaches are needed who will go with the children to tournaments in addition to training. I would like to open a real chess club in the near future and continue to create huge events.

I hope this will happen soon!

I love sport, especially saunas, I have recently become a sauna master and in my free time I conduct sauna ceremonies.