On this 60 Minutes renowned and successful coach Adrian Mikhalchishin presents critical positions and shows how to handle them.
By Misa Hrenic
From the 23rd until the 28th of July 2018, chess players of different strengths, ages and nationalities came together to enjoy the International Summer Chess Camp in Maribor, Slovenia, organized by the establishers of the European Chess Academy — GM Georg Mohr and GM Adrian Mikhalchishin — in cooperation with the Slovenian chess club ZSK Maribor.
A total of 44 participants from fourteen countries (South Korea, China, Singapore, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Argentina and Slovenia) and three continents came to listen to daily chess lectures by some of the world's best trainers. GM Arshak Petrosian and Adrian Mikhalchishin alongside some of the best Slovenian coaches — IM Tadej Sakelsek, WIM Karmen Mar and FI Misa Hrenic — were in charge of the sessions.
All the participants gathered for a group photo
The players, aged between 7 and 71 years old, were able to benefit from various other activities: they participated in a simultaneous exhibition against strong grandmasters, measured their strength and knowledge in a fun blitz tournament, enjoyed themselves in various outdoor activities, and some of them even decided to watch a chess movie. Lastly and most importantly, they made new friends. All that in only one week!
You are welcome to read some of the impressions made by the chess enthusiasts that decided to "sacrifice" a part of their summer vacations to join the summer camp:
"Great experience, very useful, serves as the inspiration to continue improving."
FM Ivan Martic
Play the King's Indian Defence with g3
The King's Indian is an extreme counterattacking weapon for Black, so White's best way is to conduct an effective central strategy and to keep the king in safety. Maybe the only and best way to fulfill this strategy is the variation with the fianchetto of the white bishop to g3. It is the most unpleasant variation for King's Indian Defence players, easy to handle and it prevents Black from performing his typical attacking plans.
FM Ivan Martic
"The course has been a great experience and I have learned many nice tactics, endgames, exchange sacrifices and so on. I recommend it to everyone who enjoys the game of chess and for the beginners who want to learn about this amazing game."
FM Adrian Randazzo
FM Adrian Randazzo
"I've had such a great time in this camp and I've learned a lot of things. It has been a great experience for me and I am so glad that I've spent my time here. Thank you so much for everything."
WFM Viktoria Radeva
WFM Viktoria Radeva
"[The] camp is very useful for everyone."
WFM Sila Caglar
WFM Sila Caglar
The organizers were pleased with the camp's attendance and plan to organize it again next year and make it traditional.
The European Chess Academy, an institute for the development of creative thinking in Maribor, was founded by two chess lovers and friends, Slovenian Grandmasters Adrian Mikhalchishin and Georg Mohr. The academy serves the purpose of showing the world why chess deserves the title of the most magnificent game in the world, how it can be used as one of the best educational tools and how, at the same time, it can be a great way to socialize. The Academy has a lot to offer: chess schools, organization of tournaments for all levels, education programs for teachers and trainers, great new books and many others special projects.
Official website of the Academy
The most famous Slovenian chess club, the ZSK Maribor, was established in 1927. To the present day, the club and its dedicated members focus their attention on different chess areas: participation of their players and teams in various chess tournaments both in the country and abroad, establishment of a famous chess school, organization of numerous national and international tournaments — the most well-known amongst them being the traditional tournament organized in memory of the great Grandmaster Vasja Pirc. All the club's hard work and dedication throughout the years paid off with many great achievements, both individual and as a team.
