Road to becoming the World School Chess

Champion

Ognean Mihnea-Ionuț

Introducing Barátosi Iosif-Gavril, Chess Professor

I studied Physical Education and Sports

I achieved my second specialty in chess in the 1990

Since 1996 I teach at the Târgu Mureș School Sports Club

My main specialty is the selection and the training of children, age 5-10.

Meeting the chess prodigy

After a year and a half of trainings and preparations at School Sports Club in Târgu Mureș and

in Reghin and attending chess competitions of all levels, we sign up for the

World School Chess Championship 2011.

Two and a half year ago, Ognean Mihnea-Ionuț, a little boy of 5 years and half came to the Sports Club together with his grandfather, Truția Ioan, the one who taught Mihnea the basic rules of chess at the little boy’s insistence.

 The recipe for success

Mihnea trains 4 hours a day.

During holidays we practice 5 or 6 hours a day.

Each hour of practice comes with a 10 minutes break.

He also trains with the InternationalMaster Barátosi Dániel.

At his father initiative, Mihnea prepares periodically with the International Master Mihai Ghindă.

Materials The 3 most important publications

1.Viktor Vámos, Chess tactics for beginners, Caissa Chess Books, Kecskemét, 20042.Ligia Jicman,Şah şi mat!,Timişoara,2004,3.David Gurgenidze,Perviie shahmatniie shagi,Tbilisi,2006

The lessons posted online on www.frsah.ro (Romanian Chess Federation website), in the Specialist Corner.-Mircea Pavlov’s lesson on “Ways to improve calculation in chess games”-Mircea Pavlov’s lesson “Threat, important fighting weapon in chess games”

Materials from chess magazines such as -ȘAH

- Gambit- Timșah

-Magyar Sakkvilág

The three main publications were followed by exercises, problems, endgames, combinations, model games and annotated games from the following books: 4.Koszorus Pál, Györkös Lajos, Combinations School, Pécs, 20005.Volodea Vaisman, O idee străbate deschiderile, Ed.Sport-Turism, 19846.Marius Ceteraş, Lecţii de şah pentru începători, Ed.Mediamira, Cluj-Napoca, 20077.Mircea Pavlov, Cooperarea tactică, Ed.Black and White, 19948.Mircea Pavlov, Cooperarea strategică între figuri, vol.I, Ed.Gambit, Bucureşti, 20009.Kállai Gábor,Szabolcsi János,64 kockára 64 teszt10.I.G.M. Yuri Averbach, Ce trebuie să ştim despre finaluri,F.R.Şah,201011.Karsten Müller and Frank Lampert, Fundamental Chess Endings, Gambit books12.Pavel Dobrinetski, Shcola shahmat-Ending, Novograd-Volinski,201013.Kállai Gábor, munkatárs Szabolcsi János, Megnyitások könyve, Tatabánya14.Anatoli Mazukewitsch,Verflixte Fehler-500 Lehrreiche Minipartien, Sportverlag

Berlin,198615.A.Roisman,400 Miniature parties16.Constantin Ştefaniu, Secretele marilor maeştri-Fischer,Karpov, Gheorghiu, Ed.Sport-

Turism, 197817.300 partide alese ale lui Alehin, Ed.Tineretului, Cultură fizică şi sport,195718.Aaron Nimzovich, My system19.Sergey Ivashchenko, Chess School –The Manual of Chess Combinations, Moscow,

200720.Jesper Hall, Chess Training for Budding Champions –A unique self-training course in

the essential of chess, Gambit, 200121. Ing.Radu Chirilă, Primii paşi ai unui campion: Cristian Chirilă, Bucureşti, 200822. Elisabeta Polihroniade, Şahul pentru toţi23. Elisabeta Polihroniade, Primii paşi în şah 24. Elisabeta Polihroniade, Campionii de şah ai lumii25. Elisabeta Polihroniade, 64 de premii de frumuseţe

Openings and endgames

Focus on pawn and rock endings,and combinations

Mihnea repertoire includes -Italian Game, -Two Knights Defense with 4.d4, -Close Sicilian, -French Defense, -Phillidor (for white)-Sicilian (Dragon Variation), -Queens Gambit Declined, -English Opening with 1…e5 (for

black).•  

2011 –Mihnea’s year

2011 was Mihnea’s year. Before departing for World School Chess Championship he won every first prize in the “Elisabeta Polihroniade” National School Chess Contest –open, active, blitz and solving and at only 7 years old he wins the National Championship, group age 8.

On 13th March we signed-up for the World School Chess Championship in Poland, representing Romania and Târgu Mureș School Sports Club

World School Chess ChampionshipKrakow, 2011

The World Championship was a challenge for Mihnea, who encountered strong opponents from Russia, Turkey, Poland, Hungary and Sri Lanka.

World School Chess ChampionshipKrakow, 2011

He lost the first game, although he had a winning position. After that, Mihnea won all the remaining games, eight in total.

Every day, after the round was over, we analyzed the game, search games of future opponents or even prepare for 2 or 3 hours.

Game examples

Ognean Mihnea-Ionuţ (Romania) –Baylav Can (Turkey) [B 24]

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 d6 4.Bg2 e6 5.d3 Nf6 6.Be3 Be7 7.Nge2 0-0 8.0-0 a6 9.a4 Bd7 10.Qd2 Qc7 11.h3 Rac8 12.f4 Rfe8 13.Rf2 Qb6 14.b3 h6 15.g4 Nd4 16.Raf1 a5 17.Ng3 Nh7 18.g5 hxg5 19.fxg5 White now reveals the powerful pair of rocks on f file. 19…f6 20.g6 Nf8 21.Bh6! (No collaboration between black pieces and the attack is unstoppable.) gxh6 22.Qxh6 Qb4 23.Nh5 Ne2+ 24.Nxe2 Ng6 25.Qg7# 1-0.

A very good example of collaboration in attack for White and lack of plan and coordination for Black.

Ognean Mihnea-Ionuţ (Romania) –Dylag Jan (Poland)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.0-0Be7 6.e5 Ne4 7.c3 dxc3? 8.Qd5! Double attackon f7 square and on the knight in e4. In order to prevent mate, Black must give up his knight in e4. 8...0-0 9.Qxe4 cxb2 10.Bxb2 Nb4? 11.a3 Nc6 12.Bd3 g6 Forced. 13.Bc4! Re8? 14.Qf4! attacking the f7 square and practically forcing Black’s next move. 14...Rf8 15.Qh6 Re8 16.e6!! The strike that kneels the black king. 16…dxe6 17.Qg7# 1-0

Game examples

Recognition

For his results, Mihnea was included in Top 10 Romanian Chess Players in 2011.

Three of his endgames from the Junior National Championship games in 2011 were included in Florin Gheorghe Păunescu’s book, Psihologia copilului şahist, Editura Sfera, Bârlad, 2012 (a book about the psychology of children chess players).

Thank you for your attention!

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