Stasimon

Originally I am Polish and coming from a small town in the south of Poland - Nowy Targ. Just in case you want to visit, it is a really beautiful mountain area. As a kiddo I used to be a member of a club in my town, however it was never a place where you could learn some theory, but rather a place for kids to play. My biggest achievement was that I twice qualified to Polish championship finals, but I guess in both I had either last place or one of the last. It was lots of pressure and I wish we could have real training back then in my chess club or some psychological help/support in order to deal with distress. 

I was about 5 when my father taught me to play chess. He wasn't a great player but somehow he had good skills to be a teacher and believing in your potential, thus to reveal interest and motivation. My biggest chess hero and opponent is my brother Jakub, he is older than me by 4 years and was the first person who I wanted to beat. That was always more psychological game between us when we used to be kids and even though sometimes I had some advantage I could have not used at as he would use some sentences to distract me and I could not make it emotionally. Now as we grow up and he is a father himself we are not using that emotional technique any more but just playing with pieces on the board. He tries to teach his own kids, but he doesn't have the same patience that our father had, thus it goes rather slowly.

One of the great things about chess is that you might carry that hobby, the whole love, the pieces and the board does not cost a fortune and so you can play everywhere. I used to live in Russia, where that discipline is not only prestigious but treated nearly the same as the Olympic sport games, while in Poland it is still in the gray zone. I hope one time that would change and would become slightly popular as it has in Norway due to Magnus Carlsen. 

I am supporting the Polish female team, they have a great mix of experience and so ,fresh meat´. My favorite Polish female player is Monika Socko, probably due to name correspondence, but also she is a very classy player. She fights till the end and therefore finds here an interesting human being. About Polish male players I would go with Jan Krzysztof Duda. Probably there is only one Duda that I do respect. I hope one day he can fulfill his life dream and become World Champion in classical chess.