New Trainer for Women's National Team

Adrian Mikhalchishin as the Trainer of Turkish Women National Team

One of the best trainers in the world, Vice-Chairman of FIDE Trainer's Committe GM Adrian Mikhalchishin agreed with Turkish Chess Federation to train the Women's National Team.

The main goal of the team is getting a gold medal in 2012 Chess Olympiads.

You can read an interview with Mikhalchishin about the goals of this agreement and a general evaluation of President's Cup which was completed last weekend from the link below.

You can read an earlier interview with GM Mikhalchishin from here.

 

GM  Mikhalchishin, giving a speech in 1.Turkish Chess Education Convention

Akman: What are your thoughts and goals about the agreement between you and Turkish Chess Federation?

Mikhalchishin: We considered with Mr.Ali Nihat that, Turkish women chess has a very bright perspective. The girls are ranked in a respectable 23rd place. Katya Atalık won the European Championship for women and Kübra Öztürk one of the top juniors. Some other can improve their play very much. It is another way for young talented girls from 8 to 13 years old. They are generally more talented than boys. It is necessary to create some program to get at least 4-5 grandmasters. This is a long term project towards the future. It is very nice that the special board AYGEG which was created for the junior chess.  Together with AYGEG, I think we should have high prospects for the Turkish women chess. Especially it is very encouraging that all the girls are extremely young and there is much work to do with them.

GM Mikhalchishin and WFM Öztürk in action

However, they have huge problems. They have problems with the basis. What we are working with Kübra shows me that there is a problem with the base. We need to go back and study from the beginning let us say. There are problems with the opening. We also need to develop the trainers. Helping trainers’ knowledge is also very important. You know there are practically no trainer’s school at the moment. Therefore, it is difficult for them to improve their knowledge. I am the Vice-Chairman of FIDE Trainer’s Committee and I am helping Turkish trainers for one years. It is necessary to organize more seminars to improve their level. But AYGEG level is improving very much. They are open to cooperation. The perspectives of AYGEG is quite bright.

Mikhalchishin: The program now depends on two things. The program which is going to implemented together with AYGEG on the way of the girls improvement. There is a huge will to improve and everybody wants to repeat the result of Kübra. It is very nice that the she is a very nice example, model for seeing what it possible to do. Girls are going to try to reach what Kübra did, her level of play. We are optimistic and we are going to do the best.

GM Adrian Mikhalchishin, tirelessly working

Akman: What about the details of the program?

Mikhalchishin: First of all, it has to be devised in different level. Let us say there are goning to be three different levels, A, B and C. B team is supposed to be improving as much as possible. B has to do improve as fast as possible like in three years to compete with the A team. Therefore, B is going to reserve A, girls in B will come to A. Then, there is going to be a wider base. It is C team with younger talents and the training is going to be more related to the basics in this group. Another program is required with them. A is going to be about 5 players. B is about going to be 10 and C is going to be about 15-20.

Akman: Like a pyramid?

Mikhalchishin: Yes, like a pyramid. There is not going to be a pyramid of players but also trainers. For this purpose, cooperation of all trainers around is required. It is not a program of one trainer, myself, or Ali Nihat’s  but it is going to be people’s program. All trainers, parents of the players are going to be in the program in one way or another. If we work together, we wilk get good results. Otherwise it will not be so easy.

Akman: What impressions did you have about President's Cup?

Mikhalchishin: Such kind of tournaments are exteremely intersting. It is both useful for training purposes and on the other hand it would be very attractive for the public attention. So, this tournament was very tought one. Umut's win is a deserved man. He played very well. In the first part of the tournament Kıvanç Haznedaroğlu played very well. However, towards the end he lost energey and could not keep his pace.  Both players were much stronger than the others in this tournament. This is maybe because they are better rapid players. Anyhow, the result of the tournament is deserved for both players. The games were very sharp and fought till the end. There should be more tournaments in Turkey like this because these kind of rapid tournaments are rare in Turkey. Internet broadcasting is very useful in some way so that many people can watch the games live but on the other side of the coin, in Ankara, it could have more publicity. With such interesting play and with such participants, the event might have had more publicity. Small simulanteous exhibitions, smaller additions would be very interesting. It could be like a festival.

Akman: Any games worth mentioning among the ones you were able to watch? (GM Mikhalchishin, came to the tournament hall, after the convention in Sheraton Hotel ended)

Mikhalchishin: I looked the games of Kübra Öztürk more than others. In such time control you can see some problems with openings, you know you should have a good hand to play openings fast in such time control.  Of course, she played very interesting game against Mert Erdoğdu. She played very well until some moment but in some moment she lost her pace with a pawn up with the better position. She did not exchange pieces. The game went in different direction. In terms of training it should have been extremely useful for her.

It was a difficult tournament for Kübra. Generally, men play more rapid game than women. They have better hands. In some way, it was very instructive for her in terms of getting decent positions after the opening with fast play, autonomatically. Also, about exploiting advantges because she had many games with having advantgaes. But she started doing wron things which means she has problems with so-called her hands. Because in such cases, hand has to automatically.

Akman: Thank you. Good luck.

Mikhalchishin: Thank you.

Every one happy: TCF Board Member FM Özgür Solakoğlu, GM Adrian Mikhalchishin and TCF President Ali Nihat Yazıcı

Who is Adrian Mikhalchishin ?

Adrian Bogdanovich Mikhalchishin was born in Lvov, Ukraine. He participated in Soviet Championship 9 times. His best result is fourth place and he has won many individual and team events in former Soviet Union. He became Grandmaster in 1984. He won the Ukranian title four times. In 1984 he played with Trud which won the European Club Cup.

He wrote fifteen books including Winning Endgame Technique and Strategy, Secrets of Chess Intuition, Isolated Pawn, Hanging Pawns, Isolated Pawn and many opening books published in USA, Russia, Spain, Italy, Ukraine, England, Germany, Poland. He is currently the Vice-Chairman of FIDE Trainers' Commission. He worked as a second for chess heroes including Anatoly Karpov, Maia Chiburdanidze, Susan Polgar. During the period he worked with Dutch National Team, Tea-Bosboom Lanchava and Peng Zhaoqin became European Chess Champion.

He is playing on the first board of TED Ankara Kolejliler in İş Bank Chess League.

He is married and has two children.