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My name is Vladimir Slavik, I was born in 1977 in Prešov, Slovakia, (photos), where i currently live. I learned to play chess when I was 5 years old. It is best to start with chess at the age of 4 or 5 years, but it is never too late. Even if you are retired, you can still start with chess.

What is chess good for?
Chess is a logical game that develops logical thinking. It helps to make quick and correct decisions. It improves memory and trains brain cells. It teaches us to accept not only wins but also chess losses.

What is chess?
Chess is a game for 2 players. There are also versions for 3 or 4 players, but we will not deal with them. A white player has 16 white pieces and black has 16 black pieces. Each player has 8 pawns, 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, 1 queen and 1 king. The chess is played on a chessboard with 64 squares, 8 columns and 8 rows. The fields are alternating white and black, so we have 32 white and 32 black squares. Each type of piece moves distinctly on a chessboard. Pieces have the following value: pawn - 1 point, knight - 3 points, bishop - 3 points, king - 4 points, rook - 5 points, queen - 9 points.

The goal of the game - checkmate (win)
Chess aims to checkmate the opponent king. This is a state when the opponent's king is threatened by your piece and your opponent has no possible move to escape the threat.

The origin of the chess
Chess is believed to have originated in India in the 6th century or earlier. The game was derived from the Indian game chaturanga. Modern chess originated at the end of the 15th century in Spain. Chess is one of the most popular games in the world. It can be played by players of different age groups, it is a royal game.

Competition chess
In many countries, chess is considered a sport. The competition chess is divided into 3 categories according to the time for the game.
Standard chess - the time of 1 hour or more for each player.
Rapid chess - the time greater than 10 minutes and less than 1 hour for each player.
Blitz chess - the time of 10 minutes or less for each player.

There are 2 kinds of competitions - individual and team competitions.
Competitions are also organized for basic school students and juniors.
Competitions can be urban, regional, national and international.
The biggest competitions are the World Cup and the Chess Olympiad.

Matthew (22): I've been playing chess since childhood and I thought I was good at it. I participated in the chess tournaments from the basic school and I won some matches on every tournament. Thanks to Vladimir, I improved the opening and ending, learned to make correct exchanges, plan my moves and estimate opponents moves. His approach is patient but professional.