One of the best Slovak chess players is only 11 years old. Agatha has long resisted prejudices that the Roma are stupid
Last fall after the series was released Gambit Queen from Netflix, the world has been hit by chess fever. Thousands of people started playing chess online during a tough lockdown. American eBay proof deliver sales of chess sets and accessories by 273% within ten days, just after the launch of the series on Netflix. This equates to one search every six seconds.
The series, based on Walter Tevis’ book from 1983, became a huge hit. Based on the stories of a young orphan who develops his exceptional chess talents, how words are behaved in Google browsers around the world almost doubled. The fictional character Beth Harmon shows that the game of kings can not only be dominated by men, but that women can also complete the game.
Slovak Beth Harmon
Portal Good newspaper works out that we also have talented Bethy Harmonová in Slovakia. One of them is Agáta Berková, an 11-year-old girl who lived in a settlement in Stará Kremnička without water and electricity for the first two years after her birth. From her mother, she was taken into custody by her father, who wanted to give her a better home.
They left their partner shortly after the birth of their daughter Agatha. “Our relationship was broken by the settlers’ intrigues, and she found another one. I do not prevent my daughter from in contact with my mother, there is no interest from the other side. This is probably due to the fact that the former partner lives in difficult conditions and traveling is complicated for her. “ says father Milan Berko for the diary The truth. At the same time, he adds that life in the settlement taught him great humility and he will not regret this period at all.
While the fictional heroine was taught the art of chess by a handyman in the basement of an orphanage, Agatha was taught by her father Milan. It is he who has played a large part in the fact that his daughter has become a passionate chess player who defeats the last older opponents and today also the routines of his teacher.
Beginnings
They started teaching their daughter’s chess six years ago. Despite the fact that the conditions for development in chess were not entirely right, today he has won several victories. “I started making my first moves on the board as a kindergartener. When I was five years old, I took to the tournament and finished in the top ten. “ says Agatha for the diary The truth. However, he considers the moment when he first defeated his father to be his greatest triumph.
As an 8-year-old, she won a Slovak tournament Big price in fast chess. You will win sixth place at the European Union Championships in the previous eight years. “It was a beautiful success for us, because the tournament, which took place in the village of Kouty nad Desnou, was attended by 15 chess federations. It was all the more valuable to find out that Agátka finished in sixth place. “ says Agatha ‘s father Milan Berko in a report for RTVS. In the tournament today, you will beat one player after another. Thanks to the chess tournament, she will be able to travel almost all over Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
He not only brought his daughter to chess
In addition to his daughter, Milan Berko also brought other children to chess within his club Hrochotskí jazdci. According to the portal Good newspaper began teaching in a community center in the small village of Hrochoti near Zvolen, after which the club is named. In Slovakia, chess is mostly the dominant majority. However, Milan Berko shows that really everyone can excel in chess, even children from Roma settlements, which thus gives the prospect of a better future.
The Hrochotský riders founded the chess club five years ago. He managed to collect children from the Roma community and founded a chess club purely for them. From the beginning, they faced many ridicule that I never know how to play chess. Today we already have several successful chess players of Roma origin in Slovakia. Proof of this is the story of Agatha, who is one of the best players.
The first tournaments
However, he mentions unmistakably his first competition, which Milan Berko completed with children. His words reflect the long-standing attitude of how Slovak society perceives children from Roma settlements.
“Chess is about silence everywhere. Suddenly, a group of Roma comes to the competition. The competitors before that were not used to the Roma. When we showed up at the door, you should see how all our heads turned on us. I even saw that there were ladies who grabbed the cables and checked to see if things were in place. It was the same, the children noticed it too, ” describes his first tournament with children Milan Berko for Good newspaper.
According to him, the difference is when a child suffers from social or mental poverty. During his chess training, he came to the conclusion that when a child has to take care of the starting line as well, he cannot excel among himself. “We have made it to the Slovak Championships and the European Union Championships. We were also necessary in Moscow that the Roma are not as stupid as they say, where we were part of the delegations of Roma from Slovakia from various fields and professions, ” adds Milan Berko in his statement.
According to him, the problem is often in the teachers themselves teaching children in schools. According to him, teachers themselves tend to underestimate Roma children. However, chess did not change that. “Teachers made them feel stupid. As soon as we start playing chess, no one dared to announce it. ” adds Agatha’s father.
source: Unsplash / Michal Vrba
Draw with world champion
During her short chess career so far, young Agáta managed to play with even the biggest chess stars. She drew, for example, with the chess champion of Canada Tomáš Krňan. For an important meeting with Anatoly Karpov, when he came to Banská Štiavnica. With the Russian chess grandmaster, she had the opportunity to play the part during which she managed to play a draw.
“At the time, I had no idea who it was. I knew I was going to a match there, but nothing more. Suddenly, an elderly gentleman stopped behind me and began making moves on the board. I tried terribly to beat him, but it didn’t work. When he bought me a draw, I hesitated because I wanted to win over it. But then I took it, because it’s better than losing, “ Agatha described her meeting for the daily Pravda.
According to her father, he bought four out of fifteen children at the time. That is why the moment is still mentioned with great pride. “He is a man who does not need to prove anything. One of them is a great honor and at the same time motivation for talented chess players. He told me that he did not know any licensed Romani coach or Romani girl playing chess. He was very praising Agatka, “ mentions for the diary The truth father Milan.
She is not only doing well in chess
She has excellent results at school and is an excellent student. Participate in exams and international math and knowledge competitions. In the future, she would like to become a divorce lawyer or scientist who discovered a cure for her two autistic brothers.
At some point in her father’s life, however, private problems arose and Agata stopped training for a while. Today, however, there is a desire to play. Her coach is no longer her father. According to him, she had nothing left to treat. Her new coach is a member of the Slovak Chess Association René Ballo.
Sources: Good Newspapers, The truth, RTVS, Big price