European Youth Chess Championships
30th August - 10th September 2009
Fermo, Italy

Sussex junior Amy Hoare was selected to represent England in the U14 Girls section - Amy is only 12. She did really well - scoring 4.5 points out of 9 against the best in Europe.

On her return, Amy was interviewed by the ECF:

1.How did you get interested in chess?
My Mum first taught me how to play chess when I was about 5 years old but it wasn’t until I joined the school chess club at school in Prep 3 that I started to get more interested in the game. The club is run by Chris Dunworth and he suggested that I go along to some Sussex Junior Chess events...the first competition I went to I won a prize for the best under 8. That’s how it all started!

2.Have you had any notable successes prior to this tournament?
Getting into the England squad last year was a highlight as I’d been working towards that for over a year. I also hold the Under 12 national girls title which I won last Summer. I played with the England squad in Poland in May at an international tournament and was the 3rd placed girl.

3.How did you qualify to play at the European Youth Championships?
I qualified by playing in a number of tournaments throughout the country with my best 3 scores counting. I actually came second and as the winner was unable to go to the competition I was offered the place.

4.Have you had experience of international chess previously?
Yes I had experience of international chess with the England squad. We have played the Dutch team, visited Flanders to play their team, and spent just under a week in Poland taking part in an international tournament. In November I go to Holland to play in the Battle of the Giants competition with the Sussex team and next March will play in the Czech Republic.

5.How did you find the event?
I found the event fun overall. We played 9 games in total, in the morning we prepared for our games with our coaches and then travelled to the playing hall in the afternoon. The games started at 3pm, my shortest game was about 3.5 hours, my longest game was just over 5 hours that was against the number 6 seed in my section a girl from Hungary. After getting back to the hotel each evening we then went through our games with our coaches before all sitting down to dinner. I tried out a number of new openings during the tournament, some worked, and some didn’t! I played in the Under 14 section and was one of the youngest players as I was only 12. I started as seed 62 and finished in 37th place on 4.5 points, so I was really pleased.

6.What was your favourite game from the tournament?
My favourite game was the game against Katarina Larionova from Finland; it was a really exciting mate as I had to sacrifice my rook.

7.What hobbies do you have aside from chess?
Hockey and roller blading

8.Are there any other comments you’d like to make?
I think everyone should have the chance to learn chess, it’s a fun game and I’ve had the chance to make some great new friends.

Interview reproduced with the permission of the ECF.