Challenge Tromsø  1 - 9. August 2009
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NORWAY'S COMING STARS

By IM Torstein Bae

Peter Flermoen, Gregor Taube and Torgeir Kjøita have at least two things in common: They were born in 1996, and they are very talented chess players. The kids were willing to answer a few questions after the third round of the Arctic Chess Challenge 2009.

Torgeir Kjøita (left), Peter Flermoen (center) and Gregor Taube

Are you happy with your performances so far?

Peter: I lost the first round to GM Radulski, but I had a good position. I won my games in round two, and today I won against FM Kari Tikkanen. I am happy with my performance rating after three round, which is over 2300.

Gregor: In the first round I beat IM Nikolaj Mikkelsen, and then I drew Espen Forså. Today I lost to FM Joachim Thomassen, but I am of course satisfied with my result.

Torgeir: My score is half a point, but I am happy with my performance. In the first round I had good chances, but lost in the end.

When did you start playing chess?

Gregor: I started just over three years ago.

Peter: I started playing when I was six years old. An older boy in my school, Jarle Jakobsen, played chess, and I wanted to play chess like he did. In other words, it was a bit of a conicidence that I began playing chess. My first tournament was Rallarsjakken in 2003.

How come you are such strong players at the age of 13?

Torgeir: I have trained with my father, and played Chessmaster a lot. In addition, I get coaching in my chess club every week.

Peter: I do some training every day. I watch videos and read books. It is better to do some training every day than to train several hours one day and then nothing for many days. I play a bit of 15-minute chess on the internet – I think this is better for my development than 5-minute games.

You have played some chess earlier this summer?

Gregor: In June I played Svein Johannessen Memorial in Oslo [a nine round international open], then the Norwegian championship in Bergen [nine rounds], and after that an international tournament in Bretagne [nine more rounds]. Directly after the ACC, I will go to a Chess Week for Youths in Oslo. You could say I play quite a lot. I won the Norwegian U13 Championship, and in Bretagne I made a 2100 performance.

Peter: Shortly before the ACC I played Politiken Cup in Denmark, where my final performance rating was 2319. I guess this was my best result ever, although my 6th place in the European U12 Championship in 2008 was also a very good result.

What are your ambitions as chess players?

Torgeir: I don’t have specific goals. I will just continue training and do my best.

Gregor: I hope to perform well enough that I am selected to play the U14 European or World Championship next year. I have not played in an international youth championship yet.

Peter: My first goal is to get a 2200 rating before christmas; my rating after Politiken Cup is 2056, I think. I hope to achieve the IM-title in 2010.

What about the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromsø?

Peter: The Norwegian team will consist of Gregor, Torgeir, Henning [Torgeir’s twin brother] and myself. Magnus unfortunately will not get into the team. The result will be first place for Norway.

Gregor: Or perhaps we will share first place. If Russia shows up with Kasparov in their team, they might be able to draw their match against us.