SMK Convent Kajang student Nur Batrisya Wafa Mohsen, 17, has already spent a week sparring with opponents of various ages at the Prague Open 2022, which began on Jan 7 and ends tomorrow.
Mohsen Amdan, 44, said his wife Wan Fatahhiyah Remli, 42, was with their eldest daughter in Prague, a trip that the couple funded themselves.
“My wife and I raised our own funds to motivate and give Batrisya more exposure and experience overseas. Batrisya also needs to improve and maintain her ratings. The better her ratings, the more prestigious the competitions she can join.
“For example, she must have high ratings to be eligible to represent Malaysia at the SEA Games,” he told FMT, adding that the most prestigious of tournaments was the World Chess Championship.
Mohsen said Batrisya and her four siblings often joined online chess competitions to gather marks and improve their ratings.
The Form 5 student had also won several local chess tournaments, and most recently came in second at the Selangor Schools Sports Council’s 2021 chess tournament, in the under-18 category.
“Batrisya went to Prague for two competitions. Now, she’s competing with the Hacker Checker group in the open category. Once she’s done with this competition, she and her mum will be going to another district in the Czech Republic for another competition.”
A sports scholar in her school, Batrisya has managed to garner a four-digit rating, and had reached 1,200 prior to going to Prague.
Mohsen said his daughter began taking an interest in chess when she was 10. Her love for chess grew when her headmaster in SK Saujana Impian 2 enlisted the services of a coach to sharpen the talents of students in the sport.
After Batrisya left primary school, her parents hired a personal coach for their five children to continue honing their talents.
Now, Batrisya has started setting her foot in the world of coaching, as she teaches teenagers and children who are interested in chess.
“It’s not just her, all five of my children love playing chess. Two of Batrisya’s siblings, Nur Basyira Wafa, 15, and Mohd Evan Mikail, 11, have also been in action in Thailand. Batrisya didn’t join them then because of school exams,” Mohsen said.
However, the futures of Batrisya, her siblings and other amateur or even professional players in the country remain dim as chess is not categorised as a high-performance sport here, thus disqualifying them from receiving any government funding.
“The costs we have to bear are very high. But what can we do since chess isn’t deemed a high-performance sport? We have to put in our own effort,” he added.