Ho Chi Minh City female student in top 6 of world youth chess championship

Nguyen Hoang My (2nd from right) in the top 6 of the 2023 World Youth Chess Championship

FANPAGE OF THE GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL

This morning, May 20, the Gifted High School (Ho Chi Minh City National University) held a ceremony to summarize the 2023-2024 school year, honoring and rewarding students who won national and international awards in various fields. Among them was Nguyen Hoang My (11th grade student of Social Sciences 2), a top 6 player of the 2023 World Youth Chess Championship, held in the US in November 2023.

Coincidentally came to chess

By chance, coming to Chinese chess in grade 3, Nguyen Hoang My learned how to play Chinese chess from her seniors at the table tennis practice place. Seeing that Chinese chess is an interesting sport , and having a brother 5 years older than her who plays it, My asked her mother to let her learn. A year later, My won her first medals at the Ho Chi Minh City Talent Competition and continued to win the gold medal at the 2017 National Youth Chinese Chess Championship in the traditional category (the group's first time participating in the national competition).

"When I was a child learning Chinese chess at Ho Xuan Huong Gymnasium, District 3, Mr. Tran The Hung was the first person to guide me and until now he has always followed, supported, and assisted me in practicing before important tournaments. But it was a long process, for example, when I was in middle school at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted in District 1, International Grandmaster Dam Thi Thuy Dung guided me... In general, it was a process of having to learn from many people, including my competitors," said the 11th grade female student of the Gifted High School.

Nguyen Hoang My at the award ceremony on the morning of May 20

A memorable tournament

Nguyen Hoang My shared: "The 2023 World Youth Chess Championship is a tournament that brings a lot of emotions that I can never forget. To have a place in this tournament, athletes are required to participate in the national youth tournament and be in the top 4 rankings. In 2023, the tournament will be held in the US for the first time, so I am determined to participate in the national tournament to find a ticket to the US with the thought that even if I don't win an international prize, it is still worth the experience." The female student from Ho Chi Minh City added that this is the first time she has entered the international arena, so she is quite worried and nervous and thought "I will try my best, but it will be difficult for me to win any prizes".

Hoang My said: "Unlike many other players, I am a freelance athlete (not part of the city's team's payroll), I did not participate in many national tournaments so I did not practice regularly. Therefore, I had to try to practice more often. I had to try my best for each match, had to face top players from China or my own teammates, the feeling is hard to describe."

The competition in the US also gave Nguyen Hoang My many other memorable memories. The female student met friends from many countries, most of whom spoke English very well, so she could interact with them, introduce them to Vietnamese culture and learn about their country that she did not know anything about. Many friends even asked My to teach them some Vietnamese sentences... When on the table, the athletes could think of nothing but the chess pieces, but off the field they were very happy and made plans to meet again.

Female student interviewed on the morning of May 20

But what is the unforgettable failure?

For Nguyen Hoang My, it was a failure in the summer of grade 5 at the 2018 National Youth Championship. In the three events of standard chess, rapid chess and blitz chess, My won a silver medal in rapid chess. In the standard chess event, Hoang My had the opportunity to be in the top medalists, but lost the decisive match, which affected her psychologically. In the following matches and in the end, Hoang My had no achievements in this event.

That failure made the female student a bit discouraged, but when she returned to studying, practicing and experiencing, My realized that her chess-playing friends were the same, everyone had times of failure, the important thing was to find a way to overcome each match. "Before, I was quite impatient, but since playing chess, I found myself more calm. I found that learning and playing chess helps me to be calmer, to have more depth, sports have sadness, there is joy because there is winning, there is losing, but I really have a lot of joy", the 11th grade female student said.

Hoang My (second from right) and teammates from Gifted High School at the 2023 Phu Dong Student Sports Festival Table Tennis Tournament

FANPAGE OF THE GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL

Currently, not only is she passionate about chess, Hoang My also likes playing table tennis and piano as extracurricular activities. The female student also participates in table tennis tournaments for students in Ho Chi Minh City and has some achievements. My's dream is to get a scholarship to study in the US, majoring in psychology. The female student wants to thank her parents and brother for always accompanying and supporting her.

Hoang My confided: "I still remember the first time I achieved an achievement, my brother was still young at that time, he followed me, waiting for me to compete. Every time I felt pressured because I didn't achieve the desired results, my mother always said that no one person can be good at everything, if you don't do this, you can do something else, as long as you are happy and optimistic, it's okay...".

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nu-sinh-tphcm-trong-top-6-vo-dich-co-tuong-tre-the-gioi-185240520162703901.htm