Silesian Chess Champion. Fourteenth chess player in Europe in Classical Chess in 2023. Polish Champion in the Girls’ U8 category in Rapid Chess. She is 9 years old and discovered her great passion four years ago. Since then, she has spent every free moment at the chessboard. Meet Julia Szczurek from Wodzisław Śląski, a talented chess player whom NCT S.A. is proud to support in developing her talent and passion.

We speak with Julia’s mother, Magdalena Szczurek, at a time when the young competitor is fighting for the best possible position in the rankings during the European Youth Chess Championship in Classical Chess in Prague.

Agnieszka Stefaniak-Zubko: Chess is a family tradition for you, or rather a passion discovered by chance?

Magdalena Szczurek: It is a very interesting story. Schools and kindergartens in Wodzisław Śląski participate in a programme called Education through chess *. Children from the age of 6 attend weekly classes with a professional chess coach. It happened that Julia was in a group of 5–6-year-olds, so she discovered chess even a year earlier. At first, we did not even know that such classes were available. Everything changed when Julia took second place in a kindergarten chess tournament. The first place went to a boy who was one year older than her. Her teacher then told us that a few days later there would be another chess tournament at a nearby school. Julia took part in it together with children 2–3 years older than her and finished in 11th place. It was a huge surprise for us. After this experience, we enrolled our daughter in our local chess club, UKS Baszta Wodzisław Śląski. When I heard that Julia was absolutely suitable to become a club player, I was as proud as if she had been accepted into university. It was September, and already in October Julia competed in a tournament in Pawłowice. She lost every single game.

How did she feel about it?

Of course, she was upset. And she immediately wanted to go home. I used to train intensively in table tennis myself, and I know that according to sports etiquette, you should stay until the end and congratulate the winners. I wanted Julia to understand these principles. So we stayed. It turned out that there was another reason to stay – we learned that the same tournament would be held the following day. We already knew that Julia would take part in it. That was when she achieved her lowest, fifth chess category. She was 6 years old at the time. A month later, she had already achieved the third chess category, and it is worth mentioning that some players compete for this level for 2–3 years. From that moment on, we attended 2–4 tournaments every month. Today, when Julia competes at a higher level, tournaments last two days, while European Championships can last up to 10 days.

How does Julia prepare for competitions? I assume one hour of training per week is no longer enough?

Julia has two individual coaches. She has two hours of lessons with one of them, while with the other she has so far trained once a week, although from September we plan to introduce a second session. In addition, she trains for four hours a week during group classes at UKS Baszta Wodzisław Śląski. To stay in shape, she spends at least one hour a day solving chess exercises at home. At school, she also attends a chess class, so she has an additional two hours of chess lessons together with other children.

Intensive training. Does Julia still have time for other passions? Or is chess her only love?

She loves swimming and enjoys playing football. She feels particularly comfortable as a goalkeeper. She also really likes reading. But chess always comes first.  Just imagine that during the European Championship, after 10 days of intensive competition, I was completely exhausted and had had enough. And I was not even the one sitting at the chessboard. First, the players compete for 5 days, playing one round per day. Then there is a rest day for recovery, followed by another 4 days with one round each day. We must remember that a child trains intensively in the morning and then takes part in a round in the afternoon, which often lasts 3 hours or even longer. I would not have been surprised if Julia had said that she had had enough and could not look at a chessboard anymore. But that was not the case. After the championship ended, parents were packing their luggage at the hotel and preparing to leave. The children were spending time together and could do whatever they wanted. Guess what they chose to do.

They took out a chessboard?

Exactly. Julia returned to the room and started solving chess exercises again, even though it was clear that she was exhausted. Of course, there are also days when we have to motivate her to work. Julia really likes challenges. For example, I ask her how many chess exercises she can complete in 15 minutes, and we measure the time. Then we check whether she can improve her previous result during the next 15 minutes. She is already at a level where she needs to stay in a regular training rhythm. A month-long break from training is enough for a player at this level to noticeably fall behind the others.

How did your journey with NCT S.A. begin?

I really like this story too [laughs]. When Julia qualified for the European Championship in Romania and even the World Championship in Egypt after the Polish Classical Chess Championship for girls under 8, we did not yet realise what costs were involved. Apart from the tournament participation fees, it is also important to remember that a coach accompanies players at such competitions. Otherwise, taking part simply does not make sense. When the Polish Chess Federation published the official information, the costs turned out to be so high that I even called them, hoping to ask whether the price included airline tickets. Of course, it did not [laughs]. The final cost of participating in the European Championship was approximately PLN 16,000. The cost of taking part in the World Championship reached PLN 25,000. At first, we started an online fundraising campaign, but then I remembered that many players have sponsors’ logos on their shirts. I thought that perhaps we could find support for Julia from a local company. I prepared a list of businesses in the area and decided that I would visit all of them to tell Julia’s story and suggest cooperation. I remember that it was very hot and I was already extremely tired. There was only one company left on my list. At that time, it was still operating under the name Alumast. I was completely exhausted. I wanted to go home and give up on the last visit. But with the last bit of determination, I decided to go in and present my daughter’s story. And that is how our journey together began.

A perfect example that it is worth fighting until the very end.

Yes. I clearly remember when Julia, my husband, and I came to meet Mr Rafał Bednarczyk. Julia is a shy child, and I wondered whether she would feel uncomfortable speaking during the meeting. However, as soon as the topic of chess came up, all her shyness disappeared. These meetings show that Julia truly loves what she does and enjoys talking about it. I am very grateful for NCT S.A.’s involvement. Thanks to your support, Julia was able to participate in the championships in Romania, Egypt, and now in Prague. But we can count on much more than just financial support. I even created a group called “NCT Team” where I send you photos from tournaments. We feel and know that you support Julia, cheer for her, and take care of her. At one point, the collars on the polo shirts Julia wore during competitions started bothering her. As often happens with children, she suddenly stopped liking them. I promised her that I would ask our sponsor whether the shirts could be changed. As a result, we now have the perfect shirt: lightweight and breathable. It works really well. There was also no problem adding not only the company logo but also the logo of UKS Baszta Wodzisław Śląski, the club Julia strongly identifies with.

It is wonderful to hear that. We are delighted that NCT S.A. has the opportunity to support a talented and determined Julia in developing her passion and sporting talent.

Under the NCT logo on Julia’s shirt there is the company’s motto: “Be an inspiration.” Julia’s story reflects this message perfectly. Our daughter surprises us every day with her determination, resilience, and fighting spirit. She works hard because she truly loves what she does. But she is admired not only by us. Recently, during a tournament, the mother of another young player approached me and said that they always watch Julia because she is a true inspiration for her daughter. I believe that this is also why Julia and NCT are such a perfect match.

Thank you for the interview.

Interview by: Agnieszka Stefaniak-Zubko

* Education through chess is a programme introduced and funded since 2019 by UKS Baszta Wodzisław Śląski, the Silesian Chess Federation, and the City of Wodzisław Śląski.