Little boys with big talent support family

Little boys with big talent support family

11:47' 02/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Two brothers, seven and 10, have used their chess talents to become the breadwinners of their family of six. More than child’s play: Seven-year-old Tran Minh Thang (centre) watches as his 10-year-old brother Tran Tuan Minh (right) plays a chess game at an evening training class at the Trinh Hoai Duc Sporting Hall. Already national and international tournament champions, the boys hope to someday play for the national chess team. Tran Minh Thang presented the pile of medals he’d won from chess competitions like an ordinary seven-year-old would show off the contents of his toy box. "I have 11 medals" he whispered shyly, looking down at the cardboard box gleaming with gold, silver and bronze. His 10-year-olds brother Tran Tuan Minh has lost count of the medals he’s won at national and international chess competitions, but he estimates the number to be more than 30. These medals aren’t the brothers’ only gold: they’ve become the breadwinners of their six-member family with a VND2.5mil (US$160) monthly stipend from the Ha Noi Sports Department. "Frankly, we have to live on their ’income’, said their father, Tran Van Thuan. "We try to create the most favourable conditions for their study". He and his wife Nguyen Thi Xuan retired early so that they could transport their "little chess kings" to evening chess classes some 20km away from their house in Dong Ngac Commune in Tu Liem, an outlying district of Hanoi. Their retirement pensions are barely enough to cover the cost of transporting the boys, so the boys’ earnings have to cover other expenses. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evening, Minh and Thang attend chess classes instructed by foreign teachers, while on Wednesdays and Fridays they study more in depth with International Master Bui Vinh. For Thuan and Xuan, their children’s intelligence and work ethic are their greatest pride. "They ’don’t want to stay home even on rainy days," Xuan said. "They would never let me be lazy if I didn’t want to go out in the rain. They would say, ’Come on, we only have a few evening classes!’ Despite spending hours on chess study and competition, Minh and Thang have never neglected their studies at Dong Ngac Primary School, as evidenced by their grades. "Whenever they miss school, their teachers give them make-up lessons for free," Xuan said. Adult worries Chess dominates the young boys’ time and energy, but financial concerns are never far from their minds. According to their parents, Minh and Thang are constantly worried that their family will run out of money. "One time, it looked as though Minh wasn’t going to beat his rival, and his instructors threatened, ’If you don’t play well, your family will be homeless because all their money was spent on your game’. That drove him to win," Thuan recalled. Thuan, Xuan and the boys always manage to get by, but their apartment suggests that the family’s financial situation tends to require a delicate balance. The 39-sq.m space looks deceptively wide because of its emptiness. Apart from a TV, a battered wardrobe, a telephone and two fans, the family has only a 50cc motorbike, perhaps the family’s most precious asset, as it transports the boys to their chess classes. The boys’ fears have likely been compounded by situations like the Brunei tournament in 2002, which Minh was able to attend only after his parents borrowed more than VND10mil from his teachers. Luckily, Minh was able to repay the debt from his prize winnings at the tournament. "Playing chess is making them grow old too quickly", Xuan said, picking up a grey hair on Minh’s head. Chess before letters The boys’ chess ’careers’ began early - in Minh’s case, at the age of 4, before he had learned to read or write. "One day, my second daughter told me that Minh’s first chess moves were quite sharp," Xuan said. "When my daughter stopped playing chess with him to prepare dinner, he insisted she keep playing." Minh and Thang have been lucky to be able to practise at home with their older sister, also a member of the Ha Noi Chess Team. When the boys’ talent became obvious, their parents began sending them to good instructors at evening classes. In 2002, after several months of studying at the Trinh Hoai Duc Sporting Hall, Minh won his first award. At the first open chess competition held for children in northern Vietnam, Minh was recognised as the youngest player with an excellent record by the Chess Federation of Vietnam. In July of the following year, he won the national chess championship for seven-year-olds. Five months later at the Southeast Asian chess competition held in Brunei, Minh won two gold medals, despite competing against eight-year-olds. Since then, he has participated in competitions in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand and has yet to return empty-handed. Following his brother’s footsteps, Thang also participated in the regional competition in Brunei, at age six. Thang proved he wasn’t just a little brother tagging along last year at the Indonesia tournament, where he won gold and silver medals. The boys’ instructor, International Master Vinh, believes his proteges hold a great deal of promise. "Their tactics are not yet up to professional standards, but their quickness is extremely good," Vinh said. "Minh and Thang’s styles are similar to world champions Alexander Alekhine and Tigran Petrosian respectively." According to Vinh, Minh will travel to Hungary for a few years of intensive training when he reaches 12. Hungary has been the training grounds for many Vietnamese grand masters including Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Dao Thien Hai. "With two competitions each month, it will be a good environment in which he can refine his skills," Vinh said. A dream come true To further improve their play, Minh and Thang have dreamt for years of having a computer that can analyse their chess performance. "I wish I had lots of money like master Vinh, then I would buy some computers," Thang said. Knowing that their parents couldn’t afford it, neither he nor Minh have ever asked for one. "They said their senior classmates had computers to analyse their games so they could find out which moves were right or wrong," Xuan explained. "Instead they rush to ask teachers whenever they are checkmated." The boys’ dreams will come true this Friday: they will receive a set of PCs in honour of Children’s Day, courtesy of FPT. The company has launched a programme to sponsor 12 young Vietnamese chess talents - which means that Minh and Thang’s parents will no longer have to worry about going into debt to support their children’s aspirations. (Source: Viet Nam News)