We introduce Jergus Pechac, one of the greatest talents of Slovakia first in our new chess talents series. You can read about Jergus’s career, his relation to chess, or watch many games on video played by him.
Jergus also likes LearningChess.net but he would rather study it in Slovakian. Chess for kids is our passion, so we do our best to make this dream come true.
Let’s see first one of his excellent combinations against the young FiDE master, Jozef Straka. You can find this lesson in our Grandmaster Lesson series, too.
Solve the grandmaster lesson here >>
Chess teaches to make an important decisions
First, he started to play chess on the Internet. Then he began to attend a chess beginner group in leisure centre in Žilina, where, only over half of the year, he took part in the Slovak Youth Chess Championship.
He does not have any chess idol, but a dream – to get the title of chess grandmaster. Gifted Jerguš Pecháč is one of the Slovak most promising chess talents.
Jerguš Pecháč, only twelve, already belongs to the best chess players in Žilina between adults. His biggest success so far was 3rd place at the European Youth Chess Championship in Prague.
“The major strength of Jerguš is the ability to improvise. He can play the opening, in which he knows only a few moves, even against its excellent experts and beat them.” said Juraj, father of Jerguš and also added: “His weakness is moodiness. I do not remember that he could win two consecutive games against stronger opponents.”
It was he, who brought talented son to the chess section of the leisure time centre for the first time.
He trains chess every day at home and on the internet.
When Jerguš was 5 years old, he began to play chess at home via the Internet. In the same age he firstly visited the children circle of the Chess club Mladosť Žilina at Spectrum Leisure Centre, where he only had six months training behind and after that already participated in the Youth Chess Championship of Slovakia.
“Once a week Jerguš trains in the Centre. Moreover, every day at home via the Internet. For this training he uses a special webpage, where until now spent 857 hours and dealt with nearly 50,000 puzzles. He is in between two percent of the best puzzle-solvers,” says the father Juraj.
A man who does not play chess, probably never understands why someone could be chaired by the chessboard for hours.
“What makes you want to play and I think it perceives most of chess players, there are so many possibilities, so many combinations. Each game is different. It is up to you to figure out a plan that your opponent does not reveal,” thought the current coach of Jerguš, International Master Marian Jurčík. Together with Jerguš the play Slovak extraliga for the prominent chess club Caissa Čadca. “Jerguš is currently the most active league player in Slovakia. In the last season 2013/14 he has played 46 games, the most of all league players by a margin,” said father Juraj.
If he missed a school duties, must catch them up.
At the tournaments Jerguš usually goes during the holidays. Repeatedly he visits Czech Open in Pardubice and Tournament of Chess Hopes in Frýdek, held during the Easter. These events sometimes last for a week or more.
If it happens, that therefore he misses curriculum at school, after returning he has to catch it up. When he is not occupied by chess or school duties, he likes to play floorball and football with friends or online Game of tanks.
Chess is time and money hobby.
In the Jerguš`s family, about the fact that chess in childhood is heavy time and money consumption, they know something. Indeed, only sole accompaniment by parents on tournaments almost doubles costs of accommodation and transport. Time dedicated to the training rather not to mention.
“Jerguš is talented and hardworking, but without systematic daily training he would not reach such results. As an 8-years old he was declared by The Slovak Chess Federation as the Chess talent of the season 2007/08 after the Final of the GPX serial for budding players in Martin,” underlined Mrs. Dana Vaneková, the chairman of the Chess club Mladosť Žilina and experienced children chess coach in the Youth Leisure Centre Spectrum Žilina.