Timur Ozdemir

Date of Birth: 30 January 1992

Home Town: Istanbul

Proffesion: Student - Istanbul University - Mechanical Engineering

Fatma Koc Ozturk: When did you start playing chess?

Timur Ozdemir: I started playing chess in the tournaments when I was 8 years old. I learned chess in elementary school from Veli Ozan Cakir. We had very good team consisted of talented Turkish players like Melodi Dincel, Ilker Akkartal in that period. After that I worked with Ismet Arvit, he is one of the best arbiters and trainers in Turkey. I was participating in all Turkish Youth Championships between the age 10 to 16. I had to make a break before the university exams, so I could not play in the youth championship under 18 category. Now, I play chess any time I can.

F.O. Do you play in Turkish League?

T.O. Yes, I am playing in BJK Team as a junior reserve player, but I had a chance to play only once in the last round of it.

F.O. What was your goal in chess before you entered the university?

T.O. Actually I did not have any goal about my future in chess. At first I wanted to succeed in Turkish Youth Championships. It is known if you are among medalists you get a chance to play in the big international tournaments like World Youth Chess Championship, European Youth Championship and be a member of the youth national team with the support of Turkish Chess Federation. My biggest achievement was in the Turkish Youth Championship in 2007 under 16 category. After that tournament I entered the national pool that year. Besides this, I was successful in some of the local tournaments in Istanbul.

F.O. How did you decide to come here to play in the World Amateurs Championship?

T.O. My friends were talking about the championship during Istanbul Chess Festival. After that I checked  the information from the Turkish Chess Federation's web site and decided to take part in it.

F.O. Did you expect this success before the championship?

T.O. Actually, it depends on the first rounds of the championship. I thought that if I manage to get absolute result in the first half of the tournament, I can finish it on top. I felt self confident before the tournament. To tell you the truths I played very bad in the previous tournament and even had to quit in the middle. But I believed The World Amateur Championship would be a good start for me. I just wanted to play in it and see what will happen.

F.O. You are leading right now. Did you make special training before coming here?

T.O. Yes, I want to be a champion ofcourse. The previous tournament just finished about two weeks before this event. The participation in that tournament was a kind of training for me even I had bad results. Besides this, I worked a little bit.

F.O. How did you find this championship?

T.O. We have many strong players under 2000 but unfortunately they do not take part in this event. I also expected more players from abroud. I hope this championship will be more attractive in the future.

F.O. If you will be a champion, you will get FM title automatically. Are you planning to give chess more importance after it?

T.O. If I have the FIDE Master title, I do not think I am going to try to become an International Master immediately. I am planning to calm down a little bit and spend my prize money ofcourse.

F.O. Thank you and good luck to you in the last round...