Maksim Tsaruk, a student of the Faculty of Information Technologies and Robotics, Belarusian chess player, two-time champion of the Republic of Belarus in chess, has recently returned from Kazan, where the BRICS Sports Games were held. During them, the young man won silver and bronze medals.
For reference: The BRICS Sports Games are annual multi-sport competitions between the member states of the BRICS Economic Group. In 2024, the Russian Federation hosted 82 countries in Kazan, where competitions in 27 sports were held for 12 days. As a result, the Republic of Belarus took the honorable second place.
– Please share your impressions of the BRICS Sports Games. In what mood did you return home?
– The impressions were the most positive. Of course, this cannot be unrelated to the fact that I played very well, since for an athlete, the memories of such trips depend on the results of the competition. If you play poorly, then the impressions will be «cloudy». Kazan is also very beautiful, I had time to see many sights and even tried the national Tatar cuisine. The atmosphere was very comfortable and inviting.
The young man noted that this year's chess competition featured a very strong line-up, and he particularly singled out the Russian chess player Vladislav Artemyev (Grandmaster, third in the world in blitz). Maxim admitted that it was a great honor for him to play with a chess player of such a level. The boy also expressed his admiration for the representatives of China, Uzbekistan and India.
– The preparation took more than three months, and I knew that I would do everything that depended on me. Despite this, before the first game started, of course, I was worried, I was nervous, I didn't want to start somehow unsuccessfully. However, when I won the first game, I felt that everything would be fine. The game flowed like a river and the excitement receded, – Maxim admitted.
– Quite recently, this December, before a game at the World Rapid Chess Championship, you shook hands with the legendary chess player Magnus Carlson. How did you feel at the time?
– Firstly, I was very surprised that I got to the game with Magnus. Of course, during the game I tried to put these thoughts aside and concentrate on the game, but afterwards I repeatedly reviewed the photos. I hope to get to a tournament like this again in New York this year. I have to admit honestly: I would like not only to play with Magnus again, but also to beat him one day.
– How do you prepare for tournaments?
– Nowadays chess is developing comprehensively: there are many literary publications, grandmasters are open to teaching, they record educational videos. I try to keep track of it all, watch it, study it. I spend a lot of time practising on my own, training at the Republican Olympic Training Centre. We chess players also work a lot with a laptop: it's no secret that computers beat humans a long time ago, so we also draw information from the machine, learn, try to understand how it thinks and why it makes a particular move.
Maxim also mentioned that chess can legitimately be called a game of endurance, as many games can last 5-6 hours, and all this time a player needs to keep his body toned and his brain concentrated. That is why an athlete pays a lot of attention to his physical shape: he swims, jogs, does cardio workouts and sets of exercises to strengthen the muscles of the back and arms.
- What's more, the psychological aspect is very important in preparation for competitions: an athlete needs to keep himself in a stable mental state. The Belarusian National Technical University supports me in this, for which I am very grateful. Discipline is also important for any person, regardless of whether he is a chess player or just a student: to keep your head clear, you need to keep a sleep schedule.
- Where do you plan to go next?
- To be honest, I try not to look too far ahead. In the near future I will be playing in Azerbaijan at an international competition in Baku. The main goal now is to fulfil the grandmaster standards. Grandmaster is the next stage I want to step on. Of course, I also want to pass exams for a high score at the university, because without it I will never get anywhere.
We are grateful to Maksim for the interview and wish him further success in his sporting and academic endeavors.
