Mai Narva

How did you start to play chess?
I started playing chess when my older sisters went to France to a chess tournament and I really wanted to go to France too. My mom told me that for me to go to France, I need to learn how to play chess. I asked her to teach me and that’s how it all began.

What age, which year?
She started to teach me in 2005, when I was five years old.

What is your best achievement in chess so far, and when?
My best achievement in chess, or at least the one I was most happy about was when I won the European Championships Girls U16 in 2014.

What is your target in chess?
My target in chess right now is to get my third WGM norm, but in the long run, I’d really like to be an International Master.

What else chess has taught to you, except playing chess?
The main thing that chess has taught me is that small setbacks are a normal part of life and all you can and have to do is to learn from them and accept them with the understanding that there will be other opportunities to reach your goals.