Read the interview we had with Fruzsina Szente-Varga, a chess player from Hungary, who has been training chess for almost 20 years.
1. Can you tell us something about yourself? What is your name, how old are you and where are you from?
"My name is Fruzsina Szente-Varga, and I am a 26-years-old Woman Fide Master from Hungary."
2. How long have you been practicing chess and who are your chess idols?
"Chess has always been a huge part of my everyday life, as I have been playing chess for 18 years. I always looked up to the Polgar sisters; Susan, Sofia and Judit, especially since they are Hungarian as well! It was inspiring to see that if I worked hard, I could achieve my dreams and that I am capable of anything if I set my mind to it!"
3. Which opening do you play the most?
"I changed my openings a couple of times during my career, but there is one that stuck the most; the King's Indian Defense! I always liked to attack, so it was appealing to play this as most lines are very aggressive, and you can never get bored of the fight! There is another opening that will never be replaced: 1.e4! Even though the moves after e4 can be changed, I believe I will always remain an e4 player."
4. Have you read any books about chess?
"In my childhood years I have never read a chess book by myself, we always worked on those with my coaches, but I wish I did read chess books alone too. Nowadays I mostly prefer to study from chess sites such as ChessMood, Chessable and sometimes Chess.com, but whenever I have some extra time I learn from Yusupov's books (Build up your chess 1,2,3/ Boost your chess 1,2,3/ Chess Evolution 1,2,3) as well, based on which topic I think I need the most."
5. Are you a member of a chess club and if so, which club?
"Yes, in my country I am a member of the ASE Paks II. (Atomerőmű Sportegyesület) team, and we compete in the the second league of Hungary. I am also a guest player in Hajdúszoboszlói Sakkiskola Egyesület where we play in the regional league (playing in these two teams don't exclude each other). My former coach played there, and I have a lot of good friends coming from there too."
6. Can you single out some success and tell us more about it?
"One of my achievements that I am most proud of was my performance at the 33th Zalakaros Chess Festival B (under 2400 FIDE) in 2014. I was seeded 41, but I ended up being 9th after the last round. I ended up drawing against an FM, an IM and a GM, I lost only to the tournament winner and I won the rest of my games. I scored a Woman Grandmaster norm, and I increased my rating by almost 60 points! After the tournament I was told that the person who won the tournament went out with his friends every night, except for the night before our match, because he wanted to prepare and take it very seriously. It felt like a nice compliment!"
7. What are your future plans for chess?
"I like to not set a final goal for the future, since I would always like to keep improving. Currently my next goal is to get my final norm for Woman International Master title, and climb up one step higher on the master ladder."
8. Would you recommend the younger generation of boys and girls to try chess?
"Yes, I would definitely recommend chess! Chess gave me a great purpose and extracurricular activity when I was in school, making those years more exciting and bearable, because thanks to it I got to meet most of my closest friends, with whom I made my best memories. Now, as an adult, I am very grateful that I started playing chess, because my job is also related to chess (coaching and content creation) so I get to do what I enjoy the most!"
English 
Serbian