Syrian refugee Hussain Besou has become Germany’s youngest ever chess player to be included in the national team. He is just 11 years old.
Besou was only four years old when he began asking his father to teach him how to play chess. His father said no, so he hung around chess players until his father agreed.
After mastering the basic moves, Besou surprised everyone with his talent.
“He started correcting us and telling us what we should have done to win,” said his 43-year-old father, Mustafa.
Besou will represent Germany at a tournament in Croatia later this month.
German national youth trainer Bernd Voelker called Besou an exceptional player.
“He is very quick to grasp the chess positions. This really is extraordinary,” he said, Reuters reported.
The Besou family settled in Germany as refugees in 2016 and their very first actions were to buy a chess set and find their talented son a chess club to join.
After joining the club, Besou made immediate strides at a level above the rest – trainers recommended that he compete at state level when he was only six years old.
Besou’s chess teacher, Andreas Kuehler, recalled an exercise when players were asked to switch sides in the middle of the game and take over their opponent’s strategy.
“Hussain strictly refused to turn around his board and would rather stop playing completely,” Kuehler said.
The coach said that was how strong his desire was to win.
In the process of becoming an international chess star, Besou has become fluent in German and has won several national events.
Mustafa said the support his son has received in Germany is tremendous.
“If he were in Syria he would have needed someone with authority supporting him in order to excel. And even then he could only have reached a certain point,” he said.
Besou said the challenge of being so young is an opportunity to work on his skills.
“If I win, then thank God for that. If I lose, then I will try to win next time,” he said.
Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt
Pictured above: Hussain Besou
Image source: Twitter
