Eight-year-old Rita Sehlberg was one of those who took the chance to face former world number one and grandmaster Pia Cramling when she played twelve games at the same time at Kulturhuset in Stockholm on Saturday.
– I train quite a lot and that’s what makes me good. I also think it’s fun because I’m getting better and better, says Rita Sehlberg.
Grandmaster Pia Cramling appreciated today’s resistance.
– It’s always tough, but it’s great fun. It’s a way to show off chess, she says.
Increased interest
Interest in chess is at its peak with a record number of members in the Swedish Chess Association, and 800,000 Swedes playing on the world’s largest chess platform chess.com.
– Right now we are experiencing a boom. During the pandemic, the TV series Queen’s gambit came out and that combination made many people discover chess, and we continue to ride that wave, says Jesper Hall at the Stockholm Chess Association.
No one managed to beat the grandmaster today, but Rita Sehlberg was the one who lasted the longest. And she has no plans to stop playing.
– The goal is to at least make it to international champion. I want to be able to beat Pia Cramling someday, I do.