LatestChess :- Hello Alisa,
We are glad to have you on LatestChess. Your domestic situation as a child was
certainly different, what was it like to Grow Up as a Twin?
GM Alisa Maric :-
There is one especially good thing about it which is
connected to chess; you always have a partner for the game! As we were kids,
there was a great home rivalry between us, not only in chess but any kind of
game. Of course, as twin sisters we attracted more media attention. It’s not
about one talented girl but two at the same time!
LatestChess :- You were introduced to chess at
the age of four, together with your 21 minutes younger twin sister Mirjana Maric.
You are the only twins with grandmaster titles in the history of chess. How does
it feel?
GM Alisa
Maric :-
It is interesting that Mirjana and I are the only
twin grandmasters still despite many new players rising. I am very happy that
both of us have achieved great results during our careers. I got higher rank
than my sister but it was because she gave her best to help me as a trainer and
pushed her own career back.
My sister was twice champion of Yugoslavia, world champion U16, participant of
World championship Inter-zonal tournament and member of Yugoslavian national
team at Chess Olympiads in a period of 1990-1994. Finally she had more
obligations about her work as a computer programmer in national
telecommunication company but also to her family and especially young son Filip.
Mirjana gave her best to help me as a trainer and pushed her own career back ...
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Alisa and
Mirjana Maric at age of four |
LatestChess :- You started your chess
career as a prodigy, you were equally good with academics, you have done M.S.
and PhD. How difficult it is to manage both? Do you think you could have been a
much stronger chess player if you would have concentrated only on chess?
GM Alisa
Maric :-
I was third at the World championship cycles in two
occasions. In 1991 I was co-winner of Candidate’s tournament and played Final
challenger match against Xie Jun and in 2000 I played semifinal at “knockout”
World championship in New Delhi. In-between I was always among six best players
at World championships. It’s not so easy to be much better than this. At the
same time I graduated at University of Belgrade in Economy. It means that it is
possible to manage both, sport and academic career. I can’t say it was easy, but
it was a challenge to do the best in both fields. Now I spend more time as a
marketing professor than as a chess player.
it is possible to
manage both, sport and academic career...
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Xie Jun with
Alisa Maric during WCC Final challenger match 1991 |
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LatestChess :- Chess has been effectively
used as a powerful educational tool; Russian's have added chess as a subject in
the Schools. How is Serbia doing with that aspect?
GM Alisa
Maric :-
Two years ago, Serbia introduced chess as a subject
of choice in many primary schools. It was a great campaign supported by national
Ministry of sport. I was named as a promoter of campaign so I played
simultaneous games with kids, gave chess lessons and had interviews in various
media about benefits of chess for youngsters. We have number of enthusiasts who
are working on spreading chess as a subject to all primary and secondary schools
in the country.
It was a great campaign supported by
national Ministry of sport...
