At the age of four, Javier Habans (Pamplona, 2008) showed up one day at the Overena sports club in his hometown with his sister. She, two years older, had taught him how to play chess and they both wanted to deepen their hobby. Javier intended to follow in the footsteps of who two years later would be Spanish champion. From the first moment, the coach who led that club, Jesús de la Villa, an experienced player and coach, saw “spectacular potential” in him. Thus began this love story for chess, which this past Saturday experienced the most special moment since then. Habans was proclaimed under-16 world champion in Florianópolis (Brazil), something that no Spaniard had achieved before. The closest are the titles of Francisco Vallejo (under-18, in 2000) and Pedro Ginés (under-14, in 2018).
At four years old, he had enormous strategic creativity and an atypical understanding of the game.”
“In 2014 we went to the Batumi European Championship because his sister was Spanish champion. And at the age of 6, Javier gave a spectacular performance. Since then we haven’t stopped,” he says. The Vanguard Jesús de la Villa, recently arrived in Spain after winning the title. “Looking back, this World Cup means the peace of mind that all these years of work, with good results, have had meaning,” acknowledges De la Villa. “Looking to the future, it makes you think that you can do more things. It gives you that morale and that enthusiasm, but it does not replace work. You have to work hard to be in the world elite,” he acknowledges.
The World Cup gives you morale and enthusiasm but that does not replace the work to become in the elite.”
De la Villa saw in that four-year-old child “an unusual thing,” the ability to “understand how the game is going to progress.” Furthermore, in positions that many consider “that there is nothing, he always found ways to create things.” According to him, he had “enormous strategic creativity” and “an understanding of the games that is not typical of players of his age.” In addition, he was able to “anticipate what his opponent was thinking, something that small children do not do.” Also his “concentration and determination to seek a goal with great clarity.”
Psychologically he is very strong. “If you have a clear goal, there are few things that will keep you from it.”
The Navarrese coach had reasons to sense that Javier could achieve important success in Florianópolis, not in vain was he the fifth seed. “This year both he and I had hope because he seemed very strong.” Although he acknowledges that winning was “something very difficult.” “You have to be in shape, that everything goes well for you and that your rivals are not as inspired as you. But everything went well from the beginning.”
This year we had hope because it seemed very strong. “Everything went well from the beginning.”
Habans started the tournament, which is settled by a Swiss system that makes it completely random, intractable. In the first six games he did not fail and added six wins. From there it was time to defend the good result. But the ninth game arrived, in which he found himself in a very difficult position. “Javier is very strong psychologically, and if he has a clear objective there are few things that will keep him from it. In this tournament it has been fundamental because there was a very complex position in that game, but he recomposed himself, defended himself in the best possible way and did not lose it,” explains the coach.
Eleven times champion of Spain in different ages and modalities, team gold in the European under-18 rapid and bronze in the under-16 lightning modality, Habans rounds off a very outstanding record of achievements that for his coach represents “a liberation, the peace of mind to say, these ten years of work have been useful for something. He had achieved things but seeing his potential we expected him to achieve something like that.”
However, De la Villa asks for caution with Habans, who is now studying high school and will later go to university. “It is very difficult to be professional. You have to reach a very high level of play. Now he is a thousand or so in the ranking, but he would have to be among the top 100 to dedicate himself professionally.” The next step is to be a Grand Master. “A very nice step because it requires a higher level. This result gives him the expectation, the excitement and the hope of doing greater things,” he wishes.
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