By Zeljka Malobabic, The 2006 Canadian Chess Championship, Toronto

Igor Zugic is a 24-year-old International Master from Toronto . He works as a software engineer at Siemens. Igor holds an engineering degree from the University of Toronto.

When did you learn to play chess?
My father thought me to play chess when I was five. I played my first tournament when I was eleven. It was a weekend open tourney.

What was your best tournament?
I really like the Canadian Championship 2006. It is very well organized. A team of GMs versus a team of juniors in 2003 was great as well.

Was it easy to win the Canadian Zonal? Which game is your favorite?
It was very challenging. I am happy that I won. My favorite games are with Robert Hamilton and Tomas Krnan.

What do you think about your game with Pascal Charbonneau, the former champion of Canada ?
I sacrificed my knight, and I am not sure if this was the right thing to do. I was playing aggressively to win, but offered a draw at the moment when it was clear that the first place was secured.

What do you think about the MonRoi system?
I adore it - it’s very simple, clean, no mistakes, no different languages. Personal Chess Managers should become a standard at all the official tournaments. My parents and friends followed my games live at the MonRoi web-site - This was great!

How will you prepare for the World Championship? Will you play chess online?
I will analyze openings and games of my opponents. Maybe I will play a strong tournament. I do not play much chess online.

How chess influenced your life?
Chess had a very positive impact on my development in many ways.

What is the most challenging to overcome in a tournament?
Chess players are under pressure. It is challenging to overcome loss. It took me a long time to win my fears of losing a game. Now, I have no fears – I just give my best every time.

How do you spend your free time?
I have a lot of friends - we like to go out and have fun. I also play basketball and tennis.

Who are your favorite actor and actress?
Al Pacino and Sharon Stone. I like action movies.

Who is your favorite chess player?
Today - Veselin Topalov.