Meet the Syrian refugee who has become Germany’s youngest national chess player at 11

Meet the Syrian refugee who has become Germany’s youngest national chess player at 11.

Hussain Besou was just four when he started asking his father to teach him chess, hovering around the board as he played in the evenings in the Middle East until the day he said yes.

After mastering the basic moves, Besou quickly surprised everyone with his talent.

Now 11, Besou will play for the German national chess team at the Mitropa Cup in Croatia later this month, making him the youngest German national player in the history of the German Chess Federation.

When the Besou family, who are Syrian, settled in the western German town of Lippstadt in 2016 as refugees, the first thing Mustafa did was buy a chess set and find a youth chess club for Hussain in the small town.

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