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In my early years, my father was away as a soldier in the war. When he came back, work was very difficult to come by. Even though he was a highly skilled man, a maker of furniture, the payment for that work was very poor.

Upon the death of my father, our family and myself were emotionally and financially exhausted.

My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that he never could be persuaded to keep slaves, for he pitied them so much: and a slave belonging to one of his brothers being once in his house, was treated by him with as much tenderness as his own children.

My father was a very difficult man.

My dad was depressed a lot of the time, and there were a lot of things in his life that he never resolved.

My father died when I was young, and after he did, my mother had it tough. Very tough.

After the break up of the municipality and the loss of his income my father lost health and spirits.

My grandfather went through a lot in his life.

When my father died, I had millions of people supporting me in a very, very difficult time. I have received so much from this country. I realize that we're defined in life not by what we get from this world but by what we have to offer it, and I know that I have a lot to offer this country, and I'm serious about devoting my life to it.

My dad sacrificed many things in life for me. He abandoned a very promising and lucrative career of an army officer just so that he could continue helping me with my chess and accompanying me to tournaments.