1st QUARTER 2013 REPORT CARD

The SCF April rating list has just been published.

For this quarter, the top performer is Lee I Shiuan who has been studying with me since 6 Jan 2013 this year. I had revamped his opening repertoire to allow his strengths in the endgame to shine, while curbing his urge for sacrificial fancies which were most times unsound. This brought about an increase of 86 pts, mainly based on his good performance at the Hong Bao Rapid and National Schools' Individuals. He has been diligent and followed my instructions, generally a good student.

Others have chalked up close to 30 rating points, which is meeting the targets set for the year. There were 3 new students which made their debut in the April list. I will monitor their progress from now on.

To slip 20 rating points is a small warning sign which should not be taken lightly. Jaryl has just started changing his repertoire so he will need some time before he gets to winning his games once he familiarises with the moves. However, I feel that I Shiang needs to put in more effort in his games by considering threats from his opponent and not ignoring them most of the time. He has been observed to be playing without regard of his opponent's moves and that leads to lost games. Losing to weaker opponents causes one's hard-earned rating points to drop and every player must be accountable to his own performance.

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