THOMSON CHESS FIESTA 2015

The 2nd Thomson Chess Fiesta concluded yesterday, smoothly run thanks to the tireless team of 6 that saw to rapid situational changes (including changing 30 clocks on the spot due to an error in settings). Other than that, most players had relatively good conditions of play, though parents had to scramble for chairs they could find to get seated in the hall.

All Prize Winners

The top 3 prize winners in the Cup Rapid were dominated by the foreign players, top place was Nelson Villanueva with 7.5 pts, followed by Steward Manaog and Franco Demiar on 7. Our local juniors Tan Jun Hao and Lee Shi Hao followed on 6.5 pts. Gavin scored best performance for U14 with 6pts finishing 9th, Thomson Chess Club regular Leong Sher Han scored 4 pts to end 37th out of 64 registered players. Full results here

The Thomson Challengers had an outstanding result : Under 10 player Zachary Leong finished ahead of 2 adults to emerge clear 8 pts as Champion! Bradley from VS scored 6 pts but finished just outside the prize list of 15. Challengers results posted here.

Ryan managed 4.5 pts 36th out of 82 registered players. Though a reasonable result, I felt he had grown as a player and now puts in greater effort in each of his games, feeling tired towards the end of the tournament. A sign of better things to come.

Other students who did not fare well were either out of touch ( this is their first tournament just after the exams) or they did not apply what was taught. Parents should have their kids then to reflect on what happened and let the children express their views on what they should do to do better next time round. This should be done before they take part in the next tournament or else the same outcome will repeat itself.

All in all, everyone had a good time at the tournament and I certainly hope more juniors will consider playing in the Cup Rapid next year to lift their FIDE ratings. And parents stop asking about age-group prizes, because young children should be taught the right values of hard work and sacrifice to achieve :-)

My heartfelt thanks to the Thomson CCMC and to Mr Yap Pao Ming for his sponsorship, all of which helped to make this tournament a success.

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