70th NATIONAL SCHOOLS INDIVIDUALS 2018

For the Lower Div Boys I am very proud that Gerrard Lim has retained his composure despite a loss in day 1 to finish 8/9 points and emerge Champion, despite the fact that he had just recovered from HFMD a week ago.

A very happy boy with his trophy

The other pleasant surprise was Ho Ray Ee. He had the luck of the draw on his side bypassing some nemeses but his biggest victory came in overcoming Ethan Lai who was rated 200 points above him.
Finishing 7.5 pts and coming in 4th was his best result. I congratulate him for his diligence and focus which saw him through in the last 3 rounds.

RongXuan was my addition this year but this boy (5th from the left) is a fighter and a fast learner. He was troubled by poor opening play which caused him to suffer early and often succumbed to losses in his games. This time round he had good positions and was able to cash in some good wins. I am very impressed that he can record his games without skipping a move, a skill even some of my older boys lack. The future bodes well for him if he continues to work on the other parts of his game.

Lastly Sue Lyn. She was the least prepared of the whole group but thankfully her talent managed to put her in good stead, surpassing the field with 8.5 pts to win the C Div Girls trophy.

For those who did not manage their expected results, there's Jayden Wong who managed a draw in the last round to finish 4th in the Senior Boys. He was winning against Gabriel Wei but somehow got a draw when a win would have put him in 2nd place. Though 4th is still a good result, 2nd would be a fair one.

Nate worked very hard on his game but was unfortunate in 2 critical games, against Heng Cho Fai and Chong Tian Le. Losing to Zi Han was expected   but there was consolation in the draw against Ashton Chia.  The mixed results from the 2 critical games meant he was edged out of the top 20 in the Junior Boys. He was disappointed of course of his 6/9 result but more importantly work is required to iron out the weaknesses in his play.

Ian Ho secured 5.5/9 while Leonard Loh got 6/9 in the Senior Boys, which in my opinion was a decent showing as was Joven Chow's 6/9 in the C Div Boys. The draw against Derrick Ng was a surprise, as that half-point if converted would propel him into the top 20. 

Finally I come to my latest student Jonathan Kua. For someone who's just started with 4 lessons, he has done well with 5/9. It is heartening to see his confidence boosted with this result and I'm sure he will put in more effort and aim higher at the next tournament.