THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

  As in past editions, the Hong Kong International Open is held at the St. Benedict's School Hall in Choi Hung district over the Christmas holiday period from 24th - 29th December this year. Looking at the starting list, it is heartening to see the numbers increase from 80 in 2018 (when I last visited) to 176 participants, with the main bulk of players from  Singapore contributing about 30 players and another 54 from China. This year 14 titled players competed, notably 3 GMs, 3 IMs, 1 WIM, 6 FMs and 1 CM. Another feature of this tournament was the introduction of recording games into a tablet which was linked to the Lichess live broadcast, in place of the DGT equipment which was cumbersome to set up. We could follow the course of the first 60 games played when the system was running smoothly from round 5. 3 of my students played in it upon my recommendation, skipping the Penang Open which we had been to many times. I was encouraging them to gain exposure by playing different player

 This year's competition had some changes  a. 7 rounds instead of 8 b. Boys and Girls combined into 1 section for each age group With the number of rounds reduced and combining the 2 sections, the number of participants can and in some sections exceed the limit of 128 participants where tiebreaks may become an issue in separating the winners.  Playoffs will eventually be introduced. Some interesting observations: U8 Jayden Kok finished 4.5/7 in 25th placing out of  140 players.  Jayden joined me this year having visited Tanglin Chess Club quite a few times. A cheerful and easy-going boy, Jayden was a joy to work with and listens to advice and instruction. Though he allowed his old habit of moving too fast slip into causing 2 painful losses , he managed to pick himself up and got the 2 final wins to end in a very respectable 25th position . This bodes well for his future once he understands the need to slow down and look at the opponent's move first before moving. U10 It is hear

 December draws to a close, ending 2023 and some of my students' journey with me as coach. I had the pleasure to be involved in training Daniel Chan, Er Wen Chen, Timothy Lam, Asher Neo, Wang Yuhan, Toby Herman, Magnus Lim, Eden Harris Yong, Leonard Loh, Emma Lo, Kevin Ng, Damian Tay and lastly Ho Ray Ee, my longest student to stay with me for 6 years. Yes, this may be the largest group of students that left in my years of teaching. Some decided to move on to other trainers (a good sign, as they are seeking other paths to chess improvement) while most I had to end the relationship as coach due to low interest in the game after some months.  As for Ray Ee who joined me  in 2017, I am of course saddened that he is graduating from my fold but yet proud of what he has achieved. His results were consistent, often finishing well (NAG 7th in 2022, 9th in 2019, 4th in NSI 2018). He has also played in the Selangor Open this year , gaining 77 rating points while getting another 31 pts from t