TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

 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 the SG Chess Festival. Another big jump was his performance at the 2019 Eastern Asia in Bangkok where he got a increase in 110 rating  pts. His latest tournament the Cairnhill Open saw him gain about 77 pts after beating James Attwood (rated 1923) in a French Winawer which he sidestepped the main line with 4 Nge2. Owing to losses to Jonathan Lee and Kapoor Satvik it was pared down to 8 pts. Ratings aside, he has matured much in his play. 

Among my students, I am proud to mention that Ray Ee and Nathaniel Cheng were the most diligent in learning their opening lines - which explains their consistent performance. They were also slow in their first 12 moves and do not fall prey to surprises, often stretching the game past 2 hours in standard time control. Having a heavy school and tuition homework load, Ray Ee does not have much time to work on the game but he managed to his time to study chess and play well in spite of the constraints. 

The key factors for good performance lie in focus, diligence and nerves (grit rather) and Ray Ee has shown all that in the years we've worked together. As he journeys onward , I wish him the very best in his chess and life ( managing your chess well will help in managing life too).