THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

  Another year has arrived! Should we repeat the mistakes of 2025? Or move forward? There are some thoughts that I wish to share with readers (particularly my students) reading this post. Let's focus on the following if we are to make significant steps in improving our game. STOP THE "NO TIME" EXCUSE   Here I like to quote from GM Grigoryan from ChessMood who said it best about us having no time to do chess work.   If you really want something, your brain becomes a magician. It finds time where no time exists. If you want to improve so badly… Or if you simply love this game with your whole heart… You will create time in places you once believed were impossible. You will steal minutes from sofa riding, Instagram scrolling, and Netflix wandering. You will start waking up earlier without even complaining. Your WANT will win over your CAN’T.       Indeed. We do not need to make changes in our schedule, just start small with pockets of tim...

 This year I had 4 students taking part in the 2025 NAG held at the same venue (Our Tampines Hub) but in December instead of end November.  In my opinion November may be a better time but I guess this is subjected to OTH's availability. Some top players were absent perhaps due to the schedule, but it does not take away the credit of the winners in the categories (which were changed to odd years from even years in 2024).  My students were placed in the lower of the age-category so they had uphill tasks when facing older opponents. So if they performed well, it is indeed a bonus.  U9 2 students competed in the U9 category. G scored 4.5/9 so he passed. Towards the last 4 rounds, he finally saw the light to review the notes in order to help his games. That made for his passing when he was scoring 1.5/4. E on the other hand could not get settle down in the tournament and had to settle for 3.5/9 scoring 1.5 from the last 4 games. From the scoresheets, he was not comfortabl...

 Having lost my copy of the Singapore Chess Digest August 1986 ( 25 years ago) which this article of mine was published, I took a trip to the Library to retrieve it and reproduce it unabridged: LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Sir,     Chess clubs are created solely for players and enthusiasts to interact and exchange ideas regarding the game. It is often the hive of chess activity in strong chess—playing nations like the USA, Britain and West Germany, where friendly matches and club leagues are most popular.    However, chess clubs today seem to have lost their grip on the chess scene in Singapore. Poor attendances, little activity between clubs and, judging from the number of clubs that have been formed then closed after some months of hunger pangs, the direction of chess is vague and uncertain. Just what does a chess club serve to do for the interested player?    Well, it is certain that all clubs want to provide competitions for players, be it friend...

  After the National Age-Group Championships, I can see that interest is strong in the younger kids that took part. Many desire to have chess lessons. I was approached by quite a few parents whether I take in students for 1-1 lessons, but many may not be afford my rates. So I am now offering to do a 4 part simplified series of my “Zoom Class For Improvement” to those who wish to attend but are unable to afford 1-1 private lessons. However, parents need to know that there are of course compromises to this approach: a.       The topics cannot be tailored to suit each child. b.       The schedule has to be fixed so there is no way of adjusting it c.        Measuring progress is not in the scope of the lesson THE TOPICS 1                     Visualisation and Board Awareness 2    ...

 If all goes well, we may see another venue for chess enthusiasts to play over the board at Thomson CC come 2026. Watch this space!

 I often wonder why myself.   Is it for personal achievement? Fulfiling parents' expectations? Trying out for DSA? Or just to get better. Whatever the reasons, do treat the NAG differently from the weekly events that you may play in.   A lot of time is invested - for young players with accompanying persons, many sacrifices are made to babysit you at the venue. Your time is also invested in playing the game. NAG is not a FUN event and should not be regarded as one. It is a testament of how well you currently are plus a measure of you against the rest of the cohort ( meaning those of your age plus those 1 year older). Therefore I would take the NAG as seriously as a mini " exam ". 9 test papers. 9 examiners, ie your opponents who will not stop asking your questions till you end the test. The results at the end of 9 rounds will decide who passes and who fails. Nobody walks into an exam expecting to fail. Yet why do players not treat their preparation seriously??...

* * UPDATE : 3 HAVE SIGNED UP  ! For those who have missed the series, I am doing a re-run of the Zoom Class for Improvers to start in January 2026. We can start only if we get a minimum of 6 students for the sessions. $100 to be paid upfront before the start, with presentation slides AND the video of the full session given to each participant. A sample clip for the first session on Visualisation. Interested ? Please drop me an email at jfan2003@gmail.com with the header " Zoom Class for Improvers" and we can take it from there. To reiterate the topics that I am going to cover, they are:  Date Topic 05/1/2026 Board Awareness and Board Vision 12/1/2026 What to watch on Youtube? 19/1/2026 How to study Chess Books 26/1/2026 Playing online for improvement   03/2/2026 Selecting an Opening that suits you

 So we've come to the final session tonight! The past 4 sessions was productive in getting the content across to the enthusiastic participants, with good questions on the related topics. Of the 4 sessions, most had challenges in visualisation which was not covered in most chess literature. It is always easy to read about it, watch videos to show how its done but nothing like practicing it regularly to see progress in the games. This effort takes a long time to master but the dividends are worth it. The next challenge came in on Playing Online for Improvement. When reviewing the games of the participants, most preferred to spend time on shorter time controls  probably owing to lack of time. However, it is better to accumulate spare time to solving puzzles if there isn't enough time to play a minimal 10 5 or 5 3 game. Anything less than that would not work towards chess improvement. Lastly I urge my participants to try and play regularly over the board. Committing 2 hours a week...

 Finally, with 6 registered for the class, we started at 8 pm Nov 3.  It was a good mix, with retirees, 3 enthusiasts and 1 student. We started on the topic of visualisation. Few spared time training for this aspect of chess but little do they know of the potential benefits in improving visualisation of the pieces on the board, especially when they perform 3-6 ply calculations. Having the ability to keep track of the changes per ply can be a daunting task but yet so critical as one mistake can alter the choice of candidate moves. No we are not learning visualisation for the purpose of playing blindfold chess. It is mainly to allow us to see into the future the result of our calculations and evaluating the right picture. As each ply is added the visual clarity of the board and pieces becomes unclear. After 4 ply it is even a challenge to note which piece has cleared a path or expose another piece to attack or threat.  What then are the building blocks of good visualising h...

*Note : I am reposting the 2013 article because the display game software was no longer working. At the recent Serangoon Inter-Team competition where I partnered my students, I had the chance to cross swords with several of the juniors from the other teams. As I do not get the chance to play in tournaments often, there are few opportunities to meet them over the board. Here are some of my first impressions of their play  (I hope the parents reading about their children do not take it too personally). My first encounter was round 2, playing White against Steffi Lim. She's played in many competitions, generally quite calm, but tends to give up easily when things do not work out her way. One of the most important qualities in a chess-player is to be resilient and always being resourceful out even when things do not work out. Only this way can one improve and succeed. My next junior opponent is Carwyn Yeo, an aggressive young man who has got ambition on his eyes. He concentrates wel...

 Finally I managed to get 6 persons expressing their interest to join the class! Can we have 2 more?? Though you can join in later and receive the content, wouldn't it be better to receive it real-time?

 I played a strong player last Wednesday at Asia Square. He was a young man who I perceived to be someone picking up the game over the last couple of years. When a friend of mine came by to visit the meetup, I arranged for them to play a 5 + 3 game and soon a Ruy Lopez Berlin was on the board. The game was close, both sides did not try to breach each other's defences until Black decided that White wasn't going to try. He then went to open the a-file and got into White's camp eventually creating problems which White could not solve and lost on time. He asked if I would mind playing a longer time control game say 15 + 10, as he expressed that time management was his weakness primarily  as he could not sense the critical moments in the game to think longer.  A Siclian this time. I essayed the Smith Morra Gambit, after which we were into 13 moves in the theory (which he didn't know much but managed to get it right).  Then he hung a pawn. Hmm. Then another commital move w...

This year's event was held at Overseas Family School, a venue that no one can complain about. With its huge and spacious Hall and ample space at the Canteen for accompanying persons, much of the logistics issues involving players' transport and food were taken care of.  Pictures courtesy of Mr Ng K Kwang Some statistics : There is an increase in the number of players over 2024, 184 more than 2024. The signficant numbers are attributed to the U8 category as well as the U20+Girls. No major increases in the other cohorts.  The tournament was smoothly completed near 5pm and the entire prize-giving went without hiccups to finish just before 6.10pm. A big round of thanks go to the organising group as well as the arbiters, many of which are volunteers from the tertiary institutions and some parent volunteers. Shout out of course go to OFS for the use of the Hall and facilities. Everyone had a good time and fought hard on their games.  Tao Nan School finished 2nd on the Primary O...

  To get to Tampines Hub the best way from the Central and West, take the PIE and exit at 3B and drive towards  Tampines Ave 2. You can go via Tampines Ave 7 and join Tampines Ave 4, then turn right at the junction of Ave 5. There is less traffic on this route than if you are to come from the Simei Exit and up Tampines Ave 5. The  EW(2) line station  is also quite close.  As for parking, there is an open car park just after the Hub. Drive past the Hub, turn round the corner and you'll see the entrance on the Ave 5 curve. This is a coupon parking carpark and open-air (60cts 1/2 hr) and has about 200+ lots. The other place to park is across from the Tampines Hub at Block 858-864 which is open to public 7am to 7pm coupon parking. You can enter this carpark from St 83 Block 864 and navigate towards Block 859. The hawker centre is not aircon but there are huge fans to keep air circulated there.                    ...

I have some enquiries for the online class. Mostly about schedules. I am currently working on having it on Mondays or Tuesdays from 8pm, but this is flexible as the session is just an hour long. Let me know what works and we can come to a consensus. A little explanation perhaps on why I chose the topics. Some may think they have no takeaways in terms of chess knowledge as there is little technical content offered in the session. My rationale is that there are lots of how-to videos available on Youtube ( if you know how to pick them) that it makes no sense to repeat them. I would rather show you how to access them. If you have questions or wish to seek advice on your improvement, I can certainly answer them or point you to the right source. Having accessed many books and YouTube clips on chess gives me a wide catalog on what is good to address your issue.  Hope you try this out ! I am planning a 10 day vacation in late Oct so hopefully we can start this going before that.

The idea that there could be someone who wishes to take a byte size 1 hr lesson when available is mooted in my mind for some time. This will take place over Zoom, so there is no limit on how many students can attend.   Hence I am launching this Group Class for anyone who is attracted to come in to learn for 1 hour - something for everyone so not just targetted for any level but definitely not over 1800 online rating.  Date Topic Session 1 Board Awareness and Board Vision Session 2 What to watch on Youtube? Session 3 How to study Chess Books Session 4 Playing online for improvement P1 Session 5 Choosing an Opening Repertoire that suits you Interested parties feel free to leave your comments, email me at jfan2003@gmail.com for more information regarding payment and attendance. Please leave your name or your child's name and your contact number in the email.  Currently planning for the class to take place Mondays or Tuesday evening from 8pm. Naturally I will take note o...

 Yes I have received word that the Club can open at the CC once it is officially reopened sometime between June-July 2025. I am once again calling out to volunteers who are interested in help in opening the Club on Fridays. This will allow the Tanglin CC facility to stay open. If not I shall have to surrender it which is a great pity. So if you are interested please drop me a line at johnwongfk63@gmail.com. We can work out a roster system so that you need to appear every Friday. 

  My first encounter with Peter was in the 1983 Parkway Master's tournament where he was a player. Having lost a game against his compatriot Eddy Kwan, he was upset and wanted someone to accompany him to a meal. For the whole hour he was ranting all about his missed opportunities till the food came. That was one episode which made him realise that he could be better off as a trainer rather than a player. The next time we met, he was beamingly showing off his proteges, the Kumpulan Remaja (or National Junior)squads which comprises several of Malaysia's then top juniors. They played a few matches and swept away most of our crop. That was when his coaching endeavours truly paid off. For years he was corresponding and commenting on the local scene (both in Singapore and Malaysia) as a columnist for the New Straits Times. Emcompassing a sharp and sometimes barbed style of writing, he was controversial at times and soon realised that journalism was not for him. Which again led him to...

 After reviewing the games of the 3 students, my general observations is: UNDERSTANDING OF THE OPENING VARIATIONS     It is unfortunate that the students started with me only in 2025, so they had very little time to digest the opening notes given to them. The only way to bring their understanding to speed is to play several 5 + 5 (ie 5 min + 5 sec increment) games, review them with the notes and do it again. Owing to pressure from homework, this was not entirely done. Hence the opening positions ended with the first 12 moves in favour of the opponent. Trying to equalise from an inferior position is not an easy task. My opinion is to avoid getting into such positions in the first place. This can be done with some time reviewing the opening moves with the LiChess opening explorer to uncover the better lines to play. CHOICE OF THEORETICAL OPENINGS   Fanciful openings adopted by the current GMs are of course fun to watch and games from these openings are commen...

 The NSI took place at Our Tampines Hub on 15 - 16 March 2025 - a huge venue, but deemed cramped owing to the record turnout of 1728 participants and twice the number of parents and accompanying persons. So big was the crowd that the escalators on Lobby A (closest to the tournament hall) broke down each day owing to the weight stressed upon them! Walkways were crowded with mats and every seat was occupied. Hopefully a better solution to the crowd can be found in terms of holding areas for the accompanying parents/persons, or to simply separate the Primary and Secondary sections as was done last year.  The report as follows: U10 I had 2 students who took part, both joined my fold this year so they were relatively new in terms of OTB chess and did most of their chess-playing online. A few sessions of OTB sparring at Tanglin CC helped in Gabriel's preparation as he could manage the clock better. Luke had his OTB games at the SCF squad. Both finished reasonably given that Gabriel ...

 Most top players and top level coaches do not recommend that players below 1800 pay too much attention to studying the openings as a means to do better at chess. GM Noel Studer would advise spending at most 1/3 of the study time available to do this, spending the other 2/3ths on going through games and working on tactics. My take on this is that if one has to start playing 1 e4 early in your chess journey, then it makes sense to incorporate your chess learning with developing a sound repertoire along studying tactics. Why? With computers today having a significant say on how the game of chess develops from the opening, one can argue that the line where the opening ends and the middlegame begins is gradually blurred. I see the position coming out of the first 12 moves as a "opening-middlegame" position and the truth about this position should be established (ie where the pieces go, what pawn structure advantage can occur and the resulting endgames emerging). Hence to me, it i...

 The topic " How to Study Chess Books" was skipped as I realise that many of the players I have spoken to do not read them. Most are spending time on chess either playing online or watching videos to learn about the game. Hence I've decided to revise the schedule for February as follows: Date          TITLE Feb 11      Using online tools for chess improvement  Feb 18      How to choose an opening that suits you playing White Feb 25       How to choose an opening that suits you playing Black  Kindly email me at jfan2003@gmail.com to register for the dates. All classes start at 8pm going forward.  

 We will do the 14 January topic for this Tuesday. For $25 you save countless hours of surfing for the right content and hop on to the chess improvement fastrack. Pls email jfan2003@gmail.com to book your place.

 WHAT TO WATCH ON YOUTUBE?    You may have lots of time on your hands (or not), so surfing on Youtube to look for video content to learn about chess is the natural thing to do as it's free and you can do it anytime you are available. What troubles me is the huge volume of content that has expanded over the last 5 years and as more people create chess content, there are always those who wish to monetise their content. So they come up with creative ways to draw your attention with miracle opening traps designed to win the game in 10 or less moves, or talk about controversial topics which are rife with scandals but does little for your chess improvement. Hence one must be extremely selective in choosing who to watch FOR CHESS IMPROVEMENT.  The session on 14 January covers mainly the content creators I have respect for which I watch often to learn from plus a few tools to help you integrate the video content into your chess study. This session will be charged so anyone w...

 Tonight's topic "Board Awareness & Board Vision" plays a big part in the improvement of any chessplayer.  Most young players to the game move the pieces and WAIT for the opponent's response before they decide the next move, often ignoring what the opponent tries to do with his/her move. Hence mistakes are created. So asking them to think longer does not help in the quality of the moves. What truly matters is to train the player how to SEE the pieces on the board and SQUARES which the pieces attack. The player is now engaged in the INTERACTION of both sides trying to play moves which either attack or defend. In my years of teaching, I find that this is the most important skill to have as a beginner to advance to the next level.  So do come and learn what you can do and practice to improve on board vision and awareness.  See you at 7.

 As a promotional gesture, I offer tonight's session FREE for those who are unsure whether to sign up for future lessons. Interested players please Whatsapp 97985479 for the Zoom Link. Kindly mention Jan 7 Zoom in your post. Thanks! See you then

 The idea that there could be someone who wishes to take a byte size 1 hr lesson when available is mooted in my mind for some time. This will take place over Zoom, so there is no limit on how many students can attend.   Hence I am launching this Group Class for anyone who is attracted to come in to learn for 1 hour - something for everyone so not just targetted for any level but definitely not over 1800 online rating.  Date Topic Session 1 Board Awareness and Board Vision Session 2 What to watch on Youtube? Session 3 How to study Chess Books Session 4 Playing online for improvement P1 Session 5 Choosing an Opening Repertoire that suits you Interested parties feel free to leave your comments, email me at jfan2003@gmail.com for more information regarding payment and attendance. Please leave your name or your child's name and your contact number in the email.  Currently planning for the class to take place Mondays or Tuesday evening from 8pm. Naturally I will take ...