THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

Looking back on my old blog posts, I am reminded of the last time I displayed my chess set collection about 4 years ago. Gee how time flies. I am once again rejuvenated in my quest to have the prominent chess-playing sets which have made their mark in World Championships and illustrious tournaments in my collection. This addictive yet soul-satisfying hobby was rekindled with the discovery of Ebay through a friend who managed to get some real bargains for vintage sets. So I tried my luck. My first succesful acquisition cost me GBP40 for a 4" King Lardy made of boxwood and rosewood. There's a soft spot for the Lardy with its elegantly shaped Knights and dainty mitres of the Bishops not found in the current FIDE tournament sets today. Since then several good bargains came and my Lardy collection now counts to 8, from 2.75" to 4.25" Kings. The Dubrovnik was a favourite but the NOJ version is simply out of my budget. So I settled for this Indian repro which co...

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 ol...

Mondays None Tuesdays None Wednesdays Asia Square Meetup Asia Square Tower 1 Foyer, 8 Marina View #01-05 Singapore 018960 From 6.30pm till 9.30pm Thursdays None Fridays Saturdays Sundays

The most controversial and colourful 11th World Champion Robert James (or fondly known as Bobby) Fischer is the main reason why chess flourished throughout the world from the 1970s. The man has almost single-handedly toppled the Soviet chess hegemony with his unstoppable talent and dogged determination by defeating Boris Spassky in 1972 at Reykjavik Iceland. The match would have ended at game 2 but Fischer overcame the odds being 2 games down to win the match 11.5-8.5. Come and celebrate the Fischer era with FIDE Trainer Bradley Loh as he uncorks the most astonishing moves made by the American chess genius. We start 8pm at the Conference Room.

This was written 5 years ago in 2012. "I came across the SCF President's remark on the National Junior/Youth Squad performance and an invitation to all stakeholders to give their honest feedback. Well, here's mine. Chess involves 4 parties : players, pieces, a board and rules (not just the rules of chess, but also the relationships between the pieces which constitutes into chess knowledge and theory). Any improvement in the performance of a chess-player must involve these elements - the state of readiness of a player in terms of knowledge of the pieces on the board and the ability to project their movements in the future to concoct a favourable outcome. So its not just the ability to calculate one's moves in question, but the ability to visualise the opponent's responses as well in the formation of one's analysis of the position. Handling these issues while managing them within the time control is key to chess success in tournaments. The first questi...

Boris Vasilievich Spassky (born 1937) is the 10th and oldest living ex World champion alive today. He made 2 attempts on the World Championship in the 60's, failed in 1966 but won in 1969 against the tough Tigran Petrosian. His reign lasted till 1972 where he played the American Bobby Fischer and surrendered the title after a gruelling 21 game match trailing 12.5 - 8.5. The second match with Fischer  in 1992 was called at Fischer's  request and termed the rematch. This match was not sanctioned by FIDE and also blacklisted by the US State Department. Fischer's insistence in playing the match resulted in his arrest in Japan after his passport was declared invalid. Though the 1992 match went the full 30 games (being the first to reach 10 points format,draws not counting), both players were clearly no longer at their peak. Nonetheless, Spassky had bested the top of the Soviet chess stars such as Tal, Korchnoi, Geller, Petrosian, Stein, Bronstein and Keres with the exception of ...

Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was the silent yet potent master of strangulation - he snuffs out his opponent's plans effectively and is a great exponent of the exchange sacrifice in his games. Taking the title from Botvinnik in 1963, who then retired after FIDE announced the end of the rematch, Petrosian defended his title successfully from Boris Spassky in 1966 with creative and enterprising play much in the style of his challenger. It was in 1969 that he finally yielded his title. To learn more about the art of Petrosian's play, members are welcome to join Bradley Loh as he unfolds many of Petrosian's brilliant positional and tactical gems. See you June 23 Friday 8pm at the Level 3 Conference Room at Thomson CC.