The Return of Anatoly Karpov

The last Karpov visit to Singapore was in 1997, just after his 1996 triumph over Gata Kamsky in Elista.

This weekend, Karpov is once again on Singapore soil in a goodwill tour of Asia,accompanied by Richard Conn and Hamid Majid. They will be here to meet chessplayers and Karpov shall play a short exhibition blitz tournament with 7 Singapore juniors.

Playing Karpov, whether in a simul or one-to-one, is a great experience which I thoroughly enjoyed back on 28 November 1997. As 1 of the 26 boards, I prepared for this encounter by studying 3 opening systems to 1 e4, 1 d4 and 1 c4. Karpov was alternating these 3 opening moves and when he came to me, it was 1. c4.

I essayed the same variation that he played against P Nikolic in 1988 and lost. 12 moves passed and when he say the position in front of him at my board, he froze. The picture above said it all.

Trying to compose his thoughts he looked at me wryly and stood there for a good 2 minutes. Photographers saw it as a perfect photo opportunity and shots were fired from everyone's camera, which added to his indignation. Finally he moved and the rhythm was restored.

Though I was winning the exchange at one point, I was the first to offer a draw. But Karpov smiled at me impishly as if he knew I had fallen into a trap and said "NNNOOO!" and proceeded to play his move. I then realised that I would lose in 6 moves. Sigh, there goes my little claim to chess immortality. Resignation was imminent but I had the picture above as a fond memory of the little scare I made to the 12th World Champion.

Comments

HOW TO PARK AND GET TO TAMPINES HUB

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. DT32 is not ready yet. 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. If you go round till you see a green sign on your left, the road leads to the Drop Off and North Plaza Carpark entrance. Proceed straight in to...

STUDENTS AT THE 75TH NATIONAL SCHOOL'S INDIVIDUALS

The playing Hall at OFS The 75th National School's Individuals 2024 created a record of 1606 registered entries, such that it was necessary to host the event over 2 venues. The Secondary U14-16 sections were held at Senja Cashew CC ( the original venue) while the other Primary Sections and the U-20 were at Overseas Family School. This year saw record numbers in the U08, U10 and U12 sections with the U12 totalling 465 players, the U10 with 380. The tiebreaks were able to determine the Champion of each section where both the Open and Girls were competing together. For each age-category, 10 Zonal prizes were awarded to the North,South,East,West clusters as well as the non-MOE International Schools. The U20 was won by Charlene Mak being the first woman to dominate the U20 Open section. Other interesting finishes was the 2nd U20 placing won by Yu Kaiyi from Compassvale Primary who skipped the U12 to play higher. My ex-students Ryan and Daniel Chan with Leonard Loh also pla...

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 ...

THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

Search This Blog