THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

Lately there has been talk about  theoretical openings and its importance in determining results. One needs to "profile" an opponent to bring out the right "weapons" to win. Strangely, I believe Fong Yit Ho's profiling of Yeoh Li Tian was well done in capitalising on Black's need to win. Many similar examples in World Championship encounters have used this tactic, eg Lasker - Capablanca 1914, Karpov-Kasparov 24th game 1985 and Kasparov-Karpov Seville 1987. "To win by detaching oneself from winning" is a supreme psychological tactic adapted from Lee Zhong Chang's Thick Black theory. You may wish to read about it from Chu Ching-Ning's book " Thick Face, Black Heart". I'm not sure about the author's familiarity of the various tools available today, but perhaps he ought to know of 2: ChessBase and Fritz. One is a database that contains games played in history (up till the latest month), the other a computer engine that shows r...

As Siegbert Tarrasch used to say, " It is not enough just to be a good player. One must also play well". Therefore it does not suffice that if one enters the national elite, one is automatically a good player. It is also important to apply oneself into executing the processes that make up a good move or plan. Perhaps parents should often ask what is the road ahead for a child that is interested in chess - should they equip him with the trainers to help him in his game, sign the child up for as many tournaments as possible in the hopes of improving his/her play, hoping to clinch the 4 points required to enter the National Junior Squad??   What is not clear perhaps is the heavy investment in terms of  5 hours a week or 20 hours a month, notwithstanding the hours spent in tournaments? Yet there is often the lament that there's simply not enough time for tuition, assignments and what not? What about the fees of approximately $300 a quarter or $1200 a year? That is the basic p...

As the SCF April Rating list is out, I took the pains to compute the performance of my students and here they are. The variance is computed from their last rating in Jan'11. If you compute it from their Jul'10 rating, the variance is even greater.        Generally, the students who were with me for more than 2 years had good gradual increases in rating. Kristine was an exception - her ratings were slipping when I took her on in November last year but she's climbed back to the 1400 level.    As the above students were not involved in the National Junior Squad program since June last year, none of their ratings were increased artificially (evidently when the ratings are rounded to 1200, 1300 or 1400 upon joining).

Finally we have a winner! Kristine Quek has defeated her long-time rival Rachel Soh to clinch the Girls' Under 12 title at the playoffs on Saturday. Preparation was a little tough, but we got down to patching White's answer to the French (which seems to me a little insipid) and leave the rest of the openings intact. Congrats Kristine!

I suggest you go to the CC to sign up and pay there. No late entries shall be entertained. Neither can you register online. Closing date is 27 March 2011. 

A pandemonium day at the 63rd National Schools Individuals at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel (much akin to the scene similar to a disaster area minus the disaster). Let's look at the results rather than talk about what can be done better shall we? Category       Name              Points     Position GU9       Lee Hui Ling        5.0         3rd GU11      Lau Hui Miin        5.0         5th GU12      Kristine Quek       6.0         Playoff for 1st BU09      Nicholas Low        4.5         22nd  BU10      Hugo Tan            4...

To those who are taking part in the coming National Schools' individuals, here's my advice: 1  Review all opening lines that you have been taught.  2. Sleep early on 15th Tuesday night  3  Record your games  4  Think about your opponent's last move: Is it a threat?  5  Look for checks, captures, threats (yours when it is your move, your opponents' when they are thinking) 6  Keep it simple 7  Concentrate very hard between moves 12-30 8  Do not exchange pieces/pawns without any reason 9  Do not be 10 minutes behind your opponent on the clock 10 FIGHT TO THE LAST - DO NOT GIVE UP!

I came across 2 interesting posts which dealt with the issue of being a GM. One shows the statistics confirming that the age one becomes a GM is getting increasingly younger, at 12 years 7 months achieved by Kariajkin. Another disputes Anand's quote that if you are not a GM by 14, you should forget about it. An interesting observation - only 2 of the 10 GMs mentioned are from non-communist countries. The 2 (Bacrot and Fischer) incidentally have enormous innate talent and do not fret about their daily livelihood during their pursuit of the GM title. Personally, I believe that Anand is being pragmatic about his view. He feels that if one does have the talent to make it, then, with modern technological tools like databases and engines, there is really no major obstacle to attaining the title if one works at it by inferring on his researches of the game and executing them right over the board. What does it mean when one has gone over the desired age of 14? Two things come to mind. Tale...

 I recommend this book for beginners and young children who have just mastered the moves of the pieces. This book condenses much of what's required in the field of tactics. Tactics often decide the game in games played by children under the age of 12. It's not important to worry about chess imbalances as yet - one should learn to play tactically and develop their skills in this area before venturing elsewhere.