THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

The list of prizes continues with Nicholas Low coming in  2nd at the Under 9. He was winning against Hui Ling on Round 6 but gave a stalemate. So he learnt his lesson of not playing fast after this game, because he could have been Champion with the win. Lessons are best learnt this way I feel, despite all the advice and reminders I gave, this fact would do much more in shaping his chess future. But receiving the trophy made him forget his brooding all too soon. Kaarthik also won a Merit Prize at the Under9. This boy's achievement is due mainly to his diligence in playing many games online, which helped in improving his chess vision since I took over his training. Shaw Fong (pictured below) missed out of the top 5 placings for the Under 10 section, coming in 7th on 5/7. He was always cheerful through the tournament and enjoyed his games. I believe this achievement will spur him to work harder for future successes. Matthew Sim got a Merit Prize at the Under 10. Dan Peng's regular...

Yesterday marked the Toa Payoh West CC Invitational tournament with 223 participants, organised by the Toa Payoh West CC and Kheng Cheng School. There were 6 categories, from Under 7 to Primary Open. I persuaded most of my students to take part, as a measure of their progress after months of training. In the Under-7 category, my latest student Visakan Swaminathan scored 7/7 to win the category. I can see the glint in his eyes when he told me about it and that in itself is priceless. The joy of achievement and success is always sweet and should be remembered. The photo below said it all.   I am very proud of Visakan mainly because he has listened to my instructions during the tournament - not to run around whilst others expended their energies, stay focussed on the game and with the help of his father, did just that. My 2 other students, brother and sister Lee Shi Hao and Hui Liang respectively, once again showed their composure in being Champion for their categories. Shi Hao a...

In spending months and years of time in training, parents will often ask the question: "How is my child doing?" A very fair question as it involves investing precious time on the student's part and money on the parent's part in pursuing this interest of playing chess. So how does one answer this question? Is chess progress quantifiable? I for one do not base everything just on results alone - it is too narrow a yardstick. Results from tournaments are often the quickest way of establishing the performance of the student, yet there are some intangible traits which should also be noticed, primarily in the student's behaviour, his outlook not just on chess but on other matters as well. How about presence of mind for one? I've seen many of my students taking better care of their belonging now, being more forthcoming with questions rather than just listening. These are all encouraging traits that chess can help inculcate - a higher self-esteem, goal-oriented focus, ...

CANNOT FIND TIME TO PLAY For parents reading this, you should sincerely ask yourself why. If a child is truly burdened with school work and does not even have time to find a spot in a day to play, what happens generally is that weekly hourly lessons do not take much effect.Often it is pouring sand onto a sieve. Much of the material covered cannot be assimilated. It will be difficult to make progress if the concepts learnt cannot be applied, made to work and then remembered. Chess is no different from learning Chinese. It does require time and practice. DOES NOT READ CHESS MATERIAL Parents should also realise that some kids are only keen on playing but not learning about chess. They enjoy the interaction, socialising with other children (which is also healthy) but may not wish to spend time in learning the materials given to them because they view it as WORK which is not fun. As coaches, it is a primary challenge to motivate all students and make them understand that only hard work and ...

"Yeah, Chemistry" said the great Marlon Brando in his movie Guys and Dolls. No, we're not talking about the science here, but the affinity that needs to exist between student and teacher. Chemistry defines the main ingredient that generates trust between 2 persons especially at the point of the first meeting, when no prior information is obtain by either parties to size up the other. What makes a great student sometimes is not just the greatness , enthusiasm nor ingenuity of the teacher to inspire or expound. Often, it is the student's innate trust of the information that the teacher provides and the belief that this knowledge can and will certainly work for him/her. Hence, it is the onus for the teacher (who is generally the more experienced when it comes to sizing up) to first ascertain if there is indeed chemistry between student and teacher before deciding on continuing future lessons. Generally there are tell-tale signs whether the chemistry exists. It comes in t...