THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

This biblical saying applies itself especially in the chess world about 90% of the time. The amount of time spent involved in the game, be it practice, study, reading and researching is proportional to the great benefits it will have to the diligent and motivated student. There are tons of chess information available on the Internet today if one knows how to track them. Videos, pdf ebooks and even java pgn-views of grandmaster games are abound. However, it will take someone to organiseand prioritise the learning of such huge volumes of information that will spur the progress of the player. It is this area that the chess trainers's experience and erudition comes in handy, for he/she can fastrack the absorption of useful chess knowledge rather than dishing out  junk bits of crap which is incoherent with the student's understanding of the game  and can only serve to confuse even further. The result? More lessons are required, says the nonchalant guru and the vicious cycle self-pe...

I chanced upon a fellow blogger who remarked wryly that the chess trainers often make their students pale copies of themselves in terms of opening play and style. He has warned that one should exercise care in engaging chess trainers as they may instill fear in the students rather than help with their learning. I am not sure what sort of "fear" he has in mind, so I would not venture a guess as the writer tends to riddle his opinion every now and then. My approach to helping any student first comes from a deep analysis of the student - not just the games, but also the manner they play. Observing them at play helps a lot in determining root causes for any weakness. Reviewing the game right after its played ensures that the root cause is brought to the student's immediate attention. It is the job of a trainer to be able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a player promptly and to suggest ways to improve the student's performance. I have often made recommendations i...

Are you looking for a decently priced FIDE rated Classical Chess Open tournament in May? Do check this out: http://selangorchess.blogspot.com/2012/03/39th-selangor-open-1st-may-to-6th-may.html Though the timing of the event may not be suitable for school-children, anyone with 4 days of leave to spare and wish to take part should strongly consider.

  We've had good turnouts for the Thomson Chess League which started Feb 3 and ends tomorow. All scores shall be accumulated and the winner is the one with the most number of points. 3 prizes are given, all chess books of course. An old friend, NM Oey Liang Hien dropped by and joined the club. He is keen to participate in the next league.  We shall start the next Endgame League in June which will continue till end July. Interested players can write to me at johnwong@pacific.net.sg to sign up. More details later.

Due to the launch of PA's Community Games initiative, the weekends of May and June have caused the Thomson CC Hall to be fully booked and thus, the Thomson Cup International this year will be moved to July 7-8 instead. Interested participants please take note. The format remains unchanged at 1 hour per side.

As a follow up to my last post, I guess many parents who are reading this must be wondering how on earth are they going to wean their kids off computer games and focus on chess in the first place? For one, I would strongly recommend that they sit through a movie " Searching for Bobby Fischer" or "Innocent Moves" (as it was released under in this region. Next, appeal to the child's sense of achievement by highlighting the successes of their peers in school who have won trophies or prizes in chess competitions. Finally, after the children are excited to want to play chess, slowly (but firmly) stash the computer games away. Replace them with chess-related visuals like Chess Titans or Battle Chess. Show the masterpieces of Paul Morphy and the combinations of the Immortal or Evergreen Game through the graphics of Chess Titans. I am exploring that right now to see if it can be done. This I am sure will win many converts. The excitement and thrill of chess is not easil...

This year's National Schools Individuals Chess Tournament 2012  at Northland Primary School saw significant results from my students who competed. Preparatory work started in February with close monitoring on their state of knowledge of opening lines, coupled with drills on tactics with lots of game practice online and OTB. I shall cover the various Age Groups, from the youngest to the oldest.   UNDER 8 BOYS    Visakan did well to come in 9th position though he could have done better in my opinion. Malcolm Sow emerged 15th with 5 pts, after 1 month of training. UNDER 9 - 10 BOYS Royce Tan (who started with me a few months ago) made good progress this year after we made some changes in his White repertoire. He was playing the King's Indian Attack as White, which I feel was not the right choice for his personality given that he loves open positions where his pieces could attack. Generally strong in tactics, playing the KIA is akin to caging a soaring eagle. With his n...