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CHESS AFTER WORK?

No, this is not a scene in Europe or the US..

It's right here in Singapore!  That's right. And you thought chess is only played by kids here :-)



Well, the adult scene is thankfully kept alive thanks to the efforts of Bradley Loh, a FIDE-rated enthusiast who sets up the boards and tables for the regular meetup group to play at the Asia Square Tower 1 foyer from 6.30pm till 9.30pm Wednesdays. As I had no teaching to do, I thought I'd pop by to check out the action.

There were about 18 or so players who milled in and out of the event, many of whom I do not recognise. However once seated, the action was fast and furious. The lighting was good though I'd wish the PSI was lower than the 100+ then. I introduced myself to Bradley and being every good organiser he whisked me to an opponent to blitz in less than 30 seconds. It was a good mix of locals and foreigners playing blitz, skittles and there was a puzzle set up and the winner gets a mini-bottle of red wine. I soon met up with R my ex-student and he got the right answer but graciously shared the bottle.

One encouraging sign was that there was a lady who came and played till it was time to close. No clocks. But the moves were good. Others were more into blitz and 10 minutes. Well, to each his own.

Looks like a good hangout for those who haven't played for ages to come on down and pick on players your own size.

If you need information on this meetup, please click here.

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