THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

There are several initiatives taken by the SCF lately to address the shortage of chess trainers in Singapore. Firstly, the FIDE Trainer's Seminar on May 12-15 has attracted 25 participants. The SCF Instructors' Course from 2-4 May aims to get locals who are chess-players to consider a career in teaching chess in schools at the Beginner's and Elementary Level. Hence you need not be a strong chess player to come for this course. However, basic knowledge of chess and the FIDE Laws of Chess is an important pre-requisite. For those who want to attend the course but have little knowledge of chess, they can consider signing up for the condensed Beginner's Course for Adults in April. We urge those who are considering a change from their current jobs, to join the current trainer's pool for a less hectic and enjoyable time.

Over a thousand chess players gathered at Pasir Ris Sports Hall to fight for top honours at this year's National Schools Individuals (NSI) 2016. Held over 4 days to avoid the logistic tussle, the tournament was well run by a small team of 12 arbiters and pairing officials. There were no major delays and what's  impressive was the A-C Div competition where the noise level was down to 60 db as compared to the Primary section (>90). Then again with 803 young school-children you can expect major noise issues but generally they were managable. The rankings of my students: LOWER JUNIOR GIRLS 2  Sun Shilian  RGS Pr 8 18 Tan Xuan Ying  CHIJ Toa Payoh 5 22 Lim Yen Jie Sophie   CHIJ Toa Payoh 5 25  Chan Yi Jin Elyse  CHIJ Toa Payoh  4 26 Wu Dan Dan  RGS Pr 4 27 Tong Rui Wen  Natalie CHIJ Toa Payoh 4 34 Grace Angelina Tjengal  CHIJ Toa Payoh 4 39  Lim ...

Dato Tan Chin Nam celebrates his 90th birthday today! He is the Grand Old Patriach of chess in Malaysia and many times sponsor for many of our tournaments in Singapore. Together with Dr Lim Kok Ann and ST Lee, he has pioneered the growth of chess development in China and is also instrumental in creating the chess superpower that China is today. Back in Malaysia, the Malaysian Open and Merdeka Tournaments are run annually with the inception since the mid 80s thanks to his generous sponsorship. The DATCC and now White Knight Chess Academy are another of his intiatives to foster growth in Malaysian chess. Thank you and Happy Birthday SIR!

Well, with the support of chess enthusiasts and rejuvenated ex players, the Singapore chess club scene is slowly but surely coming back. Witness the number of players at the last Spore Chess Meetup last Wednesday at the Asia Square mall! This is in comparison with the Rizal Park or Washington Square Park chess arena and the numbers are growing! We also see interest among some women who came by to learn how to play. That's most encouraging. Now with interest in starting weekend chess playing sessions in the East and also more CCs offering their venues for tournaments, we are seeing a renewed interest in playing chess (not checkers) on the island. In time to come, we should have good numbers in the tournaments and perhaps gearing towards larger scale events like a World Championship to be held here?!

What are they? I am afraid some of these names below may be alien to young chess players, who may not have even known who I am talking about. Let me just flash out the titles first, then I will go in depth on my next posting. I own most of them by the way.

Having lost my copy of the Singapore Chess Digest August 1986 ( 25 years ago) which this article of mine was published, I took a trip to the Library to retrieve it and reproduce it unabridged: LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Sir,     Chess clubs are created solely for players and enthusiasts to interact and exchange ideas regarding the game. It is often the hive of chess activity in strong chess—playing nations like the USA, Britain and West Germany, where friendly matches and club leagues are most popular.    However, chess clubs today seem to have lost their grip on the chess scene in Singapore. Poor attendances, little activity between clubs and, judging from the number of clubs that have been formed then closed after some months of hunger pangs, the direction of chess is vague and uncertain. Just what does a chess club serve to do for the interested player?    Well, it is certain that all clubs want to provide competitions for players, be it friendly mat...

Noted that SCF has closed the registration for the FIDE Trainer Seminar in May due to overwhelming response. The number expected from the FIDE website was 20. The one I attended in June 2015 had only 7 participants.

A whoping 93 participants graced the Lim Kok Ann Memorial Blitz event yesterday held at the Bishan CC hall from 2 to 6pm. This is quite unprecedented compared to previous editions of the event. This is the first time incremental time control of 3 mins with 2 sec increment was introduced in the local chess scene. The event was won by GM Bong Villamayor on 9 pts followed by IM Enrique Paciencia. A photo: We've got feedback from some adult players to do this on a regular basis. Guess its up to the CC chess clubs to work on this, or go join the Asia Square chess meetup on Wednesdays.