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MY STUDENTS AT THE 2017 NSI

Doubling as Tournament Director and MC left me little time to observe my students' games, so they are left to themselves much of the time. Preparatory work has been done the week before, so all that's left is to wait and see how they would measure up.



Overall, I am satisfied with their performance, as most came in within the top 30 in view of the large numbers in the Juniors' ( 244) and Senior's (323) categories.
Cheong Sue Lyn missed out with her loss to Eunice Hng despite in a better position at the end when her flag fell, but chess is chess. No excuses. As for the other students, 

I congratulate Jayden Wong (7pts) and Ryan Chan who scored 6.5 to earn their places in the HP, while commendations should go to Nathaniel Cheng and new students Ho Ray Ee, Ian Ho, Lock Yan Jie and Caleb Goh  garnering 6 pts.












There were a few surprises from those I've coached in the Schools. Singling out from RGPS Madeline Ng ,Arshia Mahajan and Cadence Loh  who did well in the Junior Girls' scoring 6 pts. From Maris Stella, Ashton scored 7 finishing and Ian 6 pts in the Junior's while Gerrard Lim got 6.5 in the Lower Juniors'. My SAJ boys Joven Chow did himself proud with 6.5 followed by Caleb Goh and Lock Yan Jie with 6, The SJI Junior boys did averagely well with Cayden Wee on 7.5 and Bian Gede on 5.5 while Isaias Foo , Jonathan Chen and Dylan Lim got 5.

The primary factor in doing well in competition is consistent practice and study. Time must be made for this activity or else no one can vouch for any good result.Most of my students had put in reasonable hours for playing and going over their notes with the same diligence as their school homework. Of course, for that sacrifices will have to be made in less playtime or foregoing other activities.

Yet for those who missed the top, think about how you can better use your time by reflecting on your game. Try to ask what is the main obstacle for reaching the top 10 - fear? lack of preparation or simply not following the thought process method that you'd learnt? These questions will help in correcting one's mistakes and improve for the next major tournament.






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