THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

 The idea of it, let alone its successful completion, was in totality a most far-fetched dream materialised. When I first read about Singapore's bid for the FIDE World Chess Championship, my senses tingled, akin to a discovery of a new planet. One had the right to be a skeptic as the idea of running a World Class chess event in Singapore was unthinkable owing to the high costs of staging it, coupled with a total lack of interest on chess by the local sports authorities and powers that be. Since the bid was announced in many international media channels, a quiet sense of optimism crept in. Weighing the odds of the 3 bids (2 from India), I was confident that if the funding could be secured in Singapore, we would host it. The good news to all chess fans in Singapore came on Monday 1 July as FIDE announces that Singapore would host this iconic event at the Equarius Hotel in RWS Sentosa. As the day approached, I stepped into the hotel and was ushered in silence to the playing hall which...

 I was given the good news that the renovation of Thomson CC would end in 2025. The reopening could be either 1st Quarter or early 2nd Quarter of 2025. Thomson Chess Club was my base of regular chess activities when I ran it from 2004 - 2018, organising several tournaments (please see my Thomson CC Chess Club blog) plus lectures, friendly matches. For those who are new to the game, our tournaments are usually attended by a pool of 150-180 players each event. Hopefully when the CC is reopened, we may try to plan for a Rapid tournament in 2025. The Club Room has not been designated, so I cannot say how many players the Club can accomodate. Hopefully it will be larger than the previous room that seats about 26 players.  The fate of Tanglin CC Chess Club now hangs in the balance as I know there are several players interested in playing at Tanglin CC based on the attendance over the last few years. I am trying not to close it when Thomson CC reopens, but there comes the dilemma as...

 Someone sent me a short video of the foyer at Guoco Land Midtown near Bugis Junction. Spacious, with F&B joints around and more importantly with tables and chairs in the foyer. I plan to see the place soon to investigate the feasibility of having another downtown chess meetup other than Asia Square on Wednesdays. Parking apparently after office hours is $3.50 per entry (as compared to $5.50 in Asia Square).  UPDATE : The tables are a little big (about 1m x 1m) so it will not be suitable for children I guess. Do go check it out if you are around the area. I believe the tables are only laid out in the evening. 

 As 2025 beckons, it is good to lay out plans for my community work as time is now constrained to teaching and in maintaining a relationship.  2025 will see a cutback in running community activities as I feel it is due that the younger members should step up on their roles. We are definitely not getting younger and the physical demands of preparing the logistics for each chess event are not getting lighter. Be it the weekend chess tournament or jazz jam session, relinguishing responsibilities to the youth is the first step towards leadership transition and handover. TANGLIN CHESS CLUB As I understand it, the Thomson CC may be ready next year so I may relocate the activities back to Thomson if there is a possibility of securing a bigger place to house more than 20 players. It doesn't mean that Tanglin CC will be relinguished if there is someone willing to step in and run it on Fridays. I am happy to leave the pieces behind for the Club for 16 players. Generally the plan is to r...

 It has been a most evenful year, with the ups and downs that accompany every student I take. as I welcome Oscar, Brendon, Dennis, Zijun into the fold, we shall work towards improving everyone's playing level. There may be misses and hiccups understandably in competition which generally happens in the course of conditioning oneself to play competitively. The solution lies often in more over the board practice and dedicated study of material ,not relying solely on online games and review. I say goodbye to Jacob, Qi Yi, Ethan Wee, Rafael Cheng, Renee Wong, Jayden Kok, Erwin Tang, Soon QiRui and Lucas Lim. Some left as PSLE beckoned while others have completed the set of lessons that I have prepared for them. All that remains is to practice and learn the materials given. Easier said than done right? The takeaway that I get from 2024 is the performance of the students that I teach at the schools, notably Tao Nan and Henry Park. Both are GEP schools and naturally one cannot doubt the in...

This year's NAG returned to One Tampines Hub and totalled 692 entries from 22 countries. The seats in the hall were not opened so parents would have to watch the games from the viewing gallery 1 floor above the auditorium. The flooring was carpeted to avoid any scratching on its surface which is costly.  Fewer of my students took part this year, while some just joined me and were not ready. Overall I am satisfied with their performance, although there were incidences which I felt they could have done better. But that's the reality of competition - preparation and performance go hand in hand in delivering the desired results. Determination and will also play a part. U10 Dennis is my only entrant to the U10 NAG. He is diligent and works hard, but sadly disappointed by the touch-move blunders which I attribute to insufficient OTB play. He was outplayed once but then mainly due to insufficient preparation on his part, plus moving too soon without thinking and committing his own des...

The playing Hall at OFS The 75th National School's Individuals 2024 created a record of 1606 registered entries, such that it was necessary to host the event over 2 venues. The Secondary U14-16 sections were held at Senja Cashew CC ( the original venue) while the other Primary Sections and the U-20 were at Overseas Family School.    This year saw record numbers in the U08, U10 and U12 sections with the U12 totalling 465 players, the U10 with 380. The tiebreaks were able to determine the Champion of each section where both the Open and Girls were competing together. For each age-category, 10 Zonal prizes were awarded to the North,South,East,West clusters as well as the non-MOE International Schools.  The U20 was won by Charlene Mak being the first woman to dominate the U20 Open section. Other interesting finishes was the 2nd U20 placing won by Yu Kaiyi from Compassvale Primary who skipped the U12 to play higher. My ex-students Ryan and Daniel Chan with Leonard Loh also pla...