THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

  My first encounter with Peter was in the 1983 Parkway Master's tournament where he was a player. Having lost a game against his compatriot Eddy Kwan, he was upset and wanted someone to accompany him to a meal. For the whole hour he was ranting all about his missed opportunities till the food came. That was one episode which made him realise that he could be better off as a trainer rather than a player. The next time we met, he was beamingly showing off his proteges, the Kumpulan Remaja (or National Junior)squads which comprises several of Malaysia's then top juniors. They played a few matches and swept away most of our crop. That was when his coaching endeavours truly paid off. For years he was corresponding and commenting on the local scene (both in Singapore and Malaysia) as a columnist for the New Straits Times. Emcompassing a sharp and sometimes barbed style of writing, he was controversial at times and soon realised that journalism was not for him. Which again led him to...

 After reviewing the games of the 3 students, my general observations is: UNDERSTANDING OF THE OPENING VARIATIONS     It is unfortunate that the students started with me only in 2025, so they had very little time to digest the opening notes given to them. The only way to bring their understanding to speed is to play several 5 + 5 (ie 5 min + 5 sec increment) games, review them with the notes and do it again. Owing to pressure from homework, this was not entirely done. Hence the opening positions ended with the first 12 moves in favour of the opponent. Trying to equalise from an inferior position is not an easy task. My opinion is to avoid getting into such positions in the first place. This can be done with some time reviewing the opening moves with the LiChess opening explorer to uncover the better lines to play. CHOICE OF THEORETICAL OPENINGS   Fanciful openings adopted by the current GMs are of course fun to watch and games from these openings are commen...

 The NSI took place at Our Tampines Hub on 15 - 16 March 2025 - a huge venue, but deemed cramped owing to the record turnout of 1728 participants and twice the number of parents and accompanying persons. So big was the crowd that the escalators on Lobby A (closest to the tournament hall) broke down each day owing to the weight stressed upon them! Walkways were crowded with mats and every seat was occupied. Hopefully a better solution to the crowd can be found in terms of holding areas for the accompanying parents/persons, or to simply separate the Primary and Secondary sections as was done last year.  The report as follows: U10 I had 2 students who took part, both joined my fold this year so they were relatively new in terms of OTB chess and did most of their chess-playing online. A few sessions of OTB sparring at Tanglin CC helped in Gabriel's preparation as he could manage the clock better. Luke had his OTB games at the SCF squad. Both finished reasonably given that Gabriel ...

 Most top players and top level coaches do not recommend that players below 1800 pay too much attention to studying the openings as a means to do better at chess. GM Noel Studer would advise spending at most 1/3 of the study time available to do this, spending the other 2/3ths on going through games and working on tactics. My take on this is that if one has to start playing 1 e4 early in your chess journey, then it makes sense to incorporate your chess learning with developing a sound repertoire along studying tactics. Why? With computers today having a significant say on how the game of chess develops from the opening, one can argue that the line where the opening ends and the middlegame begins is gradually blurred. I see the position coming out of the first 12 moves as a "opening-middlegame" position and the truth about this position should be established (ie where the pieces go, what pawn structure advantage can occur and the resulting endgames emerging). Hence to me, it i...

 The topic " How to Study Chess Books" was skipped as I realise that many of the players I have spoken to do not read them. Most are spending time on chess either playing online or watching videos to learn about the game. Hence I've decided to revise the schedule for February as follows: Date          TITLE Feb 11      Using online tools for chess improvement  Feb 18      How to choose an opening that suits you playing White Feb 25       How to choose an opening that suits you playing Black  Kindly email me at jfan2003@gmail.com to register for the dates. All classes start at 8pm going forward.  

 We will do the 14 January topic for this Tuesday. For $25 you save countless hours of surfing for the right content and hop on to the chess improvement fastrack. Pls email jfan2003@gmail.com to book your place.

 WHAT TO WATCH ON YOUTUBE?    You may have lots of time on your hands (or not), so surfing on Youtube to look for video content to learn about chess is the natural thing to do as it's free and you can do it anytime you are available. What troubles me is the huge volume of content that has expanded over the last 5 years and as more people create chess content, there are always those who wish to monetise their content. So they come up with creative ways to draw your attention with miracle opening traps designed to win the game in 10 or less moves, or talk about controversial topics which are rife with scandals but does little for your chess improvement. Hence one must be extremely selective in choosing who to watch FOR CHESS IMPROVEMENT.  The session on 14 January covers mainly the content creators I have respect for which I watch often to learn from plus a few tools to help you integrate the video content into your chess study. This session will be charged so anyone w...

 Tonight's topic "Board Awareness & Board Vision" plays a big part in the improvement of any chessplayer.  Most young players to the game move the pieces and WAIT for the opponent's response before they decide the next move, often ignoring what the opponent tries to do with his/her move. Hence mistakes are created. So asking them to think longer does not help in the quality of the moves. What truly matters is to train the player how to SEE the pieces on the board and SQUARES which the pieces attack. The player is now engaged in the INTERACTION of both sides trying to play moves which either attack or defend. In my years of teaching, I find that this is the most important skill to have as a beginner to advance to the next level.  So do come and learn what you can do and practice to improve on board vision and awareness.  See you at 7.

 As a promotional gesture, I offer tonight's session FREE for those who are unsure whether to sign up for future lessons. Interested players please Whatsapp 97985479 for the Zoom Link. Kindly mention Jan 7 Zoom in your post. Thanks! See you then

 The idea that there could be someone who wishes to take a byte size 1 hr lesson when available is mooted in my mind for some time. This will take place over Zoom, so there is no limit on how many students can attend.   Hence I am launching this Group Class for anyone who is attracted to come in to learn for 1 hour - something for everyone so not just targetted for any level but definitely not over 1800 online rating.  Date Topic 7/1/2025 Board Awareness and Board Vision 14/1/2025 What to watch on Youtube? 21/1/2025 How to study Chess Books 11/2/2025 Playing online for improvement P1 18/2/2025 Playing online for improvement P2 25/2/2025 Selecting an Opening that suits You Interested parties feel free to leave your comments, email me at jfan2003@gmail.com for more information regarding payment and attendance. Please leave your child's name and your contact number in the email.  Naturally I will take note of students that are logged in. Only those who have paid in...