THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

Thankfully there was a quoram that showed up at the SCF AGM to pass the required constitutional changes. With a 3 year term, the President and his Board can have more runway to effect policies and see to changes in the administration. What is heartening news for the community is that there will be an alternative site for the SCF to conduct larger scale tournaments and training. I shall leave that announcement to the SCF. In addition, the current SIGC lease will continue to  be renewed subject to approval by the SLA.  Someone from the floor asked about having more international FIDE events in Singapore. Every organiser knows that the primary costs of running chess events in Singapore rests mainly on the venue rental. With the new developments, this will help bring down the running costs and if the savings can translate to lower entry fees, more players will be inclined to take part in such events. As for the subject of having chess institutionalised into the National School Gam...

 It is the annual general meeting of the Singapore Chess Federation, an organisation I was involved with on and off since 1985. This year's event carries with it an important constitutional change.  The Term of Office for the Board is now increased to 3 years from 2, in accordance witht the guidelines set by the SportsSG. The rationale is to allow the Board a longer time to effect its policies with Board members now limited to a span of 10 years. They can be re-admitted after a break of minimum 2 years of absence. There are also term limits imposed for the President and Vice President (redesignated from current title of Deputy) to a total of 10 years. There will be no extensions after 3 terms are served. These changes are healthy going forward, as they main good governance and transparency in the running of the Federation.  As more and more adhoc groups are organising and running chess events, some of them should avail themselves to be counted as stakeholders in the admin...

For those who have missed the series, I am doing the 2nd re-run of the Zoom Class for Improvers to start in July-August 2026. We can start only if we get a minimum of 6 students for the sessions. $100 to be paid upfront before the start, with presentation slides AND the video of the full session given to each participant. A sample clip for the first session on Visualisation. Interested ? Please drop me an email at jfan2003@gmail.com with the header " Zoom Class for Improvers" and we can take it from there. To reiterate the topics that I am going to cover, they are:  Date Topic   Board Awareness and Board Vision   What to watch on Youtube?   How to study Chess Books / Courses   Playing online for improvement     Selecting an Opening that suits you Please read the Prospectus of the above topics here

 We had a good interactive session Monday past.  For those who are still keen to attend the remaining 4 sessions ( please see previous post for topics), please email me jfan2003@gmail.com. I will get in touch with you to set it up.

 A short prospectus on the upcoming Zoom Class for Adult Improvers (saves me the effort of explaining to prospective students) Rather than present what many chess content creators have done on Youtube, I would focus on these 5 topics which are relatively left neglected in a chess player's journey towards self improvement. Having been a chess trainer for more than 20 years, my experience about chess improvement as a player hinges mainly on these 5 topics.  BOARD VISION Many do not see the importance of developing good board vision ie the ability to visualise movements on the chessboard OFF the chessboard. Kids in general can't tell where the squares are based on the coordinates and often rely on the printed edges - so it is hardly surprising that they often misplace their Kings and Queens should the pieces be set up on the "wrong" side. That means the White pieces are placed on the 7th and 8th rows instead of the 1st and 2nd. Second, they have difficulty knowing the co...

 Since the Tanglin Open in 2022, the notion of running a regular Chess Club during the renovation of my Thomson Chess Club beckoned me. There was a regular vacant spot on Friday nights at Tanglin CC from 6-10pm so I jumped at it.  The room can fit 14 players comfortably but can take up to 18 if more than half the players are kids. Here we practice mainly longer time controls starting from 15 mins + 10 secs to 1 hr + 30sec increments. All games played here are with increments. I do not advocate playing 0 increments in this Club because it is detrimental to chess improvement and thinking. With the constraints set, it is not possible for Tanglin Chess Club to accomodate post beginners - for that I am sure that there are other Clubs which have more room and can take in newbies to the game.  So the minimal that I ask for is for one who knows how to play and can record a chess game.  Friday nights are often rather quiet once the games start, everyone takes their game serio...

 Till date we have 5 interested participants for the class. Just 1 more to make the minimum, but hey, the more the merrier :-) Please feel free to drop me a email at jfan2003@gmail.com with the heading "Zoom Class for Adult Improvers" if you are keen to join. We are likely to start in May.

 1897 registered for the NSI this March 16-17 @ the OCBC Arena. A new venue, with good access by public transport. This sets another National record for the number of participants in a National Chess event. Good news, but perhaps a good reflection point. 2 students took part in the U10 category - Gabriel scored 5/9 and had a won position against Shaun Yeo before he blundered his Queen in time trouble. He also managed to draw against Leanne Tan (39th), both commendable achievements given that this is his first NSI. He is now fired up to do more for his game and I am happy that he has now adopted the habit of reviewing his games after play. This will go a long way towards improvement. Jarell just joined me not long ago - he was not familiar with the coordinates and had difficulty recording his games. Nonetheless he picked up 5.5 pts this year finishing 125th out of 467 players.  My ex students also fared well, one scoring 5 pts while the other was the U10 Champ.   For ...

 It's a new venue this year, so many are worried how to get to the OCBC Arena on time.  Here's some information from my recce trip this morning - hope it helps! By CAR Enter by Carpark C from the main road passing McDonalds on your left (if coming from Stadium Boulevard) till the roundabout circus. Turn left to Carpark C and park along C1-9. There is an escalator from C7 and a lift opposite the escalator. Once on ground level turn left towards the entrance of the OCBC Arena. Head towards Hall 1 DROPOFF You can drop the children off by entering the dropoff instead of turning towards Carpark C. This is near the Circle Line MRT Stadium exit (far left). Turn left and walk towards the Arena Hall 1 BY SCHOOL BUS Buses should proceed to the Coach Bay and alight the students. After getting off walk towards Berth 9 and left right to the Arena Hall 1 MRT Stadium MRT on Circle Line is closest to the OCBC Arena. Exit B is closest to the OCBC Arena. Those coming from the North East please ...

 So far I have only received 3 interested players. Waiting for more.  We may not be able to start January 20 - those who have written to me, please wait a little longer thanks. As the Chinese saying goes " 万事起头难 “ it will take a little more effort to promote my Zoom class. Nonetheless I will persevere. For those who are keen please go to my post  https://chessaddict63.blogspot.com/2025/12/zoom-group-class-for-kids-2026.html  for details. You may also Whatsapp at 97985479.