THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

Thought I'd just highlight the importance of technical knowledge in chess training, as expounded by GM Grivas in his training lecture to his German students reported here . Of the 6 segments he mentioned in his course agenda for the day, 1/6 is devoted to psychological factors about understanding yourself, your diet and how it affects your well-being in playing. The other 5/6 is strictly devoted to learning the game.First on this list - Building a Repertoire; Chess Literature . I  I am sure that the FIDE Senior Trainer takes this seriously to put it on top of the list of topics Openings today determine the course of the game and working with chess literature towards improving our understanding of the game cannot be over-emphasised enough. I had a strong hunch he will dwell on this subject on personal characteristics and how they affect the choice of an opening, working with the classic games to understand the development of a particular opening etc.  We can only await t...

There are many cases I have encountered in Singapore when I am hired to give chess lessons weekly but the students see no improvement. Though I have strongly recommended that the student plays 1 game a day or if possible, 4 games a week (15 mins per side). Months passed, but progress is slow. Why is this so? Ironically, many of the parents whose children are learning chess do not play chess themselves. Hence, they are not aware of what it would take for one to progress. That's practice. Without constant practice, whatever is learnt will soon be forgotten. So far, most of the students that have dropped out of my radar have not been playing regularly and their interest waned in due course. So I hereby urge parents, before they sign their kids for chess, to first examine the child's timetable: Does the child have time for practice? Can this be enforced? If not, it would be a waste of time and resources to expect any form of progress or understanding. The same goes for learning a l...

Here's a nice photo from the old boys gathering for the Kasparov dinner held last year   There were others who did not join in the photo,  however, our turnout was still much better than the ACS side (ha ha!)   Perhaps its time to rekindle the "friendly" rivalry between the 2 chess school super-powers? Maybe a 30 board annual face-off?! ORA - ACS OBA Challenge ?? Itching for some action :-)

This can also apply to professions whereby you are conferred a title not just by your own efforts, but also by the intervention of others who will test you. In the realm of sport,  table tennis, tennis, badminton players and boxers come to mind. Not so golfers and bowlers, as they would need to conquer the pressures imposed by their competitiors to perform. Their competitors would not have any physical part in how they swing the club or deliver the ball. If one takes a outsider viewpoint of the business of grooming a GM, clinically it is possible. Just equipt the candidate with the knowledge, send him to as many competitions to learn the tricks of the trade, preferably losing enough to learn what not to do, and VOILA! You get an International Grand Master. Is that it? Those who have tried, (not me of course) and failed would have had their own understanding of their failure. However, I would not say that they should be in any way criticised for not helping others achieve the same a...

Overall, it was a successful tournament for me as a coach - several of my students finished in the prize winners' list, some deservedly, some not. Thought I'd like to highlight the deserving ones here: What I like about this boy was the focus and concentration he puts in every of his games. He had tough positions against the top boards, lost mainly due to his inability to handle the clock situation (most of his games finished near the 2 min mark). However, he hardly lets slip a winning game, which I'd say is commendable. If I were to describe him in one word - Phlegmatic. With more tournament exposure and diligence at his game, he should be a reckoning force in the U12s very soon.   N had a rather good tournament, though his moves are often one-move triggers befitting at his age,. His dogged determination showed once again. Though a whole Rook down in one of his games, he managed to checkmate his opponent with a lone Bishop in a rather peculiar position. Credit must go to h...

Well, that's the scene from yesterday's tournament at Thomson CC. Though entries were slow, eventually we've got 23 Junior Section entries and 18 Senior Section players which is not too bad. The tournament started promptly with no zero start rule imposed, which was a relief to many. 10am would be a good time to get things going, as the majority were able to get to the venue on-time. Lunch in the form of coupons for consuming at the Target Cafe (food is good there), plus10 prizes each section. The top 5 get trophies and a book from my collection. The results for the top 10 finishers are: SENIOR SECTION                    JUNIOR SECTION 1  Jarred Neubronner    6.0 pts   Nathan Mar      7.0 pts 2  Jimmy Ng             5.5 pts   Adrian Yeo...

I read with interest a recent interview conducted with a budding national level player and his answer when asked what chess books moulded his play. His reply was that he did not read much chess literature, counting more on a chess server for practice and ChessBase with a decent engine for analysis. I guess this would be the trend for many younger players who based their chess learning with the advent of the Computer Learning age. However, I am more inclined with the conclusions drawn from reading Robin Smith's Modern Chess Analysis. Much as computer-generated analysis can be a powerful tool, using automated analysis without checking can lead to very misleading conclusions. That is because computers cannot understand concepts like creating a fortress where the weaker side may be able to obtain a draw. As computers generally evaluate the position in terms of material, it may still produce analysis to support the stronger side but nothing decisive to overturn the conclusion. Programs ...