THOUGHTS OF A CHESS ADDICT

The THOMSON CHESS FIESTA 2016 will take place on May 28 and 29 just before the June holidays begin. Please download the registration forms here

We are gathering more people than the above picture tonight. Possibly 2 rows instead of one. So we can be in the news. This should help in publicising chess in Singapore, do come on down tonight to make it an event. See you all there .

There are 24 signed participants for the coming SCF Instructor's Course from May 2 to 4. See you all there.

There are several initiatives taken by the SCF lately to address the shortage of chess trainers in Singapore. Firstly, the FIDE Trainer's Seminar on May 12-15 has attracted 25 participants. The SCF Instructors' Course from 2-4 May aims to get locals who are chess-players to consider a career in teaching chess in schools at the Beginner's and Elementary Level. Hence you need not be a strong chess player to come for this course. However, basic knowledge of chess and the FIDE Laws of Chess is an important pre-requisite. For those who want to attend the course but have little knowledge of chess, they can consider signing up for the condensed Beginner's Course for Adults in April. We urge those who are considering a change from their current jobs, to join the current trainer's pool for a less hectic and enjoyable time.

Over a thousand chess players gathered at Pasir Ris Sports Hall to fight for top honours at this year's National Schools Individuals (NSI) 2016. Held over 4 days to avoid the logistic tussle, the tournament was well run by a small team of 12 arbiters and pairing officials. There were no major delays and what's  impressive was the A-C Div competition where the noise level was down to 60 db as compared to the Primary section (>90). Then again with 803 young school-children you can expect major noise issues but generally they were managable. The rankings of my students: LOWER JUNIOR GIRLS 2  Sun Shilian  RGS Pr 8 18 Tan Xuan Ying  CHIJ Toa Payoh 5 22 Lim Yen Jie Sophie   CHIJ Toa Payoh 5 25  Chan Yi Jin Elyse  CHIJ Toa Payoh  4 26 Wu Dan Dan  RGS Pr 4 27 Tong Rui Wen  Natalie CHIJ Toa Payoh 4 34 Grace Angelina Tjengal  CHIJ Toa Payoh 4 39  Lim ...

Dato Tan Chin Nam celebrates his 90th birthday today! He is the Grand Old Patriach of chess in Malaysia and many times sponsor for many of our tournaments in Singapore. Together with Dr Lim Kok Ann and ST Lee, he has pioneered the growth of chess development in China and is also instrumental in creating the chess superpower that China is today. Back in Malaysia, the Malaysian Open and Merdeka Tournaments are run annually with the inception since the mid 80s thanks to his generous sponsorship. The DATCC and now White Knight Chess Academy are another of his intiatives to foster growth in Malaysian chess. Thank you and Happy Birthday SIR!