Intelligence trap.

I was just thinking that today may be a good day for quiet reflection but then I got the calling to write this.

It is unfortunate that the most intelligent among us may not always lead successful lives. In fact to me the more intelligent you are the more difficult it is to do that. The road to success is not easy and it is very very easy to get lost. And it seems to me that the more intelligent you are the better you are at losing your way. That is why so few make it, despite their intelligence (or maybe because of their intelligence).

When I talk to our National Junior players I marvel at their inventiveness at finding excuses. My son included. So many compelling "reasons" not to do the work but wanting the prize at the same time. In the first place it is not easy to reason with highly intelligent people as they can find so many inventive ways to run away, so many "intelligent" excuses.

In chess we find some of the most intelligent people in our country. But there is more. When I started attending chess tournaments I noticed that the pressure to win is akin to the highest level of pressurised negotiations I have ever been involved with in my business life. But in chess it starts at such a young age. So I've been observing. Are they equipped to handle this level of pressure without the right guidance & preparation? I don't know many adults who can.

Of course I am not talking about hobbyists. I am talking about those that are going for the titles, the medals. I think the combined forces of high intelligence added to unresolved imagined fears is a potent mix for damage.

So are we managing our most gifted minds properly? What are the results telling us? I call this the intelligence trap. And I wrote about it here.

Selected games from Dragon Thematic

Here.

The teachers understand this.

You walk into a classroom and you see two groups of boys/girls. One group is serious about trying to improve, working hard. The other group just makes trouble, they are hell bent on self sabotage although some of them are very smart.

Which group would you focus your attention on Cikgu? This is also human nature. We cant help but to want to help those who are helping themselves.

This works the same for the sponsors. They cant help but to want to help those who are helping themselves. When they see a serious group trying hard to succeed they will want to help. They are in the business world. They understand plans, teamwork, the will to succeed. They understand sacrifice. They understand this other side of human nature.

But which side of human nature will they see when they come to our chess community? The self destructive side or the other one?

Photos from the Dragon Thematic

Here.

A possible answer to MASUM post.

Ref: Here.

Teach them to work through their fears till they reach the answers ie competitor analysis. Fear can shut down the mind and put any technical knowledge outside their reach. Fear also affects decisions and chess is about making decisions. Fear is also the enemy of ideas and chess is about ideas. And as I have said before, the source of fear is the ego. Read this too to see if you agree. Here.

Note: This is what I said at the last FGM Thematics. There is no pressure if you are playing against a known technically inferior player. The perception of fear begins when we meet our equals and above, when we think we can lose. Then the use of competitor analysis helps us to ground ourselves and choose and prepare the weapon that gives us the best chance. And so we fight with realistic expectations. A lessening of fear. A winning edge?

There is little fear in most of our U12 and so they can fight well. After that age more and more fear creeps in and that eventually cripples their game. If that is the case we need to examine fear and its causes. And in chess, I have stated that most of our fears are imaginary. Does this make any sense?

Ideas on how to be GM.

Read this.

Today's Contemplation.

Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I shall have the belief that I can do it. I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning.

-- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Stories from the Thematics.

Go here.

Today's Contemplation.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

-- Mark Twain [Samuel Clemens] (1835-1910)

Che Hassan is Dragon Master.

More pictures, games and stories to follow. Here.

Definitions.

You are positive when after checking assumptions, you accept reality and then you look for and implement solutions.

You are negative when you look at the same reality and feel too disempowered to do anything except complain.

You are delusional when you cannot accept the established facts and begin to invent stories and lies to run away from reality.

You are evil when you then try to impose your delusions to make it the reality for others.

Questions on the Thematics.

Some questions were asked about the Thematics in the comments here.

Let me try to give you some background to the FGM Thematics. I structured the thematic training tournaments after observing in our last National Close that our stronger players needed a Tournament to help them condition their stamina. Some of them were starting to reel towards the later rounds. Therefore I decided to limit entry in the thematics to stronger players to give them a good workout.

The other reason came from observing our players in International Tournaments where I felt that our players will benefit from practicing a line against many different opponents to give them a more solid grounding in their openings.

I will also talk on competitor analysis but this talk will be more relevant for tournament players that are striving to move ahead. With greater understanding of competitor analysis, questions like how come I keep losing to one player when someone that I usually beat can beat that same player etc. will become clearer.

It is my hope that the thematics will contribute to points across the board to our players playing at the Malaysian and KL Open.

This will be my last post till after the weekend. See those of you who can make it to the Thematics this weekend at Jax's. All my best in your chess development.

For more details visit here.

Chess, a double edged sword.

Chess is incredibly intense. I have seen beginners entering this environment play a one day rapid event and be knocked out for days. The passion in this game is astonishing. I don't think many other environments come close in intensity. So what I am saying is that we must be careful. This intensity can produce diamonds or it can lead to damage.

What is a glass ceiling?

A parent of one of our proteges said to me at Asian Youth that some of our IM's have set a glass ceiling for our Juniors. What actually does this mean and how did it come about if the statement is true?

A glass ceiling is an artificial ceiling imposed to prevent others from overtaking previous achievements. If that is true at all, what would be the conditions that can bring this about?

As I have said earlier, competitor analysis is very tough to do. To do this properly you need to face your fears and your self delusions in order to measure accurately the gap that needs to be bridged. So if during this journey you have given up hope and self belief from too many defeats; if you have stopped looking for the answers and you have no one to show you the way forward, it is easy to be demotivated.

Human nature is a funny thing. We want to feel good about ourselves even while doing destructive things and so the stories, the excuses start, the sabotage starts. It is hard to see someone doing something that we failed to accomplish ourselves. Does this explain some of the funny going ons in our chess community? The funny deals, the attempts to sabotage the only training program for the Juniors offered last year? The mention of making enemies if you do not wait your turn, you are all washed out if you are not GM by 15 etc etc?

The way forward is to look at the hard questions, to improve our skills. But so much energy is frittered away from our self sabotage. Energy that we will need if we are to see that GM anytime soon.

I hope we can take a real hard look at ourselves. Merely offering quotes doesn't really cut it. Many lament daily about our currently sad situation. That doesn't really help either. It is not that difficult to see the problems. Well at least for some. What we need are solutions and we need action to move the solutions forward.

Reminder from an old post.

Here.

I really like this by Marina

Here.

Is Competitor Analysis the key?

Read this again. Here.

It seems to me that competitor analysis will show us the way forward. Measure ourselves, measure the competitor, find the gap and undertake the training. Set realistic goals, milestones. But is it really so simple? If it is then why haven't we done it?

Let me try to explain here. When we do competitor analysis, we meet our fears, our self delusions. Suddenly everything else seems more important than the training. Excuses galore. We want the cheap answers. The gap measures the work yet to be done and it can be daunting. So they need to be shown how to win. Realistic steps and the right mindset.

Let me ask a few question here. What do you think happens to our kids if we keep sending them out without realistic expectations, without proper training? What happens to them over time? What happens to their self esteem if we keep hammering them and putting them down? Have you ever walked a mile in their shoes? And if you have, are you still trying to move forward? Do you still remember what it was like when your dreams were still alive?

Competitor analysis is a frightening experience and it is a long journey to that GM. Do you think the kids will need their fighting spirit intact? Will they need that passion to fuel their challenges to adversities in front of them and further ahead?

Keep the fighting spirit and the technical will come. Kill off the fighting spirit and no amount of technical will help.

I will answer questions at our Thematic this weekend if you have any. See you at Jax's.

A Fathers day special

Here.

Todays Reminder

Here.

Asean results.

After much confusion over our medal tally, I hope this post will clarify further. Here.

Our focus should be on the U14 upwards.

We already know that we have world class players below U12. But lets look at this realistically. U12 doesn't really prove anything much. As we all know, many "accidents" can happen at this level and so the mark of us as a chess nation is really shown as we move up the age categories; where there are less and less "accidents".

I think our trainers and coaches will learn a lot if we focus on the higher age groups. What are we missing? What more do we need to learn? Is the fact that our Juniors get more and more demotivated as they get older a matter of concern? What can we do to keep the fire in their eyes? What are we doing wrong?

Don't give up on them and then start looking at the U12's again. If we do that we will not grow, we will not learn. And don't hit out at the older Juniors because it is we who have failed them. Don't shift the blame.

Is this something worth thinking about? Can looking seriously at competitor analysis and having proper training long before an important tournament and not the last minute ones we now have be a possible solution?

If so, how can we get there? And what is in our way?

Dear Ilham

Ref: Here.

You have put forth an interesting analogy. How about this perspective? Chess is an amazing tool to building future businessmen as well as a GM if we include competitor analysis. You get almost all the training lessons but you don't have to lose your pants if you get it wrong.

I say almost all the lessons simply because chess is adversarial in nature but in real world business you have partners as well as competitors. So how to partner is a lesson we badly need in order to thrive.

As a banker I am sure you understand that a healthy investment climate is necessary to promote businesses, sponsors etc. Do you see what I am getting at?

So perhaps we need a strong MCF to help us to create that environment so that rogue associations, organisers etc etc is given proper guidelines to code of conduct. Is that perspective palatable? Greater clarity on when and how to partner and when and how to compete.

Give the cowboys reign where everyone, friend or foe is shot, then we will linger in this dark climate we have created for a long time more to come. Do you now see what action will take us forward and what action wont? Where do you stand?

Another reminder.

Here.

Reminder- 2nd FGM Thematics.

Please get the details here.

I will be working on a proposal over the next few days to new corporate clients to enable us to bring the last 2 Thematics planned before Malaysia Open so that you will have the best possible practice we can provide in the form of training tournaments. It is our intention that after the Sicilian Dragon, it will be followed by Kings Indian Defence and Sicilian Najdorf.

Hopefully the 3 training tournaments will be translated into points across the board for Malaysian players in both the Malaysian and KL Open.

See you at Jax's this weekend. All my best in your preparations. Talk again soon.

Reminder from an old post. Apple and Oranges.

Here.

During my last trip to KL, I met up with the father of one of our young proteges. And we exchanged notes. I told him that I think this year will be an interesting year as the technical gaps are being closed among the juniors. So this year we will see a fight among nearer technical equals and we will now be able to see better if mental strength is a quality that we need to investigate more fully or not. It was harder to compare before as we were comparing apples and oranges. Now we can compare apples with apples.

Happy Fathers Day

FGM wishes every father of our chess players a Happy Fathers day. Thank you for the tremendous sacrifices you have made.

Congratulations

Congratulations Princess Munaijah for the 3 golds and Teh De Zen for the 2 golds in Asean. We also got a gold for the team event. So congratulations to all who contributed. Well done.

Source: Greg Lau.

Here are the results if you remove the rapid and blitz. Here.

Reminder from an old post.

Here.

A quick review.

Wow, just realised that I have spent 9 days in KL. Exhausting to say the least. In these 9 days I have met many many old friends; former national players in squash, golf etc. Other mind sport players in bridge. There is the Asia Pacific Bridge Tournament going on now in OCM. I have met corporate figures, politicians and ex politicians.

From the feedback all round I am more convinced than ever that good competitor analysis is the way forward.

Let me try and define the word "loser" here. To me it doesn't mean that a loss or more makes you a loser. To me what that word means is that you have quit from facing current reality. From facing todays challenge. You have crawled into a corner and started making excuses, started creating fantastic stories to defend your failures. And so you have moved from having had a few losses to becoming a loser.

Competitor analysis helps us to face current realities. Measure yourself and your opponents, see the gap and then find ways and means to close that gap. And realise that this gap will not be closed in a day. It will take time and effort but if we do this and do this well we will see that GM.

Stop tearing down others just because you yourself have quit. Do this and we will move forward again. FGM have deviced the Thematics to help us close that gap. Hopefully this will help us gain a few points across the board in Malaysia Open and KL Open.

Will talk more over the next few days but right now I need a little more rest. So work hard and smart and I'll see you at the top.

Taking a few days off from the blog.

Will be taking a few days off to explore other ideas. I hope you will keep visiting and reading the articles here in the meantime. Look at this one again. Here.

This was what started my journey to finding the answers to that first gm. And it has been an interesting journey indeed. I started out being Wowed by the passion and energy our young players have. All that potential if that energy could only be guided. What cant they do with such passion. And as I watch them grow up and I have been in chess for 8 years now, I see the fire slowly die out for the vast majority.

And not just in chess either. As some of our Juniors have commented here, they begin to lack discipline etc. etc.

So in this blog, I have tried to find the answers to the malady. And I think you will see some of them here too if you care to look.

A reminder from an old post.

Here. Visit FGM's philosophy again. We formulated this when we first started. Here.

The "Thinking" Police.

In the outside world we have the moral police. They tell you what to wear, what you can or cannot do. I am not going to debate that here. But in chess we have something else. We have the "thinking" police. They tell you what you can read or what you should think.

Hey! isnt my thoughts my own? How does it threaten you? I ask you for a solution, a plan, an idea for us to move forward. But you have none. Now you are telling me what to think? You are telling people what they can read or what they can think about to look for a solution?

Man, it is just thoughts. We are looking for answers. Chess is about ideas, about thinking. If you dont like ideas then why play chess? And what is your authority; moral or otherwise to say what anyone can read or think about? Are you trying to tell me that nobody except you is capable of thinking rationally?

Asian Junior- Update

Here.

How to beat strong opponents.

Here.

Today's Contemplation.

I am grateful for all of my problems. After each one was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. I grew in all my difficulties.

-- James Cash Penney (1875-1971, Founder of J.C. Penney Department Stores)

We in the Malaysian chess community can grow stronger too if we can identify and overcome our current problems. Do we have the same recurrent problems year in, year out?

Reminder from an old post.

Here.

The beginning of Strategy.

When the boys were in my house for the SEA games training, I had a talk with them on this topic. I told them that I can only plan for their development when they stop this one thing. If they can stop winning against a giant and then losing to the lowest seed.

Think of this. We give them the technical to win by engaging a GM; they fight a humongous battle and win against the giant only to lose to a midget in the later rounds. Now how can we pursue a medal under these conditions?

A win and then the loss. Same spot in points. Now why this happens is the center of what FGM is all about. Think on this. I will talk more later.

Asian Junior- Update

Here.

Be fair.

I hear that people are using Greg as a punching bag again. They are upset over the amount they have to pay for Asean this year. Now is that right?

Greg facilitated the training program by FGM for Asean last year. Players only paid RM1K for the training by GM Ziaur Rahman but got air tickets to the estimated value of RM1,500. If there was better participation the amount payable would have been less. But many parents and players pulled out for different reasons. But still there was a savings of RM500 for each player that went to Asean last year. The parents flew for free. The official flew for free.

Wasn't that a step in the right direction? So who sabotaged that program? And why do you want to blame Greg for this now? Didnt he try to provide a solution? Let the blame fall in the right place and then we will progress.

Read this again. Here.

Winning a Tournament.

We have 2 important International events coming up. Malaysia Open and the KL Open. Almost 3 months to go. So we have time to not only discuss this but hopefully also do something about it.

Winning a game and winning a Tournament are two different things. That is why we need to know the field to help us determine the strategy for the Tournament. Whether we are playing for a placing or playing for rating.

In a Tournament we also have to plan for conservation of energy. That is why planning our openings well before each game is important. Winning with less strain because we found the correct opening or know our opening well will allow us to have reserve energy for tougher games ahead.

All of these things need to be considered before the Tournament day itself. If you have done your competitor analysis you will be able to prioritise your preparation. Which weapons to sharpen first.

So use the Thematics we designed for you to do well in those Tournaments. All my best in your chess development.

KL Open reduces fees and is renamed.

Another important event in the Malaysian Chess Calender. Get more details here.

It takes Teamwork.

The players job is to play. But for him/her to succeed they need the right tools, the right training, the right mindset and the right support to win.

This is obvious. So we need the Associations, the organisers, the parents, the trainers, the coaches and the players to come to the same page. That means the same understanding of what we need to do to bring our chess to the next level.

And that is the crux. To do that we need to identify what is destructive behaviour. We need to learn to honour our agreements. We need to understand responsibility and accountability. For only then will there be sustainable teamwork. And then we each need to do our part and do it well.

Then we will succeed. And until we get this right we will have difficulty progressing. For until that happens we are not really "sponsorable".

We cannot send our players out and expect them to win with one hand tied behind their backs. On the other side of the coin, the players need to be responsible and accountable to their supporters and sponsors and fight their hearts out.

Today's Contemplation.

Make a game of finding something positive in every situation. Ninety-five percent of your emotions are determined by how you interpret events to yourself.

-- Brian Tracy

Competitor Analysis is 60% of the game.

Having the right opening line is 60% of the game, GM Ziaur said to me. And this infers that competitor analysis is paramount in todays game. Before the player reaches the board, the quality of his competitor analysis will to a large extent determine the outcome of the game. That is why top players have seconds, a team to undertake this analysis before they play.

But of course, competitor analysis is of no use to you if you have only one type of game. FGM will be conducting a talk on competitor analysis in our Thematic on the 25th and 26th of this month. See you there.

IM Norm at 23

It can be done. We have the talent. Read here.

Malaysia Open.

It's on. Here. This is an important event in our Chess Calender. Have invited a few overseas friends to this event. Hamid is a skilled organiser. Wishing the event all the best. See you guys there.

Asian Junior- Update

Here.

Looking at the results both here and at Asian Youth, our Juniors may not be underrated. I think we need to measure our Juniors against their Juniors. We may get a different picture if we measure against our Seniors who got their ratings in a different world and are generally in decline.

Our hopes of giving additional support have largely been dashed so I hope Sumant can do all he can with what he has. Self believe. That is now key. All my best Sumant. Fight hard and fight strong. It's not over till the fat lady sings.

Today's Contemplation.

If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough.

-- Oprah Winfrey

Use all you have in a chess Tournament. Use all we have to lift Malaysian Chess to the next level.

The best way to help our players win overseas.

Is to make our internal competitions tougher and tougher. Raise our level. So the culture of agreeing draws before a game, fixing tournaments have to go. If they want to improve, learn new things, we should encourage them. Build up their fighting spirit in healthy competition and they will go out and take down giants. Do the opposite and they will wither away. Keep the juniors away from gutter politics.

Today's Contemplation.

The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

And is chess a game of change?

A reminder from an old post.

Here.

FGM Thematic- Sicilian Dragon

Abdullah Che Hassan has asked for the opening position. Here it is. Good to see you back in the fray Abdullah. All my best.

Opening position.

1.e4 c5

2.Nf3 d6

3.d4 cxd4

4.Nxd4 Nf6

5.Nc3 g6

Beginners in this line are encouraged to learn up the Yugoslav Attack. Seasoned players can experiment with new ideas. See you there.

How to win?

Big question. I remember a conference I attended many years back on change. I noticed a participant on my left who wrote on her note pad. She wrote, I need to change but what and how? A few years back when Sumant first came to my house, I asked him what he did in training to improve? Sumant has always been one of our Stars but he always fell short in the big events. He told me, he didn't know what to do anymore to improve. Hmmmmm, that set my mind in motion.

And now a few years later, I am offering a solution. So Jimmy and friends, no, I am not charging Sumant for our services. I do not charge for a system still being debugged. I am returning a good deed that Sumant did for us those couple of years back. Something I don't think you'll understand.

Winning is a mindset. You can have the technical; the talent but if you do not have the mindset you cannot win. If we want our boys and girls to take on the giants then we must show them how to win. Technical superiority can only win against weaker players who do not yet have the knowledge. We cannot rely on this tool if we are going against technical equals and technical superiors.

In this day and age where information, training methods etc etc are freely available on the net, hording information doesn't cut it anymore. And cheating wont go far.

Asian Junior- Update

What a mess. Sumant played IM Nitin and not Krishna yesterday as black and so our guess was off and we prepared against the wrong opponent. And till way past midnight there was no pairing up yet so we dont know what is happening. Obviously Sri Lanka has a way to go in terms of organising ability. Shouldnt the Asian Chess Federation set minimum standards for an International Event of this nature? I hope MCF can take this up. This is not good for our player.

Sumant lost in the first round. Some preparation could have increased the odds. Sumant, do your best. We are shooting in the dark and cannot assist you much now. So just fight hard over the board. All my best.

ps: No pairing on juniors yet at time of this posting.

Reminder from an old post.

Here.

Asian Junior

The first round begins at 4pm. The players list just came out but we are not sure of the pairing yet. This makes it very difficult to prepare. Funny thing. U20 and only 13 players. Mainly from Sri Lanka and India. One Malaysian and two from UAE.

Even in Asian Youth we had the players list one week before we went to Subic. At least then we have an idea of the players and do some preliminary preparation. Which weapons to sharpen?

So we are guessing who the first round opponent will be. Hope we guess right and in both colours. This is a good learning experience. For the players who are not involved in MSSM, lets do this. Go to Chess Results and see the players list. Go to your database and look at those players games. Question. Do you have the tools to win if you are playing? One player we observed was only a 2100 last year. Now he is a 2300. So you can do this too.

At my Thematic I will talk about what else you have to look out for. Enjoy this experiment. Imagine you are Sumant, playing there. But look at your own tools, your own weapons. This will be a good exercise for those going to Malaysia Open. Practice makes perfect. Good luck.

ps: I hear Andrew will be posting up some results. I wont be so check out gilachess for it.

Ist step to mental strength.

The very first step to building your mental strength is daring to look at the truth. Don't put your head in the sand and run away. Look carefully, weigh and judge and then determine your truth. Then stick to it. Then and only then must you learn to shield your mind against unwarranted attacks, for attacks there will surely be if you are growing. From embittered people, jealous people, people that want to rob you of your progress. So work hard, train hard and I'll see you at the top.

Look carefully. Isn't that what chess can teach you? What happens if you cannot look at your competitors game straight in the eye. Then what technical? It is not the technical that wins games and wins Tournaments. It's a winning mindset. Your winning mindset.

You cannot be strong by running away.

Read here as well.

2nd FGM Thematic-Sicilian Dragon

It's on. June 25th and 26th. Whether you are a d4 or e4 player, this is a good opportunity to study and learn to play this very important opening if you want to progress to the next level. I will be talking about competitor analysis as well.

Competitor analysis is the backbone of your chess development. It opens your eyes to what openings you need to develop and the training you need to progress. Start reading up now and see you there.

Registration details here.

Today's Contemplation.

In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.

-- Eric Hoffer

Sicilian Dragon- An instructive Story

Here.

A reminder from an old post.

Here.

Here.

The purpose of FGM Thematics.

As we continue to deepen our understanding of competitor analysis, we begin to realise more and more the importance of Thematics. The obvious reason is to practice the same opening over and over again till we can begin to rely on it as a winning weapon since different opponents will respond to it differently. The less obvious reason is to learn new ways of fighting, new openings. Now why would we want to do that? Lets consider this. If you are an open player and your opponent is a better open player, would you like another option?

The other point is that if you play all Tournaments to win, then you are limiting your creativity and experimentation. You also need to test new ideas and test it in Tournament conditions. I know players who can sack etc in free play but will play conservatively in Tournaments and lose. They just don't have the confidence to apply their knowledge under Tournament conditions. Now they have a Tournament where they can see if the sacks work and not worry about winning or losing. FGM Thematics only pay the Champion. No other placing is published. The Champion is paid for the sharing of his knowledge over the Tournament.

We injected another element to our Thematics after seeing strong players flounder in National Close. We now limit entry to players above 1500. This is to serve our stronger players. In a typical Tournament, you may get to play half the Tournament with strong players and the other half with weak players. This does not help your conditioning. If you play in MSSM for instance, the weakest players are State players. If you play in International Tournaments, the weakest players are still National players.

So to aid players that want to go further and potentially play for Malaysia, we want all 10 rounds in our Thematics to be strong. Conditioning. What would be the point if you beat the top seed and then lose to the bottom seed at the later rounds for instance?

We are planning for Sicilian Dragon next and followed by Kings Indian defence. Look out for our announcement. The date is tentatively set for June 25th and 26th at Jax's place. Mark that date down. Do book early to avoid disappointment. We will only take a maximum of 40 players.