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.