Shadow boxing and imagined fears.

This is my perspective. Every Malaysian that played at the Open is deserving of special respect. No matter what the result was it took courage to play in that very tough field.

They were not playing for Malaysia there. It was an individual event which they paid for themselves. It was a private affair. And so they can use the tournament for any purpose they deem fit. Practicing new lines etc. etc.

I was informed that Sumant and Zhuo Ren was being attacked on the blogs since I do not read the blogs during competition as my focus is on other things.

So lets now talk about shadow boxing with imagined fears. Who are these anonymous commentators? What do we know about them?

From what I can see, they are bred around Jimmy's site. From observing the shoutbox there, it looks like he is the conductor. I have seen them turn a full 180 degrees with a single prompting from Jimmy. They are shadows and they stand for nothing and believe in nothing. They are only there to serve Jimmy's agenda and ego.

We do not even know if those anonymous commentators can play chess. They have probably never played at high levels and probably never ever won a single tournament. And they are cowards. Hiding behind anonymity to spew their venom.

So why should Sumant or anyone of our fighters need to apologise to them? Why be intimidated by shadows?

I told Sumant at Datmo that these people cannot take away his right to play at SEA games. They are attacking his mind. His performance is solely in his hands and nobody elses.

Consider this. Do you remember how the rest of the team performed at the last Olympiad? Did they do well or were we distracted by the mistakes made by Khai Boon?

I have said that Jimmy did not take advantage of the high level tournament at Datmo to test himself before SEA games. So he has reduced his chances to shine and to do his personal best. The best strategy for him now may be to shift the spot light to someone else.

I told Sumant to avoid Jimmy if possible during SEA games and to stick closer to Yee Weng if he needs advice and support.

What do we need in a tough tournament? We need our support system, our self respect, our dignity, our believe that we can win against a tough opponent if we have done our homework etc. We do not need team mates who attack our minds.

That apology to shadows and toyols is not helpful. They have put more fear in you. What could be the possible strategy of these people? What would happen to you if you allow them to separate you from your support system?

Imagined fears at work. If you allow imagined fears to work, you may bomb and then the chess community will focus on that. Be strong Sumant. Look through their tricks. You have nothing to apologise for. Learn to repeat the formula that helped you win in the past. Learn to be more consistent, more disciplined etc. Learn to make good decisions.

That is the correct way. Learn to defend your mind against attacks from shadows and imagined fears.

The way to success is to train hard and to fight well at SEA games. Trying to appease Jimmy and his few shadow friends is impossible. So focus on what is possible.

There is something wrong when fighters need to apologise to cowards and shadows.