2011-Year of change for Malaysian chess.

We started the 1st of January 2011 with a win against Singapore after 10 long years. With that win lifting up our spirits a conversation took place. A conversation that was the start of a chess tsunami in Malaysia. A conversation about change. Why can't we have selection? Why are there players representing our Country that don't appreciate their place?

Why,why,why? Why can't our talented kids make GM? We start out with Champions and then they start to lose their shine. And of course there were many well articulated "reasons" that have "explained" away our lacklustre performances. Well oiled after 30 years of refining the excuses.

But those arguments were not accepted anymore. And selection came.

First sponsored training for the juniors before International representation. This was attacked till the sponsors said enough. Thematic tournaments were re-introduced and this too was attacked.

But funnily change still came. New leaders entered MCF with new ideas. New International Tournaments graced our shores.

There is a new energy in Malaysian chess now. New hungry players raising their skills. For the first time in a long time the forces for progress were stronger than the forces for stagnation and defeat.

2011 was a good year and now it has come to the time to say goodbye and to welcome in the new year. 2012. What will this year bring? Shall we continue moving forward?

Asean women-R8

Here.

Asean men- R8

Here.

Sing Chess Festival- Interim review

Here.

Opening secrets.

Here.

Asean men and women results.

Men here.

Women here.

Pls go to the above blog for updates.

Today's Contemplation.

The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift of life is yours; it is an amazing journey; and you alone are responsible for the quality of it.

-- Dan Zadra

Sing Chess Festival begins.

To follow how our fighters are doing please use the links given below. Nothing yet on the men and women masters but I think it should be out soon.

Sing Age group.

Here.

Good luck to all our age group fighters. May the force be with you.

NM Zhuo Ren and Kian Wah at Sing Open.

Here.

Best of luck guys.

Nabila at Asean Women

Here.

Our fierce competitor Nabila. Our best wishes goes with you Nabila.

IM Yee Weng and Mas playing Asean Men

Here.

The very best of luck Yee Weng and Mas.

Christmas Musings.

You need knowledge to draw the game and you need courage to find the win.

Merry Merry Christmas

FGM wishes our Christian readers a very Merry Christmas.

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;
The spirit of Christmas which is peace;
The heart of Christmas which is love.

-- Ada V. Hendricks

Salutations to the strongest junior 2011/12

Nabil is the undisputed junior Champion. This is what the title National Junior Master means. There were many comments about some missing Juniors but this is the consensus among those I spoke to. You cannot claim to be the strongest outside the ring. That is just your personal opinion. The Champion is the boy that lifts the title. The one that had the courage to step into the ring to fight.

A good analogy is Lee Chong Wei vs Lin Dan. In the fight we acknowledge Lin Dan to be Champion. The Champion cannot be based on ratings. The Champion is determined by the fight among peers; in their category.

So well done Nabil! Be proud of you achievement and your title. Wear it with pride. You have earned it.

Note: I also asked a couple of the top juniors if they thought this was the strongest Junior they have played. After some thought, they said it was. Why? There were almost no cannon fodder on the top tables unlike the past. Strong young juniors are coming up. There were no easy games even with the players with much lower ratings. New Champions in the making. Things are changing for the better. With this type of depth and strong fighters, we may soon find more International class players. Well done MCF.

Clash of the junior titans.

They say when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. We have witnessed our Junior IM killers over the last few tournaments. Yeoh Li Tian also took down an IM at Penang Open and came in 5th place.

And they also say, diamonds are made under pressure and iron sharpen iron. Since the coming in of selection for both juniors and seniors, there are no more backdoor entries. We are also seeing the return of the "lost" generation back into Malaysian tournaments. Players like Abel Yap, Nicholas Cheah, Loo Swee Leong, Fadzil Nayan, Kamaluddin Yusof etc. are back in the fight and getting stronger and stronger.

Now all have the chance to represent the Country. It is now about chess and not politics. This is good for Malaysian Chess. We started this year with a bang, with an emphatic win over Singapore and we are ending it well too. The last big tournament of the year is the National Juniors.

If we can keep this forward momentum, soon we will see new faces in the senior squad. Increased internal competition means our players are conditioned for tough International Tournaments and hopefully we wont hear stories of luke warm play from our players in the future anymore.

And we will be one more step closer to our very own GM.

Jianwen at Board 1- Sarawak Open.

Junior Jianwen is fighting top board in R9 after taking down IM Atanu Lahiri. Go Jianwen go. Good luck!

Here.

Search for the strongest Junior- National Junior 2011

From the 19th December Malaysia will be having our 4th National Junior Championship at Datcc. This is the event that will determine who the strongest junior is in Malaysia for the coming year. The champion will carry the coveted National Junior Master title.

The Junior championship is for any junior under the age of 20yo. This differentiates the tournament from the age groups since any player under 20 or at 20 can vie for the title.

FGM would like to wish every junior player in Malaysia taking part the very best in this special event. Good luck and fight hard but fight fair in accordance to the rules.

Note: The winner of the junior is entitled to represent Malaysia for International junior events as opposed to International youth events for the age groups.

Today's Contemplation.

He that embarks on the voyage of life will always wish to advance rather by the impulse of the wind than the strokes of the oar; and many fold in their passage; while they lie waiting for the gale.

-- Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Definition of illusions and delusions.

Illusions.

Where you have been Jedi mind tricked into not being able to see your opponents weaknesses.

Delusions.

Where you have Jedi mind tricked yourself into not being able to see your own weaknesses.

Today's Contemplation.

No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined.

-- Harry E. Fosdick

Reflections

Here.

Today's Contemplation.

Q: How can I handle unpleasant emotions from others?

A: Understand them. If someone is furious, see it as an out- burst of his false self. A furious man acts out a false role, having no relation to reality. He has unhealthy notions that life should conform to his demands. Understand the furious man, but never coddle, for that only worsens him.

-- Vernon Howard

The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.

-- Henri Bergson

Today's Contemplation.

Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.

-- Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993)

Trivia from Masrin

Here.

An interesting discussion at Asian Amateur

First round of the blitz and FM Ignatius Leong lost to one of Singapore's young players. He asked the boy to explain to me his loss. I commented that it is a testimony to his coaching that the young boy was not intimidated by him.

Later on there was me, Ignatius and an IM and we got to talking on the topic again. The IM said that it is not his fault that the younger generation of players were weaker than the older ones. Maybe not personally but I think that generally the next generation should be stronger than the previous one. And if that is not so then there is something wrong with the way the older generation is handling things.

Again I found someone trying to lay the blame on the kids. Why don't the decision makers, ie the older members of the chess community, try to see where we can improve things so that each subsequent generation of players become stronger and stronger.

Progress.

Our condolenses, Casto

On the second last day of the Asian Amateur, the chief arbiter Casto Abundo announced that he had to leave to attend his brother's funeral.

Our deepest condolence Casto.