Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Can chess be a partial remedy?

Ref: Here.

Read this again. Here. What do you think?

Circumstantial evidence revisited.

Nepal trains for the Olympiad. Here.

I said here that if we assume that they are here to plunder then it will make a lot more sense.

So lets see. Lets revisit the FGM Asean training 2010 for the juniors. We had GM Ziaur Rahman.

Note: FGM is a registered company just like Datcc or Polgar. We are not an Association and thus we exist for profit while giving a needed service. And so in the normal course of business, whether we are successful or not, should be determined by the market and the quality of our product and services.

But lets see what happened. FGM was informed by MCF that there were roughly 20 plus players going to Asean. We did our calculation and felt that with that number we should be able to provide the service of training the juniors for Asean 2010 with the support of our sponsors and come out with some monetary compensation for our time and effort. So we put in our proposal to MCF. Our proposal meant that the parents and players can go to Asean for a fraction of the original cost and with the added benefit of training by a GM. A win/win for all.

But after studying our proposal and agreeing, Greg went around saying that FGM was making MCF look bad. He then promoted the Asian event in China and calling up the parents behind our backs and asking them to go there instead of Asean. Now why would he do that? Doesn't it make more sense that we send our players to an event properly trained? Why go to China with untrained players and split up the Malaysian team? That reduces our chances of a medal significantly. Especially with Asian being much tougher. And why the about turn after agreeing to our proposal?

How does training our players before going out to meet tough opponents make MCF look bad? Look above, even Nepal is doing it.

So that halfed the numbers for Asean 2010. And FGM was looking at roughly break even (if we subtract the cost of our time and effort) or less now. But even that was not all. We contracted to hire Ziaur from Najib and his quotation included project management fees on top of supplying the GM when that was not appropriate. In a normal contract we pay for services rendered and Najib merely acted as a supplier. And so after the event I asked for a meeting to go over the costs. This is normal business procedure as we shall also see later from the Asian Amateur experience.

Najib agreed to a meeting after Asean and we turned up at the agreed venue but he ignored us. Meaning the meeting was aborted after we turned up. I then spoke to Greg and said that Najib's quotation was wrong but Greg insisted that it was correct and even told my partner then that. So I was "forced" to pay for a service not rendered as I could not clear up the misunderstanding and FGM was still seeking a working relationship with MCF then. We ended up making a significant loss for the event. So tell me which company do you know that will continue with this type of relationship after this experience?

So now we have 2 incidences that doesn't make sense. Why did MCF work against the training and why were we overcharged by the supplier with the support of Greg?

It makes a little more sense if we remember the myth they promote that chess doesn't make money and these guy are sacrificing themselves for the love of chess.Think about it. That is the story and if FGM was able to provide training at a much reduced cost to parents and players and still make a profit then certain other crony organisers will have a big problem charging high fees for similar services. Therefore it is looking like only certain people are allowed to make money from chess. And there is some collusion between MCF (Greg) and them. Any attempt to reduce cost to players and parents and to provide better products and value and at the same time still make a profit is sabotaged.

Note: FGM is an intiative by people who are also parents of national juniors. If it succeeded then the myth of no money in chess will be broken and other parents may find out.

Does this provide some logic to their actions now? Is the motive to plunder? And are only certain gangsters allowed to plunder? Was the charging of FGM for services not rendered not a form of extortion? Is the double act of first halving the numbers and then doubling the cost to us not sabotage?

Question. Did Greg benefit financially from the inflated quotation? Is that how it works? Otherwise why support an obviously fraudulent quotation? Is that the twisted logic behind this fiasco? Sabotage on one hand and then still plunder with the other.

But who were they really sabotaging? That was the first ever proper centralised training for our Malaysian Juniors before an International Tournament. And now there is no more training. At Asean 2011, the parents and players paid a lot more and without training. I do not know what was paid for Asean 2012 but for sure no training as well. Now our Olympiad Team is going without training.

Was Malaysia sabotaged?

The above is abridged. Actually more happened. But also consider this. MCF brought in Ziaur and he was given to Najib (a private entity) to manage. Nothing wrong with that unless you see how the GM resource was used. We learnt at the Asean training that Ziaur was not appropriate with young kids. His level was too high and the younger juniors could not follow or benefit from his lessons.

So does this also not raise another alarm bell? Ziaur was used to teach beginner classes subsequently when even younger national level juniors could not follow his lessons. So what are MCF's resources used for? To develop our more advanced players to the next level or to deceive new parents of beginners to make money? And money for whom? An MCF resource given out to a private company. Was MCF compensated or did the money go into other pockets like in a few other cases that I will write on later.

All these questions need to be answered so that there will not be wastage and sabotage like this in the future. There is also serious implications for future organisers if this is not addressed. If my assertions are true then new organisers will be similarly ripped off by collusion from within MCF and certain suppliers etc.

This is a serious matter. We will not be able to get our own GM under these circumstances of wastage or sabotage. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

To be continued. Next. Jimmy's role in Asean training.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sunday Musings.

Did you see the history of Olympic gymnastics last night on TV? I liked the part when the commentator talked about the spiritual (mental) strength of the Japanese.

What spiritual strength can our Olympiad team have when their place is "won" not by chess but by tricking the entire chess community?

Why can't we understand that high level chess can only be achieved when our players are taught how to think and not what to think? When the clock starts they are on their own in front of the board. You cannot play for them. Then their discipline will show, then their training will show; then how they make decisions will be shown all over the board. So will our team show fear or spiritual strength?

That will strongly depend on how they got their right to represent Malaysia in the first place, isn't it? If they are fearful of healthy competition here, will they suddenly be tigers there?

Simply put, pressure reveals your true character. Ref: Here.

Friday, July 27, 2012

To Rule or To Plunder?

Many people in chess can't make sense of the policies and decisions of our Associations. We cannot make sense of why some of our IM's do the unsavoury things they do. We cannot understand why even an arbiter or two have joined in the fray to defend this type of behaviour. We cannot understand why some parents, players and organisers support this craziness.

Why is it that after all these years, we still don't have a proper selection criteria for the senior team? Why can't they show the project accounts? Why is MCF's AGM such a top secret affair that it will put the communist party of Korea to shame? Why do we only support Asean events for age group and almost nothing else? Why is the Olympiad the private property of  a few? Why do they keep harping on rating when it is so transparent that the way it is gained is flawed? Ref: Here. Why tell our kids they are all washed out by 15? Why do they need a PR campaign to promote Li Tian?

Because we can't figure this out, we keep shouting Malaysia Boleh. We keep hoping.

I think the confusion lies in our assumption. We assume they are here to rule; to help chess in Malaysia prosper. To put in the framework and policies to make us thrive. To enable us to compete with our neighbours. And we become confused because the dots don't join and so there are many debates and discussions on this matter.

So lets try this. Lets reframe the perspective. Let us change the assumption. I think if we do that, everything will make much more sense. Let us assume they are here to plunder. 


Now relook at everything I mentioned above again. I think you will now see the logic with much greater clarity. I will leave you with this exercise for the weekend. 


A tip, what would they need if the intent is to plunder, what kind of climate, what tools and what type of alliances?

Note: Circumstantial evidence can be described as this. It is the initially seen as a strand of "evidence" taken from a situation that seems out of the norm, that over time begins to form a pattern. If there are enough strands then it begins to form a rope strong enough to convict. This is well established in law. In law this is also proof.

In science we use what is called a working hypothesis. We build a model based on certain assumptions. Then we test that model. When it can predict outcomes, we call it a theory. In science we say the theory is now proven. Qed.

Both of the above are thinking tools that have been established over centuries. And whole Civilisations have been built on it's use. It is the science and art of reasoning. Logic. And we need these tools to understand competitor analysis properly.

For that will be the bedrock on which you will begin your higher journey into chess.

So do the exercise I have given you. I will write more on this after the weekend. Then I hope to show you that Malaysia has been sabotaged.

Simply put, chess is the thinking man's game. What happens when the thinking, the reasoning is taken out of the game?


ps: All the circumstantial evidence have been presented to you on the blogs and on facebook. Counterpose that with what you already know from your own knowledge of and personal experiences with our Associations. Look carefully at the people associated with particular views and the possible motives.

Today's contemplation.

Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.
   --  Leonardo Da Vinci

Thursday, July 26, 2012

More gangster stories.

Ref: Here

Back in 2009 when I was still in PICA, a young man came up to speak to me. He was a struggling organiser and he said that he had spent over RM1,000 of his own money trying to set up an event in Perak but he was warned not to come to Perak or he would be bashed up.

What I told him then was that as far as the Association was concerned, we want more activities in Perak for the good of our members. So as far as I was concerned he was welcome to come. I told him that I was even prepared to go with him to the police station to lend support as an official if he was further harassed. (I know the individual behind the threats and I had even lodged a police report before on his attempt to match fix against my son. This was subsequently resolved by the Chief of Unit Sukan when they heard of the police report).

He didn't approach me again and I believe the event was aborted. Today we know this young man, Fadli aka Stonemaster and we see banners with photos of him and pictures on the net of him holding lots of cash.

There are many reasons why I am telling this story now. One of which is that when you strike out on your own and not tied to the apron strings of the Associations, you can be successful. Just be good at your job. Let the result of your work speak for itself. And the good sponsors will find you.

In fact if you look carefully, it is those that cannot grow up that is in trouble. They rely on their contacts in Association and end up being owed money and being played like a puppet on a string. Or they end up as weak chess players. Or Both. Ref: Here.

The other reason is to show that the officials of our Associations all have the power to act. I did not need to consult the committee of PICA on this matter. It is written in the constitution that the Association is meant to serve the chess public and not the other way around.

Do think on this. And remember the COS if you find your rights violated. Here it is again

Note: You have the right to organise events without harassment or sabotage as a properly constituted company. MCF and the subsidiary Associations have to facilitate the event so long as you follow the rules. And the rules have to be equally applied to all. If they do otherwise, report to COS. 


You have the right to proper selection, if you feel you have been short changed, you can write in and lodge a report.  Your Associations are meant to serve you. Every member of the committee is responsible to discharge his/her duty of office. They are not there for decoration or their ego. Get them to work. Don't keep accepting that nobody knows anything. They should know. It is their job when they sign up.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

So do you see it now?

The fact that Jimmy said that he will consider playing in the Olympiad team before the official announcement means he already knew what the criteria was when the rest of the chess community was still in the dark. Please pause here and reflect on this. There cannot be any more irrefutable evidence of collusion.

This is match fixing. It cannot be more plain than that. There was no selection. Jimmy was preparing the ground for the announcement of his name and probably his team. It was a deal, not chess.

What do we know from SEA games selection? Mok was wiped out in the field. It was also getting very apparent that another IM was going to eat dirt soon if selection continues. The writing was on the wall and Jimmy's name was on it. Can you now understand why he needed to get Zhuo Ren to write that email? Why he needed to attack Sumant the way he did? And why he is so fearful of FGM? I train my players to fight in selection with no respect for titles. I train them to only respect chess. I teach strategy and train mental strength. So FGM has to go.

But this won't work unless he has support in MCF. Specifically the "selection committee". Now I have said this committee doesn't exist. Actually there is only one person calling the shots. And that person is probably Greg.

So this is also called unfair competition. FGM has broken no laws and my players have broken no rules. We are legally established and doing needed work for the chess community. We trained the juniors before International tournament, we brought in training tournaments in the form of Thematics. And we trained the first junior to enter the senior team via selection. MCF is mandated to give us protection to carry out our business without harassment. But instead it is MCF that is the problem isn't it? But that is very hard to prove. I have been writing a long time and still many cannot see. But the selection is different. The fraud here is very very very transparent. They have grown arrogant.

Now is this worth investigating? Is this worth a report to COS? Ref: Here.

There is more. We now have a situation where if you train and try to challenge for your rightful place you are attacked till you do what Sumant did. You withdraw from competition. You don't want to piss them off . And so you learn to wait. Ref: Here.

But we have a lot of strong players don't we? And there are only 5 places for the Olympiad. And you are taught to slowly wait for your turn. In the meantime your chess deteriorates or you too go into Association to give your player a chance. You too learn to deal and do some ass kissing or your player is finished. And then they will demand that the player does that ass kissing himself too. Or we will ban him. Isn't that the story? And then whatever GM potential or other potential there was in the player at one time will be gone forever. In its place you will see a broken player. And then we send these guys to the Olympiad.

Far fetched? Look again at what is happening in plain sight. It is very very transparent.

In this drama, what happened to the chess?

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Insider trading- Where is the light?

Did you notice the sharp drop in players during NC2012 compared with NC2011? Both were advertised as selection for the senior team to represent Malaysia. What was the difference? Did you also notice this?

All the titled players did not show up for NC2012 despite no criteria published. Even a strong junior who won the SEA games selection withdrew from the field and then wondered on Jimmy's blog why he wasn't selected. So is it a myth or insider trading? Ref: Here. Was the entire chess community set up to allow Li Tian to shine? Did they already know that the selection was a sham and that is why they didn't come? Is that not also called match fixing? What is match fixing by the way?

And then Jimmy says that he will take the place to the Olympiad "if given" a chance before the announcement of the official list. And he was upset that his player Li Tian didn't make it as Champ after all the work on the blogs and in the deal. And then he tries to justify him by using Kasugi. And he tries to put down our Champ Roshan at the same time. Ref: Here.

So that is not very smart is it? Their judgement is out on many counts. They seem to think we cannot think. That we cannot point out all these strange occurences and ask questions. Why is that? Do we not deserve a proper explanation?

I wondered for a little while why Roshan withdrew from the team. Then I remembered what happened to Khai Boon at the last Olympiad. Then I remembered what happened to Sumant after SEA games selection. How worried I was that they were going to do the same to him at SEA games without proper support. It is so much more easy to attack them away from home when they can attack them here so openly in the light of day. So Roshan withdrawing is probably the wiser decision under this climate.

So are we not ruled by gangsters? When our players are taught to withdraw from a selection because that is not the way to get in. And then they wait quietly by the side hoping for their turn. Just don't rock the boat. And many strong players are still waiting aren't they? Ref: Here.

These are not the acts of strong people. How can we compete out there if our players are already broken here? We need more light. And that is why I ask those affected to write in to COS. Here.

Note: This is one battle nobody else can fight for you. I am a blogger who is known to oppose this culture. So they can argue bias. The players in the game of thrones cannot fight for you. They are after office and so it can be claimed that it is political. So you have to help yourself before anyone can help you. You are the player here. You are in front of the board. But I assure you that you are not alone. Make that report and we can be of further assistance. But not before.

Some say that I am agitating. Maybe. I am agitating for you to follow the law. To report the crime against you. I am agitating you to use your vote at the AGM for the good of Malaysian chess.

And I am cautioning you not to use the tools of intimidation that they use. No need to harass them. No need even to start out new anonymous blogs or to write anonymous comments. Those are their methods. The method of bullies.

Some say that I am affecting our Olympiad players confidence, by writing on this. I don't think I can take something away from them that they don't have in the first place. Can I?

I am asking you to think this through, to reflect deeply. And then to use the best way I can think of if you agree with what I have been saying. Use the COS. They were formed to help with cases like this. Write in.

We need light so that we know we have been living in darkness. Thank you.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Dear Man-in-the-dark,

This is in response to a posting on both Gilocatur Fan Club and Malaysian Chess Team. Both are chess groups on facebook. So this is to summarise as well as add a few points to our debate there.

Dear Man-in-the-dark, 
1)To tell you the truth, at first I thought you are a change of fresh air to Msian Chess - a man who can speak his mind AND act too. But when you can't follow-through with your actions, and instead expecting others to act on your behalf, you stopped being our beacon of hope, and turned out to be just another shout in the dark. You are also having a field day criticizing other opposing views, yet cannot stand even a single critique. Man, have you heard of 'those living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones'?

My reply: I submit that the fact that I constantly refer to the sites and specific postings that have the opposing "views" says very loudly that I am not averse to criticism. On the converse they selectively cut and paste my postings to distort and manipulate opinions. My point is why allow the trash to be posted on my site when my readers are pointed to the original source to read if they want.


Note: My work speaks for itself. It is patently obvious so you just need to open your eyes. No further explanation should be necessary. You are a chess player. The ability to observe should be part of your skill set.

2)Next you'll say we are no different. Our answer is short and simple ; we are chess players. That is our Locus Standi. 
You also repeatedly (and bitterly) said "..thank you for standing up and telling us who you really are.." we really hope you haven't said that as we don't want to choose sides. But if we have to, we will choose the one with the Lesser Evils.


My reply: I think it is also patently obvious that I represent chess players too. Otherwise I would not have the readership I have, otherwise I would not be kept in the loop of what is happening on the ground, otherwise I would not have people giving me information of what is happening in MCF or done the research on COS for me. So you do represent a side. My side is the one that does not practice discrimination between rich or poor; race, colour, religious or political beliefs; those with or without political power. All we look for is if you can play chess and if you can, and believe that our methods can help you, we try to provide the training as evidenced by all the work FGM has done to date. We do not attack you if you prefer the Jimmy method but we always reserve the right to defend ourselves. If you also look carefully we do not open new doors but we will go down the door you have opened if we so choose. Think on it. So which side are you on?

Ergo we seek an environment free from politics and intimidation and one where all chess players can play chess according to the rules and if you are good then you deserve to represent the Country. So which is the greater evil?


3)You have good ideas, though, such as Competitive Analysis. This is necessary for all our competing players, and I can understand your need to keep it secretive as your own "Industry Secret" and I respect that. Next, you'll say you had shared it during your 'training sessions'. Yes, that's exactly what we meant.

My reply: I think I have shared freely with you in our debate. And I have expanded by explaining further my understanding of competitor analysis. I have given sources to read in the past and I write constantly about it. So where is the secret? I do not keep secrets. My locus standi is that it is about you. You go as far as what you put in.


4)But in all honesty, we have to tell you this, your picking on our longtime patriot is getting on our nerves. He doesn't need our backing up, yet in recognition of his National Services, we really appreciate what the Old Soldier have done, as he has served his time, sacrificed his skills and resources for puny returns for the love of the game. However, as you have been barking up the wrong tree, you have lost many supporters, except those who have a bone to pick with the Central Body.



My reply: I do not dispute his past contributions but that was a long time ago. And there are still doubts as to his claim of being Asia's best. That claim got so convoluted that most have turned off. For me if there is truth then no need to pusing pusing. Actually my feedback is that I have gained many additional supporters. Especially after the selection fiasco. Many more can see now. And I don't rely on secondary feedback from stats and responses. I also go to the ground to check if my assumptions are correct or not. But of course there are still a few detractors who have benefited from the gross injustices. We are counting them now. (Don't take that as a threat. This is election year. Counting is normal for all sides). They can just snatch the place of someone who has won their place in selection and they can get their hands on the money given to MCF by sponsors and Fide. I can understand why they support this system. What is your reason?

5)However, we would also appreciate it if you can give our Olympiad 2012 team a break. They need the time for their preparations and not another unnecessary fight with you. Let's stop undermining their confidence, and if you really need to attack them, do it after their return. (But I failed to see the point). 



My reply: If someone has snatched the food from your baby's mouth, if someone has robbed your house, do you still cheer them on? I do not support this team but as I have said, I also wish them no ill. But they do need to open their eyes to their selfishness and the harm they are causing Malaysian chess. And I also trust my own evaluation and analysis. I don't think this team is strong. People who need the back doors are usually not strong. But by all means cheer this team if you want. Note: Not supporting and wishing them ill are two separate things.

Only time will tell whether you are just another storm in the teacup or a tsunami. My bet is that you are just another disgruntled parent who is frustrated with the System and doesn't want to work with it.



My reply: Agreed. A theory is only of any use if it can predict. Do you have a science base? Do you know how a theory is formed? Briefly it is built from suppositions. And then it is tested by its ability to predict. My interest in this matter is not as a parent. My son did not play at NC2012. My interest in this matter is as the owner of a chess academy that have done training for Malaysia in the past and have seen the victimisation and sabotage that goes on.


Oh, don't bother about me, I'm just another chess player, one who have nothing to lose, yet I hope for the best for Msian Olympiad 2012.


My reply: I wish the best for Malaysian chess and I do believe that one day we too can send a strong team out. But we need to change things here first. 30 plus years of making the same mistake over and over again is not going to cut it. Think about it. I suggest you give some respect to those chess players who are fed up of being hammered when they go out there to play for Malaysia, fed up of their place being taken by weaker players. You can support the Jimmy method if you want. The boundary is crossed if you harass us because we do not believe in his method.

I also submit that your choice of title is a misnomer. I have always written in the open and never behind anonymous blogs or comments. I put my name to everything I say. To me that shows my integrity. And if you go right back to the very beginning of my blog, my stand has always been consistent. I do not keep changing my tune.


Thank you for your time in engaging me on this matter. I did enjoy our debate and you have displayed some ability to discern. But I think you do need to open your eyes wider. Change your perspective. You may be confusing light from dark.

Friday, July 20, 2012

COS- The ticking time bomb.

Of all the initiatives to change things, I like the COS option best. Ref: Here. Lets look at the other initiatives first before I come back to this.

The latest information is that there are now 2 groups looking to change the top leadership. And some States are changing their allegiances. Some on the quiet and some openly. The game of thrones. So the next AGM can be full of fireworks or a new deal could be struck. But does this guarantee change or just new players playing the same tune? I am not sure but they are capitalising on the dissatisfaction on the ground to gain momentum. So there is hope. It will be difficult to use the old system when that is the very reason that they are using to ask for the change in allegiance.

MACC. To be honest I am not sure if the person advocating this has the skills to push this through. But I never underestimate the will of the human spirit.

The players of both the initiatives above can be identified to a certain extent if you have some basic cables into the chess leadership. So there is no real element of surprise there.

But the COS is totally different. Anyone can write in with real or imagined transgressions. And that is the beauty. You see, with every move of the puppet master and his running dogs, they piss someone else off. So I think it is inevitable. One day, maybe it's even happening now, someone will write in. And then it is going to open a huge can of worms. All the skeletons will come tumbling out of the closet. And you won't even know where it is coming from.

So Najib and Jimmy, I really don't think much of the legal threats. You see those that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. You will only be doing my job for me.

In your case Najib, I was going to respond to you calling me a dog. But I got a message from a muslim friend who said and I quote, "What is wrong with that man! Being Malay and Muslim esp he shd know how offensv that is to call smone a dog!"

So you are very busy burying yourself. There is no need for me to help you do that. I know you are having a hard time now getting private jobs in chess and your only hope is for some crumbs from your master in MCF. But I also hear that you are going around and telling everybody that you have not been paid for Melaka. Between a rock and a hard place. My suggestion to you is to learn from Fadli. Grow up and be your own man. You don't need to bow and scrape for crumbs. Find back your dignity. This is no way to live. And your master may not survive AGM after all. Maybe you are too low down the food chain to know what is going on but it is not looking good. Trust me on this. Have you ever known me to lie?

So pass this message to your master for me when he/she next gives you a few minutes. I think it may be better for the whole committee to resign at the next AGM. Remember, all it takes is one report. And it will start an unstoppable chain reaction. And you won't even know where it is coming from. And in the worst case scenario it could even be prison for those involved in all this. Ref: Here.

Let me put it this way Najib and Jimmy since you are both slow on the uptake; we have been playing chess. And I don't think you are reading the game well. You are both just pawns waiting to be sacrificed. And checkmate is in sight. It's still not too late to change direction now. I hope you will use the opportunity to do so. But the window is finite.

All my best

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Why using rating as the primary basis makes us weak.

The first time I deeply investigated this was after Mas's draw at the last Olympiad from a winning position against an opponent 300 Elo points higher and then reading about a team who was on average 300 Elo points below their respective opponents and they won 31/2 to 1/2. So how come that team can do that and why we can't.

So let us examine the Jimmy method closer. We had a strong clue when we saw him playing in the Veterans at the last Malaysian Open and Yee Weng played in the Open as preparation for SEA games. So unless you say that Jimmy has lost his marbles then I have nothing more to add. But maybe there is a "rational" reason. Maybe there is a Jimmy method to keep us backwards.

So this is my supposition. He chooses his tournaments carefully. If there is a strong field then he won't play. For a while I was hearing that Myanmar was the place to go to if you want Fide rating. Apparently it could have been fixed there and it was a sort of business. Then I heard the whole Country was punished by Fide and every player there had their rating reduced. And I also heard that we used to do the same here.

So rating can be cooked. But it is not so easy nowadays. There are people watching all the time. But it still can be done once in a while by personal agreement say in a hotel room between 2 people. Very hard to stop that. If they play from a past game then it can be spotted by someone vigilant and if games are posted. So this method will need a sympathetic arbiter to be safe. Maybe Fide has the power to call up the games to examine. I'm not sure. So maybe today it is safer to play a sub standard game. Harder to catch but also more transparent. Or maybe a mixture of methods.

So rating alone is not ironclad.

And playing for rating alone as we saw with Jimmy at the Veterans also does this. When our players meet a stronger player they will not be trying to find a win but to protect their rating. Why? That is also to protect their future selection chances. So we will not see the type of success that Country had at the last Olympiad. Our selection system does not support that. Our selection system supports the Jimmy method. And now he wants to teach it to our kids. And for that he broke Zhuo Ren. And he is now slowly teaching that to Li Tian with his father's blessing.

Well that is their business.

All I am saying is that the fighters who do not go for the Jimmy method and want to play fighting chess also need to be assured of a chance to compete in a level field. We want a choice. We do not want to be railroaded into a trap that keeps us backwards. And for that we need a proper selection for our training philosophy will leave us with a lower rating but we believe we are not inferior players. But now they don't give anyone a chance to take on the Jimmy method do they?

So is this a conspiracy to keep Malaysia weak? One would think that MCF would have worked it now by now right? So who in MCF is supporting the Jimmy method? What would be his/her gain? What is the price of sabotaging the whole Nation?

The normal way is for the chess to improve and then the rating goes up as a result. The Jimmy method creates an inflated rating first. And then that rating becomes the problem. Look at our team now and their board placing. So Malaysia will meet weaker and stronger teams. One factor will have changed in todays chess. The lower rated players will be playing much stronger chess. So say a 2200 out there will be of the playing strength of our 2400s. That will be my working theory anyway. So lets see what will happen at the Olympiad. After all a theory is only any use if it can predict. Who will be sacrificed and who will come back with a chance for a gain in rating from playing the lower boards.

Go back and look at those few people who support the Jimmy method. Now why would they support a system like that? What would they gain? Are they really supporting the Malaysian Team? Isn't the Malaysian team supposed to fight for Malaysia and not just rating and ego's? What do you think?

I think for us to have the type of success we see in other Countries, we need to scrap the Jimmy method and put is a proper selection. Isn't it obvious by now? So is there collusion between Jimmy and MCF or is a monkey running things? Conspiracy Theory 3. Maybe? Circumstantial?

Note: Did I not predict that selection will be withdrawn? Did I not predict Li Tian's probable result at NC2012?

FGM wishes our muslim readers Selamat Berpuasa.

Selamat Berpuasa.

Well done Peter.

Ref: Here.

A circumspect piece. No boundaries are crossed as far as I am concerned. You display a better grasp of the rules of engagement in business. Don't open a door if you don't want the other party to go there too. Never make it easy for them to win. We also learn that from chess don't we?

And I am glad you are now seeing that Chess does not exist in a different Universe. You may not be totally lost after all.

While I don't agree with your opinions, I can respect it. You see Peter, you actually have some skills. I have noted the way you train and it shows an understanding that is much closer to the chess of today than Jimmy or Mok's. Yee Weng also shows that same understanding.

Every time your name is mentioned in my circle, and in an uncomplimentary way, I keep reminding them that you do have skills but you just lack any emotional control. Perhaps you are just ill suited as a front man and you do not have the temperament to teach Juniors. Ergo you cannot take pressure. Maybe you are better suited as a second to a more seasoned fighter. But most people just can't see beyond the insults that you have hurled upon them in the past. It will take time for that to heal. Just don't keep reminding them.

My feedback is that your sponsor is doing the last waltz with you. So do a good job at the KL Open. There will be fresh eyes there and you will be judged purely on your merit. Remember not to repeat past mistakes for that will cloud the issues again.

All my best

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

A real players site.

Ref: Here.

Compare this site to Jimmy's. Ref: Here. So why the big difference?

Where your focus is, that is your reality. 

As I mentioned here my job is to look into match fixing and unfair banning etc. Ergo to look after the interests of my players. It is also my job as the owner of a registered Chess Academy to defend my business against unethical attacks.

But why would a player take such an intense interest in what I do? When I train the Juniors, why would that upset him so much?

He must somehow sense me as a threat right? At least that is the feedback I am getting from my friends. That I am getting too close to the truth. That is why they are all jumping up and down again now. Was it the mention of COS that has got them all in panic this time? Is that a clue as to where we should be heading? Read this again. Here.

Maybe it's the culture. Maybe in that chess player's culture mentioned at the very top, it is about playing good chess so he stays focused on his job. For that will be the basis of his selection. Maybe the culture here is that the players are political appointees and so they must focus on PR. Otherwise they won't get to play for the Country.

Maybe? Unless you say Jimmy has taken total leave of his faculties of course. Then I have nothing to add.

So let us examine this supposition for a while. If it is based on ratings alone, then Jimmy doesn't make the cut either does he? So he must be given the back door for some reason. Unless again you say that MCF is run by a monkey. If that is the case I also have nothing to add.

But whatever the case we will be pitching a PR "expert", fierce look and mind games "expert" against a real chess expert at the Olympiads and hope that he will perform. Do you think he stands a chance? So who set him up for this?

Why has that happened? Is there a reason for this?

I will leave you to guess why this person is now foaming in the mouth. Ref: Here. Have a look. This could be the beginnings of Conspiracy Theory 3. I will write on this later. See if you can see what I see.

Their response.

Ref: Here.

There was no selection. Li Tian is Presidents choice and so that was an independent decision made out of selection. A selection means players go and play to be selected to represent the Country. And so there is not a single player from the purported selection. Ergo the selection was a fraud.

We are now all very familiar with the method that you and your friends employ, Jimmy. You keep talking as if there was a selection often enough and long enough and a few may actually believe that one took place. And you repeat the same formula and mantras for all your other fantasies. But we require proof not mere talk. Smoke and mirrors also don't cut it for us. And the best proof is on the table. And then we study the game to see if it really is a quality game worthy of praise or suspect.


This is the man that is going to represent Malaysia at the Olympiad. This is the man that MCF set as an example for our kids. When they grow up they will all want to be like Jimmy. Can you now see why our GM won't come? The Jimmy method.

Ref: Here.

From the horses mouth. What can I say here? You judge for yourself. Are you going to trust this man with your child? Do you think this man can act professionally as an arbiter? Let his own words answer this for you.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Jimmy, Jimmy.

Ref: Here.

You still don't get it do you? The questions we want answered is why were you wasting so much time in starting out blog after blog to spread lies? Why you are commenting anonymously on your own blog saying things like you are the best player in Asia etc etc?

Why you and your friends were so against the SEA games selection saying that you are a ferrari etc and then now you are putting the blame on Greg for not having selection for Olympiad? Why the back stabbing?

Why the need for the PR campaigns when we have perfectly good ways to determine who the best players are by having a proper selection with proper criteria?

Why you and your friends are talking about selection when we all know there was none for the Olympiad?

Why is Najib talking about MCF selection committee when it doesn't exist and he is not in MCF? In fact there was no meeting in MCF on this matter. Caught out in a big lie this time Najib. Thank you. Chess is making you very smart. Ref: Here.

Don't you know by now that there is nowhere you can go and play where we will not get feedback from trusted sources? So we know what happened in Brunei. We were even informed when one of our officials was appointed in Vietnam. It's a different world today Jimmy. You can run but you can no longer hide.

So let me try to clue you in. This is what I tell my players. Their job is to play chess. If there is match fixing, unfair banning etc; it is the job of the coach, the manager. Ergo that is my job. And you know I am very dedicated to my job don't you? This tip is for Peter too by the way. So Peter, there is no longer any need for you to run here and there trying to justify your banning of Mark. You are not believed. We know why you wanted Mark to apply himself. I have been around. I know how you and your type like to mess with the players mind. Just focus on training the players you have left. That is your real job if you want to survive as a trainer.

So Jimmy, you have gotten into the Malaysian Team via the back door. Well done. You are now a player. So train hard in your chess. That is your job. You know Malaysia's hope for the Olympiad now rests on the shoulder of you and your team.

So don't get confused. All this PR exercise is not going to win us any medals. If you want to return from the Olympiad with any shred of dignity left, you better show us that you are as advertised and that you and your team deserved the back door.

I put it to you that writing about Lotto is not going to cut it. The other teams do not have MCF as their Federation and they are very probably training hard now. So all your PR and practiced fierce look will probably not work there like it works here.

Now go and do your job as I will be doing mine. You wanted your job badly didn't you? Now stay focussed on what you need to do to play fighting chess. Mental strength.

Gangsterism in Malaysian Chess.

Ref: Here.

Somebody in facebook said that using the word gangster is too strong. So lets examine this today.

In Malaysian chess, the decent people who follow the rules are totally quiet and disenfranchised. MCF is an NGO which is a public organisation and it is meant to serve the chess playing public. Yet the money goes into private bank accounts. There are no project accounts. They can intimidate you, harrass you and sabotage you with impunity.

At the senior level they tell you who should represent Malaysia. You are not allowed to test for yourself if their players are strong or if it a fairy tale that they have written. You just have to take their word for it. For the only one that was tested (out of 5) and lost 3 games, he is brought back as the President's choice. The back door. And if you question this you will be attacked.

Is this normal? Really, think on this. Is it normal that they can attack the kids and be proud of their achievements? Is it normal that you feed them at a private tournament and then they complain about the free food? Ref: Here.

So how did it get that way? Look carefully. The chief gangster with the public face is Jimmy. He is the one that can set up blog after blog to tell lies and MCF hails him as a hero and he is given his reward of playing the Olympiad by passing more deserving players. And his second is rewarded by him and his student going to the Olympiad for writing an email to spread lies. I am told that the reward was dangled in front of Zhou Ren till he broke down and cried.

See picture here. Second picture from the top. Look at the gangster pose. Perfected after many years of practising in front of the mirror. And his chess? Well we will see that at the Olympiad. I would like to see if that gangster look is going to intimidate anyone into throwing their game.

Our kids are learning that gangster type behaviour is well rewarded isn't it? Why train when this is the assured method to represent the Country. Isn't that what MCF is telling us? Ref: here. The deal. And now we have more Jimmy wannabes in Malaysian chess. Follow the Jimmy method, the officially sanctioned way to represent the Country. Is that how you want it? Or did you want them to learn the rich lessons of chess? And I mean these ones. Here.

Many of you have come to me to tell me "MCF" did this and that to you and then you tell me not to write about it. Let me tell you this now. I cannot write about it anyway unless you agree to witness.

Look at a gangster movie and see. The law is there. The law says they cannot do these things. They cannot extort money from legitimate businesses by harassing or intimidating them etc etc. But the law can also do nothing unless they have witnesses or there is solid evidence. And there is no solid evidence is there? Only circumstantial. So unless you stand up and say that this behaviour is not acceptable the law can do nothing, a blogger cannot write about it even. Only you can tell your story as I have told mine. And that is why they attack your kids isn't it?. To keep you quiet.

My question to you today is if you want your kids to grow up learning this way. If you train/improve your chess they will publicly attack you or ban you the moment you are strong enough to challenge for a place.

Write in to COS. Don't tell me your story. I cannot help you on my blog. Write in your complaints and then I can try to help. I can help to organise representation to COS to explain further to them about what is going on if we are not satisfied with the solutions offered, if any. But I cannot go there if there are no reports. And then the gangsters have won. The intimidation has worked. Nobody can help you. All the enforcement powers are useless unless there is a report of the crime. Ref: Here.

Normal behaviour is that we want a healthy environment for our kids/our players. Gangster type behaviour is not normal.

Remember this. They need the chess community and not the other way round. The chess community do not need Jimmy and his cohorts. We will be here long after we put them into retirement and we will be much much better off. We are also vastly superior in numbers than they are. They are just a small hand full. Very small. And we have the law on our side. So do this for the kids or for yourself. You deserve better. Write in to COS and lets tell them that these gangster methods are not welcome in chess.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Ref: Here. And Here. See last comment by Jimmy ie comment 29. You see, Greg? Now he stabs you in the back. That's what happens when you work with a den of thieves. I did try to warn you. Remember? But now you are the man yes? Congratulations.

Imagine, trying to use a rapid event to justify the Malaysian Olympiad Team!! And second best Malaysian team at that. And I thought you cannot stoop any lower. And you even try to put down our National Champion who won his place in a proper classical tournament. Have you no shame? We still remember the 3 losses by Li Tian to the top 3 winners of NC2012. We also have good memories.

I am sure you can hear the bell ringing by now. And it tolls for you and your accomplices. It is only a question of time till we have sufficient evidence.

But in the meantime I hope you will remember this. Remember this when you are given the Jalur Gemilang at the flag ceremony. Remember that means you are now playing for our Country. That the Olympiad is not your personal fiefdom. You may have "won" your place over other more deserving players but we will still expect you to perform with honour and dignity. And you know we will be watching.

So I suggest you stop taking cheap shots and making cheaper excuses and start training your team.

COS: The Sports Police.

Almost without exception I find 2 types of emotion whenever MCF is discussed among the people who love chess. Either intense anger or deep resignation. Some vacillate between the 2 states. However both states are framed in the negative and not helpful to finding a solution.

I was once heatedly accused by a parent of a National Junior of defending racism when I did not declare that Dato's sponsorship of Li Tian was about racism. And another parent of a National Junior recently said to me that the only way to have a leg to stand in Malaysian chess is to be the undisputed champ.

I have stated my understanding of Dato's sponsorship a few times on this blog so I will move on. As for the view of the other parent, read this again. Here. If you follow my reasoning of the current structure, then you will see that after 20yo, the players won't have a chance to represent the Country anymore unless they are also among the highest rated in Malaysia. And for that they have to compete against historical rating from a different age and a system that is devised to keep certain rating high. So if you look really carefully, it's not about chess anymore. It's about this. Here. The deal.

Note: Without a chance to compete for a place you cannot even get sponsorship to play, and so you really really have no chance at all. Even if you have the finances yourself, you will find that to reach that rating in today's chess is very very difficult. Totally different from yesteryear. Very well sewn up to prevent challenges. The Jimmy method.

So I can understand the frustrations. No solution for donkey years and so the pent up anger or sense of resignation. I submit that this is because the highest authority we appeal to is MCF and MCF is rotten to the core. In my experience all our appeals disappear into a bottomless pit. For instance I was asked to produce the constitution of PICA for MCF to examine. And a few months later I am told that it has been misplaced. So it is useless talking to them, I know that too.

My sources tell me that there is an Authority that we can go to. And that Authority is the Commissioner of Sports (COS). COS has disciplinary powers. They can suspend an Association if they do not follow the rules. I am also told they can even barr an individual from office if they can establish that the individual has abused his/her authority. When I received this feedback recently, I felt this is the much better way for those of us who are not looking for office but want healthy competition all the same.

But it works like this. Let me use an analogy. If a member of your Residents Association were to go to the police and ask for more patrols in your area, the police will check against the statistics of the reports of the incidents of crime in your area to see if it justifies the allocation of more manpower. If there are no reports then no additional resources can be allocated.

I am told that COS will and can take action if there are genuine reports. But I am also told that so far there are no complaints from chess.

So this is the address and website:

Sports Commissioner Office , Level 3, National Aquatic Centre 
National Sports Complex, Bukit Jalil 57700 Sri Petaling, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-8994 4800/01 Fax: 03-8994 4810 , Email : pps@kbs.gov.my,  



Go to the site and see for yourself.

I will write more about this later but I suggest that the first report can be about the bogus selection. I think those who took part in the selection have the right to write in. And those that feel that they have been swindled out of their place in "selection" have the right to write in.

COS has been set up by our Government for the very reasons of the type of problems we are facing The Department has been set up to bring Malaysian Sport to a higher level. Apparently this gangster type mentality is also happening in other sports. So write to them if you cannot get satisfaction from our Associations. Allow COS to take action by lodging a complaint. 

For me that is the better solution than anger or just giving up. Our sport shows us this clearly. Chess is the thinking man's sport. The mind game. Anger and frustration just allows them a cheap win.

ps: Please help me spread this message to those in need of this information. Thank you.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Summary and the next step forward to the better solution.

Somebody said on facebook that he reads my blog but does not want to comment. I replied, that is OK, it is enough to just read. I know that it is dangerous to ask legitimate questions openly in Malaysian chess. We seem to be totally ruled by gangsters who can even do a bogus selection and then laugh in your face. "What are you going to do about it? We are all powerful in our little kingdom". Chess seems to exist outside Malaysian law.

I know this starting out from a State Association. If you bring up issues like match fixing in the committee, they will fix you and not the problem. If you then write and lodge a complaint with MCF, you can be writing for years; asked to attend meeting after meeting all over the Country and then 2 years later they make fun of you by saying your problem is easy to solve but still do nothing.

If you then try to do something with your own effort and with your own sponsors, they attack you in all sorts of manner. They even start new blogs to post lies and more lies.

If you now try to train and win selection, they will also attack you and then change the rules. If you improve your chess they will try to ban you.

So the only way out it seems is to quietly wait till the IM's retire or to cut your own deal. And then you face this situation. Ref: Here. But still a few think they they can butter up the "lords" and get their own deals or just to be seen with the "in" crowd. And so they support that gangster type mentality. It still seems to them that this is the only viable solution. If you can't beat them then join them and slowly wait for your turn as you gradually morph into another budding gangster. After all chess makes you "smart".

Or so it seems.

The vast majority is reduced to whispering in corners and feeling totally helpless. Some braver souls are taking the fight to the AGM and some are talking about MACC. I say good for them. As far as I am concerned challenging for the top post is healthy. Chess is about competition after all. If the current committee is not performing then why can't a team who think they can do better compete in a legal AGM? After all I really don't think things can get any worse. Worst case scenario is that we see new names going for senior tournaments without selection. I think there is hope for something better but I cannot vouch for it.

So if you think Greg and maybe even Jimmy etc. belong in prison then by all means lodge your report to MACC. Let them get the evidence. That is not your job as I have said to you.

Just don't keep talking about it and do nothing. Have the will and courage to back your own convictions.

However I am personally not totally comfortable with all the above proposed solutions although it was me who originally suggested the contest. Better than doing nothing I suppose. But I kept looking for a better solution. One where we can all take part.

I dropped by a recent tournament to get a feel of what is happening on the ground and a few came up to say that they are seeing the issues now. Actually all of us know what is going on even if we only examine a fraction more deeply. The evidence is all around. It is very blatant. They feel no need to hide their acts. They have totally no respect for you or your contributions at all.

So I would like to propose my own solution tomorrow to try and change things. Let the big guns fight out their game of thrones if they so desire. My solution is for those of us who are not looking for official positions and just want to play chess in a healthy environment. For those of us who feel that the right to represent the Country should be about chess and not manipulation and fraud.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Further Conspiracy Theory 2. Cont.

Ref: Here.

There was a comment on facebook by a former Junior that Li Tian is in a class of his own among the juniors. So let me talk a little about this first. We cannot underestimate the power of perception. Chess is a large part psychological. One thinking skill that I can recommend is to continually check our assumptions. For they are the building blocks of our conclusions. If you don't do that then even self evident facts may not be evident to you. Your filters are blocking you from seeing.

So to that Junior, I invite you to go and revisit the last 2 games that you played with Li Tian. Look at it objectively and without strong emotions and ask this question as we did. Did Li Tian win or did you lose the game?

We have reached our own conclusions but that is not material to you. The man you must now convince is the man in the mirror. Also cast your mind back to what you were saying before your game with Li Tian. Is it possible that you may have already lost in your mind before the game was even played?

Now back to conspiracy theory 2. At a higher level of the game we need to consider tournament strategy. And strategy can only be looked at after you have minimised blunders caused by your mind crashing. No easy feat by itself and that is why most players are still essentially hobbyists. When the emotions are better in check we look at questions like why we can beat one seemingly stronger player and lose to another who on paper (rating) is weaker. And until your understanding of this is more complete tournaments will essentially be hit or miss affairs.

And so I now submit that it is difficult for other juniors to beat Li Tian but not so difficult to draw with him. And so in a tournament all a strong player of around equal strength have to do is to fight for a draw unless a good opportunity presents itself for a win. Li Tian's drawish weapons will likely cause at least another draw along the way and he may not be among the front runners with win/lose weapons later in the tournament.

I think both Chin Seng and Jimmy know that. In a field that does not underestimate or overestimate him, that will be the likely outcome. And so according to my conspiracy theory they have chosen another route. They only allow Li Tian to play select tournament after scrutinising the field and then rely on PR exercises to push him forward to the senior level.

He is undoubtedly the strongest age group player but not yet the strongest junior. What does NC2012 show us? What did NJ 2010 tell us?

Also note that the Jimmy method also leads to a higher rating as opposed to those that train to win with strong and difficult weapons to wield. For to train that way means to take more risks to try for the win as judgement develops. So to be fair, both methods have their strengths and weaknesses. And that is also the point. None of the Juniors have completed their chess studies yet.

And so the claim of strongest Junior can only come from a competition and not rating. And the best test we have is the National Junior. And I think that is why Li Tian did not play NJ2011. If he did it will be more difficult to make that claim of strongest Junior before the fact if he does not do well.

My feedback was that there were moves to put Li Tian for SEA games. But that was thwarted by the selection and by a more urgent agenda with Greg. I believe he also didn't play at SEA games selection for the same reasons. In that field his true class would show up. And so his rating was publicised and he was tauted as the strongest Junior before Brunei even, almost in expectation of something happening there. That peeked my curiosity and so I asked 2 Internationally known trainers outside Malaysia to review the games Li Tian played with the GM's. And both came back and said the result was suspect.

And so I now also question if the entire team to the Olympiad is fraudulent except for Yee Weng in my eyes. But others may think differently. Li Tian is Presidents choice. And the rest didn't play at all at NC2012. So actually there was no selection at all.

What we are really teaching the kids here is that selection is not about chess. Selection is about the back door and PR campaigns. Isn't it? Ref: Here. See the comments. Read what Sumant said. He enlisted for NC2012 and then pulled out. And yet he asks why he isn't on the team? What did Sumant learn after winning his place at SEA games? What did Jimmy, Greg and friends teach him? Read this. Here.

So where is the incentive to improve our chess? And if our chess does not improve then where is that GM going to come from?

My conspiracy theory says we are all being conned. Weak IM's sent out to represent the Country when there may be better players in Malaysia. To represent you should be the best player at that point in time. Not from past glories and not from purported future potential. For all we know Li Tian may decide that chess is not his thing and go for maths instead. Selection must be about the here and now. Not fantasies. And it must be earned. Then we will give you the respect. But not before.

So is there a conspiracy? Does this theory hold? Did it have predictive qualities? What is your perception? Circumstantial again?

Friday, July 13, 2012

Further Conspiracy Theory 2

As far as I can see NC2012, advertised as the selection for the Olympiad, is a total fraud. In my next postings I will suggest some possible steps for the affected parties.

But in the meantime lets see how far the rot goes. (Notwithstanding what we already know about no project accounts, public money banked into personal bank accounts, banning without justification etc.etc). What I want to ask today is if there is a conspiracy to block a Malaysian GM from coming.

Lets look at what we know first. We know that our IM's are not strong from the SEA games selection and from local tournaments. We know that none of them can even make one GM run. We also know that if they can get stressed out playing a Malaysian field in fair competition, they are not going to do well overseas. Agreed?

And there are conjectures as to the reasons why the training for the juniors for Asean by FGM was sabotaged, why the Thematics was sabotaged and why Jimmy took such pains to paint all sorts of lies. How do these activities affect him till we see such venom? There could be many reasons and the questions still remain.

The above are all self evident facts well documented on the blogs.

Now lets go to the conspiracy theory. For this let us start with Mal/Sing 2011. As I have written previously the idea for the selection did not come from me but another parent on the train ride back from Singapore. But I took the idea and presented it to Greg. And he agreed. I could see at that time that he was having problems with some of the IM's and also Peter. So I moved on it by trying to get support from the other bloggers, parents and players. And Greg worked on the other committee members of MCF.

At that time Greg was very much the new boy on the block and people were still used to working with Hamid. So I postulate here that maybe Greg helped bring in selection for SEA games because he wanted control of the IM's as well as the committee so that he becomes the new go to guy. The undisputed Mr fix-it of Malaysian chess. Having our IM's go through selection will tell them unequivocally who's boss. Maybe?

Does the reversal of policy and this fraudulent Olympiad selection not add to this theory?

And I wanted a level playing field for all our players. Let the better player represent our Country and let it be about chess.

As the conspiracy theory goes, Greg thought that the IM's will come up on top and he can then just turn back the clock to what we see now and what it was before SEA games selection. But then he didn't count on the FGM training. What?!! Zhuo Ren, Sumant and Mark!!! Their combined knowledge can tip the balance and lead to a very undesirable outcome. Maybe again?

You mean they are going to do the unthinkable and actually train to challenge the IM's???? Crazy!! Don't they know that Jimmy is a ferrari and bullets bounce off him? And iron Mok is invincible. Haven't they heard all the children stories?

And so during the training Zhuo Ren was getting phone calls and text messages to go home. And the training ended a little sooner than planned. And then we heard that Zhuo Ren was told that there is a deal for him to enter the squad and in return all he had to do was to write an email and get it posted on Jimmy's blog.

But what happened subsequently was perhaps also unexpected. I called up Yee Weng, Greg and Najib and said that this was the feedback I was getting and if they could ensure fair play or there would be no reason for a selection. I also called Sumant's father and asked him to please be there to monitor the event as I was unavailable.

My theory is that there could have been a deal. But the problem was the bean was spilled and now there were just too many eyes watching. So as the theory goes, the deal was just brought forward to the Olympiad.

We saw the public attack on Sumant after he won his place didn't we? Does that not lend further credence to the theory? I mean why attack the training of the juniors? If the training is no good, I would have just helped the IM's win by wasting the boys time. Why such anger? Ref: Here. Where is the fear coming from?

Caveat: The incidences are real and factual. The reasons I ascribe to them is my conjecture. In other words it is circumstantial. But as I have said, in law, if there is enough circumstantial evidence, this can also lead to a conviction.

I will next talk about the Li Tian theory. To be continued.

Note: This is important. This is not about Zhuo Ren or Li Tian. They are just blank sheets of paper that we are writing on. This is about what we are teaching our kids. And this could very well be the reason why our GM won't come if we don't change this culture. This is about the destructive nature of the deal makers behind the scene.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

A structure to support Malaysia's first GM.

Yesterday I was asked by a fellow blogger on facebook if I thought Roshan will make GM. There is also another blogger that is encouraging Syazwan to go for GM.

I think there are many in Malaysia who can make GM. But these are the caveats.

1.Look at this again. Here. Basically MCF needs a goal to guide it's activities and policies. But it is frightening isn't it. Look at what our neighbours are doing. And we haven't even started yet. Being able to get started knowing we are so far behind is also about mental strength. And the first step is competitor analysis. For the dream to come true we must first awake.

2. We also need a culture of healthy competition. Consider this. Who does our Olympiad team represent? Is it the Malaysian team or is it the back door dealers team? So when they go, they will have opponents in front of them, they will not have the conviction that they rightfully represent Malaysia and so they won't have the energy within them for the fight. And they will have many at home watching the games and looking out for their mistakes. Pressure everywhere and almost no supporters. That is the price for winning the place illegitimately that they have not considered.

So it's a mess.

The structure I think more likely to produce our GM is to have more representation at junior level ie U20. And then there must be proper selection with proper criteria at the senior level.

These are the reasons why. At age group levels the players are all still learning. Many mistakes in the games. We used to do well at this level but the last Asean may be showing us a reverse trend. But something good comes out of the age group events at International level. The players are forced to work together to share knowledge or be trashed there as we do not have the training our neighbours have. So we adapted to compensate.

But at the youth and junior level we do not send out teams. We send out individuals occasionally. Now that is a big big mistake. Our U20 Juniors are the closest we have to the next level. So a team will allow them to share more knowledge and get to a fuller understanding on what it takes to win.

Now understand the constraints of the age group players and the juniors. They have to juggle chess and their studies. So they do not have a clear run. For instance Mark has STPM this year.

But if we put more emphasis on juniors as well as the age groups they will have learnt a little more. Joined more dots on how to win in today's International Chess circuit. That is the correct route.

An aside: Now look at Li Tian. He is a strong player. But he has yet to prove himself at the junior level. He didn't do well in NJ2010. He did not play at NJ2011. I predicted that he won't do well at NJ yet unless he changes his game. And so he uses other methods which I will describe more in my next post. He is just not ready yet. I think this can potentially damage him. The short cuts do not help in the longer run.

And then we get the juniors, the other strong players and the seniors to fight it out in a proper selection for the senior team. That is the correct way.

Note: There are also another consideration. The GM run costs money. With the representation of the Country you also get sponsors. That helps a lot. When you play for the Country, there are people who will want to help. But right now, the sponsors will not be able to help the best players in Malaysia. Right now the money may go to people who do not deserve sponsoring.

So all this must change before we can get our own GM.

That is really why you see some people saying you are all washed out by 15yo. I even heard a national junior believe this lie and say that you must be at least IM by 17yo. One way to sabotage the juniors is to tell them that. It's also called setting you up for failure. How? By simply giving you an impossible goal. That is not real. Look around you. There are many who are making it later in life. That is the Malaysian reality. And I believe the method I described can be the Malaysian way to the GM. The Malaysian reality is that our players can only make a real run in their 20's.

Note: Even if more make IM's it is still a good thing. We are then much closer to the goal. Better than running around in circles or even going backwards.

Simply put. We need a proper structure in place for that GM to come. It won't just happen by fantasising about it. And that is just the beginning. There are even more things to consider. For instance, what type of support do we really need to make a GM run in today's world?

And that is also why we need to change the leadership in MCF. They are failing all of us. They are failing Malaysia. Our representative in Asean Confederation is not ours. Our Olympiad team is not ours.

Now that we have all the parts to consider, I will write about further the conspiracy theory 2 next. The big big question remaining is if it is just MCF that gave us that fraudulent team or if there is collusion to cheat all of us.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Truth and Anger.

Someone on facebook asked me what is the truth. Hmmmmm...

Let me put it this way. The truth very often hurts. So when someone says something and it makes you angry there is normally truth in it. And the more intense your anger then probably the more truth there is. The trick is proportionality. Anger out of proportion to the event.

Lets try a few examples here.

When FGM organised the training for the Juniors, it pissed a few of people off. They went around saying that FGM was making MCF look bad. Lets look at this rationally. Doesn't it really make MCF look good?? That it allows space for others to do a job that it cannot do or does not want to do. So why such intense anger? And who got angry?

When FGM stated that the Olympiad is not your personal fiefdom and not a place for ill gotten holidays, who got angry? Isn't that the obvious fact?

When FGM stated that an arbiters job is to behave professionally, why was there such angry responses? Who got pissed?

You get the drift.

So when you find that you get angry over a legitimate question or statement, look inside and find out which truth you are afraid of. For if you have nothing to hide, you will just try to explain and correct the misunderstanding.

I think that is as good a clue as any to finding the truth. But it will be your truth. Not mine. I get angry over different things. I get angry when I see innocent children bullied and I get angry when I see the huge potential in our kids destroyed by people with hidden agendas purporting to do it for the love of chess.

So what makes you angry? Go there and look for your own truth.

Setting you up to fail.

I have been asked by a few people why I do not organise events anymore. Let me try to explain here. I have reached the point in my life where I do not do things purely for money anymore. I only do the things that interests me. And the thing that interest me now is to understand why our extremely talented kids cannot make it to GMs. I have met and worked with a few GM'a and I am convinced that our kids can make it too.

I also enjoy the interaction with our strongest Juniors. I like the tough and intelligent questions that they ask me. And I enjoy working out the solutions with them.

So my motivation is different from others. For each their own. So you saw me organising the training for our Juniors before an International Tournament in the past. You saw me organising the Thematics. My intention was to fill the gap that others were not doing. Not step on anyones toes. New territories.

But what happened subsequently opened up my eyes. Sabotage from MCF, Jimmy starting out blog after blog to attack the training with lies and more lies. My tentative conclusion was that there are forces that do not want the Juniors properly trained. And then people were threatened not to support or work with FGM on the Thematics. So what right? That happens in the real world. OK. Lets look at it another way then.

Let me ask you this question. What is your incentive to train for chess if you know that you will never represent the Country no matter how good your chess is unless you have a deal with someone; unless you have to kiss someone's butt. Nothing to do with chess and besides, its a smelly affair too. And if you look even closer at that butt, you will see that there is a long queue waiting for their turn. No more butt space to kiss even. So why wait for your turn if you know your turn will never come?

To have a shot in life/chess you need to know where the goal post is. It cannot be arbitrary. They cannot keep shifting the goal post. Why are they sending out players to the Olympiad who cannot make the cut? Look at the results of all our local tournaments recently. Look at all the players who are banging on that glass ceiling. They deserve a chance too.

So are they being set up to fail? Is FGM put in the same place too? When I organise, should I not be focussed on my goal of giving the best training possible instead of worrying about my players being sabotaged if they improve on their chess? Being banned if they improve?

Isn't it getting more obvious that selection is not about chess but about the deal?

So FGM has shifted its focus for now. My focus now is to try to get a level playing field with proper rules and guidelines. And I think this will be beneficial for all. If your child; if you are the better chess player, then you should represent. Healthy competition.

Right now we are all being set up to fail. So lets fix this. Otherwise its all pointless. Pointless for you to train and pointless for me to organise anymore.

Make it about chess. Then we will see our very own GM. Think on it. Your chance of a deal is very very very remote. It's all locked up. Too many people wanting the back door and not enough butt space to kiss.You will only be offered some crumbs if any. Your chances are much much better if you demand for the right to compete based purely on your chess.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Criminal Minds and evidence.

Did you watch Criminal Minds last night? People forced to commit murder when their loved ones were kidnapped and threatened with death. And then there was a twist. The kidnapper himself was the victim of a bigger predator who forced the play. Too far fetched? Maybe.

But cast your mind back to what was written in Jimmy's blog before. Cast your mind back to what happened to Yit Ho after beating that GM in Brunei. Do they not attack the kids to control the parents?

This brings me back to that discussion I had last week. Another topic was the inclusion of MACC. I was approached separately earlier and asked to help compile evidence. So this is what I said. The collection of evidence is not our job. All we need to do is to show sufficient circumstantial evidence to lodge a complaint. MACC then uses the authority vested in them to get the evidence. And then the evidence and recommendation is sent to the AG's chambers for them to determine if it is solid enough to prosecute.

Even other committee members of MCF do not have evidence. I know from my own experience in PICA. There are no accounts. They have been doing the same thing for many years. They know how to protect themselves.

While we on the other hand are still waiting for evidence. Aiyah! Sampai tua.

So if we have no physical evidence, as there are none, what can we do? Do you think we can get it on tape of some IM colluding with MCF? And even if we lie in wait and have hidden cameras with us all the time to tape the conversation, do you think we are going to catch them saying, "hey lets screw the chess community. Lets do a bluff selection and then we put in our own people that have deals with us. They will be too scared or too stupid to question us. Or both. Fear will make them stupid. And if they do question, we just pusing pusing as normal, put the blame here and there and then they will all give up eventually".

The game of chess applied to life.

No my friends. That is not going to happen. You are not going to get evidence that way either.


An aside: It's a little like when we call the police if we see suspicious behaviour by people outside our homes. Maybe they are carrying parangs and trying to climb over our gate. You don't wait for the evidence before you call the police. The evidence comes after you are robbed, hurt or killed. The evidence is your dead body, the murder weapon.........


We have plenty of circumstantial evidence. In law sometimes even that is sufficient to convict. So stop allowing them to use threats against our children to control us. This has been going on for too long. And there are other peoples children at stake here too. We did not get into chess to watch our children threatened and us becoming powerless. We came into chess to help our children learn something to make them smarter and stronger individuals so that they can stand tall in the new globalised world. So don't let them hijack this objective from us.

At this point, I know from feedback that many of you are convinced that the selection and our team is a fraud. But the big question remains if there was collusion. Jimmy is busy blaming MCF and saying it has nothing to do with him. What do you expect him to say?? But what does circumstantial evidence tell us?

See coming post, further conspiracy theory 2.

Note: It's like chess. When the opponent makes a move we try to see the intention. We weigh out the possible ramifications of that move. We do not rush to conclusions. If a strong pattern emerge, enough to satisfy us, we come to a conclusion and respond accordingly. We do not jump up and down and get angry. We analyse. But we cannot ask the opponent for the blueprint to his plan ie evidence of his ill intent. 


They are using their chess training against you in this arena so I suggest you use your chess training too. And then you need to have the courage to make your best move; according to the goal you want to achieve. The board is being played out in front of you now. Can you see the pattern?


Chess is a game of forward decision making. Decisions to make or not make as we see the circumstantial evidence unveil before us. So don't do it upside down; postmortem after we have the "evidence" that we have been checkmated. We have fritz for that.


So stop wasting time and lodge that complaint if you think that is the right way to go.

Monday, July 9, 2012

From Jimmy's explanation and MCF criteria.

Here. From Jimmy's explanation and MCF's criteria, here; NC2012 was a misrepresentation and the team is a fraud. Ref: Here.

The first point is that there is now NO representative from the selection since Li Tian is President's choice. So the whole selection was a sham. A big big lie. Not one. So what did the players go for? Do they deserve a full refund of fees and expenses? Compensation for loss of time and energy?

The other point is of course there is precedence of going down the line. Mark went to the Asian Youth because Zhuo Ren decided to go for the World Youth. So when the Champion declines, it goes to the runner up. The same thing happens for Asean Age group events. So if it's true for the Juniors, I don't see why it doesn't stand for the seniors. Perhaps no selection before? Their lame excuse of ratings have worked in the past.... no one has questioned how players can be skipped over in the past.

You see Jimmy and puppet master, that is the problem with a culture of lies. Too many to remember. Too many side deals. And you continually think the entire chess community is either too scared or too stupid to question. That is yet another big mistake.

Even if "suspect" rating is used as basis, then further hard questions must be answered apart from the Ronnie issue. Then how do you justify Zhuo Ren? How are you going to twist out of this one?

"MCF" has now to answer this question. Was the selection a lie? Who made the decision for this fraud? Why was he/she allowed to get away with it? What will you do to correct this?

NB: NC2012 is advertised as selection for Olympiad.

Who and what we can write about and what are the limits?

We can write about players who represent the Country. We can write about public officials and public organisations. We can even write about private companies who directly solicit money from the public. For all these are in the public domain.

We can share from our personal experiences and we can even write about other bloggers who write to the public. So it's a double edged sword. You have to take the bitter with the sweet.

That is the true meaning of transparency and accountability.

But I think there should also be limits. We should always aspire to tell the truth and explain the reasoning behind our assertions. We should not indulge in character assassination, manipulation by distorting information and lies. That would be abuse of the trust of our readers.

I thought we should be clear of this definition so we know when the line has been crossed. Or not.

MCF's justification.

Here.

Selection after the fact. Ref: Here. Please note the date I posted this. How much longer does he/do they think we will keep falling for the same cheap tricks, I wonder.

Conspiracy Theory 2

Ref: Here.

Caveat: The only member of the men's Olympiad team that I think is deserving is Yee Weng. So if "MCF" were to exercise the President's choice, that would probably be justifiable.

My reasons are these. Yee Weng fought in the Malaysian Open 2011 in the full glare of the Malaysian public. That took guts. He didn't do that well there but that was to be expected since our IM's are rusty. But he measured himself against the field. That earned my respect. He then went on to SEA games and took down Megeranto. That earned my respect. And then I received feedback that he helped Nabila at SEA games. And that earned my respect.

He performed as a player should. By playing fighting chess. And he proved to be a true team player.


And so we have the other 4. Mok and his student. Jimmy and his. We saw how strong Mok really is at SEA games selection. If he cannot fight in a Malaysian field of much weaker players then I find it hard to see him fighting in the Olympiad. As for Jimmy, he survived the SEA games selection but is showing his true class in recent tournaments this year. I believe it is only a question of a little more time before we have his number. And this is the Malaysian field. Not world class yet. So I don't think he can stand among the fighters of today in the Olympiad.

And so we saw the PR campaigns by Jimmy and his cohorts. Asia's best player 1986. (Although I am still not sure that has been proven). Ratings, notwithstanding that the rating is ancient or gotten from select tournaments. The juniors are all washed out by 15. Don't try to win selection or you will make enemies. Don't become strong or we will ban you. Effective methods to knock out potential competitors in Malaysia no doubt as it has worked for many many years.

The big question now is will it work at the Olympiad. What about the chess?


So I have developed a conspiracy theory. I call it a theory because theories are predictive.

And so if you look back you will see that I have predicted a few events before it happened. I predicted Li Tian's probable performance if a strong field was at NC2012. I showed you Li Tian's performance at NJ2010. I will later try to explain why I think he did not play NJ2011. I predicted that selection will be withdrawn after SEA games.

Note: There may not be such a thing as a selection committee in MCF. I tried to track down the members and I was given the name of a possible member. But that person had no clue when I called. Think. Why not put up the names of such an anchor committee if it exists. What have they got to hide?


Next. Further conspiracy theory 2. The dots I joined.