A conversation from Penang Open.

As usual when the parents gather we will talk about the general state of chess in Malaysia. And as usual I will try to appeal to their sense of fair play not for any one particular player but for the welfare of all players in the chess community.

So I will pretty much say there and everywhere what I say here. I will say that the current situation we are in is because we are short sighted. I will say we need to train properly. I will say that we need good selection criteria. And I will say that is the only way for Malaysia to stand tall and win honours and medals in the International arena.

The reply I got from one parent is quite revealing. What she said was that if she goes to a certain "chess academy" then her child will get to play for the Country. I am not sure if you really catch the implication of that statement since so many of us still walk around pretending that all is alright. So at the risk of sounding pedantic, I will say this. What she means is that her child will play for the Country not because her child is strong in chess but because this trainer will be able to fix things.

So really you are not going to that trainer and paying him to train your child in chess. What you are really paying for is for him to fix things for your child.

Actually we all know these things happen don't we. But many of us are just numbed to this fact.

But what I don't get is why we still hope for a medal when we don't send out our best when other Countries do?

Why do we still shout Malaysia Boleh even though deep inside we know that we still send out some players that have come in through the back doors via biased selection or no selection. And to compound the problem, we send out the back door players untrained and unprepared to win. We have talented players in Malaysia despite our weak chess culture. Try what I suggested here and you will see us soar. Here.

Boggles the mind doesn't it.