In a way Peter is right.

Please read this first. Here.

In a way Peter is right. In my years in chess I have found the most amazing and intelligent kids. And so many of them it is very difficult to list. From Sumant, Zhuo Ren, Syakir, Nabil, Eng Chiam etc etc etc.

I haven't talked much about the girls simply because my interaction with them is limited and I don't really know their game. But I have been very impressed with Nabila, Najiha, Camelia, Li Ting etc etc. from what I can see.

But lets talk a little about the post above. The one thing they all have in common is an intense desire to win. And I said that was an opportunity to teach them many things. But there is also a flip side. There is also the opportunity to damage them.

So chess is a double edged sword. If they are taught how to succeed and how to win without having to cheat then they will become towering individuals that our Nation can be proud of.

But it is also so so easy for them to go the other way. And that is why I say some of the trainers have failed them. Instead of teaching them how to succeed they take them down the short cuts.

Over the years I have seen how some of them have changed. From vibrant confident young people to something I cannot quite recognise.

That is the only reason why I keep FGM alive. I cannot change the culture established by the back door people alone but I can try to offer the players an alternative or at least they know an alternative way exists. That they all don't all have to become like Jimmy, Peter or Eddy in order to progress.

I see they have brought up the subject of NJ 2010. Ref: Here. That is a complex story that I won't get into here. I think it should suffice when I say that the kids need guidance. It is not easy in that highly charged competitive environment. And chess can help build their character if the adults around them keep them in line in a fair and judicious manner. And I will also say that I was not present at the incident but Mark explained it to me. All in all I am proud of his actions. It must have been so easy to take the short cuts. Do ask me when you see me. I am happy to talk about it if only as a precautionary story. Hint. Do you remember what they did to Zhuo Ren and Sumant?

So let me conclude by saying this. There are many many intelligent boys and girls in chess. And they will all join the work force and become members of our society. For the good of the Country or not.

And these are no ordinary kids mind you. So they can do tremendous good or tremendous harm.

Let me leave you with what I think may be a nightmare scenario. At least in my mind. Can you imagine our Country seeded by people, by clones of Jimmy, Peter and Eddy? You have been to Jimmy's site. Would you like to live in their world? Where they establish the rules and determine the culture? We can change that in Malaysian chess at least yes? There are only a handful of them but they come in many anonymous guises.

They are out to force our talented children to conform to their image. That is the purpose of the back door strategists. Join us to join the squad. But even that is also mostly a lie. Try healthy competition and ask for clean selection and we will hammer you. The kids learn all that when they are broken before they can "join" the senior team and then they in turn transfer that lesson to another environment.

That can happen if we are not careful and take steps to protect our very gifted and talented kids. So this is something I don't think we can look away from. This is very important. We need to change that culture for all of us to have a better future.

Thank you for your time.