National Close 2014- The battle of the kangkungs vs the non kangkungs.

Ref: Here.

In Ilham's post, he implies that it is "unfortunate" that I did not allow Mark to become a kangkung player by following the footsteps of IM(k) Jimmy. By not learning to play for rating but learning how to play to win. By practicing most of the points brought up in this article. Here.

It is unfortunate for not caving in to the mental attacks, by not asking/begging Jimmy, Greg, PICA etc for the back door too. By preserving his integrity and dignity which I felt was even more important than chess.

To overcome the fact that he was "banned" from KL Open without grounds and still is. (Peter still cannot see our emails for application this year).

Unfortunate in Ilham's eyes but that is ok.

And so Mark will go to NC perhaps 300 points lower than his peers. And without the International exposure his peers have been getting via the back door over the last 2 years.

But that is ok also. We will still go and we will still fight and compete with what we have. If ever he manages to get a masters title whether FM, IM or anything else, I want his title not to have the (k) abreviation.

We will meet the kangkung players in healthy competition. That means we will not practice sabotage or use lies and slander. We will not pre-agree a result. And we will still play our best chess no matter who they use as the arbiter.

For I will still lay my bets on the non kangkung players any day in the longer run. For those that have struggled the hard way without taking anybody else's place by cheating. For those that only accept what they deserve and have worked hard to earn. That will take nothing more than that. Or accept anything less.

I believe it is merely a matter of time when the kangkung players will hit their wall. That is the lesson I have learnt from watching the journey of IM(k) Jimmy, FM(k) Peter and Eddy.

(Maybe Eddy is a bad example. Only a 1300 pretending to be a 1900 and claiming he taught Mark. But you get the point, yes?).

So do wait for this year's NC. It will of course be much more interesting and exciting if the selection criteria will not allow easy or side entry for the kangkung players. But that will of course be up to Greg. And if past practices are any indication, for example the last SEA games, the negotiations have already begun since this is also an Olympiad year.