KL Open

R5 pairing. Here.

Masters games here.

Today's Contemplation.

Whatever you believe with emotion becomes reality. You always act in a manner consistent with your inner most beliefs and convictions.

-- Brian Tracy

How do you build Champions?

We first teach them how to make decisions with courage, how to confront their fears with reasoning. How to think under ever increasing pressure. How to protect their minds.

We nurture their confidence and build up their spirit. They will make mistakes along the way but we show them how to identify the correct problem and then we show them how to overcome them but without breaking their spirit or adding to their fears.

That is the building of the character of a Champion. That is the framework, the heart. And then we slowly add the content, the technical.

KL Open

R4 results. Masters here.

Games Here.

KL Open.

R3 results. Here.

Well done Kian Hwa and Nabila for taking down stronger opponents. More than 300 Elo points difference in both cases. A big big Congratulations!

R3 results for masters. Here.

On sponsors and MCF

A favorite topic among gatherings of parents of National Juniors is sponsorship. And the favorite grouse is that MCF should be responsible for getting it. Somehow I always feel that we may be a little off tangent.

This is what I think. There are basically 2 types of sponsors. The Government and private sponsors.

To get government sponsorship we need to show results. Medals from International Tournaments. We need to get into the sports radar. So SEA games is a way to get noticed. And to do that we need a fighting team, a unified team. We need our chess warriors to train hard for the event. Then we may have a chance.

The other type of sponsors are private sponsors. Lets be realistic. Private sponsors will often come with strings attached. They are business entities and they may have their own opinion of who or what is "sponsorable". Actually there is nothing wrong with that idea. After all it is their money.

I think this may be part of the cause for the confusion over the Asean initiative by FGM as well as the controversy over Li Tian's sponsorship to China by Dato Tan. We have very often mixed up Government and private sponsorship. There is a difference. The same way that there is a difference between Association and private organisers.

Right now all we have are private sponsors on a more or less regular basis. To get more Government of Malaysia funding we need to shine. Otherwise we need to live within our current realities.

I am hoping that if we are clearer on these issues we can stop barking up the wrong tree and focus on changing the things that can be changed. MCF needs to work with both to get best traction. But they are both different animals.

Note: This confusion has been exploited by certain anonymous individuals to create problems within the chess community.

Today's Contemplation.

Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret - curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable. -- Walt Disney

R2 KL open

Here.

Results: Open R2 Here.

Masters R2 Here.

On the difference between Association and private organisers.

During Datmo, a parent complained to me about Penang having many teams playing. Najib also brought up organiser's rights here.

There seems to be some confusion on the subject so let me see if I can help to clarify the issues. There is a big difference between Association and private organisers. Their reason for existence are both different.

An Association is to serve the chess community. That is their primary purpose. Go and look at their Constitution and you will see this.

Some have argued that the State Associations are autonomous. Actually they are not. There may have been some confusion in the past when they were under the ROS (Registrar of Societies) but today they are directly under the MCF and COS. (Commisioner of Sports)

The old argument stems from the fact that some of the State Associations may have predated MCF. A little like the concept of Federation. The States pre-existed the Federation and so the powers of the Federation is circumscribed by the powers given to them at the point of forming.

This argument doesn't hold anymore. First and foremost all State Associations were dissolved and then rejoined MCF under COS regulations. MCF is the body authorised by FIDE to promote chess in Malaysia. And so today the State Associations have re-applied to join MCF under the rules and conditions set by MCF which is circumscribed by FIDE, COS and OCM.

And so the State Associations are not autonomous anymore, if they ever was, and now come directly under MCF rulings.

Now you see a differentiation of roles. Private organisers are again different. They exist for profit and their purpose is to bring in additional value that Associations cannot achieve.

Take Datmo for instance. The organisers put in the effort that the Associations are unable. They have business contacts and have done the work of presentation to corporate sponsors etc. Private organisers have more leeway to negotiate with MCF for different conditions that are in line with business realities.

And finally we now come to KL Open. There is nothing wrong with the Invitational. But there is something wrong with the structure of the KL Open. The Open come under KLCA, a State Association. And a State Association is meant to serve the chess community.

Now this begs the question if the KL Open is doing that. It is not a private organiser and so it cannot be selective on who is allowed to join in without sufficient and legitimate grounds. More so since it is sub-ed out to a Chess Academy.

Now it is then possible for an ailing Academy to attack other trainers and coaches who are perhaps doing better than them. They are now able to use the Tournament to ban National players from participating. This is an abuse of the use of a State Association.

So you see Datmo actually had more rights to ban players as a private organiser. But KL Open does not have the same right. They are a State Association who's primary function is to serve the chess community without prejudice.

Ref: Here and here.

KL Open.

Round 1 pairing. Here.

And here.