Fear and creativity cannot exist in the same space.

Please treat below as a simple exercise in logic. 

I believe this is a truism that is demonstrated in every chess game that has ever been played. And I believe almost all chess officials know this.

So after being in chess for as long as they have; after observing as many chess games as they have; I can only conclude that they must be trying to terrorise small kids for only one of two reasons. Either they are doing this intentionally to cripple their game or they must be incredibly stupid.

And if they are doing this intentionally they should not be officials. If they are stupid they should also not be officials. Not so long as the goal is to bring up strong chess players.

Creativity is necessary for good chess. Fear and creativity cannot exist in the same space. Therefore strong chess players and stupid officials also cannot exist in the same space.

It's as simple as that. Now do you understand why MCF will never be able to bring up strong chess players under the current climate and regime?

Check this out for another perspective on fear and creativity. Here.

Some thoughts of Li Ting's run in India.

Ref: Here.

Greg asked me during Malaysian Open this year why I didn't send Mark to HD Bank in Vietnam and Bangkok Open this year. I answered that it was because I felt Mark wasn't ready yet. Fresh out of STPM and a year and a half lay off from competition he needed a lot of work before he can be fighting fit again.

So we started out the year checking that he has the right weapons to win against lower rated players, win or draw against players of his level and also the weapons to take the fight to the higher rated and titled players. And then we tested those weapons in local competitions. Then we went to a chess camp to refine them and solve other knotty problems that still persist.

For me that is good investment. And not only that, I do not field my fighters in significant, expensive, overseas tournaments unless I know they are ready. That they have a chance to win or to go to the next level.

But much much more than that, I do not want to risk damage to my fighters by sending them to fight a field not properly armed, unprepared and untested.

I think that is my strongest objection to what some trainers are doing to their players here. Why go for World, Asian when you cannot even fight at home or in Asean? Why risk the damage to their psyche and fighting spirit when they are hammered and hammered, again and again and again and they have no replies, no answers.

But they say I do not know anything about chess. And I say they know nothing about developing strong players.

Winning is a pleasure eh Raymond?

A friend of mine said that to me on facebook after she won a construction contract. I didn't say more at the time as I am fairly sure I am not in the same space I was in during my construction days. Let me try to explain. Of course there is great pleasure in winning and a big congratulations are in order for success. In fact I would even say that it is essential to win often to keep the fighting spirit alive. But today I would add a few more caveats.

I think the journey in my thinking sort of started during the training for SEA games 2011 in my house. In that discussion I became more aware of the need of not taking something that doesn't belong to you as part of the winning experience. That discussion resolved around arranged draws and the implications to the other players in the tournament. Today I am still ambivalent about that as I have seen situations where it is difficult to make a judgement if you look at both sides of the argument.

However I have drawn very firm lines about cheating, about using the back door, suspect selection criteria and PR campaigns instead of competition to select our players.

Very honestly I don't think there is any reason to congratulate a "winner" under those circumstances. I think those practices are the major reason why we have regressed as a Chess Nation for all these years.

Do think about this. Do you feel any pride when you "win" like that? Does it bolster your confidence when you compete overseas without the crutches of preferential treatment? Is winning under those circumstances a pleasure or is it really a curse?

Winning should be about your self improvement, that you have crossed another line in your development. That your chess is getting better and better. What do you achieve when you succeed under false pretenses?

I believe this is something both Jimmy and Peter need to think deeply about. Where are they today after all those years of back doors? Can they even play strong chess anymore or will they continue to need to arrange for new crutches to stay in the game? That is the question before us today isn't it?