Open Letter to Dato Tan Chin Nam.

Ref: Here. And Here.

Dear Dato Tan,

At Datmo rapid, you called me over to ask me who I thought should resign from MCF. I was not able to give you a precise answer then as I had thought that would be something the ones contending for the Presidency would be considering. I have merely tried to give them as much information as possible on my blog in case certain incidences may have escaped their attention.

Furthermore, I think my personal conclusions may differ from the common ones given by those asking for change as you will see below.

However I would like to try to answer you now. As you can see from above references to my writings since returning from Datmo, I have been considering the parameters for my answer today. I believe your question to me was genuine and so this is my solicited response.

I share the common opinion of the vast majority in the Chess Community that the incumbent President has not done his job and should be replaced. He has been unable to reign in the many abuses conducted within MCF and has not even been able to contain undue outside influences as we saw in the attempt by Peter Long to set National policies or to ban National Players without grounds which must surely go against the aim of MCF to develop Malaysian chess. We also see the influence of Jimmy to completely dismantle the effort to have selection as the objective determinant for National representation.

I also contend that these 2 people have lost touch with "reality" from the evidence that Peter was even unable to see that he had a National Champion in his Academy in Roshan when he also pitched for Li Tian for the Olympiads. I contend that even now Jimmy is trying to distance himself from his own evaluation of Li Tian while in Turkey. Ref: Here. If their judgement is so suspect then why do they have such free reign as they have now?

As you can see from the second reference above, I also see MCF as a team. And the team must have at least the core skill sets to make a difference. Right now I see Greg following the Hamid tradition of keeping all information on his lap top. Nobody else within MCF seems to know what is going on or is able to execute their purported responsibility since all controls emanate from that lap top. This cannot be all MCF is after 30 years. I am sure you agree that this is very unhealthy. What would happen to MCF if something was to happen to that lap top?

A light thought: If a thief was to grab his lap top, would Greg be shouting, "someone stop that thief, he has stolen MCF"!!!??

But seriously, MCF needs a team. The Secretary simply cannot do all that needs to be done alone. And we need people with more skills and knowledge beyond mere salesmanship and narrow technical ability.

Power is too concentrated. MCF is not a sole proprietorship. MCF is an NGO which was set up to serve the chess community and its legitimate diverse interests. And there should be representation from the various interest groups. Especially parents and top players since they form the backbone of Malaysian chess.

And so that is my argument for the Presidency. And the President will need to be the person who commands the most support at the AGM. But he must also come in with a good team.

In the second part of my letter I will give a name for who I think should be Secretary and who I think should leave MCF. That is of course only my personal opinion and it's the Presidents prerogative. Nevertheless I believe I may have pertinent information and also since this question was posed to me by many others besides you. Till then Dato. All my best.

Today's Contemplation.

It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of
being subject to half the evils we anticipate than
to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of
what might happen.

   --  Herodotus

The link between myths, superstition and science.

Is there a link at all? Isn't science the polar opposite of myths and superstition? Lets examine closer. Actually they all have the same source of origin.

All 3 observe the same phenomena.

But myths and superstition takes the more convenient answers. The one that goes with their preferred dogmas, the ones that gives them the most comfort or the ones that needs the least amount of thinking.

Science is rigorous. It accepts no cheap answers. It forms assumptions, build theories and tests it again and again in as many scenarios as possible. Until it is proven.

But again I say, all 3 have the same origins. The ability to observe and discern a phenomena existing in reality. It's just that the methods, explanations and answers differ.

In Malaysian chess we have a few people that cannot see any realities. They cannot see that attacking the training program for the juniors does not help Malaysia. They cannot see that breaking the spirit of our juniors is not a good thing. They cannot even see when selection has actually been withdrawn and its now the back door policy again.

So lets make a distinction here. Lets call those that hold to myths, superstition and those that practice science as above the line. And those that cannot see anything, that live in a totally delusional world as below the line.

Now lets assume we start a debate among them. I submit that there is always the possibility of coming to an agreement with those above the line with sufficient evidence and engagement. And I also submit that trying to convince those below the line is impossible. They have left reality. They cannot see anything.

The top group still exists within reality and the group below the line has left reality altogether. They live in a world of imagined fears. For a deeper investigation, read this. Here.

Unfortunately for us. A few people from below the line has entered chess and taken control positions. And they are trying hard to remold the thinking sport into their image.

I submit that without being able to face reality, our GM won't come.

Olympiad R5- A FGM commentary.

A round that spot lights weaponry. Yee Weng tried for a win but got a draw with Tiger Modern. And Jimmy got a draw with his drawish weaponry. Against a much weaker team, I think Yee Weng probably got the right idea but I am wondering if this is really the opening that represents his style and gifting. And Jimmy's lack of a fighting line against a lower rated player is showing up.

Mok is rested. GM run. Does he have the black game for it?

Here's Jimmy's evaluation. Here.

Olympiad R5 line up for Malaysia.

Here.

Good analysis by IM Goh of Olympiad games.

Here.

I think there is no need to read about Jimmy's put down of Li Tian's game. Not much use. We already knew he was not ready before he went. Read IM's Goh's evaluation instead. Much more instructive if you want to develop your chess instead of developing how to make excuses. Refresh the page and read the other good stuff in the posts below. Lets learn the right way to improve.

Notice he dares to call a spade a spade even of their own players.

An excellent speech by Tengku Razaleigh.

Here.

I believe some aspects of what he says about our sports apply equally to chess. Do read this. It's a little long but well worth the read if we want to understand what is truly happening in our mental sport.

Selection is the key to unlocking that first GM for Malaysia.

So long as there is selection at all levels, our GM will come. Let me share some of our experiences here. When Mark won the U12 Championship in MSSPK in 2005, he made it for 5 years consecutively as a State player which made him the longest staying male player to ever play for Perak. After his surprise win in 2005, the match fixers did all they could to displace him in the subsequent years. From fixing the pairing to singling him out to change his clothes while playing the later half of a game etc etc etc.

Even after each setback we fought back to still make the team. We never bargained with the match fixers. We just continued to play chess albeit a game or more down. And then we lodged a complaint after the selection.

I think there is a lesson here for all of us. You cannot be stopped so long as there is a selection. If you can rise again even after upsets caused by match fixing, you can still make it; if you remain mentally strong instead of sitting down to whine.

With that experience from Perak we made our climb up the National circuit. Of course we did not have the resources the other players had and to this day we are still trying to catch up on technical knowledge with whatever time we have between studies. A ten year head start by his peers among the Juniors cannot be overtaken overnight.

But we still made it to both U18 and National Junior number 2. And of course MCF still refuses to give Mark that cert to acknowledge his achievement. That is normal. They did the same thing in Perak when he won the U12.

But again I emphasize, so long as there is selection, we can find the way to climb despite whatever they do to fix the games. And now you understand why they needed to bring in the unjustified bans.

Now this is the interesting bit. The initiators and supporters of banning without grounds are trainers who purport to know how to train a GM and parents who think their children can be IM's etc. Now isn't that strange? How would they do it without clean and fair selection? Are they going to fix it all the way to the IM and GM title? Is that even possible? Can a GM title be bought?

If the answer is NO, then what is there to worry about? If they can be so afraid of even Mark to do all these things, how can they help you make that GM run? By taking away selection they weaken their own players. And they cannot create the conditions to match fix their way to the GM title. Even if they succeed those GM's will be pariahs in the chess world. Are they not only killing themselves? We will just continue to improve our chess and get mentally stronger the more obstacles they put in our way. And we will play overseas to continue to climb if necessary. Can they ban our strong players all over the world without any grounds? This I would like to see them do.

So the key here is selection. So long as there is selection, you can make it to the top no matter what they do. That was what I also tried to tell the boys at SEA games training. Don't let them break you. Don't take their short cuts and back door entries. They are just taking the GM out of you. Don't take their way. They are just failures trying to make a failure out of you because they see you having something they do not have. Self belief and fighting spirit.

Note: So it is very easy to see those who are in collusion to set that glass ceiling to keep Malaysian chess backward and who really cannot help and do not want Malaysia to have our own GM unless it is them. You can see it from their stance and their position on the issue of selection and banning without grounds. Even a kindergarten child can see that selection is the way to go unless they subject the child to intense fear. When that happens the child will see what they want the child to see. Now you know why they also spew such venom yes? Then the lies, evasions, misdirection works. Then black becomes white, darkness becomes light.

Olympiad R4- A FGM commentary.

This round roughly encapsulates the gist of the talk I had with the boys at FGM's SEA games training. Our players are capable of immense feats of brilliance. For me this shows talent and latent potential. I have seen many of our top players beat very strong players only to lose to someone much weaker than them. Plus one, minus one still equals zero. And until we can find a way to stop that, we cannot begin the journey into strategy. Too many hits and misses. This same phenomena also explains why our IM's cannot make even one GM run. And that has been the focus of FGM's investigation. Why this happens and how can we stop it?

I suggest that the answer is found in our chess culture. We need tough training and tough selection. We need to set high but achievable goals and we need honest postmortems. The back doors have weakened us tremendously. Consider what the difference could have been if we had a tough selection for the Olympiad? If we had just made 2 simple changes even at the last minute. Nicholas Chan instead of Jimmy. Eng Chiam instead of Li Tian. Would the results be different?

Would there be a stronger team spirit if there had been selection? Would that have counted when the pressure mounts? Knowing that you have team mates who deserves to be there. Team mates you can count on and trust. Really that is the only way to set a National goal. If there is doubt, individual players will go for individual glory for they will have no confidence in the team goal. And worse if there is no confidence in the leadership.

Jimmy cannot be the Captain. Jimmy is breaking down all over the place. You can see that in his writing. Just go to his blog. You saw that at Datmo rapid. He is simply propped up by people with hidden agendas as the deal maker for the players.

It's really that simple. We have the talent but we do not have the culture. A suggestion to Mok and Yee Weng. Get out from under the influence of Jimmy and the GM in you will find room for expression. It's a decision only you can make. Insist on selection. Face your fears here before you go into that pressure cooker. Mental strength.

Never make excuses. Face reality. Look at it hard in the eye and you will shine.

Having said all that you guys will need to regroup now. What I said above is water under the bridge. What you need to do now is to still try to get the best result with what you have. That will also help to develop your mental strength. Fight back. All my best for the rest of the tournament.

Today's Contemplation

Nothing fixes a thing so intently in the memory
as the wish to forget it.

   --  Cat Patrick