National Junior- A FGM evaluation and commentary.

Fong Yit San is Champion, Fong Yit Ho second and Mark Siew third. A complete Perak sweep of the top 3 placings.

We of course went with the slim hope of winning the Championship although I recognised that it was a long shot in the dark. The two and a half weeks of detailed preparation after the chess camp was insufficient time to narrow the gap. Plus we were hampered by a lack of current information for a planned strategy based on accurate evaluation. Here. However I am still pleased with the results on a few counts.

The first was that we correctly identified from our competitor analysis that Yit San was the man to beat to take the Championship. And Mark had that chance in R7 but was beaten as white.

The second was how our team of trainers were there for us 100%. Here. They tried to view the games but the live rounds were not broadcasting for the relevant games. Still directly after the event and seeing our games which we later sent to them, we got a lot of constructive feedback on how we can improve by our established training goal of National Close.

And from that we come to the third point of now having measured the gap that we have to close. This means that we now have sufficient information to further fine tune our training program for a fighting chance during National Close.

Allow me to give some general comments here from the many questions I was asked during National Junior. First let me say that I think Yit San is perhaps a year or two from being the strongest player in Malaysia.

An aside: That does not mean he will have the highest Fide rating as I have explained before. There are just too many ways to cook the ratings as practised by some trainers. So that means he will be the strongest chess fighter if he maintains his current fighting attitude but may not have the highest rating. He needs to continue to fight in all tournaments and not only select ones like many of our "top" players are now doing. See here for an example of how a strong chess fighter with genuine rating is built.

Having said that, this of course begs the question of where Mark will be relative to Yit San during this timeframe. Whether Mark can overtake Yit San or not will now depend on his relative speed and rate of learning and the quality of the team supporting him.

And this is where I feel we have the edge. We are of course still a new team. But we challenge each other's assumptions constantly in finding ways to improve. We work in the spirit of one for all and all for one. Ergo we back our players with all our knowledge and resources without any reservation.

So I remain confident that we will give Yit San a run for his money to the finish line of National Close for this run.

Now I am sure you are wondering why I have discounted the other players in my evaluation to becoming the strongest player in Malaysia. So I will say this. I have discounted most of them because of one, they do not have the right weaponry. Two, they do not have the right fighting spirit and the willingness to confront their weaknesses. And the third reason is that they do not have the right team of trainers backing them.

So remember what I have said today come the next National Close.

Caveat. The selection criteria must not be biased to protect the outdated, uncompetitive players and the tournament must not be controlled by trainers/arbiters from another era who have no idea of what it means to compete in today's world. Ref: Here.

If those conditions are met I strongly believe you will see the results I have predicted. Then we will see the really serious run based on objective and substantive evaluations, for our first Malaysian GM.

I will of course back my statements by attending and playing in all the strong tournaments leading to the National Close for our preparation.

Note: Iron sharpen iron. And for that reason we are glad that Yit San has taken the fighting route. He will be there to keep my players and my team on their toes.

And so I want to end this section by giving Fong Yit San, National Junior Master for the second time running a big congratulations for the merit of real achievement. May you continue your powerful run to becoming the strongest player in Malaysia. (But do look behind; we look forward to outpacing you to the finish line in healthy competition.)

Note: A successful run must be based on correct training underpinned by objective goals and evaluations. Not mere subjective exclamations and cooked Fide ratings.

See here. If your player is not getting those lessons, I can only say you are being short changed and fed with false hopes and promises. And in my mind that is the primary reason why so many of our gifted and talented players have failed in the past.

Ref: On trainers. Here.

Ref: On training. Here.

Training for National Junior and Penang Open.

I have mentioned in a post here that we started sparring with Paulo from the beginning of this year. So by the time we went to the chess camp in Batangas we had already played over a hundred games with FM Paulo. I believe this is an important part of the process before we attend the chess camp. Here.

The chess camp is where we are able to device an even more streamlined training program since we are already known to each other. During the sparring I was getting feedback from Norlito and Paulo. I then compared the feedback to what Mark thinks was his progress.

At the chess camp we are able to see even more nuances and then fine tune. To me chess camps are not places to introduce each other. Chess camps are for fine tune ups and then a new training regime is introduced.

So we have been training since Batangas under the new training regime from the camp. And Norlito, Paulo and Jayson has assisted in giving feedback during all of the rest of November.

Now I feel we are ready for the start of our tournament runs to test our training to the fullest. Have we dealt with all that we needed to deal with within the given time? Are we still on track for the final goal which is the National Close next year?

These are the questions that this interim run is meant to answer. Looking forward to National Junior. Leaving later this morning.

Our wish for National Junior. Here.

The difference lies in the training. Here.

Today's Contemplation.

What may look like a small act of courage is courage nevertheless. The important thing is to be willing to take a step forward.

   --  Dr. Daisaku Ikeda

FM Paulo Bersamina at 2013 NATIONAL YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINALS ( BOYS U-15)

Ref: Here.

FGM trainer and sparring partner now playing at his National Youth Championship. It's a single round robin event. Good luck Pau.

Note: Please see comment for games.

How to select a Chess Coach.

Before we look into this subject, lets see how a Coach and a trainer interact to get a better perspective. Their relationship revolves around a goal agreed between the Coach and the player. The trainer is the fountain of technical knowledge but it is the Coach that helps the player to unblock his mind and to reach for the stars ie the goal.

You know that mere knowledge is not enough. You may have the knowledge but you may lack the courage, the commitment, the drive. You need to have more than technical knowledge to compete succesfully in a tough field. You need to also know how to win relative to the goal you have set.

So if you agree with what I have said above, then the Coach will relate to the trainer in this way. He will engage the correct trainer to fill the knowledge gap that the player needs in order to achieve the goal agreed.

Look at it this way. You have limited resources and you have limited time. So without a realistic goal you are not going to get anywhere. Merely increasing your technical knowledge is not going to get you anywhere. Merely going to tournament after tournament is not going to get you anywhere if you do not have a clear goal; if you do not work on your weaknesses; if you do not manage your time well etc.

So when you look for a Coach, ask him/her this. What is the roadmap? What do I need to put in to arrive at my goal? What would I need to learn? Ref: Here.

An aside. Actually this is the very big problem we have in Malaysian chess. We have no goal. So we do not see how others are moving ahead of us at a very rapid pace. We celebrate a victory where the opponents sent their weakest players for exposure where we have fielded our veterans. Without a goal we will be still at the same place 30 years from now. But I have to admit that setting a goal can be frightening. It means our progress is measured. It means we have milestones and it means questions can be asked if the milestones are not reached. And so we harp on technical knowledge without a goal.

Then you can pay and pay and not get anywhere. And then they will tell you that your children haven't got the talent; that they haven't got what it takes. That is not true. It is the trainers who have been telling you this that are the ones who do not know what they are doing.

Ref: Here and here.

Link to 27th SEA games.

Here.

Do bookmark the site and enjoy the games when it is on.

How does learning blindfold chess improve your game?

Ref: Here.

I have made a few enquiries about this before from different sources but never got a convincing answer. So when Norlito suggested it at our chess camp in Batangas, we went for it. I wanted to see for myself if learning blindfold chess really improved your game or it was just a novelty.

This is what we found out. Lets pause a little. Let me ask you a question here so you can follow my reasoning better. Have you ever calculated variations in a particular position and then missed out a crucial one?

There are many reasons for this of course. But consider this. You have arrived at a position. You cannot touch your pieces or you have to move it. So what do you do?

Do you not play out the variations in your mind? Is that not an untrained form of blindfold chess? So our conclusion is yes, learning blindfold chess can improve your game.

Playing and training in blindfold chess aids your tactical/positional vision by improving visualisation. 

So we are keen to bring this training to Malaysia. Remember, in the Philippines, even the street players can do this. So we need to catch up, no?

Choosing our heroes well.

Ref: Here.

Manny is a hero in The Philippines. And he is a strong supporter of chess there. When we choose a hero, his fighting spirit is also infused into us.

In Japan, they revere and celebrate even the losers of their titanic battles for they believe it is not the win or the loss that matters. It is the manner in which the fight was conducted that matters. Whether the fight was worthy of respect or not.

So who is your hero? I think who we choose speaks a lot about who we are.

Malaysia wins MAL/Sing 2013.

Pictures here.

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised so I looked for some pics to see who did Singapore send to the event.

So Congratulations Malaysia.

FGM's criteria for student selection.

Please go here to view our Vision and Philosophy.

Now please read this. Here. I wrote this in Feb 2009 and I started FGM Chess Academy in 2010. Yes, it has taken me a long time to finally figure out what it takes so that we too can see our Juniors/children shine on the International stage. I have made many mistakes along the way as I struggled to learn and it is now coming to the end of 2013.

But during this long journey, I knew this much. I will not compromise on standards. I will not work with people that do not believe in our children. And I will not take the short cuts. For me, taking the short cuts tantamount to me not believing in our children's gifting and it also means that I do not have the confidence in myself to find solutions. And to me that means I have already lost before the fight has even begun.

So FGM must remain true to it's Vision and Philosophy or it is nothing at all.

Note: I mentioned somewhere that I was speaking to Norlito for over a year. That is a true statement but not totally accurate. In fact we have been talking for over 2 years. I needed to know without any doubt that Norlito and his team shared my beliefs and dedication too or I would not have proceeded to invite him to join FGM. Ref: Here.

With that short history and synopsis, I would like to briefly introduce our selection criteria for student intake. We are a small team with proven track records. To stay true to our mission we cannot take many students and still maintain the quality of our training. So to be fair to us also, we will only take students that are committed to training. In the process of training under us we will also instruct you on goal setting etc. (As I have mentioned in my article from 2009 above).

Note: For the younger children we need to meet with the parents as they will be the cornerstone of the training regime.

The training modules will roughly be in 3 stages. Please refer to me for further detail. However I need to stress here that our training camps will be very small so that we can focus on the individual players needs and therefore the training camps are only for those that we feel are ready for International level competition. And so it is by invitation only. Ref: Here. I hope we are clear on this. That is the only way we can fulfill our mission.

Thank you for your past support, time and understanding.