European sports charter-Unesco

Here.

And what is ours?

Grandmaster- Ability to think followed by courage to act on your thinking.

Have you ever wondered why our IM's cannot get even one GM norm? Sometime back I read a post by IM Goh about his first GM run. How he was shaking so much that he found it even difficult to open a door after the event.

So what does that tell us? We can conclude that it is highly stressful yes? But where does this stress come from? Can you see that the stress originates from self doubt? From making difficult decisions? From finding the courage to do that? Yes?

But there is more. There is more because you also need the right arsenal to go into battle. You need to do your competitor analysis so that you have the right weapon to match with the right opponent. And that is a lot of work and thinking.

And then there is the training. You do not suddenly become an expert in a particular opening unless it has been stress tested many times. You cannot go into a high level tournament unless you have been properly conditioned by playing in other high level tournaments.

So that is the basics.

Now lets come back to why certain people in Malaysia use intimidation, deflection, lies and slander. Can we argue that it is because they do not want you to think?

You see, it is very simple. If they have nothing to hide they will explain, they will reason with you. If they use all those unsavory methods it is simply because they don't want you to think. They suddenly become very afraid of questions simply because they have hidden agendas or just plain incompetent.

But do think on this. Chess is a mental sport. It is a requirement for you to think. It is a requirement for you to develop your courage for that is not an innate gift. At each level more courage is required of you and that is why you train. That is also why you do not take the short cuts.

Can you understand their methods better now? If they cannot explain, if they cannot reason then I think a very logical conclusion is that they must be frauds. And they cannot possible be high level chess players. The technical alone just makes you a hobbyist. When you are really out to compete then you must have all the rest.

Now do you see why they need to hide all these things from you? They have no answers, afraid to look for answers. And so they serve you with bullshit instead. That is also why they need to cheat.

Why do we have Associations at all?

Have you ever thought of this? Why not just have the private academies run the show in chess? Let's examine this a little today.

Could it be that impartiality is an important aspect for the development of any sport? Private academies could be partial. Sports is competitive or supposed to be competitive to compel the development of excellence.

And so man in his wisdom decided to develop an organisation called Associations with a Constitution and vested powers to order the situation so that the competitive spirit could be fostered. And the Associations do this by being impartial.

And so the private Academies compete. The players compete for us to achieve that excellence.

But something has gone really wrong with this concept in our chess scene here. Here it seems that the impartiality has been lost. Certain people seem to be able to do whatever they want and the Associations seems to have lost the ability to act impartially.

And so this institution has collapsed in it's ability to function as it was originally supposed to function.

I often suspect that our sports associations mirror the way our government works. However I think we need to make a distinction. The general wisdom is that sports should be separate from politics. Separate from the influence of big business. The bigger picture of politics in government is beyond the scope of this piece but I think we can see that chess cannot develop under the conditions we are in at the moment.

I think it would be good if the Council of MCF sits down and reflect on this. Match fixing is a big problem and we need our officials to very very very aware of their responsibility in this matter.

Let me use an analogy here. In an examination like SPM for instance, we bring in outside invigilators. Their job is to ensure that there is no cheating. It is as simple as that.

So was there cheating at the National Close? MCF needs to make a determination without fear or favour. And if there is any doubt then a playoff again is the proper thing to do.

And if so, then we also need to determine who was involved and how was the cheating done? We need to be serious on this. Throw away what doesn't work. Read what Bruce Lee said again. That is the way to excellence. But to do that we need courage to discard the old and what doesn't work.

For that to happen the officials and you need to stand up to those that use intimidation, deflection, lies and slander to forward their hidden agenda.

The way forward is not to join them in their recipe of failure as proven over the last 30 years. The way forward is also not to bury your head in the sand shaking with fear.

If everybody says nothing, does nothing then we will see another 30 years of kangkung players over time. I think it is a fair statement to say that there was probably a time when Jimmy was a strong player. When Jimmy was a man. But look at him today. What happened that he can so viciously attack the Juniors as he has done over the last few years? What does he want? What has happened to the players that have fallen to his influence?

Think about it. Maybe the chess community was unfair to him at one point. But that is history. The players today were not responsible for him becoming a kangkung. So why the desperate need to make the current batch into kangkungs like him?

That is the real question. If we can answer that then we can do things differently today. Or our next crop of players will all end up the same way.

Bruce Lee, chess and courage.

Do read what Bruce Lee wrote again. Look very carefully.

Now let me ask you a question.

Does it take mental courage/strength to even TRY to do what he suggests?

Now tell me what is lacking in our chess leadership. Can you smell the fear? Ref: Here.

A short interlude for a message from Brucie.

Top 10 Lessons from Bruce Lee

Be YOUR best. It’s not about following in someone else’s footsteps or trying to be somebody you’re not. It’s about unleashing your best version of yourself. According to Bruce, “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.”
Absorb what is useful. It’s not about blindly adopting patterns and practices. It’s about taking the best of the best and tailoring it. It’s also about throwing away what doesn’t work. Bruce borrowed concepts and techniques from everybody and every art in a relentless pursuit of the best of the best. According to Bruce, “Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.”
Keep an open mind. You have to be willing to throw out what you already know and have a curiosity to explore new paths. If you’re cup is already full, you can’t learn new things. According to Bruce, “First empty your cup.”
Aim past your target. Aim past your target, so when you fall short, you still land in the ballpark of success. Bruce Lee was famous for his one-inch punch, but in reality he was aiming past the one-inch. According to Bruce, “Don’t fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.”
Stay flexible. Be flexible in your approach. Learn from everybody and everything and don’t get locked into a particular style. According to Bruce, “Expose yourself to various conditions and learn.”
Focus on growth. Push past your limits. According to Bruce, “There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
Know yourself. Your blind spots and ignorance can be your biggest weakness. According to Bruce, “After all, all knowledge simply means self-knowledge.”
Master your mind and body. It’s not enough just to be smart. It’s not enough just to master your body. Your body and mind support each other. Your body helps turn what you think or dream up into results. According to Bruce, “As you think, so shall you become.”
Apply what you know. Life is not about watching from the sidelines. Use what you know and put knowledge into practice. Test yourself. According to Bruce, “Knowing is not enough, we must do. Willing is not enough, we must apply.”
Make things happen. When there is no wave, make one. According to Bruce, “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
I think it really boils down to making the most of what you’ve got, including your mind and body, pushing past your limits and following a path of continuous learning and growth.

Bruce Lee’s Physical Feats
While we don’t know whether the following stretch the truth, we do know you don’t look the way Bruce did by default. It was by design and he pushed his physical limits.
BruceLeePhysicalFeats
These are some of the physical feats attributed to Bruce based on various demonstrations, his friends and associates, and interviews:

Bruce performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger.
Bruce performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.
Bruce performed a sidekick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150 lb (68 kg) punching bag.
Bruce could cause a 200-lb bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.
Bruce could snatch a dime off a person’s open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind.
Bruce’s striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second.

Circumstantial evidence; this is allowed in law.

Ref: Here.

In a court of law it is permissible to present circumstantial evidence for consideration by the Judge. If there are enough circumstantial evidence the Judge can rule in favour even without any solid evidence.

I said there were 3 incidences that I know of where there were suspicions of chess engine usage. And 2 cases were reported. In one case the opponent was an MCF official and the player in question was not allowed to go out without an escort. And the player lost. But in the other 2 cases this did not happen. So the player won one from a losing position and drew the other also from a losing position. And we know that any changed results affect the pairings and the subsequent run of opponents and thus affect final outcome.

So there are reasonable grounds to ask for the NC fighters to playoff again. Especially since I understand only 2 from the current squad wants to play at the Masters. Add another player from the active list and that only makes 3. So that leaves 9 places available for the playoff since they say that 12 players is the ideal number for a round robin.

So MCF has a choice. Either cancel the Masters and then we will be in a quandary as to who will be in the squad this year and who will play at the Olympiad or we have that playoff.

There is no concrete proof but I think a strong suspicion is enough under these circumstances to relook at how to conduct the Masters.

As for the game where many think were thrown, I think the player involved has come up with a lame excuse on his blog. So you can decide for yourself. But the feedback I have received so far tells me that people doubt his explanation.

So it is not too late to get the very best 5 players we have in Malaysia to represent the Country. It is not too late to have fighters who will fight for honour and Country.

All it needs is for some wisdom and the courage to do the right thing from MCF. It's about time yes? I think there is some support for this solution within the Council. So they must speak up or we may yet see another cartoon show again at the Olympiads.

My 2 cents.

Is KL Open on a tight budget?

Ref: Here.

Dear Peter,

I am finding it a little difficult to do the sums here. Dato Santhara told me that he sponsored the event to the tune of RM150K. And I presume that is on top of the fees you are charging for entry.

During the training for the National Juniors going to Asean in 2010 where I provided a GM to do the training, Jimmy and other anonymous bloggers, with your support were accusing me of making exorbitant amounts of money. So much so that I published my accounts on this blog to show that in fact I lost money providing the training to our players. And I also put up on this blog the letter which showed that Air Asia was sponsoring the training and that the air tickets were not gratis.

I am not going to accuse you of making an exorbitant sum of money from this event out of dire poverty. Instead I think it would be fair to ask you to explain on your blog how you managed to blow RM150K plus the entrance fees and not pay your people.

I showed my accounts and correspondence with Air Asia in order to quell the lies and slander being spread by Jimmy with your support. Surely it is only fair now that I ask you to do the same. And I am not even making any accusations till we examine all the evidence.

Over to you Peter.

Btw, I paid all my people. Even if it came out of my own pocket since I was responsible for the event and they were working for me.

Let's be brutally honest.

Ref: Here.

Let's be brutally honest. The vast majority of chess players enter the circuit because of co-curriculum needs, certificates for university entry, scholarships and sponsorships etc. Very very few do it because they are going for a GM run. Of the lot of our top players perhaps only Fong Yit San has made that total commitment. He has sacrificed his education after SPM in a do or die attempt while the rest will probably find other pursuits in life that they believe will be more rewarding.

That is our reality. But let's stop here for a little while to reflect on this before we continue.

Let me try to explain why I brought Mark into chess to illustrate my point. It was purely for him to develop his thinking skills. The thinking skills I believed he will need in a globalised world. And so I used chess to inculcate these lessons. Here.

But there is more. I also wanted him to develop good values, to be able to trust himself, his thinking and never to take the short cuts no matter how tempting it may look. I use the chess analogy of the poisoned pawn in my explanations to him. Take the short cuts and that means you do not trust in your ability and skills. And chess provided that personal training because the higher up you go, the greater the pressure and the stronger the temptation to take the easy way out. I believe understanding this will hold him in good stead in his future business life. Follow the rules and do not cheat. Or you may end up in prison in a rule based world. (And if you want to be in International business). Think and develop within the rules. Be creative within the rules but never break them. To do all that is also called character building.

And so he will be entering University soon. And I think chess has helped to prepare him for that next stage of his journey in life.

Let me now come back to our chess culture and my assertion that only Fong Yit San is prepared to try and committed for the distance. For him to do that he needs to have the mindset and mental strength to back it, in his arsenal, besides only having mere technical. If he accepts a point he does not deserve here in Malaysia, then he too will have accepted the poisoned pawn which will work against him later.

If he wants to go out there and fight people who are not afraid of challenges then he must first win all the Malaysians here without a crutch. Only then will he have the fortitude to face the world stage.

But what about the rest of our chess players? What will they learn from their time in chess? How will just studying the technical aspects which they will never use in their other pursuits help them? They would have taken much from chess if they have learnt at least this. Here again. They would have taken out even more if they went on to develop their understanding of competitor analysis. Why? Because that too has real world application in business.

In conclusion, we have not only failed the vast majority of chess players because of our narrow mindedness, we have probably failed those that want to become world beaters because our officials are not doing their jobs. They only seek posts for their vanity and egos when what they need to do is to stop the match fixing and to find the funds for the development of our players. So who have we helped? Who has our chess helped to make smarter. Nobody? Wasn't this the same way we "developed" the previous lot kangkung players who now cannot play high level chess? Think on it. Can you take on the world if you cannot even win here without a crutch?

The 2 persons mentioned in my post below is none other than the selection chair and his deputy. Shame on you. What kind of example are you guys setting for our players. You do not even have the courage to think for yourself and to make the right decisions. Fear. If you are that fearful, get out of chess. It's a game to develop men and not for small boys.

The real journey in chess is about raising our skills and knowledge. Not about learning sabotage, short cuts, gaining unearned points, back stabbing and writing anonymous poison letters/blogs. And not about using the players/kids as scapegoats and proxies in a "war" you have no courage to engage in yourself.

Thank you for your time and consideration in reading this post.

Have you noticed that some of our chess leaders are unable to deal with tough questions?

Ref: Here.

During the conversation with that official after National Close, he suddenly developed deafness and said he doesn't understand what I am saying and he said that is why he and "others" are "afraid" to talk to me.

That is a little funny because before he got his current position he was talking to me about his so called "unfair sacking" from MCF. And I explained to him that he could not be sacked under current rules and I told him why that was so under the Constitution.

Before he was "sacked" I advised him quietly on my blog without mentioning his name not to write poison letters "anonymously" against other Council members. If I can identify him from my sources, so can others.

Before he got his new position he was reporting to me about the so called unfair selection criteria and how he stands for no more back doors and clean selection.

But suddenly he has developed selective deafness after being "reinstated" and getting the new post related to selection. Suddenly his mind is scrambling and he becomes incoherent and afraid to talk to me. Why do you think that is so? Curious isn't it?.

Ref: Another conversation with another official in the same committee. Just for comparison, if any. Here.

Why it is essential for us to change our chess culture if we are to succeed.

For 10 years since Mark was U12 Champion in Perak in 2005, I have watched with much incredulity at how our chess culture has affected our children. I was witness to the horrendous attacks on our top Juniors over the training for SEA games in 2010. I saw the viciousness of the blog wars where pure intimidation, lies and slander were spread. And no amount of clarification or evidence produced was sufficient to quell even more lies and slander from spreading. And they used our top kids as proxies in the "war". And we experienced fixing in one form or another from 2006 onwards. And these usually come from the top boards.

So over the years I have seen many potentially strong players drop by the wayside. I will try to explain why from my perspective. There is a character trait among our top juniors that make them particularly vulnerable to the type of attacks I mentioned above. Our top players are extremely intelligent and extremely driven to win. And I felt that we could use that drive to teach them this. Here.

But what are those people teaching them instead? In our current climate it does not take a genius to come to the very logical conclusion that they must cheat to win. If you don't do it, the other party will. This seems to be the inevitable conclusion if we follow the logic of our current climate and we do not have another purpose from chess.

This was aptly described during the blog war by a staunch Jimmy supporter from Singapore. Law of the jungle. Kill or be killed. No rules.

That is our reality. Our institutions are not working. In fact many seek office to get the power to give their players the extra edge against their opponents. And there is no redress. Or so it seems.

So let me try to offer you another perspective today.

During National Close I spent an evening with some old friends. I also met a new friend who works for SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd. He told me of his experience when he started working for an American company. After the submission of his first claim for expenses, the CEO returned his claim to him and asked him to read up the rules and claim his full entitlement. Not one cent more and not one cent less.

I am not sure if you can see the full ramification or implication of that "statement". In global businesses the culture is different. The Company doesn't try to cheat you out of your money. They want you to get everything you worked for, everything that you are entitled to. Why?

It is simply because their outlook is that they are working in partnership with their employees, they are working in partnership with their suppliers and their clients. Only by working together can they succeed against the other team. So nobody should be shortchanged.

So let's just quickly contrast that scenario to ours today. I was informed that a player disputed the final result that determined the Champion. Now this player is also on the National squad. Now imagine us sending out a team to the Olympiads that consist of these players. Imagine if the squad also had a member who came in from the side door.

Law of the jungle. Winner takes all and there are no rules and no redress. Cheat if you have to, to get in. And then we ask them to fight as a team for TEAM MALAYSIA.

But what is their experience of each other? Can they fight as a team in a team event? What do you think? Do you think trust is a necessary ingredient to function as a team?

Perhaps we cannot change other realities. But I think that we may succeed to change the culture in chess at least if we all work together. And why is this important?

I think it is very important because our top chess players represent our best brains in the Country. They have the greatest potential to rise high in our business world. And they have the best potential to become global players in many fields. So lets not disadvantage them because of our short sightedness. Because of our narrow self interests. And because we lack the courage to correct wrong doings or to think clearly in difficult situations.

Those kids are our collective responsibilty. They are being formed and moulded under our watch. Are we developing global players or are we creating Frankensteins that can never survive is a world with rules without cheating. For very simply they will likely end up in prison outside of this Country where they seem to be protected instead here. Their perspective and mindset is being formed by the reality they are currently in.

I hope we can think on this. What have they learnt about chess if they allowed/encouraged to cheat? Would they be able to bring those skills to the world stage without consequence?

Isn't this what they should be learning?  Here.

Growth and self development comes from trying all we can within the rules. We learn nothing from cheating or using the back doors. I think that was Michael's message in the post below. We grow and develop only by increasing our knowledge and skills and not by sabotage. Can you see that? Can you see the results of our past culture today? What type of players have we produced so far from this culture?