As you can see, all 4 of our opponents were rated more than 400(!) points above us. My opponent was almost more than 800 points above, and for my team mate Arun, the difference was almost 1,000 points ^o^
But I thought that our team mentality was set right for the match. The following was the message I shared with my team mates before the round, as words of encouragement to everyone incl. myself:
*start of message*
Below are some of my thoughts for your consideration:
1. Even though we are the severe underdog on paper, remember that games are lost because of mistakes. If we can minimise or even avoid (unforced) errors, that would be great. If we do not make any mistake, it does not matter even if we are playing against the world champion 😁
2. I think attitude and mentality wise, it would serve us better to enter the matches with a "nothing to lose" mentality. The onus / burden of expectation is on the opposing team to beat us, but remember point #1 - if we do not make a mistake, there's nothing they can do to us.
3. Remain objective. While the chances are slim and depends on how other teams fare, there is still a possibility for us to strive for the 8th spot in the league and win a prize even if we lose the match - we should maximise our game points. So a score of 2.5-1.5 as compared to 4-0 makes a difference at this stage.
4. Last but not least, it is okay to feel a bit nervous, excited, feeling some pressure and the likes. But do remember the most fundamental: we play chess because we enjoy the game. Also, because our opponents will be tough, it will be an excellent learning experience (some people actually pay to play against stronger players). So we should see it as a bonus to get such a pairing.
With all that said, here's wishing our team the best for the games later!
Should you have other views and thoughts, please feel free to share too!
Thank you 😁
*end of message*
Our post-round team photo. Even though we lost 0-4, we were still smiling
From left to right: Mark, Ethan, newbie_learner and Arun
It was unfortunate that I played a miniature game (i.e. a game that ended very fast). On the bright side, I "bugged" my opponent to review the game with me afterwards, so it was not all for naught ^o^ Many thanks again to my opponent, Keng Boon, for generously running through the game with me afterwards. Greatly appreciated!
Learning Points:
- I think I really committed a newbie mistake of over-thinking in this game =( To have only 1-2 minutes left after 13 moves is ridiculous in a standard game. If I don't like this type of isolated Queen pawn (IQP) position, better don't play into it.
- Still too rigid in my thinking -- just because pushing c5 with a vulnerable / weak looking pawn on d4 is usually a bad idea doesn't mean it must be bad all the time -- in this case, this was White's best shot after making the decent call of trading off Black's dark square fianchetto Bishop.
- White probably "over-waited" with the move 5.Be2. There was more flexibility had White went for 5.d4 immediately. 4.e3 waiting was fine, but White's position soured by over-waiting, Black had adequate time to do 4...e6 which prevented certain versions of early d5 push.
Oh well, need to work harder to improve. On the bright side, there's always such additional motivation (or push factor, depending on how you see it) after a loss ^o^
Initially, I had wanted to feature a player in this post, whom I thought was playing really well in the league so far. However, I shall respect the team captain's request to postpone this intended "disclosure", as the player I wanted to feature is the team's secret weapon. Hence, I will try to do the feature post, possibly with an interview if the player subsequently agrees, upon the completion of this season.
As compensation to fellow readers (and myself? lol), below is a pictorial report of the event. These are not the usual crappy shots taken by myself, but good quality pictures taken by non other than Andre, playing in the team Chess Mates and a regular / organiser for the Singapore Chess Meetup.
I really can't help but love Andre's artistic shots!
An intense match between team Pawnstars (please don't get the name wrong!) and team Wolverines.
An interesting game between Jonathan Koh (team Pawnstars, left, Black pieces) and Richard Lean (team Wolverines, right, White pieces). It was the 2nd last game to conclude for the night.
A decisive game between Jack (team Woof! Woof! Woof!, left, White pieces) and Shirram (team Kent Ridge Knights, right, Black pieces) With Shirram's win, the over team score was tied at 2-2. The 2 persons standing and watching the game intensely were myself (left) and David (right, Captain of team Kent Ridge Knights)
Last but not least, a special shout out to thank the "Sunday Chess Uncle", Mr Eric Lim, for coming to observe the tournament. As a fellow regular at Siglap South CC Chess Club, he was supporting my team and I, of course. He was also singing praises of his opponent who played a friendly game with him. If I wasn't mistaken, Eric was playing with Damia Benet Morant of team Thomsformers, who was standing in the perfect "arbiter's position" in the last picture above.
This concludes my report for round 8 of the QCD Adults Team Chess League. Thanks again for your time reading it!
Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing
(a.k.a. newbie_learner)
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