Sunday Chess @ Siglap South CC (28 Oct 2018)

It's another great session at Siglap South CC. Actually, due to the heavy rain, I fell sick the next day (Monday, 29 Oct). However, it could be a blessing in disguise as I took a day's leave to rest (did not have much sleep over the past week due to work). And only so will I have time to make my post now!

Anyway, I enjoyed myself a lot, especially with the other regular adult players, "Sunday Chess Uncle" Eric, Seng Chin, William and myself. It is fun to have friends discuss and talk about chess and stuff. We went overtime (7+ pm) again. I am currently the only "active" player amongst the 4 of us, although I am clearly not the strongest -- never under-estimate "retirees" or club players -- I have learned a lot playing with them, and I hope a couple of them seeking to play their debut tournament will feel ready soon!

It was also great to know that the capability of my DGT board continue to be utilised to the maximum in terms of hitting its recording capacity of 500 moves. It must have been my best chess purchase to date -- sets I bought for aesthetics are just tucked away collecting dust =)

Personal Games

Learning Points

• Got to be careful with the opening phase, esp. when playing Queen's Gambit and not liking the IQP position.
• 11.Ne5 was a bit out of style, but at least it is not losing. I should be even more experimental in my casual training games.
• Have to be careful of opponent's ideas and pawn breaks. I still prefer to deny ...e5 at move 18.Re1 when possible.

Learning Points

• It may be more important to get into a position you are familiar or enjoy, than to play something that is "objectively good" but you don't know how to handle. The way I play the opening is extremely unambitious.

Learning Points

• Experimentation can be rewarding for learning (although in a tournament / official game, it will depend on the mood of the day). I'm glad I tried out this setup I've not used for a while (because 1.Nf3 does have the drawback of taking away movement of the f-pawn). 
• Also, I am a rather lazy player not caring for the most precise finish-off / aesthetics. There is actually a more elegant way to win several times in this game.

White to Move and Win in Precise Fashion

Games Captured by DGT Board

This will continue to serve as some value-add to the fellow players @ Siglap South CC. You should be able to identify your own games!

Thanks again for your time!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing

a.k.a. newbie_learner

Some Chess Experiences Acquired over the Past Week (21-26 Oct)

I had no choice but to hold back this post due to work commitments (have been sleeping only 3-5 hours daily in the past busy week). I have combine the experiences I had at Siglap South CC (Sundays, 3pm) on 21 Oct and Thomson CC (Fridays, 7:30pm) on 26 Oct. Other than being lazy (it takes less time to write 1 post as compared to 2), another reason arises from my critical nature of my post, as you will see.

Games reviewed by myself first, checked with engine / database

This, to me, is still the ideal way to try and review one's own games. Look back at the game and explain all the thoughts, why I chose to play this move instead of another move, and then see how off I had been when checked against the engines, and try to identify the reason for making a right/wrong decision.

Game 1

Thoughts and Learning Points

• My handling against White's 7.c5 was bad. I must attack this attempted lockdown by attacking the front of the chain (when there's no clear way to attack the base of the chain).

Game 2

Thoughts and Learning Points

• My play was bad in that I did no realise I should do the simple and good 9...Bxa3 10.bxa3 and just enjoy a position with nothing to worry about as Black while White suffers from all the weaknesses. 

However, I have everything to criticise about my opponent's etiquette. Surely, he is not "new in chess" to point out all the "newbie" mistakes I made. So 1...c6 is a mistake if not a blunder in his eyes =) No, not about that, everyone was young once, and I personally criticised the French Defense in my youth days a lot before I liked it and played it myself in my adult days. 

It's his overall mannerisms (showing off the "big" threat he is plotting), treating his opponent, that's me, like a "newbie" that pisses me off. And then when he realise his is dead lost in the final position, just snap a "resign" and walk off. 

Yes, kids will be kids. But this really pales in comparison to Kiddo #1 (I love it when chess parents are around to teach their kids the right things -- Frankly, this is why I enjoy sharing more post-game tips with Kiddo #1after the game.) With Kiddo 2 snapping off, I'm not even given a chance to tell him what his main problems were (mainly, a huge attitude problem). And I personally have a growing concern because this is not the only kid misbehaving. 

No wonder there are a number of adult players I know, who did not want to play in any local open / challengers tournaments. Why would any adult player, who is serious enough about chess to take leave from work, want to put themselves in such a torturous situation? There are many well-behaved, mature kids of course. Unfortunately, the misbehaving ones really ruin it for everyone.

To conclude my criticisms towards misbehaving chess kids, I think I cannot assume they will just improve in age and tell them off tactfully. Hopefully their parents buy the importance of proper behaviour too, and not just care about their playing strength.

Meanwhile, for adults who prefer to avoid playing with kids, consider playing the unrated QCD Adults Team Chess League instead! So far, we had 2 seasons of the league in years 2017 and 2018. The format is roughly as follows:

• Each team may have up to 8 players. Each team shall send 4 players to play each round;
• The round takes place on Friday evenings, 7:30pm sharp;
• Teams may have different lineups for each round. The lineups that are submitted an hour before each round shall be final for that round. Players may be arranged in any order (i.e. there is NO NEED for Board #1 to be the strongest / highest rated and for Board #4 to be the lowest rated)
• Format of play is 30+30 (30 minutes of initial time plus 30 seconds increment with each move).
• Standard laws of chess apply, but our house rules remove the need for players to record moves. However, claims like "3-fold repetition", or draws after 50 moves with no captures, no pawn advancement cannot be made if moves are not recorded. Players may start recording moves anytime in the midst of the game for this claiming purpose
• Games are unrated (Players need NOT have a FIDE ID to join the league).

Adults interested should consider checking out the details of the rules and format applied in 2018, and start sourcing your own team mates as early as possible! This year, there were a couple of players who "registered" their interest with me too late, and there were no teams keen to accept them in the midst of the tournament. 

Games reviewed with the "lazy, one-click checks" by Engines

It was the first time I tried out this feature of Chessbase 14, and I gotta say I love it. Of course, it is not ideal to do (Doing one's own analysis followed by checking where I got it wrong is still ideal.), but it is very useful when one does not have the luxury of time. Chessbase 14 is not free, but it has so many useful features I don't even know where to start. I'm glad I got introduced to it. For those familiar with using the freely available resources (chess.com, lichess), you should be able to see the difference.

For these 3 games I played, I shall not point out additional learning points, since I only slept 3 hours when these games were played. While it was an unpleasant experience to be sleep deprived, I'd say its good stamina training for the upcoming SG Amateurs 2018 event =) Honestly, the schedule looks really demanding, if not "insane".

I only hope eating is allowed during the games -- It's not meant to distract the opponent, but I can't imagine being tired and hungry throughout 5 days of chess!

Game 1


Game 2


Game 3

Games Captured on DGT @ Siglap South CC (21 Oct 2018)

Last but not least, as a service to Siglap South CC players, here are the list of games captured by my DGT Board. The players themselves should be able to identify their own games and review it on their own using their own preferred means. Just want to say that thanks to everyone's co-operation by putting the Kings in the middle of the Board to indicate the results of the game, more games were captured this time round (in past weeks when the results were not inputted, the recording of moves continue. The DGT Board can only record up to 500 moves (newest games override earliest games), so some games played earlier were lost.

As always, I'm super happy that the set is being utilised a lot. Even when it comes to the day when the Board / pieces becomes unusable, I'd just buy the replacement component(s), or just keep the pieces as a weighted set. Maximise value! I'm still very happy with my purchase, and I'm looking forward to my next big purchase already (have to weight for their free shipping discount).


Game 1

Game 2



Game 3



Game 4



Game 5



Game 6



Game 7



That's all for now. Thank you again for your time.


Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing
a.k.a. newbie_learner
(maybe I should add "etiquette police" as part of my alias too)

Quick Review of Sunday Chess Session @ Siglap South CC (14 Oct 2018)

I need to finish up this quickly as I have  a totally mad work schedule this week. It helps that the games I played were captured on the DGT Board correctly, so I have no choice but to jump straight to the engines for the 1 game look in more depth.

Quick Thoughts / Comments:

• Specifically for my condition today (suffering from some lack of sleep), I liked the "relaxed" mode I played out the opening phase of the game at large. But throughout the game, I felt like Black has no real winning chances -- these are important points to consider, in preparation for tournament play
• If I'm very tired, playing a less taxing line would be good. 
• Do I have/need something (else) available in a must-win situation?
• Endgames, endgames! According to the engines (which is super-precise where endgame is concerned), I really misplayed quite badly. It wasn't easy for sure -- I need to count to make sure that the opponent runs out of move, or that I win a clear King opposition etc. More importantly, I need to try and improve my endgame play for sure.

Other games captured on the DGT Board

To wrap up, I'd like to feature another game played between 2 of the regulars, "Sunday Chess Uncle", Eric with William. Both of them lack tournament experience, but do not lack the passion for the game. Personally, I quite like William's feel of the moves for certain phases of the endgame -- much better than myself. I've already given my comments directly at the chess site, so if any reader is open to help, please share your comments / feedback for them to learn.

The final chess game played at today's session. Again, we went overtime (usual hours 3pm-6pm). My own game ended at 7pm, and this one lasted till 8pm ^o^. This game was not played over the DGT Board, but like myself, Eric also has the habit of recording the game moves, so there you have it. We need to convince him to get a computer and subscribe to internet services to enjoy all the freebies in chess today!

p.s. Special thanks to Weng Chew for providing recording sheets to all his opponents, including Eric and myself ^o^

Thank you!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing (newbie_learner)

An Awesome Conclusion to 2nd Season of the QCD Adults Team Chess League 2018

12 Oct 2018 marks the conclusion to another successful season of the QCD Adults Team Chess League 2018. As per the previous run of the tournament, the organisers, QCD Group, organised a dinner cum prize presentation to end it off on a wonderful note. The location, style by style café, was another excellent choice in terms of food quality and ambience.

Once again, I am so grateful for the organisers generosity, and I shall continue to think of ways to reciprocate their support. The usual stuff would be to spread this league to as many chess players as possible -- this time round, there were indeed a number of individuals who declared their interest in the midst of the league running, and unfortunately, there were no teams able or willing to take them in. So for anyone interest in playing in the next season, please start searching actively for your team mates early!

As usual, I have a lot of things to say, but first, lets allow the pictures to speak thousands of words at once! I'm sorry that I don't happen to know everyone's names yet. I'm sure I will come to learn who you are over the next seasonS to come!

8th Place: Team Pokemonsters Resurgence (my apologies for missing the photo, as these Pokémon

are just too hard for me to catch!)

7th Place: Team Kent Ridge Knights, as represented by Team Captain, David (centre of picture). On the left is Mark Liew, a.k.a. dr_chess_dad, the organiser and on the right is Mr Lim Boon Seng Christopher, the chief arbiter for the tournament and current President of the Singapore Chess Federation.

6th Place: Team GACC Dream Team, as represented by Team Captain (and my personal chess friend!), Kwok Foong ^o^

5th Place: Team Woof! Woof! Woof!, as represented by Hazel, Board #1 for Singapore's Women's Team in the recently concluded 43rd Chess Olympiad held in Batumi, Georgia.

3rd runner up: Team Woof! as represented by IM Lim Yee-Weng, 2-time Malaysian Chess Championship winner

2nd runner up: Team Bulldogs/Psalms 23, as represented by Team Captain, well-known local chess figure, Xavier Chua

1st runner up: Team Woof! Woof!, as represented by Team Captain, GM Elect, IM Kevin Goh, also the 7-time national champion and current #1 player in Singapore.

Champion: Team Pawnstars (don't get the spelling wrong!), as represented by Team Captain, Dr Nithia

Dr Nithia lifting the trophy.

More well-deserved "air-time" for the winning team.

A close-up shot at the trophy

MVP of the season: Lincoln Yap

Separately, I will come to the "Special Mentioned" Player. But first, let's continue with the prize giving ceremony!

Kevin Goh sharing with us insights of his game played with the MVP of the season. I believe the annotated pgn is meant only for sharing within the league of players? So for players not in the league and want to learn about this insight, you are out of luck. Sorry! ^o^

And no, my DGT board is not one of the prizes, LOL. And yes, I am happy to share this FAQ: so many players asked me how much this set cost. The DGT smart board set, i.e. plastic chess pieces and plastic board made to look and feel like a wooden board, costs around SGD$500 -- but only because I bought it when free shipping was offered. Now it's probably going to cost around the neighbourhood of SGD $600 -- the shipping fees are crazy. And I also heard that a new economic type of electronic board will be coming out soon!

Post-event Activities: I'm glad the chess supplies I brought, 1 DGT chess set + 1 tournament chess set + 2 clocks came in handy.

Fun and laughter with transfer chess!

Here's some blitz in action! Can't help but remind me of Pub X Chess !

 The 2 regulars at the Sunday weekly PubXChess battle it out.

I like the "blur" effect which reflects the high speed and intensity in a blitz game. This was a lucky shot. If you like the aesthetics of this picture, wait till you see Andre, the real master at this. I am only trying the very basics based on his advice. It's unfortunate he was unable to attend this closing ceremony to take better quality pictures for the QCD league.

Saving the best for the (near) last: An interview with Shivram!

My chess friends, especially the Asia Square chess clique would know that I have been the most impressed and amazed by Shivram, who scored a perfect 7 out of 7 in this season's league! And he's an unrated player! As a matter of fact, I have been wanting to interview him quite some time ago. But out of respect for his team Captain, who requested me to not disclose his team's "secret weapon" prematurely, I have waited till now. I have prepared some questions, but some of his responses surprised me, leading to additional minor questions. The following interview is not captured in verbatim, but captures the gist and the mood of the session. I may update it from time to time in case I got any information wrong.

newbie_learner: First and foremost, thank you for granting this interview. As I have been saying, you are one of the most outstanding player I see in the 2nd season of the league, winning all of your 7 personal games. Is there any general thing I can share about you?

Shivram: Thank you. I see chess as a passion, I want to keep playing, and keep playing well. And keep playing / playing well reinforces one another.


newbie_learner: How did you come to know about the QCD league? Could you share a little bit about how you come to join it? 

Shivram: Well, I have been playing at pubXchess for about a year, and both my captain and I are regulars. So we have been playing each other and coming to understand each others' game well. I guess he sees my play good enough for his team.

(Many of newbie_learner's chess friends may not know that newbie_learner actually approached Shivram to join the QCD league too, asking if he would like to play in the league on behalf of the new teams he helped setting up. But I approached Shivram too late ... )


newbie_learner: (Just want to remind you that in case my questions come across as being too sensitive, you do not need to answer them.) It must be notable that you are unrated at present. May I know why you are unrated despite your chess proficiency?

Shivram: I used to play seriously from around 1991 to 2000 (similar to our local school tournaments / settings). But the chess scene in India was not that big back then. Getting a rating was a big deal in that there were not that many rated tournaments ongoing. And then, I stopped playing for more than a decade before coming to Singapore and started to play chess @ pubXchess again.


newbie_learner: (The following question was unplanned, but came out of my mouth anyway.) Given your proficiency in chess, would you consider playing in rated tournaments? Here, I explained that there are some adult players with ambitions in chess (e.g. to become titled), who spends a lot of time and effort preparing for their maiden tournament, so that then can hopefully achieve a high initial rating and exploit the k=40 factor to obtain a good rating to become at least a CM (requires rating of 2200).

Shivram: I won't rule out the possibility that I may play in a rated tournament one day, but I play chess more for the fun and enjoyment of it (rather than worry about "ratings"). Also, the practical consideration with (local) rated tournaments is that one is obliged to take leave for it.


newbie_learner: This is purely a hypothetical question / suggestion, but if there is something similar to the HPE training league, but it opens to unrated players like yourself, would you be interested? (Here I spent a bit of time explaining how HPE training league works -- notwithstanding that HPE training league is only open to rated adult players at present.)

Shivram: I am open to this if the tournament takes place over the weekends and not the weakdays.


newbie_learner: I also understand that you are a father (which means family commitment on top of work). Is there something you can share on how you spend your time improving or keeping up with your chess proficiency?

Shivram: I have found myself books for different aspects of chess:
openings -- I don't spend a lot of time on this, but mainly follow "fundamental chess openings" ;
middle games -- "the complete manual of positional chess" by GM Sakaev ;
tactics -- "forcing chess moves: the key to better calculation" by Charles Hertan ;
endgames -- "fundamental chess endings" and endgame book(s) by IM Jeremy Silman (1 of my personal favourite chess author too!)

(newbie_learner: Clearly, all the good players / players who are efficient spend more effort/time/resource on endgames. When will I overcome my personal bias that endgames are "boring"? ^o^)


newbie_learner: Okay, this question has not been cleared with your captain, but I would still ask anyway. In fact, I think this is what he and other team captains may be interested to know. Do you foresee yourself playing in the next season of the league? More importantly, would you be open to invitations to play for other teams? As you know, strong unrated players are highly sought after in the current format of the league. *Was looking at the Blitz table when asking this question and laughing with Shivram*

(To explain, the league has a rule stating that the average rating points of 4 players fielded in each round cannot exceed 2200, and players with no FIDE rating are assigned a provisional rating of 1800 for this purpose. Hence, having strong unrated players in your team allows greater freedom for the selection of players -- the unrated players help to pull down the team's average rating, so that much higher rated players can be field. This is more of a concern for top teams with many highly rated players to field.)

Shivram: I would be playing in the league next season of course. As to the team I would be playing for, my preference is to stay with him (his team), unless somehow our relationship takes the unforeseeable turn for the worse. *laughs*

(newbie_learner: Man. Just because you approached Shivram first... ^o^)


newbie_learner: Out of your perfect 7 victories, is there anyone which is the most memorable or important to you?

Shivram: That would be my game with Jack. I played the move / variation of ...Qb6 in the Benoni that was new or experimental to myself. 

(newbie_learner: It is interesting in that Jack is also an unrated player himself. I thought Shivram would just name 1 of the higher/highest rated opponent he defeated as most memorable, but I was wrong. Clearly, rating points of the opponent don't mean anything to him. Which is kind of cool!)


Shivram: (Sharing an observation) Interestingly, it seems that the lower-rated players can play well and produce some upsets (as seen in the league).

newbie_learner: (Shares some of his personal experience). Yes, I think it has to do with the burden of expectations. Sometimes, the higher rated player would bear the burden of expectation to win (and win easily if the rating differences are big). This can mess up one's objective assessment of the position and cause more problem than help.


newbie_learner: Last but not least, would you like to do any shout-out? 

Shivram: I find that the local chess scene is quite vibrant. I have played a few young, promising players, and I look forward to them becoming GMs in future.

(newbie_learner: Truth be told, the local chess scene also wasn't that vibrant to my memory. We are lucky to have Mr Bradley Loh from Australia who started the Singapore Chess Meetup because he found no existing conducive place to play chess! Followed by the meetup's growth in popularity over the years.)


The interview concludes. In gaming terms, I have completed one of my outstanding main quest  with this interview. Unfortunately, there was a side quest which I forgot to do, LOL.


Feedback on criticisms heard regarding the league
While it may not be the wisest thing to "complain" on a happy occasion, I'd also like to share my thoughts towards some of the criticisms / feedback received. Interestingly, both are related to students from local tertiary institutions, through direct / indirect feedback:

• "$200 participation fees is too expensive."
  newbie_learner's view: While I can understand that students may not have steady income like most working adults, the $200 participation fee is for the team and not for the individual. Think about what you are getting in return (playing 8-10 rounds under closed, conducive environment, with supply of drinks included and we also have a concluding prize presentation ceremony and dinner session).
  
  Looking back at the whole season, if I see the student again, I would probably ask him to identify me a local chess tournament that is more "value-for money". 

• "I don't want to play in this league. There are too many titled players."
  newbie_learner's view: This is really a bad mentality. Do you know that there are so many players who want but don't get a chance to play against strong, titled opponents? I mean, if it was rated, I may understand (although in practice, the higher rated player would have more rating points on the line). In fact, you often have to pay higher rated players to play training games with you. So why not play in the tournament league and get "free" training along the way? You can even link this point back to the earlier feedback point that the participation fees is more expensive, and see the value-for-money aspect in playing in the league. 

Some final concluding thoughts

I love the QCD Adults Chess League very very much. I will probably continue to play for as long as it is available. And I hope it will continue to be available for good. Hence, I see a need to do what I can to help keep it going.

I have not figured out on how we can actually move towards reducing budget deficit to run the league, but for now, I would continue to focus my ongoing efforts to gather more players / teams. And where else but the Singapore Chess Meetup and PubXchess? I really hope this "holy trinity" of local chess scene would keep going.

Thank you again for your time and patience!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing (a.k.a. newbie_learner)

Another Interesting Game and Experience @ Singapore Chess Meetup (10 Oct 2018)

Had an interesting game with Lightman Deng who made his debut at the Singapore Chess Meetup. I only wish he can have many good experience with not just the best chess site, but also enjoy playing at as many various sites during his times in Singapore. For this, perhaps he can consider the "Where to Play Chess in Singapore" post I did some time ago =) 

Now, putting on my usual "learning / reviewing" lenses on the game I lost, below is our game replay:



Learning Points (from my point of view):

1. Sometimes, trying to complete the opening development at the fastest pace may not always be good. It may be good to control certain squares first before completing development (provided the opponent cannot shut down your options). Here I am referring to the possibility to consider 12...e6 before 12...b5. (Though interestingly, the engine's evaluation favour what I played over what I preferred).

2. I have been quite bad in terms of making a Knight move "forcing" the opponent to play the good move of Bishop takes Knight with inadequate support, resulting in pawn weaknesses. It has been recurring in the recent games I lost. I am specifically referring to 14...Nc4 15.Bxc4

3. My tactical sense failed me in this game. Playing 23...Qxd5 instead of 23...Nxd5 was really bad on my part. No excuse!

4. Last but not least, endgames! It is surprising there's so much resources whereby Black could've saved the game, but all were missed out. Need to up endgame knowledge, and avoid playing the last few moves so casually. Which is a good practical skill to pick up -- more often than not, we become very tired and short of time in the endgames.

The playing aspect of chess aside, I am glad to have gotten the autograph from Mr John Wong, the captain of the Women's Team for Singapore at the recently concluded Chess Olympiad held in Batumi, Georgia. The souvenir also was a gift from him to me, and it is my personal wish to get as many captains and players who participated in this tournament to autograph the book ^o^

Thank you for the autograph, John! Though I do not intend to "impurify" the souvenir with my own game recordings. For now, I wish to only capture the autographs of all team captains and players in the Batumi chess Olympiad.

That's it for today. Thanks again for your time and interest!


Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing
(a.k.a. newbie_learner)

Another Great Chess Session @ Siglap South CC (7th Oct 2018)

I'm so happy to see Mr John Wong back again (thanks for the souvenir!), having just returned with the Singapore Teams from the Chess Olympiad 2018 held in Batumi, Georgia.

I don't think I'd be using it on my own. I'd just keep it somewhere, and whenever I meet any participant in person, bring it to them for their autograph ^o^ 

I only played 2 rapid chess games today. Can't say I love the quality of my games (both White), but on the bright side, I did not make any major piece drop blunder.

First Game

Thoughts / Learning Points

• It really helps to know the theme of the opening. I almost didn't spend any time to punish 9...Nbd7 because it occurred as a common mistake when Black moves the dark square Bishop to d6 to fight White's Bishop on f4. We can learn "tactics" and "strategy" when studying openings correctly too!

Second Game

Thoughts / Learning Points:

• I started slipping at around move 16, whereby the entire fight revolve around control for c6 (and d5). The subtle but important contest was happening over the a1-h8 diagonal too, whether White's b2 Bishop will hang.
• On the bright side, this is probably the type of position I'm happy to play with. Despite my slips, the position remains bearable (even if punished accurately by my opponent).
• Last but not least, despite lacking the actual concrete endgame skills, I'm glad my endgame play was decent enough.
• Overall, I'm happy with my White play in both games. At last, I do not feel worse out of the openings. 

Featured Game: Eric v.s. William

It's probably a bit boring to just keep looking at my own games. Here are 2 of my chess friends having a go at each other =) Since I have already provided my views live (after the game is over, of course), I will not repeat myself here. Should any reader have feedback or pointers to share, please feel free.

I will share my overall impressions on the game, however. I think it is correct to say that Eric is good at attacking, but lacking in terms of sense of danger. Ideally, we would want prefer to make moves which allows us to attack without over-compromising our own position. While William seems to have made a mistake in his opening phase, dropping a pawn, I really like his practical decision making afterwards (avoid unnecessary exchanges when down, defence and excellent pawn push and break in the endgame). I like this type of down-to-earth approach to the game -- there's no need to win a game by "big moves" all the time.

Bird's eye view (not Bird's opening, lol!) between Eric (White, left) and William (Black, Right)

I climbed up the chair to take this shaky shot ^o^

Eric, a.k.a. "Sunday Chess Uncle" working hard over the Board. A pity he dropped the game from a promising situation, but we will only get better with more practical experiences.

William played a great game, overcoming a pawn deficit out of the opening and won the endgame in convincing fashion. Even I may not have converted as smoothly. In case you are wondering why the room is so empty, we went overtime again (this untimed game started after our official closing hour of 6pm, ended past 7pm as I recall.)

Other Games Captured by the DGT Board

(I'm so glad that my investment is being utilised a lot -- good that it did not become a White elephant.)


Thanks again for your time!


Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing (newbie_learner)
a.k.a. scorekeeper

Sunday Chess Session @ Siglap South CC (30 Sept 2018)

On this day, I played 3 rapid games and a tonne of blitz games (the number of blitz games I played with this NSF is probably equivalent to the number one plays in a blitz tourney, lol). I lost more than I won, but thanks to his experimentation with all sorts of openings (while I stick to my usual openings), I felt I learned quite a bit  

A small pity I didn't play my blitz games on my DGT Board for records/review purpose. But for the greater good, I'm glad my DGT Board found its use at not just this day, but also the previous day during our Singapore Chess Meetup BBQ session. 

My 3 Rapid Games Played

Game 1

Learning Points / Tips:

• Do not create problems for oneself unnecessarily. The purpose of 6...c5 was to challenge White's centre. Instead of the funny 7...Ba5 that didn't make any sense to me, just do something like 7...cxd4 already. After 7...Ba5, Black is just asking for trouble. Totally unforced, unprovoked error.
• Small things matter. My decision to create some obvious weaknesses at the cost of the Bishop pair is deemed very favourable to White (13.Nxc8 Qxc8 14.Bxf6 gxf6), but I need to follow up even more strongly with 15.Nd4, instead of the "ordinary" 15.Qb3 just bringing my Queen out of the d-file in fear of ...Rd8.
• Practical decision-making -- Despite the odds, Black should not have exchanged Rooks so 'cheaply'. If Black decided to play on, just try to play ...Kh7 and ...Rg8. Going for the easy exchange of Rooks felt like Black was just going through the motion before resigning. Of course, can't blame Black, since he has no tournament experience.

Game 2

Learning Points / Tips:

• Do not play openings you've never played in a competitive setting (results-oriented). There's no harm to do this in casual / training games, however (learning-oriented). 
• Even when in bad shape or on the complete defensive, do not overlook chances to counterattack. Missed opportunities at 23...Rc7 (23...cxd4 24.Bxd4 Qe6) as well as 24...dxe5 (24...cxd4 25.exf6 Qxe2 26.Rxe2 dxc3).
• Last but not least, stop playing like a p_ _ _ _. 

Photo by Sereja Ris on Unsplash

Game 3

Learning Points / Tips:

• The opening phase was handled well. The key inaccuracy started at 16...Qc4, which offered to simplify a better position too much should White traded Queens. Something like 16...Bc5 would have continued to build pressure (essentially, Black is trading off a defender for the attacked White pawn on e5.

Games Played by Others (Captured by the DGT Board)

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing (Eugene)
a.k.a. newbie_learner, scorekeeper