Hence, I turned to the "satellite" chess sites around Singapore. And after a week of hard work in sickness and fatigue, there is simply no better place than Thomson CC Chess Club , which is just 1 train station away from my office.
So many good things happened in this evening's chess. First, there were a number of chess friends I've not seen for a while. Special mention to my team mate in the QCD Adult's Team Chess League, LPK, who had a fine performance in the just concluded open tournament in Pattaya, Thailand.
Second, which must be the highlight of the evening, is the debut appearance of Zm Yee, a fellow attendee to the Singapore Chess Meetup. (Is there any wonder why I always say it is the best chess site in Singapore? Yet I got "banned"...) Had some great conversation, and was pleasantly surprised to know that she has also checked out Nanyang CC Chess Club before moving house, thanks to my post titled "Updated: Where to Play Chess in Singapore 2018". She mentioned that the young girls there were very strong, were in something called the "(HPE) training league". Yes, uncle Eugene knows exactly who you girls are, and is already looking forward to meet you all over the board again soon ^o^
An even better news is to her that her work situation has improved, and Thomson CC is very accessible for her. That means she can probably play more chess if she so prefers ^o^
Such a happy occasion must be eternalised with a selfie, of course. While a side point, one of the (informal) goals has been to encourage female participation in chess. I hope I didn't over-nag or scare her by sharing the possibility of playing in the QCD Adults Team Chess League next year!
3 smileys consisting of newbie_learner (Left), Mr John Wong (Middle) and Zm Yee (Right).
Thanks again for giving Thomson CC Chess Club and yourself a chance, Zm Yee =)
The following were the 2 rapid games we played. We were fortunate enough to receive some tips and advice from Mr John Wong. Both of us were also gifted a chess book each for our self learning / study. I hope she becomes a regular and once she gets familiar enough with the rest, play with other club members for a more enriching experience and fun!
This time round, I'm reverting back to my old approach of stating my own analysis coupled by the engines within the same game, so that I can make use of chess.com's interface without a need for the new game to be shown in a new tab/window. The games were played under rapid time control (25 minutes per side with no increment).
Game 1
Thoughts / Learning Points:
- I never calculate enough in certain lines for decision making purpose
- Initiate pawn engagement!
Game 2
Thoughts / Learning Points:
- I need to grow some _ _ _ _ s to take the pawn centre duo with ...e5!
- Again, never calculate enough. The difference between the engine line beginning with 8...d4 (effort) instead of 8...Bd6 that was played (lazy) shows.
- When a move is obviously bad / close to losing, find another! Even though I was playing the Black pieces, I did not expect the resource of 10.Nd2! to save a piece for White. Indeed, if we come to terms that the White Knight on b5 cannot be saved, we should look elsewhere instead. Interestingly, there are only that many moves to block 9...Qa5 check, yet I did not even consider 10.Nd2... =)
- It is actually quite fun listening to and going through basic concepts -- I actually feel this reinforced my own understanding as I thought through how I understood these concepts and how I would have attempted an illustration / explanation on my own. Many thanks again to John and Zm Yee for the great chess session yesterday night!
Thanks again for your time!
Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing (Eugene)
a.k.a. newbie_learner
Siglap South CC Chess Quartet
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