newbie_learner's Chess Adventures @ SG Amateurs 2018

What can I say? What a great time I had! To be honest, I was quite discouraged in the first half (first 5 games) of the tournament. I agreed to a draw in 2 games with a better position at the point of the draw offer from my opponents ^o^ It's all my own fault misjudging the situation, although my 2 young opponents deservedly split the points with me. Perhaps inspired by my friends in the Singapore Chess Meetup, I felt very good playing the last 4 games in the "2nd half" of the tournament. Special shout-out to Cyrille and Ronald -- I think I was inspired by their words to play the remaining 4 games so well!

There are many people I wish to thank to make my adventure so enjoyable. In no particular order: David for helping me go through my games, especially my first loss (the review paid off as the opening was repeated by another opponent in the next round). Yogesh, my training partner, who gave me some tips and experience on the King's Indian Defence (something I'm particularly weak against, and interesting encountered a bit this tournament). My team mate, dr_chess_dad, for giving me some crash course on how to play against Kingside fianchetto formations in general. Also grateful to other Singapore Chess Meetup chess friends including but not limited to Seng Chin and Roy for their support and well wishes throughout the tournament.

It was also great to see a couple of chess friends in the tournament with myself. Carleton, the founder of pubXchess initiative (check it out if you are keen to for weekly Sunday blitz games!). "Sunday Chess Uncle", Eric, playing his maiden chess tournament. Weng Chew, founder of Cashew Chess Club. Paul, a fellow chess player who plays in the West (Cashew Chess Club and Queenstown CC Chess Club), Parveen, another chess enthusiast whom I got to know through the Singapore Chess Meetup facebook page and many others.

Friendship! newbie_learner with Deng Liang  -- I hope he gets to enjoy playing as much chess in Singapore possible during his stay here!

Winners of various categories as follows:
 

Our very own Ashton Chia, regular at Singapore Chess Meetup, deserves a special additional individual photo shot. I'm so sorry for my poor photography skills!

A special additional individual shot for Mr Warren Lim, a regular at Thomson CC Chess Club. A lot of us were amazed by his spectacular results.

11th to 20th place

1st to 10th place -- with both familiar and new faces!

My shots taken before each round -- I didn't dare to take the picture of my opponents in case they didn't like it. The last thing I would want to do, is to cause any form of unintended distraction.

My 9-round adventures can be replayed from this external link:

http://view.chessbase.com/cbreader/2018/12/17/Game329749015.html

This time round, I decided to be open about everything - Who I played against, the game moves, rather than keeping anything a secret. These days, are there truly any secrets? Maybe I can be a case-study of sorts, in which I reveal everything -- my self perceived strengths and weaknesses. In case any of my opponents read this and is upset by anything I wrote here, please feel free to contact me and I will amend the necessary. Also, feel free to share your views, which would make the game review more complete!

In Chronological Order:

Round 1

Summary: A great wake-up call. I was in a horrible position in the opening phase as I allowed Black to be faster in the opposite castling pawn storm. Luckily, I was able to identify the key attacking piece (which was the Fianchetto Bishop and not so much the other dangerous looking major pieces). Was lucky to win only because my young opponent misplayed the follow-up to the gambit.

Round 2

Summary: Got into a bad opening position right from the start again. (I learned my lesson!). My Bishop was placed badly (12...Bd6?!) allowing 13.e4 threatening e5 pawn fork, which gained a few tempo for White. I got too scared to play against White's pawn centre d4 e4, and grabbed it when my opponent offered a draw. Based on engine evaluation, the position is still equal, if not slightly better for Black. But during the game, I was really scared -- I thought if anything only White can win because White has potential to make pass pawns.

Round 3

Summary: I happen to play this (the Slav defence) on both sides, and I opted what I deem as the most "annoying" to most Black players -- the exchange Slav right from the 3rd move 3.cxd5 =) Usually, I would play 2.Nf3 first, so as to prevent sidelines such as the Albin Countergambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5). And surprisingly, I can't say for sure why I didn't stick to my norm.

Sorry for the slight digression. The way I see it, exchange Slav is essentially a "free press" for White. Black needs to defend correctly to hold the equality of the position. After slowly outplaying my young opponent to reach a winning position, I botched it with a careless attacking move which would give perpetual check if took the hanging Rook carelessly. I declined the perpetual check with a sub-par response, and slipped to an equal position (no longer winning). However, my young opponent was too eager to draw, I think, as he kept offering to exchange pieces when the position does not call for it -- most exchanges are not as innocent as it seems -- some tend to favour 1 side over the other. In the end, I won the "drawn" game from my opponent's blunder.

Round 4

Summary: Nothing much else to say; the better player won =) Was really grateful for my opponent's insights after the game. My mistake in the opening phase of the game was too critical and it led to the point of no return.

Round 5

 Summary: A Kingside fianchetto position that went really weird. Black was attacking on the Kingside before castling Kingside, while White was somehow unable to open up the Kingside (even though knowing it is thematic for White to open up the Kingside as White has castled Queenside. With the Kingside closed up, Black went on an attacking spree on the Queenside, sacrificing a pawn in a bid to further expose White's King. White seemed to have repelled the attack, but due to the lack of sense of security, counter-offered the pawn back to keep the Queenside closed.

In the end, Black, with 62 minutes remaining on her clock, offered me a draw. Me playing with the White pieces, had only 2 minutes remaining the clock, pondered over the position until there was a minute left on the clock before accepting the offer. Interestingly, the engine revealed that White could have won the game. More interestingly, if Black did not offer a draw, White would have made the first correct move. The big question is whether White can gain enough incremental time to work out the next critical winning move. 

Round 6

Another Caro-Kann line. My opponent played it almost the same way as my opponent in Round 4 did. After the earlier loss, I did some review (and thanks to David from Singapore Chess Meetup for his additional views too!), so I managed to improve on my previous game. With that kind of good luck, there's little wonder I managed to win in the end, when the opponent made a tactical blunder while being slightly pressurised.

Round 7

Summary: A nice defensive-game which turned into a big counter-attack when the opportunity arises. My opponent likes to attack and all his games in the tournament had decisive results (only 1 draw in the final round). I guess I was lucky to exploit this to take the full point =)

Round 8

 Summary: A blessed pairing for me as I have always wanted to play this stronger opponent who used to frequent Siglap South CC Chess Club. I'm lucky I got into the type of position I'm more familiar with and won.

Round 9

Summary: Arguably the most dramatic game for me, in that this game was decisive for the final placement of various players. Admittedly, White was outplayed, and had to struggle to hold the position. Unfortunately for White, despite playing into a drawn position, White forfeited on time. But I am very glad for my opponent to win the game and get a prize -- he revealed after the game that he has been unwell (which explained him skipping pairings for 1 round. So technically, he scored 7/8).

Some of the younger chess friends were lamenting that they hoped I held a draw so that their placement would have been better -- I'm sure they were just trying to be nice to console my painful loss. Such nice chess friends ^o^ Interestingly, I had received "intel" from my friends on what to expect my opponent to play. Notwithstanding this information before the game, I decided to go into it head on without trying to avoid it altogether. I was glad I played the game this way so that I could maximise my learning. Was also glad for my opponent sharing his insights after the game.

Some personal views overall: 

• Don't be too fixated on getting into a specific setup -- must go with the demands of the position instead. Same thing when choosing to attack/defend a position: Play what we need rather than sticking to attack or defend for the sake of it.
• If one truly overcomes the fear of losing, one plays better / in a more enjoyable fashion. For me, this is especially the case in the last 4 games.
• Overall, it was probably my personal best tournament! I don't think there were major tactical mistakes (although there are many inaccuracies).
• I actually feel the opening phase of my game is still the weakest. On the bright side, I am feeling more confident playing against the KID. I guess the Benoni type of position is still something I lack in understanding at the moment.
• Play to win / Play to learn / Play for fun -- it can focused on one or evenly distributed across all 3 of them. Do whatever you want! 

There were probably a couple of minor points I'd like to bring up regarding rules and etiquette. First, I think each and every one of my opponent was very pleasant -- thank you for being part of this enjoyable tournament! Repeating draw offers seems common amongst young kids, and it probably isn't that big of a sin as I used to think -- while it is against the rules to repeat draw offers as a means to irritate your opponent, I suppose adult players can be more understanding for kids who were just trying to save their game. If it happened too much to the point of causing undue distraction, one always has the option to inform the arbiter. But nothing of that sort / scale happened to me.

Second, I think everyone was being polite, informing the opponent that they are going to the washroom. But this is really not supposed to be -- because the act of informing the opponent during the opponent's thinking time could genuinely distract him/her. If one would like to visit the washroom, just do so during your opponent's move. I was distracted a couple of times, but I don't feel that any of the instances were deliberate attempts to distract me. And so I just let it go. The same goes with adjusting of pieces -- rightfully, one should only adjust pieces during his/her own turn. But again, it's a small matter to me. I'm not so easily distracted, and I think chess players should also train themselves to cope with minor distractions.

Good things come to an end fast. Am facing the music in office... ^o^

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing (newbie_learner)

Siglap South CC chess quartet

Fun Night at Thomson CC Chess 7 Dec 2018

This is not any of those "serious" topics, just sharing some pure fun chess experience had at Thomson CC Chess Club.

Another filled session at Thomson CC Chess Club tonight. Some of these players were probably warming up for the Cairnhill CC Chess Festival 2018 held tomorrow, 8 Dec - 9 Dec, while others prefer to have an early night as well. I'm not playing in the Cairnhill Chess Festival, so I do not have any concerns over over-exertion.

2 of my chess friends having fun with each other! Can you see the DGT set I brought? =) Glad it generated some interest amongst the (adult) players!

The shot has to be retaken because 1 of the boys was so shy, he shield himself with the water bottle.

There we go. Good things must be shared! The photo captures the positivity of your game in chess. But I do apologise for the slight distraction I caused. Please forgive me, Chess Goddess Caissa!

Chess is a stressful yet fun game!

The following are 3 rapid games I played with a kiddo. Can feel his improvement compared to the previous time we played (has been a while since).

Game 1
Learning Points

• My opening play is nothing to be proud of. Too many minor inaccuracies here, there, everywhere.
• Tactical errors are more critical -- My young opponent had all the opening edge. Unfortunately one slip ended the game on the spot.
• TIME MANAGEMENT -- POOR PLAY CREEPS IN WHEN YOU ARE LOW ON TIME.

Game 2
Learning Points

• I felt my opening play was decent, and I even liked the pawn structure / middle game position I was presented with. 
• Unfortunately, I got led astray, got into time trouble and had to content with a repetition in the end.
• TIME MANAGEMENT -- POOR PLAY CREEPS IN WHEN YOU ARE LOW ON TIME.

Game 3
Learning Points

• To be honest, I made quite a number of impractical decisions all across the game. Right from my opening choice, transposing it back into the French Defence was probably a bad decision as my young opponent had pointed out. Also, in the opening phase, I got into trouble playing too optimistically. I should have accepted equality if I couldn't press, rather than trying to accept a slightly worse position just to play on.
• TIME MANAGEMENT -- POOR PLAY CREEPS IN WHEN YOU ARE LOW ON TIME. I don't think I'd make blunders / inaccuracy as bad as 19.Nb3 Ba6 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Qd1?? Qxd1 22.Bxd1 losing to 22...Na4 under normal circumstances. Okay maybe I need to get myself back in better form ^o^

It wasn't all that bad. I scored 3-3 against a stronger and higher rated opponent in a mini blitz series (I took 1 White and 5 Blacks). It's a good opening test as well as general tactical sensing and time management in one! Also, was pleasantly surprised to be congratulated by spectators who hoped my win will put my opponent's arrogance in check. I guess maintaining a good chess reputation is quite important and valuable after all =)

The night wrapped up nicely with a light drinking session with Mr John Wong, founder of Thomson CC Chess Club along a couple of his friends. Glad they didn't mind me being part of their company for the night =) 

That's it. Thanks again for your time =)


Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing (Eugene)
a.k.a. newbie_learner
Siglap South CC Chess Quartet

Siglap South CC Chess on 2nd Dec 2018

Today probably marked the lowest attendance (only 7 players incl. myself) at Siglap South CC. Still, not the end of the world. We will make the best out of things.

I only played 1 proper game with a kiddo today. My play felt decent, although as usual, the opening feels shaky =) There are, however a couple of positions which I'm not sure I agree with the engine's evaluation. If you dear reader could help me out, that would be great!

Feeling "lazy" today, I shall try a different way to review my game. I go straight into the engine's one-click tactical analysis, followed by my own thoughts on the game.

My own thoughts and queries

• Is 7...Be7 that I played really that bad compared to engine's recommended 7...Nf6 ? I really don't get it!

Position after 7.Bg5, which the engine's one-click tactical analysis recommends 7...Nf6 and did not evaluate 7...Be7 very well for Black.

• 12...Qxd1 was a genuine mistake. Initially, I thought I can just trade Queens and play 13...Bxc2. But I didn't like facing 14.Rd7. On hindsight, I think 12...Qc7, aiming at the "over-extended" White pawn on e5, is best.
• Even though the difference is small, 13...Rfd8 played instead of 13...Rad8 allows Black's King to be centralised ...Kg8-f8-e8/e7. If 13...Rad8, the Rook on f8 only has 1 square to move to.
• I guess this is indeed my typical pattern in games I draw / won (survive the opening phase, the slowly climb from there). Nothing to boast, but also nothing to be ashamed of.

I also did some basic opening run-through with another fellow player making his debut tournament soon. Maybe I sound a bit critical, but his opening repertoire as Black is sorely inadequate. Some examples:

"Sicilian Defence"

1.e4 c5 and not knowing what to do with the Black pieces against 2.c3 Alapin variation, 2.Nc3 closed Sicilian, 2.d4 Smith Morra Gambit and other "funny" second moves like 2.Ne2. He is only ready to face open Sicilian 2.Nf3...

"2 Knight's Defence"

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 Not that the 2 Knights Defence is a bad opening, but playing it this way shows Black doesn't know his stuff. Here, he probably needs to play something like 5...Na5 And this complication could've been easily avoided by simply opting to stick with Giuoco Piano with 3...Bc5. 

"Ruy Lopez: Exchange variation"

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 This is not losing but already Black is drifting astray. 4...dxc6 was much better, immediately opening up the Bishop on c8 for free. Black will benefit in open positions with the Bishop pair. 

We also tried out other lines arising from 1.e4 e5, like Bishop's Opening King's Gambit (which I don't play at all). Yet again, Black continues to get into very bad positions. And he even admitted to having no experience against the Scotch opening. What will he do facing these positions in the tournament is everyone's guess.

The conclusion is simple and clear: Black is not actually ready to play 1.e4 e5 or 1.e4 c5. Yes, the player "likes" it and may have been playing it for a long time, but really, the player doesn't actually know enough to play it decently well. I guess he only has 2 options:

(a) Bite the bullet and fix these holes bit by bit (a good solution in the long run but probably the results would be terrible in the short run);

(b) Sidestep the problem by playing something simpler first (But this only sidesteps the problem rather than actually going about to fix it in the long run) 

This is not meant to ridicule anyone, but rather seek to demonstrate these useful learning points / food for thought (which applies to my own as well):

• Playing the same opening consistently does NOT automatically make you an effective specialist in that opening. If you keep playing the same stuff without trying out or think of the different variations that the opponent may throw at you, it simply means you have inadequate experience in these other variations you've never seen. (For instance, playing 1.e4 c5 and only expecting to face 2.Nf3 the open Sicilian is, to me, one-dimensional to the extreme.) And the best way to quickly get a glimpse of various opening variations? Play more blitz games! Or specifically request for your training partner to throw different ideas at you, or to have a bigger pool of training partners.

• It is so much more valuable to find an opening that suits your own playing style. I sincerely hope this player isn't blindly following trends at elite level chess (which often starts with 1.e4 e5 or 1.e4 c5). 1.e4 2.Nf3 is indeed most played, but it doesn't mean Black can ignore White's alternatives.

I'm actually looking forward to see if the player, after today's session will be able to get his act together before the upcoming tournament. All the best to him, myself, and everyone else!

Thank you again for your time and attention.

Yours sincerely

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

Siglap South CC Chess Quartet

Training Session Revelations on 1 Dec 2018

Today, my chess friend and training partner for the day, Yogesh, and I had a great training session playing each other at the Singapore Chess Federation (SCF). It is not always available, but we checked beforehand and was lucky enough to secure a vacant room for use.

I was crazy enough to bring down my DGT Chess Board (the truth is, I have donated away all my chess sets to various chess sites (Singapore Chess Meetup, Pub X Chess). I happened to reach SCF slightly ahead of our scheduled time, so I took opportunity to walk around and take photographs of the bulletins. What a great collection of interesting articles!

This kind of looks familiar, doesn't it? =) Click here for the full online article!

World Champion Magnus Carlsen thrashed us with a perfect 16-0 in Singapore. Well, he's the World Champion! To relive the moment, you can refer to this article!

I'm not sure how many of our national champions and aspiring teens and kiddos you can recognise =)

Anyway, back to my training session with Yogesh. Initially, I was hesitant about disclosing this for obvious reason. But with Yogesh's permission and blessings, here it goes!

It's a bit unfortunate that we weren't able to play a full 90+30 game due to practical constraints. As an alternative, we tried a 50+10 (50 minutes initial time + 10 second increment per move) in game 1, followed by a 20+10 in game 2, before we concluded the training session with a untimed "focus training" game.


Game 1
Learning Points

• I really "suck" playing against the King's Indian Defence (KID), but it wasn't all bad. At least there were some "generic" moves made that were good enough. In fact, it may be more important to stick to the fundamentals (e.g. minimise pawn moves on the side one is intending to castle, and initiate quick pawn storm against opponent's King). 
• Got to be more careful as White was the first one who slipped into an objectively lost position, only able to get back with luck.
• It is really easier to play without time pressure. Good time management is important!
• Well, I guess Caissa rewarded me for pressing on. Fighting spirit ^o^ Otherwise, it would've probably been played out as a draw.

Game 2
Learning Points

• It is no good to play a move without understanding, although it can be tempting as the "easy way out" (but if one keeps doing it, it will become too taxing on the memory. I guess the point is to get on with development, and more importantly, by opening up the b-file, get the major pieces to launch a counter-attack against White's b2 pawn. Black will need to find more opportunities to strike against White's Queenside pawns.

Game 3 (This is the most interesting but this is not a proper game because Yogesh is telling me all the major themes in the opening phase move by move) as I try my best to play against the KID once more.

Learning Points

• Really have to thank Yogesh again for guiding me along. Finally a bit of positive experience in the opening I fared the worst by far. (Thank you!)
• If anything, I feel that delaying castling doesn't seem to work well when we can just castle to the side we are supposed to and do whatever we need to do (e.g. opposite side castling implies both sides should initiate pawn storm).
• Also, it seems that knowing the key theme or idea of the opening is so much more important than the exact precise order (at our casual / club level play). 

That's all for now. Thank you again for taking time to look through. Feel free to leave a comment if you have additional ideas / criticisms to share for learning purpose!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing

a.k.a. newbie_learner

Siglap South CC Chess Quartet

Delayed Coverage on Sunday Chess @ Siglap South CC 25 Nov 2018

I finally gathered enough energy to complete this post! It was interesting in that I "completely collapsed" after the games played, lying in bed skipping dinner from extreme fatigue and lack of appetite. Turns out I was diagnosed with stomach flu. Am glad I only collapsed after the games were played, so that I probably tried my best and there's no excuse for my play =)

In both of these games (untimed), there were positions where I was in a huge disadvantage / very close to losing. Luckily, I managed to turn the tables results-wise. More importantly, it is good to uncover more shortcomings of my own play as part of the overall lifelong learning process!

(I've been experimenting with the manner the games replay are presented. Feel free to let me know should you have any preference!)

Game 1
Personal Thoughts / Learning Points

• Misplayed the opening (I'm more experienced with 3.c4), but no regrets trying out to see how things go in this line. 
• I should have been braver in initiating exchanges to hold equality (this time round, I got paranoid over "bad exchanges" and did not initiate them enough). When the position is already bad, don't make it worse!
• Need to be careful with threats like 22...f4! I still believe it would've "killed me on the spot".

Game 2
Personal Thoughts / Learning Points

• (Sad to say) Playing the same opening regularly does not equate to understanding. I certainly shows lack of understanding in the opening phase after White initiated 9.e4 to open up the position. 
• Not everything is bad -- I like my evaluation of the endgame leading to my decision to centralise my King to go for the Queenside pawns starting with 25...Kf8 which, engine deems as best in an equal position. (Although I probably got a bit paranoid that there is a chance Black cannot win in the last few moves.)  Also, some other judgement, like 30.Rb2 can lead to a inferior but holdable position for White is on-point.

Some Random Shout-outs to Conclude:

• Special thanks to my personal chess hero, Anthony, (to read about his sporting etiquette, check out this earlier post ^o^) dropping by Siglap South CC for the first time. I'm so sorry you didn't get to play a game -- many players went for the very well-received Nee Soon East Chess Challenge 2018 (with more than 200! players).
• Special shout out to the very first Pub X Chess Invitation. It's unfortunate I was unable to go down to see the event live in person due to timing clash with Siglap South CC Chess Club. Always a joy to see new formats and experiments to keep the game and competition interesting. And I have to say, the trophies look gorgeous! May that motivate more of the local chess players to take part and put in their best efforts!
• Last but not least, because our very own Mr Bradley Loh, the founder of Singapore Chess Meetup (to me, it was the Singapore Chess Meetup which helped to directly or indirectly push or cross-promote other welcomed local chess initiatives like Pub X Chess and the QCD Adults Team Chess League) is on an overseas trip, Andre and I will try our best to serve as covering hosts for the next 2 weeks (i.e. sessions on 28 Nov 2018 and 5 Dec 2018. We hope you will continue to have a pleasant experience at the meetup as always ^o^ Do remember to rsvp as it helps to give assurance to newcomers that the meetup is "alive and active". 

Thanks again for your reading time, see you at Singapore Chess Meetup tomorrow!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing (Eugene)

newbie_learner

Siglap South CC Chess Quartet

Friday Night Chess @ Thomson CC (23 Nov 2018)

Finally found time to do this Post while watching Game 11 of the Carlsen-Caruana World Championship. Got a good wake-up call this evening, being thrashed by a kid who played quite well (relatively speaking -- and I played bad ^o^). But looking on the bright side, at least I get to see what's wrong with my play.

A great turnout with the end of the examinations and the commencement of the school holidays!

Personal thoughts and learning points:

• Don't always blame everything on the opening, although it is true that I played into something I'm not familiar with / don't enjoy so much.
• Got to be careful conceding any control of squares.
• Do not try to resolve problems or tensions casually. You will get punished (by Caissa, if not by the opponent)! 

Next game was with another kid. Even though he was not as strong as the first kid I played, my play was still far from optimum =(
Personal thoughts and learning points:

• While it was good thinking to be cautious and not castle on the Kingside immediately, "over-waiting" is not a good thing. Making completely waiting moves that do not exert any pressure should be avoided.

Interestingly, there was a position I picked up from a game between 2 kids -- right out of the 2nd move, some of us (my chess friend and the kiddo who beat me) were sharing out thoughts. I still think the pawn here can be taken -- I'm not sure why both my friend and the kiddo dismissed it at the onset, but realises the defensive resources White possesses when I try to defend everything.

Position after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5!? I will still play 3.Nxe5 and try to defend the extra pawn =)

I guess I believe to the old school "If you can't see anything wrong, take it". Here, I really believe White has adequate resources to capture and defend the position. 

That's all I have. To wrap this up, let me just do a big shout-out to congratulate Ju Wenjun for her successful title defence! Love it that she's such a sport, agreeing to play in a knockout format that favours upsets. Also, the fact that she had to come back from behind in the final standard game, having to win with the Black pieces to force the tiebreaks was no easy feat. Mere mortals, or "weaklings" like myself would probably have given up mentally. 

Thank you for your time reading!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing (Eugene)

a.k.a. newbie_learner

Siglap South CC Chess Quartet

Another Good Chess Session @ Siglap South CC 18 Nov 2018

It is true for all chess sites -- the number of players increase in the school holidays! (I should have taken some pictures, but I was too engrossed in my own games, LOL)

Some Interesting Highlights and Personal Thoughts:

• Am really grateful that Kevin, a new attendee at the Singapore Chess Meetup, came to check us out for the first time! Thank you for giving us and yourself a chance, Kevin =)

• Thanks to my "bad influence", everyone in Siglap South CC is now talking about the Singapore Chess Meetup, and recognising how it is the #1 social chess site at present. Let's face it, there's no way any of the CCs can have a single session with 50~60 people -- that's how big and reliable the pool of players at Asia Square Tower One on Wednesdays is.

• I have only recently received some indirect negative feedback (which is absolutely fine -- I only wish more of my friends and chess folks can be more honest, so that I can work on the problem areas for improvement). I agree with the criticism that some of the young kids misbehave. And I just did not realise that it served as some deterrence to a couple of kids. Maybe I cannot stick to the "kids will be kids" excuse for kids who misbehave quite a bit, to be fair to everyone who behaves properly (but do not enjoy encountering misbehaviour). But I still don't know what is the most effective way to teach proper chess etiquette to kids. Some kids understand when I explain. But I don't know what to do to others (yet I shall refrain from labelling anyone as "hopeless"). 

Personal Rapid / Untimed Games and Self Review / Learning Points

These are the non-blitz games I played today which I attempt to review on my own. As usual, first attempt without the use of engine, followed by the one-click tactical analysis function in Chessbase 15. 

Link to the Games Replay (4 games played with 3 different opponents)

Game 1 (White)

• I don't really main the London System, but it may serve well as a backup system. Since I anticipate a lot of players to employ this, I might as well learn a bit about it while learning how to play against it ^o^ I'm not really "into depth" like some of my friends who really specialise in it, but I personally find this opening generally easy enough to play, and *usually*, even if White misplays a little, won't end up in a dead lost position. *Usually*, it is more forgiving that some other "technical" openings like the Sicilian: Dragon variation. That's why it's so popular at club level (and it has been seen quite a bit even at top-level chess these days).

• I'm glad I found the correct move of 11.dxc5 (deemed best move by the engine) but I missed an easier way for a crushing advantage a couple of moves earlier. Just 9.dxc5! and not 9.Ne5.

• I really prefer 13.Qa4 that I played as compared to the "flashy" 13.Nf6+, even though the engine opines both moves to win. 

Game 2 (Black)

• I got into a very unpleasant opening position, and was lucky to even survive, I think. I should have played the more flexible move of 8...Nd7 instead of 8...Nf6 (I was concerned over whether White will out-control Black and put a minor piece on the d6 square to imprison the Black King in the middle. The subsequent moves 9.Be3 Qe5 (Black was not keen to grab another pawn greedily when his development has already been severely compromised) 10.c3 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 (Keeping Queens on the Board to maintain attacking potential) 11...Bc5 12.Bf4 Qf6 (only move anyway) from Black's perspective was... barely enough to survive (even though the engine's evaluation suggest the position was playable / close to equal).

• After this opening scare, White made a strategic mistake of simplification after 13.Bxb8 Qxf3 14.Bxf3 Rxb8 Black emerged being a pawn up. Although the resulting position / situation isn't entirely crushing -- Rooks + Bishop of opposite colour +, the 1 pawn advantage is probably not enough for a crushing win. Still, there is a psychological advantage for me, in that I am objectively better, and of course, having survived the opening scare makes me feel great.

• Honestly, I think I was just lucky that my opponent made a series of questionable choices, which eventually led to me finding a way to win this position, thanks to the pass pawn and superior King position.

Game 3 (Black)

• Essentially, both players were "sleeping" in the opening phase, with White continuously dropping pawns and Black not realising it. This fatigue issue is something I need to address for serious chess improvement (and for personal health, of course).

• I have to say, I'm glad for the experience of opposite side castling and pawn storm. This I don't come across so much in my training games, so the experience is even more valuable.

Game 4 (Black)

• No excuse for playing badly. But I genuinely felt tired (something I need to address on my own) and more importantly, I felt genuinely distracted by the kid =( Of course, my willpower and mentality needs to be stronger too. Playing each game with the starting mentality "Play to not lose" isn't something to be proud off / worth showing off ^o^ Also, running low on time and energy in the endgame phase of the game is a real practical situation to address.

• While I didn't think too much of this particular etiquette, I am now absolutely convinced it is "the way" to play chess properly: The player who is worse,  should never initiate the offer of a draw -- chess is already a very difficult game, and it is extremely unwelcomed for the inferior side to try any sort of antics to distract the leading player. “Don't do unto others what you don't want done unto you.” comes into my mind.
  
  Time is part of the game, so if a player is in a worse position but has superior time, offering a draw is still acceptable to me. But this is a clear no to me if a player is worse in both the time and position. And no, I am no saint myself. I have been making 1 insincere draw offer especially in losing games in all my team games to date (although I make no repeated offers). Talk about "team responsibility" eh ~ I will have to face this dilemma so long as I play in team events.

I'm sorry that my posts often end up as an etiquette rant ^o^. Rather, I see it more as identifying the ideal way to play, etiquette-wise, and striving towards it as an "ideal" chess player. It is a very subjective in nature, and it is perfectly fine if anyone disagrees or has different views. I have actually adjusted some of my views and opinions over time, based on my new experience or ideas shared by my friends. If anyone is keen, I would be even happy to discuss on chess etiquette, a subject I feel sorely lacking in local kids chess today. Most are primarily concerned over gaining strength or rating points in the shortest time / effort possible, which is perfectly understandable. I just wish there is that little room for chess etiquette study and appreciation over improvements over chess play.

Last but not least, my DGT Smart Board only recorded 3 blitz games because I did not indicate the end of the game (by placing the Kings in the centre of the Board, or by taking back moves in the middle of the game, so some games kept going on and on as part of the 500 moves recording cap). Oh well. My own stupidity.

Links to the Blitz Games Captured on my DGT Smart Board -- To me, the SGD $500 spent has already more than paid for itself for it's weekly service to the chess club!

Thank you for your time and attention!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing (Eugene)

a.k.a. newbie_learner

Siglap South CC Chess Quartet