My Standard Chess Game on National Day's Eve (8th Aug 2018, Singapore Chess Meetup @ Asia Square Tower 1)

Background
This match was driven by my disagreement with Weng Chew over the basic things an aspiring chess player needs to do ^o^

Even though I won my game with a stroke of luck, I have to eat my words -- his play was much tougher than our previous encounter-- in fact, I think he's easily stronger than the 4 kids I've played against in the current term of the HPE training league. Whatever he's doing -- going through GM games on his own, with special attention paid to forcing himself to visualise the moves -- is working for him. While I would continue with my daily chess puzzles, I have to admit that this may not be the only way to "keep in shape" for chess.



What I thought I did well (opening):

1. Objectivity aside, it's a great feeling to play in positions I enjoy playing again!
2. I was largely keeping to the opening objectives (develop, centre control, king safety) without trying to be fanciful

What I thought I did badly (opening):

1. Queen placement! The inability to find the best square (c2) to fight for control over e4 cost me too much). 

What I thought I did well (midgame):

1. The choice of 15.Qf1 over 15.Qf3 (even though neither move was "the best"). At least the reasoning made sense!
2. The insertion of 17.Bb5, even though not objectively winning, was a "free shot" to see if Black would react wrongly. Black replied correctly, but doesn't take away that it was a good free shot for White (playable from equality if Black reacts correctly, would've gotten an advantage if Black mishandled the move). This is the type of practical move I enjoy finding in my game.
3. The choice of 21.Nxd4 over 21.exd4. Even though White does not exert control over c5 and e5 squares, it was the right decision to make Black suffer the IQP for the long term.
4. The choice to go for immediate simplification after 24...Rc5 with 25.Nxe4 was great! It seems that at times, I play better when in time trouble =) 

What I thought I did badly (midgame):

1. Also the choice of 15.Qf1 -- it addresses what happens after the e-file was open. BUT there was a more effective 15.Nf3 to keep the e-file closed! (reply ...cxd4 with Nxd4)
2. The choice of 22.Qf5 -- or rather, the constant fear of the continuation. This is a clear demonstration of poor calculation/evaluation resulting in lack of confidence.

Would be waiting for my opponent to share his side of the analysis for this game!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing
(newbie_learner)

Another chess afternoon @ Siglap South CC (5th Aug 2018)

This is "just" another of those enjoyable days in chess. I only managed to play 1 rapid game, followed by a series of blitz games against various players. Just a personal recap for the day:

1. I finally "returned to my roots" with 1.Nf3 again. I enjoyed my months of affair with 1.e4, but admittedly, it doesn't truly suit me, although I definitely had fun with it. No, 1.e4 is not a person ^o^
   
2. Even though I have lost a 5+3 blitz series 1.5-4.5 against the best player of the club today, I'm glad I managed to at least get a win and a draw. More importantly, there were certain openings which I personally didn't like to face, but I picked up new ideas on how to face them. Yes, I agree that we learn more from playing slower time controls, but blitz games need not be "useless" if one plays it for specific purposes (for me, its opening check and basic tactical senses). There is still this 1 player from the Singapore Chess Meetup whom I have lost to by an absolute margin of 0-16 (or was the deficit higher?). Maybe I should work towards winning against him too, at PubXChess one day!
   
3. A pity that I did not bring my newly bought DGT Smart Board (essentially, the cheapest functional digital chess set that can record moves and register the game moves into the computer later). I still need to find a large bag/carrier for the chess Board (it's quite big) and to get a power bank.
   

This was the only rapid game I played today. Glad I won it =) 

Learning Points

• Honestly, I'm much more at ease playing something that suits me. Even though I have been playing only 1.e4 for some time (which was a deliberate attempt to experiment), the moves came naturally.
  
• Waiting for opponent to crack on their own is a legit strategy too =) At club level, most games are lost due to one's own mistakes. I have yet to come across games which were decisive without a mistake from either side.

Anyway, thank you for your time once again!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing
(a.k.a. newbie_learner)

A Great Chess Event on 29 July 2018 (Part 3 Conclusion)

This shall be my final concluding post for the Nanyang Racial Harmony Team Chess Challenge 2018! I have decided not to share the games that "didn't matter" (huge blunder-fest) to spare myself the humiliation. You can also go back to the earlier parts: Part 1 (the game 1 felt most educative for myself + my cross-selling of the QCD Adults Chess League + some pictorial coverage) and Part 2 (coverage of 2 games I shouldn't have won).

First and foremost, let me make the important qualifier that by saying "games that I should not have lost", I am definitely NOT saying that my opponents did not deserve to win. Rather, I should not have made it so easy for them to win =) In fact, it was really good on their part to squeeze a win out of what I opine as equal positions. In a way, this is similar to the different perspectives of the same thing, like the contrasting saying "Games are won by brilliant moves (attack)" as compared to "Games are lost by mistakes (defending)".

Anyway, here goes. In the first example, I thought I(Black) have completely equalised in the opening, I was not entirely correct, but it was close.



Learning Points / Reflections on this Game:

• I actually felt like I'm learning something (overall/general chess) as I refine my play in this opening (Caro-Kann Defence). 6..Ne7 was worlds apart from 6...Nd7 that was played for instance. Another major point was 12...Nf5 instead of 12...Ned5 to have some cover/protection against d6.
• Again, while opening did not decide the outcome of the game, it could have -- certain moves if you make too much of a concession, you are just going to get a very uncomfortable position until it ends.

The following game leaves another deep impression on me, as I (someone who pride myself as knowing chess psychology compared to others who don't or neglect this aspect of chess), actually got self-intimidated by my opponent!

Learning Points / Reflections on this Game:

• Whoever says psychology plays no part in their chess game is either lying or ignorant =) It's a HUGE part of the chess game. And realising it is just a small step towards maximising your potential. See it as shaping your mental toughness as part of your programme towards self-improvement!
• Time management: I wish I played faster in the earlier phase of the game to have more time where it counts in the endgame.
• It was not all bad -- I do feel I treated the opening fairly well.

And with this, I end my coverage of my play in the event. I will probably carry the remaining 2 undisclosed game to my grave without publishing them ^o^ 

Thank you for your time!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing

(a.k.a. newbie_learner)

A Great Chess Event on 29 July 2018 (part 2)

A continuation of my earlier post on yesterday's Nanyang Racial Harmony Team Chess Challenge 2018! 

In this post, I shall talk about the 2 games I should not have won.

Games I should not have won



Learning Points / Reflections on this Game:

• Apparently, more often than not in 3.Bb5 (after 2...Nc6) lines of the Sicilian, it is more effective for White to try and build up the pawn centre with c3 and then d4 instead of d4 directly.
• In a position whereby you are (slightly) better or equal, NEVER try to beat the opponent struggling on the clock if there is at least 10 seconds increment.  At the very least, do not compromise the quality of your own moves in trying to do so! I actually feel sorry for my opponent going for the wrong approach of the game. Of course, for his own good and development, I hope he learns this lesson as he plays more tournaments (this was his maiden tournament, I believe).
  

Another game whereby another opponent made the exact same mistake in trying to win on time while compromising the quality of his moves:

Learning Points / Reflections on this Game:

• Never make a move that even the player himself feel suspicious about!
• A plan that does not fall to immediate tactical refutation is a good-enough plan. Even though not recorded, I love my slow approach to play Rec1 followed by mass exchanges on the c-file and slowly push back Black's aggression while keeping the pawn centre adequately defended (I also introduced f3 later to keep the defence compact.)
• While the experience playing against the Sicilian Defence was fun, it is very evidently not my true cup of tea.
• Can't say this enough: do not compromise the quality of your own moves in trying to beat the opponent on time (when there is time increment of at least 10 seconds per move). I am surprised this opponent with vast tournament experience did not apply this in the game. Maybe "common sense" in chess is not so common after all.

In my subsequent post on this event, I will be talking about the more painful games -- Games that I should not have lost. I am still not sure if I will stop at part 3 and spare myself the humiliation to publish games that 'didn't matter'.

Anyway, thanks again for reading!


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

A Great Chess Event on 29 July 2018 (part 1)

It was the Nanyang Racial Harmony Team Chess Challenge 2018! (You can probably play around with this link to see how much fun everyone had ^o^)

As per my usual style, I have randomised the order of the games and not identify my opponents to discourage their identity be linked to the specific games. But I do want to do some special shout-outs on the following!

First, there were many more teams consisting of players from the QCD Adults Chess League! I did a quick "conversion table" below:

QCD Team -> NYCC Team
1. Woof! Woof! + Woof! Woof! Woof! -> I Move You Resign
2. Pokemonsters Resurgence -> Pokemonsters Rapid
3. Wolverines + Thomsformers + 8.c4! -> O-O-O (my team!) 
4. The Asia-Squared Bishops -> Knight Promotion Team

Second, but more importantly, I wanted to zoom into my encounter with Knight Promotion Team. I happen to know all the 4 players from the team and I have played chess games with all of them at least once. I didn't know I was so "hated" by their team captain, Julien, telling his team mate and my opponent, Anthony, that he would have wanted to play on Board #3 to face me, lol. What's more important, was the sportsmanship display from Knight Promotion Team. During the game, there were multiple occasions of my team including myself pressing the wrong clock (because the boards were packed so closely together to cater to the over-whelming response). And there was 1 occasion whereby I had even forgotten to press my clock, but my opponent, Anthony, was sporting enough to remind me about it. I think their team fully deserves to beat us 4-0 in round 3 =)

My team 0-0-0 on your left, the Knight Promotion Team on your right.

Enough said. Here are the "Best" and "Most" games I played:

Most Educative Game (we learn most from our losses)
So much I have to say about this game -- you have to read all the text I wrote in the annotations.

Learning Points / Reflections on this Game:

• For true improvement, I think I should've bite the bullet and learn to play against KID head-on. Right now, I have been trying to side-stepping the issue with 1.e4, hoping to get into specific setups I like against it, but see how fragile things become when even I got lost in the whole set of complications/transpositions. I should not have betrayed my nature (to be honest 1.e4 doesn't go well with my personal style -- though I have to say it does generate quite interesting games of more direct attack / defence). 
• No complaints about the loss -- I was genuinely outplayed from start to finish. My opponent demonstrated clear understanding of the demands of the position. Also, from a chess-karma point of view, I deserve to lose for betraying my own nature =)
• Maybe I should just go back to what I play best and forget about 1.e4 altogether...

Too tired to finish up the coverage in 1 go, but these are remaining category of games I have:

Games that I should not have lost (2 games -- lost because of endgame grind. poor time management played a part too)

Games that I should not have won (2 games -- 1 was against an opponent who lacked tournament experience. His general play was good but his mistake was to try to beat me on time and he compromised the quality of his moves as a result Another game went similar -- just that surprisingly, it was against a regular tournament player -- goes to show that "common sense in chess" is not so common after all.

Games that "didn't matter" (2 games -- 1 was against pure beginner who unfortunately still hangs pawns and pieces -- no shame as we were all there once, another was a horrible blunder-fest committed by myself under fatigue). 

My team consisting of Santoso, Warren, myself and Thai Ee

Last but not least, let's end this first part with my team's photo and the Name Plate Card I stole after the end of the tournament  =) 

Thank you for reading!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing

(a.k.a. newbie_learner)

A Lost Game with Great Learning Value (at least to myself!)

So my "unbeaten" record in the QCD Adults Team Chess League was broken by my own chess friend, Yogesh in Round 6. How else to better lose it than to a good friend? I do remember the excitement when I found him at 1 of the Asia Square Meetups to rope him into the new team, subsequently known as Team "Marinus Deep". Because I didn't have his contact number, and he did not come to the Singapore Chess Meetup at Asia Square, I was so afraid to miss him out when the recruitment deadline was ticking! I even remember shouting out excitedly when I saw him at the meetup right on time for the team registration =)

(Side-note: my "unbeaten" record was not that impressive, out of 5 games played, 3 were draws, so with today's loss, I'm exactly at 50% =3 + 1 - 1. Of course, I did take Black pieces in 4 out of 5 rounds, but I have no particular bias with either colours. More importantly, I have shown much improvement from last year's +1 =1 - 5)

So my team Team 8.c4! eventually edged out Team Marinus Deep with a close score of 2.5-1.5 despite my personal loss. While my team was happy (and justifiably so) to celebrate the winning streak (only our 2nd win out of 6 rounds played, and we did not win a single round of the 8 rounds played in the year of 2017 -- so as a team we improved a lot too!), I do feel we were lucky -- okay, team mates, please don't kick me, but this is honestly how I feel ^o^ 1 of Team Marinus Deep's player (Board 1 with the White pieces, and another personal chess friend of mine, was unable to play, and that game was forfeited). If we did not count the forfeit/walkover game, our scores over the actual games played was 1.5-1.5.

Team 8.c4!'s celebration after their Round 6 victory

(from your left to right: Gabriel, Mark, LPK and me)

I have been suffering a bad cold since the beginning of this working week, but that was no excuse for my loss. Overall, it wasn't all bad. I do like some of the major decisions I made. I'm also grateful to Yogesh for his generous sharing -- okay so now I learn that ...b6! after ...0-0 is deemed by the engine to be objective best against this c5 setup, even though admittedly, I'm not sure if I can appreciate the complexity / demands of the position. But it is a good to know for sure. In the end, I kept missing tactical shots (I really didn't see it, also didn't see it in my own review without checking with the engines), and in the end, the endgame conversion by White was really sweet, notwithstanding that Black blundered big time in the final move, losing a minor piece for nothing.

Also, I'm glad that Yogesh is not concerned that our game be published -- some (not just 1) of my opponents have requested for anonymity so that others can't study their games, but both of us can't be bothered by this concern -- like I always say, I'm more than honoured if anyone respects a newbie_learner enough to study my games and prepares against me, giving me the toughest challenge possible. After all, this is the fastest route to improvement -- you help me do half of my homework in that sense. In fact, I personally feel this is what all chess training partners should do.

Regardless the results and the "misses" in the game, I found this game extremely educative for myself.

Enough of the blabbering, this is the game that I am proud to record, despite me losing it.

Learning Points and Thoughts About This Game:

• I think my treatment of the opening was fine. To me, I'm most proud of giving up the Bishop pair through initiating 10...Bxf3 and 11...e6. No matter what the engine says (Engines tend to over-value Bishop pair as they are programmed so, in my opinion anyway), to me, this is the whole spirit of the Caro-Kann Defence -- if Black is not prepared for this, bringing the light square Bishop out before chaining the pawns in, I think the Black player might as well find a completely different opening to play.
• The idea to challenge White's c5 pawn with ...b6! after ...0-0, I really didn't know or find it so good. (Thanks again for your generosity, Yogesh!) But it's indeed the engine's top suggestion. I don't know if I can ever incorporate it into my play (I also know it is a bad idea to memorise things you don't understand, so we'll see). Separately,the engine's idea of preferred Rook placement (13...Rad8) was also enlightening to me.
• All of my major chess problems today (time management! pawn breaks and making threatening/attacking moves instead of "natural" defensive ones) are exposed together in this game ^o^  The repeated missing of possible tactics was bad. Also, the wrong approach to stop the outside pass pawn turned out decisive. On the bright side, at least I realised it was going downhill after the mistake was done. #alwayslookonthebrightside!
• My gamesmanship draw offer continues to pose some chess etiquette dilemma here. Chess etiquette is by no means "easier" than chess as people can have completely different views over the same gesture. 

Some other interesting minor episodes / "trivia" I can offer for this Round:

• Quite a number of players were talking about the Singapore Chess Meetup. In fact, as Dr Mark Liew, the sponsor of the event was saying, it was all thanks to Bradley Low starting the meetup that inspired him to do more for local chess, leading to the creation of the Adults Chess League in Singapore! Hence, I have also been wanting to do some chess cross-promotion between the Singapore Chess Meetup, the QCD Adults Chess League , PubXchess (free to play blitz tournament at a pub setting, imagine having fun with chess while enjoying beer and food!). Let's just say that there are a notable supply of chess players in the QCD league who are regulars from both the Singapore Chess Meetup and PubXchess.
• Just before the commencement of the round, I had the urge to visit the washroom. But there was only 1 male toilet (there were 2 female toilets, which made sense most of the time, but there are many male players than female chess players) at our playing floor. So instead of queuing, I simply led a couple of chess players (from other teams -- in case you feel embarrassed, I shall not identify you guys) to the level below. We didn't find "toilets", but I found male changing room with cubicles in it. So after checking that it is flushable, I just proceeded to do my small  business. And I had to assure some other chess players that it was alright -- can't be wrong since with flushing any "wrong" would be corrected at no cost, lol-- for them to also use the other cubicles.
   
• Chess-wise, I really feel that the QCD Adults chess league is the BEST training ground for players who want to prepare for their maiden tournament, as well as for inactive players to "de-rust". It mimics real competitive conditions, which is completely different from a casual/social play setting. (Yes, use a chess clock -- the time factor is a HUGE part of the game. If you cannot appreciate this, maybe over the board chess is not so suitable for you, and you may like to consider correspondence chess instead.) Because this is an unrated event, the rating points of inactive players are also protected. Otherwise, one should consider doing national chess service by joining the HPE training league (search for "Highlights" under the Singapore Chess Federation Webpage! You get to play rated games with the young players undergoing training and if your rating is 1,500 or above, you actually get paid for each game as compensation for your time. Think of it this way -- earning money doing something you like (playing chess!)
• The rubbish generated has significantly reduced compared to Round 5 2 weeks ago! yeah =) Don't know if any of the other players have saw my previous post about the huge amount of rubbish at the end of the game, but I was told there were are couple of "silent followers". Oh well, in any case, it is a change for the better!
• Last but not least, an honorary mention of my favourite "Sunday Chess Uncle", Eric, from the Siglap South CC chess Club I volunteer in, has come to enjoy the chess atmosphere again!  (I think he might have regretted not joining the league when I approached him earlier this year, but because he doesn't even have a mobile phone, contacting him when discussing about team line-ups would be a huge headache.) I'm glad he was able to play a couple of friendly games with other players (not part of the competition) and he also offered to stay behind and help us clear up tonight.

I am still nowhere near my 100%, but after taking myself out of the HPE training league tomorrow (Sat, 28 July) I hope that at least gives me adequate rest before our unrated rapid team event at Nanyang CC (with different team mates, outside of my team in the QCD league). Last but not least, a big thank you shoutout to William for volunteering to keep Siglap South CC chess club open on Sunday, 29 July. 

That's all!  Thank you!

Yours sincerely

Ong Yujing
(aka newbie_learner -- my preferred nickname for chess. Always a noob but learning ^o^)

(aka scorekeeper -- given by Bradley Loh / Singapore Chess Meetup as I always record my moves)

Sunday Rapid Games Adventures @ Siglap South CC

Played 4 games with players of different levels today. Gotta say I felt I learned the most from the last game with the strongest opponent. But I don't mind playing players of various levels -- there are mistakes from all 4 games worth going through / seek improvements on.

VS Weaker Opponents

Specific Learning Points

• White was better from the first move to the last. 
• The best decision made in my opinion was 14.Bf2 over 14.Bxf4 (which the engine agrees).

Specific Learning Points

• It is really difficult to realise an opening advantage -- you need to know "the whole thing" rather than knowing bits and pieces here and there. Again, up to the player him/herself whether it is worth the time investment.
• Convenient moves need not necessarily be bad. If you feel that the defensive move is necessary, just determine whether you have enough time to play it!

VS  Equal Opponent

Specific Learning Points

• Be careful of counter-attacks. Often, after gaining material advantage, we will need to endure an initiative from the opponent (because we spent time to capture the material). Have to minimise the threats of this initiative. In a way, Black's downfall in the game was caused by inability to recognise potential pawn break.
• If a move feels dubious or uncertain, it's probably a bad move. Don't make it unless in desperate situation!

VS  Stronger Opponent

 Specific Learning Points

• Whenever in unfamiliar situation, stick to general guidelines! Here, I love my move 10...e5! in response to 10.h4, based on the general guideline that when the opponent advances in the wings, advance in the centre (and vice versa). 
• I didn't play very well in this game, making a couple of slips I usually won't (I blame this on my inability to handle the surprise position, LOL), but it was not too one-sided overall. Main reason for loss was actually time management -- I allowed my opponent to gain too much clock time against me.

General Learning Points

• Against weaker opponents, it might be a valid match strategy to play safe and let them collapse on their own. Conversely, when playing against stronger opponents, we should not allow ourselves to crumble on our own.
• I tend to have this bad habit of losing in the 1st few games against players of certain standard. But once I  "figure the opponent out", I think I have at least decent chances, no matter who I play against. (At least, this would be a good way to motivate myself before a game, LOL)
• In any case, staying composed is the most important!

Sunday comes to an end... back to the much dreaded work week =(