Chess, Art and a death on New Year's Eve

Happy New Year! Xin Nien Kuai Ler! I woke up feeling a little uneasy. The morning weather was fine, but my uncle passed away last night...to another world…just before the display of fireworks lighted up the sky. My wife and I headed straight for his house. I wanted to see his face for the last time. He was a victim of complications from diabetes. Whether it was his dizzy spells resulting in fall injuries, intractable pruritus in which he consulted numerous dermatologists as well as sinsehs, or multiple episodes of low sugar attacks which prompted me to make emergency house calls, his past few months is one slow train ride in suffering. Perhaps realising that he would never regain his health, I saw him slide towards major depression and later stupor. I've started him on antidepressants and reinitiated the treatment regime several times but there was no firm follow-through on the part of the family. However, his children, in the spirit of filial piety, has been 100% committed in getting him proper specialist attention and bringing him in and out of hospital.

So, the life of this 71 year old man is lost but the story lives on. I can only say that, more than mere words, the true biography may be revealed one day by the One who has the authority. This afternoon, I immersed myself in a world of 64 squares - I played chess on the internet, just to clear my mind, you see. Do you know that you can play chess even right now? You only need a dial-up connection - it does not take up much bandwidth. Until I joined the internet chess folks 2 years ago, I have not been shoving wood on the chessboard for more than 20 years since my schooldays. I was a former school champion but my recent play is really rusty. Furthermore, I have not updated myself in the openings which would normally take up a huge chunk of memory for the aspiring chess player. Training towards gaining an international master title is hard work. The Bobby Fischer wannabes practically eat and sleep chess everyday.

I am now a regular at Chessbase as well as a registered member of US based worldchessnetwork for a period. WCN is one of the most friendly chess network I’ve discovered. You get to play and train with many grandmasters and international masters. I had the privilege of playing blitz games against Gata Kamsky, the former World Championship candidate finalist in 1994, Larry Christiansen, US Chess Champion in 2002, and Irina Krush, former US Women champion. Larry is a great chesscafe talker and plays instructive games. Needless to say, I lost tamely to them. Occasionally, they made unorthodox opening moves which I wasn’t prepared for as well as piece sacrifices which on computer analysis later, I found to be unsound. They won because of better time control, experience and reputation. Here, I want to digress a little. WCN, incidentally, is co-sponsored by Dato’ Tan Chin Nam, the IGB Corp magnate. IGB Corp is the developer of Midvalley Megamall and Sierramas. He is also the entrepreneur who developed the country’s first condominium and initiated many low cost housing projects back in the 1970s. He also sponsored the annual week long Malaysian Chess Festival held at around Merdeka Day which attracted many foreign participants.

Recently in an autobiography called Never Say I Assume, on the Malaysian chess scene, he said chess has been rejuvenated, but not revolutionised. This businessman turned philantropist’s assessment of the current position is that developing top level chess players is a challenge because of the family and social structures in our country. Still a market economy, Malaysia is a sober nation sitting on the cusp betw Third World and developed nation status. Firm family structures produce obedient children. With no welfarism, parents are more intent on their children studying and later working hard to earn their daily bread.

How true! The relevant education bodies should promote chess in a scholastic manner as is done in US and Singapore. It is a game of logic and imagination which makes you responsible for every last move you make. For me, chess is similar to art, where one finds an expression, although playing the game is involving your opponent in an art of war! It is not a boxing game though. It is a game where you can make friends. But nowadays, on the internet, people are more concerned with winning, with or without computer assistance! Anyway, the personality and temperament of each player will determine how he or she looks at the game.

The artistic element in chess can be perceived in different ways - it is a subjective thing. Compare the difference between how a human and a chess program play chess. While a human being can produce fireworks on board with his creativity and imagination apart from logical thinking, the beauty of a super grandmaster level computer software like Deep Fritz, lies in its sheer calculation speed. When you find yourself in a strategically lost position playing against the program, even though materials on both sides are equal, you know you have been beaten by raw mathematical precision. It's like a python slowly but surely strangulating you to death!

Another reason why I say chess is art is from personal experience. When I am immersing myself in the game, concentrating and doing some analysis, I sometimes feel like I am transported to another world, much like doing a form of transcendental meditation. I feel like I am in another place, surrounded by nature. Lately, to confirm my suspicion that chess is an artform, Fritz programmers have unveiled another program, called Ludwig, that can actually compose music. Not only that, Ludwig can compose songs to suit your level of competency in the musical instrument of your choice! You can listen to some sample compositions here. Makes me want to take my old Yamaha flute out, give it a little shine and start playing again! If you ask me whether this program can compose Sesame Street like tunes, well maybe. What about Kenny G stuff? No way!