Remembering the victims of the September 11th attack.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Monday, September 03, 2007
Merdeka Chess Team Standard
The 2-week long Malaysian Chess Festival ended yesterday with the conclusion of the Merdeka Team Standard event. There is good participation from players from all corners of the nation, who came in conjunction with the 50th National Day celebration. Congrats to ASTRO team for winning the Open Section in blazing fashion. They were in the lead most of the time. Kudos to Malaysian Chess Federation for the meticulous organising, especially the Malaysian Open which attracted a myriad of grandmasters and international masters from 15 countries (see news coverage under Chessbase). Rather than wait for the news to arrive on my breakfast table, I decided to make my own small contribution. Here's some photo sharing:
For me, chess is a form of pleasure and enjoyment. This is just part of life, though, which needs to be continuosly balanced up by being a responsible citizen and a free thinker. We must strive to reject all forms of imbalance, which will always appear in the real world. Just as in a chess match there are all sorts of imbalances that we have to sort out, ranging from the obvious material imbalance to pawn structure (isolated, doubled, backward pawns etc), relative strength of minor pieces, control of vital squares/files, advantage in space, lead in development and finally who has the current initiative.
Recently, a study done by a team of psychologists revealed that contrary to public opinion, chess does surprisingly involved a series of risk-taking behaviour quite similar to activities like rock climbing, sky diving and bungee jumping. The only reason why the public do not see it that way is because chess is the ultimate invisible game to the spectators. One do not see the emotionally tense battle going in the minds of two great players. Of course, rarely, like myself who is not as agile as before, I do doze off a little during (and not in between) matches!
Seriously, chess can be a very creative game if one sees it with an artistic mind, instead of just relying on memorizing 15 to 25 move long opening theories which is a favourite approach by experts and amateurs alike including me. Of course there is a lot of hard work where one has to deal with a position in a systematic manner, but apart from top level chess, the game still provides ample fun. Especially so when a single last move represents the magical end point of a brilliantly thought out combination several moves preceding it. Sometimes, one may be surprised that an insignificant pawn can turn out to be the saviour in a mating attack against the fortress.
Garry Kasparov, recently wrote a book titled How Life Imitates Chess. I think sometimes chess imitates life. And life can be hard. In a difficult situation, one will have to look for whatever tactical resources available to stay in the game before calling it a day.
For me, chess is a form of pleasure and enjoyment. This is just part of life, though, which needs to be continuosly balanced up by being a responsible citizen and a free thinker. We must strive to reject all forms of imbalance, which will always appear in the real world. Just as in a chess match there are all sorts of imbalances that we have to sort out, ranging from the obvious material imbalance to pawn structure (isolated, doubled, backward pawns etc), relative strength of minor pieces, control of vital squares/files, advantage in space, lead in development and finally who has the current initiative.
Recently, a study done by a team of psychologists revealed that contrary to public opinion, chess does surprisingly involved a series of risk-taking behaviour quite similar to activities like rock climbing, sky diving and bungee jumping. The only reason why the public do not see it that way is because chess is the ultimate invisible game to the spectators. One do not see the emotionally tense battle going in the minds of two great players. Of course, rarely, like myself who is not as agile as before, I do doze off a little during (and not in between) matches!
Seriously, chess can be a very creative game if one sees it with an artistic mind, instead of just relying on memorizing 15 to 25 move long opening theories which is a favourite approach by experts and amateurs alike including me. Of course there is a lot of hard work where one has to deal with a position in a systematic manner, but apart from top level chess, the game still provides ample fun. Especially so when a single last move represents the magical end point of a brilliantly thought out combination several moves preceding it. Sometimes, one may be surprised that an insignificant pawn can turn out to be the saviour in a mating attack against the fortress.
Garry Kasparov, recently wrote a book titled How Life Imitates Chess. I think sometimes chess imitates life. And life can be hard. In a difficult situation, one will have to look for whatever tactical resources available to stay in the game before calling it a day.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Redang Batik Art
Redang Island is great for its pristine white broad beaches and snorkeling activities. At one part of the long beach stretch, one can even find corals and baby sharks (they're vegetarian of course). My son also discovered 2 pairs of spectacles and a 5 ringgit note. Snorkeling is great fun at the Marine Park or even better in the middle of the ocean. Too bad I don't carry an underwater camera case along. For weekend night activity, one can stroll along the breezy beach (don't forget to bring along a torchlight), listen to sweet sentimental songs being played by a live band or hop over to Laguna Beach Resort for DJ disco partying.
One activity though that often goes unnoticed is batik painting. For a fee, one can spend a meaningful half day learning the art (plus you get to show off your painted T-shirt or canvas to your friends back home). The lady below is kind enough to let me take snapshots of her beautiful creations:
Monday, August 20, 2007
Merdeka Chess Team Rapid
The Filipinos have arrived. They came, they saw and they captured the top three prizes in the recently concluded Merdeka Rapid Team Chess championship, held at Cititel Midvalley Hotel on August 18th to 19th and sponsored largely by IGB. And they are probably saying to all Malaysians ‘Mahal Kita’ which means ‘I love you’ in Tagalog. FYI, the top spot carried a prize money of RM 8,000 plus trophy which is high in terms of cash reward in our region.
As with previous event, the Merdeka Team tournament, which is part of the week long chess festival, carried a concoction of strong and weak players, young and old, undergrads, local and state chess clubs, family teams, and even a last minute participation! We have participation from China, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore and of course, the Philippines. Some flew in just in time for the tournament.
We don’t see a lot of brilliancies in rapid games - although there are more tactical play and very little consideration given to strategic planning. This is because of the high rate for mistakes, blunders and missed chances. Perhaps, in real time pressure, it’s a case of whose brain processor is more powerful! Hopefully, we’ll get to see more fire across the board in the following prime event - the Malaysian Open.
There are of course chess personalities like former world champions Bobby Fischer, Mikhail Tal and Capablanca who outperformed their opponents in blitz games, especially when in front of an audience. The best is to stay true to yourself, especially when ‘external factors’ come into play.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself during the event. In between play, I managed to capture a few shots of the event. Here’s my pictorial report :
As with previous event, the Merdeka Team tournament, which is part of the week long chess festival, carried a concoction of strong and weak players, young and old, undergrads, local and state chess clubs, family teams, and even a last minute participation! We have participation from China, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore and of course, the Philippines. Some flew in just in time for the tournament.
We don’t see a lot of brilliancies in rapid games - although there are more tactical play and very little consideration given to strategic planning. This is because of the high rate for mistakes, blunders and missed chances. Perhaps, in real time pressure, it’s a case of whose brain processor is more powerful! Hopefully, we’ll get to see more fire across the board in the following prime event - the Malaysian Open.
There are of course chess personalities like former world champions Bobby Fischer, Mikhail Tal and Capablanca who outperformed their opponents in blitz games, especially when in front of an audience. The best is to stay true to yourself, especially when ‘external factors’ come into play.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself during the event. In between play, I managed to capture a few shots of the event. Here’s my pictorial report :
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