Chess

To tell the truth, I actually like to play all types of chess. And I really mean ALL types of chess. You name it, I play it. International chess, Chinese chess, Go, Shoji, Othello, Animal chess, Military chess, 'Sea-Land-Sky' chess, Checkers, Chinese checkers, and even the 3-D Chess from Star Trek!!!

What defines chess anyway? And why have I included games like checkers and othello too? Well, I see chess as any game with pieces to be placed or manoeuvred on a board. It is characterized by equality in both sides with regards to the quantity and quality of the pieces, as well as the lack of the element of luck, such as the absence of dice or cards. That's why chess is totally a game of skill and thought. To win, one must analyse the position constantly and decide on the best course of action. And it draws parallels from real warfare too, in that we must observe the strategies of our opponents and make adjustments to ours if necessary. Thus, the game is very confrontational, as it is purely a battle of wits and very often, will-power.

And the amazing thing about chess is that contrary to popular belief, it is an extremely easy game to learn. You just need a logical and spatial mind, that's all. Like for International chess, all you need to know are the basic moves of the pieces and you can start playing. Of course, as is usually the case, you will most likely lose the first few games(unless you're a genius or got another beginner as an opponent!). But that's when tactics can be learnt - as you play(and lose). It's just like life, where you learn from your mistakes when you fail(Wah, got moral so more!). And since all the types of chess are basically similiar, it is also very easy to pick up and master all the others once you start on one! That's just what I did! I actually started out on Chinese chess when I was like 8, but after I progressed to International chess, I think that's where my forte is. Not to say that I am very good at it, but I do play International chess more often and have done more reading and analysis on it. I'm not really contridicting myself here but I feel that while it's easy to learn the game and become an average player, it would take a lot of hard work, practice and dedication to reach a substantiable standard. That's probably why I'm not too great at chess, because I'm pretty lazy and can't spare the time for the game.

I don't usually join tournaments organized by external bodies, because of the entry fees and the long tournament duration. I simply wasn't willing to devote that kind of time and money to the game. However, I used to represent my school in the National Schools individual and team competitions, but haven't really got the results I wanted. My best personal finish was 6th in my age group. It's not very flattering, but still quite memorable as I was the sole representative for my school for that year. The team results were much more disappointing in my opinion. We had a very strong team every year, but somehow as always, would be plagued by problems, such as being unable to field our best players or simply screwing it up at the boards. I remember a very humiliating defeat to a very lousy neighbourhood school for one year even. But the swansong tournament was the worst! Everyone had hoped to end on a high note and we even managed to assemble the best team possible. In the end, we were desperately unlucky to lose out on the title, despite having beaten all the other teams we played against, including the eventual champions! This was because the tournament totals the points of all the players in the team, rather than use the team scores. We lost out on a bad pairing for the last round, when we had to play against a very strong opponent while the champions played a weak one. As for me, I really turned from hero to zero... From an amazing win in my game against the eventual champions, to a draw in my game in the second last round, which resulted in the bad pairing. On hindsight, our team would get a good pairing and probably win the tournament had I won or even lost(!) that match... Very sad indeed, but I still have a team title from 1992, and there was this memorable year where I played very well and scored 4.5/5.

But after a while, I got pretty sick of playing in tournaments and facing the same opponents over and over again, as there were the same good players whom you'll play against every year. Preparation for and the tournaments themselevs also took up a lot of time and energy. But most importantly, the pressures during a tournament match are truly intense and it can get very stressful at times, especially with the inclusion of time controls. I mentioned earlier that chess was also a battle of will-power, and it's true. Even with the absence of luck, the more skillful player doesn't always win. And I've had terrible experiences with these... Mistakes are what shift the balance of equality in chess. Blunders are mistakes which a player normally wouldn't make, but still did because of a miscalculation, gross oversight or mental black-out. These can usually be attributed to the sheer fatigue experienced during a game. I'm one of those players who finishes a (tournament)chess game feeling totally drained. It's kinda like when you leave the exam hall after all the mind-boggling calculations! Scientific studies have also confirmed the exertions of competitive chess. That is why chess is now being considered as a sport for the Olympics. Thus I never really missed the competition, that was until I graduated from Junior College and had a two year hiatus.

As a matter of fact, the current world champion Garry Kasparov, is actively promoting chess in schools all over the world and pushing for it to be included into the curriculum. That can only be a good thing, because I agree with him that chess does help to train an analytical mind, and opportunities should be given to the young as early as possible to expose them to the game. However, I foresee problems with the notion, not with government support or equipment, but with the lack of available teachers. Youngsters have tremendous potential and learning ability, and would surpass and outwit any normal school teacher thrown with the task. Professional chess players have to be recruited, and they are scarce, because almost all of them are kept busy by the professional circuit.

Which brings me to the disappointing situation of the professional circuit nowadays. Of late, the struggle between FIDE and PCA for the lucrative World Championship has left the chess world divided and without an undisputed champion. Even Kasparov had to resort to playing chess with computers and over the internet to generate public interest(and lots of cash, no doubt)... I was just telling Kevin the other day that the game of chess is really running out of possibilities! Despite the billions of possible permutations even within the first few moves, a great majority of the lines can actually be categorily dismissed as unsound. Chess computers running at 300+MHz, and sometimes with multiple servers and an enormous database, can often reduce chess to just a few minutes of calculations. Eventually, I see chess as being transformed into the simplicity of 'Tic-Tac-Toe', where every possible sound play can be refuted, and every unerring game will end in a draw(which makes sense ironically, since players start equal!). But that thought is really scary!

Even without computers, top grandmasters like Kasparov are employing several other grandmasters to help in opening preparation and analysis. Games involving them end up as a battle of will-power to see who cracks first from fatigue! With each analysis, each game, each new book on chess, there's less and less room for creativity. Players who refute the studies and take up personal styles just end up losing! Several players, like ex-champion Bobby Fischer, are trying to find ways to halt the slide. For instance, he suggested the idea of Random Chess, where the initial positions of the minor pieces are randomized at the start of each game to negate the advantages of massive opening preparation. Sadly, this only seems to be a delaying measure for the inevitable...

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