After a simultaneous exhibition in the Oberoi Imperial Hotel, Singapore (September 1986), GM Mark Taimanov told the following joke - A chess administrator trying to get funding for a chess tournament from a potential sponsor was sidetracke...
Out of Sindarov's 5 wins in the first 6 games of the World Championship Candidates 2026 event, there is a common theme running in 4 of them - his propensity to centralize a minor piece above other considerations. He can give up material to establi...
The thing about some true chess lovers is that they keep playing despite indifferent results and work even harder when success eludes them. The forces that will drive the local chesser (who is still schooling) away from competing are tremendous.&n...
Today would have been the late Professor Lim Kok Ann's one hundred and sixth birthday. He is recognized as the father of Singapore Chess and his manifold contributions to developing and popularizing Singapore Chess is immeasurable. In 2018, the ...
One of my favourite positions to teach students is this tense one between Unzicker and Fischer (Varna Olympiad 1962) with Black to play. I like this example because it is a practical one where both sides have plusses and issues and there is no kil...
In GM Georg Mohr's The Exchange Sacrifice Unleashed (Thinker's Publishing 2023), the Slovenian GM noted 'how difficult it is to decide on just one (exchange) sacrifice. We can imagine how much more difficult (and exciting) it is when we sacrifice ...
GM Siddharth Jagadeesh gave the Singapore chess fans the ultimate type of chess result they craved for by winning the World Youth Under 18 title. What more can we really ask for, after Singapore hosted the World championship final match between Di...
Today the themes of the lessons I taught to my students were on Square Control, Improving your position quietly and Anticipation of threats. Positional stuff aiming at helping them make good strategic decisions. But while I had some time bef...
The thing about chess is it is often seen as a hobby or past-time for those intellectually inclined. Hence we tend to see many chess themed banking or investment type adverts to signify that the company promoting the financial product or services ...
Having taught chess full time for a decade or so, in the past year, I had to stop coaching 3 of my students as they have to do their National Service (mandatory 2 years military training). I had taught them from primary school all the way to...
Just returned from a 2 week vacation in Brisbane though this time there was no chess event lined up for me. There was indeed a Wendy Terry Memorial (25th-26th May) though the dates (and travel requirements) didn't match well with my city accommoda...
In recent months, I have seen some great games/results from the 'old dogs' (veteran chess players past their prime and now just enjoying the game every now and then). The problem for us old dudes is that we want to keep playing our favorite ga...
After completing a game yesterday, I can't help feeling a sense of déjà vu, that I've played it all before, even when the opening I used is a relatively new one. I am not referring to the same moves or position, but I've used the exa...
I was telling friends it will be some welcome for the world champion...when Gukesh was getting outplayed by Giri...and that didn't age long... So now Gukesh might be able to do this now...
In the final round of the World Blitz Championships, GM Daniel Naroditsky, one of the most popular chess streamers, had worked his way up the table into contention for the prestigious Knockout phase of the event. As you can see, his tiebreak is ...
Upon reading that 18 year old Russian GM Murzin had become the World Rapid Champion, I recalled the Titled Tuesday game in which I lost to him after having a great position from the opening. The big problem for me - I was just banging out moves wi...
While I was working (as a chess journalist) at Equarius Hotel or the Convention Centre, the only not-for-work picture I wanted to take was with Ding Liren's second, GM Richard Rapport. I didn't try to take selfies with Ding, Gukesh, Anand, G...
We all know the exciting conclusion of the World Championship and its thrills and spills. In a nutshell, both Gukesh and Ding are humble and spoke with earnest honesty about their game and thoughts, fought like gladiators and Gukesh pipped Ding du...
Translation of WGM Vivian Gu's Mandarin question to Ding Liren. Vivian Gu: This time, both your father and mother are here. How do you feel about that? Does it make things better? Will it help with improving your mood subsequently? Ding Liren...
Game 2 Press conference with questions posed by WGM Vivian Gu in Mandarin. WGM Vivian Gu (credit: Chessbase India) VG: Can you describe in simple terms how today's game went? D: Today we got an infrequently played line which I had prepared ...
WGM Vivian Gu asked these questions during the last 5 minutes of the post Game 1 press conference and Ding Liren preferred to answer in Mandarin. I translated the comments into English. Vivian Gu: First of all, congratulations on the win. In t...
23rd November, 10am Ding Liren's interview with WGM Vivian Gu Xiaobing during a kids’ event where he took pictures and signed autographs for the youth members of Singapore’s National Training Program at the Equarius Hotel. Ding Li...
The last time I went to the sleepy city of Adelaide was 7 years ago. Over the past 2 decades or so, things have changed tremendously (especially infrastructure and food/living costs). Take for example, the Chess Centre of South Australia. it is st...
Generally, chess tournaments in Singapore are held over the weekends so that the main group of competitors - students and youngsters can unwind over the weekend after tough schooling weekdays. There are exceptions of course, like Bishan Chess Club...
By now, the chess world is already aware that the Singapore Chess Federation is hosting the World Chess Championships Final match between GMs Ding Liren and Dommaraju Gukesh. The Singapore Chess Festival will be held alongside this to a...
