A BLAST FROM THE PAST

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

I was rummaging the store where I put the boxes containing my chess books and materials, and I found this game which is played way back in 2003. I was very obsessed with attacking style then, and the game versus a well-known GM from the U.S.A. was no exception. In the end, my knight sacrifice was not sound, and my position was blown away efficiently. The only good thing was I got to take away the board I was playing on and I asked him to sign on it.

The board with GM Yaseer's autograph

COACHING STUDENTS

I like to share some tips for coaching primary (under-12 category) or secondary (under-15 and under-18) school students. There are several fun ways to coach them. Many of these training devices I revise from what I took from this interesting website.

1. Use time odds.
I give them 10 minutes to my 1 minute. There are many times where I lose on time, but mostly, I manage to survive. Nevertheless, some of them really use the given time wisely and think hard in order to beat me (I used their thinking time also for my replies). The merits of this device - using time wisely and handling the clock correctly.

2. Play pawn games.
I set up all the white and black pawns on their original squares, minus all the other pieces. Using a simple rule of those who manage to get a passed pawn first wins, I let them play against each other. The merits - learn to get passed pawns with correct handling of pawn formations.

3. Checkmate me.
I set up basic checkmate materials such as Queen and King vs lonely King, Rook and King vs lonely King etc. and ask them to checkmate me in only one minute. Of course most of them manage to checkmate me using the Queen, but many stumble when using a Rook. The merits - learn checkmate patterns, and most importantly, learn to think fast.

4. Puzzles.
I give them positions containing certain lessons learned earlier, e.g. pin, double check, double attack, en passant, and ask them to solve it. This device should be done in groups, so that they will try to beat the other groups for the solution. The merits - learn the fundamental tactics in chess.

5. Simuls.
All the students play against me simultaneously. Students must keep score of their game, and must not consult anybody throughout. Touch move only applies to the students, not me. During 2008 centralised training with the Gua Musang team, I played against all 36 students from all the age categories, winning all but 1 when I lost to a form 5 student from Sungai Asap. The merits - use all that have been learned in a competitive game.

COLIN EXPLAINS HIS SIMUL

From left to right: Tan Eng Seong, Lee Siew Fai (Seremban), Mr. Loh (Seremban),
International Master Jimmy Liew, Raymond Yap (CFO, SP Setia Berhad),
Collin Madhavan, Lim Teck Hoe (Asian Memory Record Holder),
American Master Larry Parr and PS Lim.

Here Colin explains his simul to me through email:

Explanation & Rules for 'The Most Consecutive Chess Games Played'.

As with any other simultaneous chess matches, there will be one player (chess master or expert) who will play against a number of opponents simultaneously. The Chess master/expert will play the White pieces on all boards unless the he decides to play with the Black pieces on selected or all the boards.

Unlike the record for the Most Simultaneous Chess Opponents, the record for the 'Most Consecutive Chess Games Played' will be done as follows:

A) The number of chessboards will be fixed. For example, 80 boards.

B) However, with this record, after a player has lost his/her game, he/she will have the option to start another game or give up the seat for another player to start a new game.

C) So for this record, the number of games start to increase though the chessboards are fixed at 80. That is the reason why the number of games will be higher than the number of players. Some players will play more than 1 game. For my recent match, 14 players played more than 1 game against me.

An good example is Susan Polgar’s match in 2005. She played 326 Simultaneous Chess Opponents (Record - Most Simultaneous Chess Opponents) while her record for 'Most Consecutive Chess Games Played' was 1,131!!

Question:

Why I like this kind of match?

Answer:

Because I think it is very fair to the participants. See below for a comparison between the 2 types of simul matches.

For Most Simultaneous Chess Opponents, some players who started the match against the master/expert, will still be there at the end of the match. In my match against 88 players in May 2008, the last player to finish against me (6.30pm) began playing against me at 9 am!!!

However for Most Consecutive Chess Games Played, the players can leave the moment their game is over. For example, in my recent match, the last player from the morning session left the hall at around 2.15pm, while players who joined the match at 1.30 pm, finished latest by 6.40pm.

Question:

Is it more difficult for the master with the record for Most Consecutive Chess Games Played?

Answer:

Yes, it is mainly because the master/expert is still on his feet playing chess for about hours or so. However, the participants who come in later in the match are fresh and rested. The master will tend to be less sharp than at the start of the match. Furthermore, most of the experts/masters playing in such matches DON’T EAT. Drinking some fruit juice and water is recommended.

For more pictures and info, visit Colin's website.

COLIN SURVIVES MARATHON, LOSES ONLY ONCE

Thanks for the mention in your blog. The final number of games played was 151. I won 116 games, drew 34 and lost 1. My playing performance was 88%. The match lasted 9 hours 50 mins. The actual number of players was 137. Thanks again.

This is the results for Colin Madhavan's record breaking simul. As mentioned by him personally above, he lost only once from 151 games. Even though I did not fully understand what he said, but we should salute this guy who has a very strong stamina. I myself did simuls when I was at the university (my best there was 15 in a go, beating all of them, university teammates) and in central trainings for the Gua Musang MSSM team (36 students, lost 1), I knew that it was a very demanding task, testing your body to the limit, especially your legs.

Colin in his previous simul

123 PLAYERS FOR RECORD BREAKING SIMUL

Candidate Master Colin Madhavan (FIDE 2220) will play against 123 players in a simultaneous chess event which will be held at Setia Alam, Shah Alam at the end of this month. The event is organized by SP Setia Berhad. The details of the programme:

Date: 24th May 2009
Time: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Venue: Setia Alam Welcome Centre, No. 2 Jalan Setia Indah AD U13/AD, Setia Alam Seksyen U13, 40170 Shah Alam.

Those who are interested please contact 03-3343 2255 or download the form here.

BLINDFOLD CHESS

Blindfold means playing chess without looking at the board. It requires the player to memorize chess positions until the end of the game. It strengthen the chess player's memory, as well as stamina as playing it will double the task for the brain. First you have to remember the current position, before thinking about the reply for your opponent's move. I tried to play simultaneous blindfold games with only three of my 'students' during my coaching time at IIUM, and I managed a win, a draw, and a defeat. I enclose here my first blindfold game when I was still at a secondary school in Kelantan. Even though I lost the game, there were several interesting moves made by both of us, in the 3-hour long game!

Yours Truly - Hanif Arkurni
Casual (Blindfold)
SMU (A) Al-Ma'ahad Al-Muhammadi, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu, Kelantan.
1995

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.c4 Nf6 8.Nc3 g6 9.Rb1 Bg7 10.b3 Nh5 11.Qd2 Qa5 12.Bb2 0-0 13.0-0 Bg4 14.Nd4 Rac8 15.Kh1 Qe5 16.Nce2 c5 17.Nf5 Qe6 18.Nxg7 Nxg7 19.f3 Bh5 20.Qh6 f6 21.Nf4 Qd7 22.Nh3 e5 23.Rbd1 Rcd8 24.Bxe5 fxe5 25.Rxd6 Qxd6 26.Ng5 Rf7 27.Qxh7+ Kf8 28.g4 Qf6 29.gxh5 Qxg5 30.hxg6 Rd2 31.Rg1 Qf6 32.Qh8+ Ke7 33.Rg3 Rf8 34.Qh3 Nf5 35.exf5 Rh8 36.Qg4 Rhxh2+ 37.Kg1 Rhe2 38.Kf1 Rh2 39.f4 Rd1+ 40.Qxd1 Rh1+ 41.Ke2 Rxd1 42.Kxd1 Qh4 43.Rg5 Qxf4 44.Rh5 Qf3+ 45.Kd2 Qxh5 46.g7 Qg5+ 0-1

KASPAROV STILL LOVED IN CHESS, BUT HATED IN POLITICS!

Kasparov visited US of America earlier this month and played a simul at the Harlem Children's Zone before sitting for an interview with Glenn Beck at the CNN studio in Manhattan about his political involvements. Finally, he signed autographs at the Borders, one of which on a 20-year-old Kasparov chess computer brought by a girl.

Kasparov played a simul at Harlem Children's Zone

Kasparov vs US Girls' Champion, Medina Parilla

Glenn Beck interviewed Kasparov on his political views

Kasparov signed a vintage Kasparov chess computer

Pictures courtesy of Chess Ninja.com


Kasparov was attacked by a flying penis at a political speech!