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Chess 4 Life! 
By Candidate Master Collin Madhavan

Where have all the players gone? - Some feedback

Over these past two weeks, I've received some feedback regarding our question of why we are still lagging behind some of our neighbours. Many share the same sentiment, that is,  studies/exams, job commitments and not having adequate training. But apart from these reasons, here are some of the other observations and comments that came in:  

• Environment not conducive enough: 
  Though there are many Chess players around, unfortunately there aren't enough regular playing sessions going on around the country. For example, I get numerous email and calls requesting for the whereabouts of local Chess clubs where players can get to play a few games of Chess during the week. According to my friend, Zinyaddin from Azerbaijan, he says that one can easily find Chess being played at numerous places in the city of Baku. Even in the tea shops surrounding his apartment, one can see groups of players gathering for a couple of casual games of Chess every evening.
    

• No Comprehensive Program to unearth Chess talent
  There isn't any ongoing program that is in place where a child has an opportunity to learn the game and maybe even, excel in it. The schools program under the MSSM, seems to be doing some good. However, it too may not be enough as there are many schools that don't have Chess clubs and teachers who know how to play/teach the game. I see this happening especially in the co-curricular sessions in the school system. For example, if there is a school Chess club, many a time, one will find that there is no teacher who can guide or teach the students chess, let alone teach a beginner the rules of the game. So why is this happening? Can something be done to overcome this predicament?  
    

• No hunger for Success
  What would you say if I told you that many of our children are not hungry enough for success? One parent commented about his son who would immediately get onto his Game Boy the moment he finishes game. The father claims that the son seemed more eager to play with his Game Boy than to think slowly in his Chess game. Sounds familiar? Affluent lifestyle, hand-phones, notebooks, Game boy machines and television, seem to be some of the 'happy' distractions that seem to be taking our children away from Chess practice and may I add, success. In contrast, it is interesting to note that in countries  which are experiencing higher unemployment rates than Malaysia, Chess seems to be doing well. In these countries, Chess is popular past-time because it is cheap and serves  as a good 'source of income'. Yes, the game is played for 'friendly wagers' and that in itself, creates enormous interest for the players, and the spectators. Great effort is taken by these players to improve on their game, tricks and traps become the order of the day.  This has directly resulted in the rise of the players' playing strength.  
     

• Parental Guidance
  For success to be achieved, parents have got to be involved with their  children's Chess development at an early age. Chess should be given equal consideration as has been done in areas like music, art and ballet. For example in music, parents usually ensure that their children pursue their music lessons until they complete their higher grades. Chess has theory, Chess classes are structured, Chess helps tremendously in character building and Chess equipment is cheap. And once a person can read and write Chess moves, the world of Chess literature opens its doors to the enquiring mind! There is a misconception among some parents that since their children picked up Chess so easily and quickly, the rest of the progress will simply fall in place, easily and quickly, and  without much assistance from anybody. Some parents seem shocked when I suggested that each player needs a Chess 'guide' (I like this word as compared to that of Chess trainer) to show them the way to improving and enjoying the game even more. So, does this mean that parents generally have to be enlightened too? 
     

• Lack of Chess Sponsors & Chess Promotion
          One parent suggested that the main cause is that we do not have enough Chess sponsors in our country. He remembers only one BIG name and that is Dato' Tan Chin Nam, businessman and long-time friend of Chess! So apart from the benevolent Dato', who else is there? I have often been asked whether Chess would exist if Dato' Tan faded from the Malaysian scene to devote more time on his other pastime, horse racing. It's a hard question to answer but I know that there are many companies and individuals who may consider sponsoring Chess programs and events in the country, if they only know what Chess is all about. 
         And there's no lack of Chess tournaments in Malaysia. If fact, some players even suffer from an  overdose of Chess tournaments during some months of the year! So what is lacking? Are we all guilty of not promoting the game well enough? 
  

• Lack of Press coverage 
  The Press would probably like to do their bit if only they know how BIG the Chess following actually is. Unfortunately, they don't, or they are still not convinced. In 2007, two local dailies have come forward and begun reporting on some of our Chess events. This is a positive development and it reminds us of the days gone by when we had three local chess columns!! Pray hard, fellow Chess friends !we all hope that something BIGGER can come from it.