Reflection

I can’t say I’m particularly happy with my chess results these days. But to be honest, it’s been like this for the better part of a decade. Gone are the days when I played with real competitive fire. These days, I just want to enjoy a good game, whether win or lose. Unfortunately, it’s been more of the latter. The losses seem to pile up a bit more than I’d like.

It used to be, say 15 or 20 years ago, that when my friends and I joined chess tournaments, we’d always look forward to being paired against school kids. They were, let’s be honest, easy pickings back then. It was the adult players we had to watch out for. But not anymore. These days, the school kids are tough. Really tough. With all the structured coaching they’re getting and parents willing to fork out serious money for their children’s chess development, these boys and girls have become razor sharp. More often than not, I find myself on the losing end against them.

Ironically, it's now the "average Joe" adult players that I find easier to deal with. Maybe it’s because there’s less pressure when we’re not chasing medals or podium finishes. My mindset now is simple: if I win, great; if I lose, no big deal — on to the next round.

That was pretty much the attitude when our OFA Mxyzptlk team took part in the USM open team chess tournament yesterday. Of course, we tried our best every round, but if we walked away with a prize, that would just be a bonus. We’d fielded two teams — OFA Myrmidons and OFA Mxyzptlk — and naturally, there was always a chance our teams might face each other at some point, especially if they were on equal match points. Sure enough, it happened in the fourth round.

Ideally, we’d rather not be playing each other, but boh huat lah. That’s the way the draw goes. Still, there was a bright side. We took the chance to snap a photo of both teams, seated across from one another, hands outstretched for the pre-match handshake. A lovely moment of camaraderie and good fun, and perhaps the only kind of record I’ll be setting these days, as I slowly slide into cheerful chess obscurity!

As a final thought to this jotting. I met three ex-colleagues from my days with Ban Hin Lee Bank. I had more-or-less expected to find Wong Teik Aun playing in the tournament, but to find Vincent Ng and Sia Koon Liong participating as well was more of a surprise. Vincent, especially. He is still a pilot with Singapore Airline but he found time to return to his hometown for this event. Good for him!