The Chess Ghost

 They are fast, they are brilliant on Lichess, and they have absolutely no idea how to write down a move. A look at a generation of self-taught players waiting for the school system to catch up. If you walk past Bilik Darjah 3A on a Wednesday afternoon, it doesn't sound like a chess club. It sounds like a riot. There is laughter, the screech of chairs on tiled floors, and the constant, high-energy chatter of ten-year-olds. Inside, you’ll find the school’s U12 (Under-12) "elite squad." They are the hopefuls for the MSSD (District Level) tournament in 2026. They are brilliant. They are enthusiastic. And they are almost completely guideless. This isn't a story of a disciplined Soviet chess school. This is a story of feral genius growing in the cracks of the Malaysian school system. The Lichess Generation Meet Amir, aged 11. On his father's smartphone, Amir is a terror. He plays "Bullet Chess" on Lichess (1-minute games) at frightening speeds. His thumbs mov...

 A real-life look at what happens when teachers with zero experience, limited resources, and administrative roadblocks are tasked with reviving a dying club in a local secondary school. Picture a typical sultry afternoon at SMK Seri Mutiara , a secondary school on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. The ceiling fans are working overtime in an empty classroom. Two teachers, Cikgu Sarah (a dedicated English teacher) and Cikgu Azlan (who teaches Sejarah), are staring blankly at a dusty, incomplete chess set they just pulled from a forgotten cupboard. They have just received a directive from the Pengetua (Principal): Revive the school Chess Club immediately as part of the new holistic curriculum push. There was just one massive problem. "Azlan," Cikgu Sarah whispered, nudging a plastic piece with her finger. "Do you know which one is the Rook?" "I thought that was the castle?" Azlan replied nervously. Neither of them knew how to play chess. Not a single move. They...

It has been awhile that we update this blog. Anyway, here are some awesome tips that amateurs need to know. Throughout the opening to middle game, most of us feel difficult to calculate or plan the moves because there were too many candidate moves (pawns, bishops, knights, rooks, etc.). Steps of thinking: 1. First of all, find those pieces that are not secured or undefended by any other pieces. 2. If there is no unprotected piece that you can not find, then it is best to search for the least unprotected piece. Thinking guides [CCTI] : 1. C heck - find a way to check, if any. 2. C apture - capture those unprotected or find a winning 'trade-in'. 3. T rap - set a 'capture zone' for a 'big' valued pieces, ie. Queen, Rooks. 4. I mprove - If there are none of the above, improve & secure your space and positions; cramped & push the opponent back to their home. Below you may see branches of thinking steps, simplified ways that we may use it, i...

Broadcast streaming here >> http://thechessghost.blogspot.com/p/live-chess-tournaments.html Standings of Tata Steel Challengers     Score Rating TPR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 Bok, B. 3.5 / 4 2560 2957     ½           1 1   1     2 Jobava, B. 3.5 / 4 2710 2831         ½         1     1 1 3 Saric, I. 3.0 / 4 2637 2747 ½           1 1     ½       4 Muzychuk, A. 3.0 / 4 2566 2746         1   ½ 1     ½       5 Duda, J. 2.0 / 4 2553 2604   ½   0   ½             1   6 Wojtaszek, R. 2.0 / 4 2711 2509         ½   0 ½           1 7 Reinderman, D. 1.5 / 3 2593 2638     0 ½   1                 8 Troff, K. 1.5...

Sergey Karjakin  is the new  World Rapid Champion ! He won the competition in Astana with 11,5/15, a full point ahead of the second Carlsen, after completing a fenomenal third day with 4,5/5. This adds yet another brilliant trophy to the carrer of Sergey Karjakin and one more time justifies  the transfer that the Russian Chess Federation  made  a few years ago . Magnus Carlsen was brilliant during  day 1  and  day 2  of the World Rapid chess championship in Astana. However, his third day games were in total contrast to the general performance so far. He started with a logical win against Ismagambetov, but scored back-to-back loses against Ivanchuk and Grischuk. A draw against Radjabov left him without much practical chances for the title, while in the last game he could have even lost the silver, had Veselin Topalov seen a forced mate in the endgame. Topalov himself had yet another strange mixture of irregular performances. He made nor...

Bronx Stars of Tomorrow: Chess Master Justus Williams March 23, 2012 at 2:44 PM Source: http://www.norwoodnews.org In his first year as a teenager, Bronx native Justus Williams has already become the youngest African-American chess player to be awarded the title of Chess Master in the country, and he is the first to tell you about the hours of studying and dedication that he is continuing to put towards his game. Williams sat down with the Norwood News at IS 318, the Brooklyn middle school he attends, which boasts a nationally ranked chess team, to talk about his past tournament in Brazil, his favorite chess piece, and his secrets to match preparation. You were just in Brazil for the World Youth Chess Championship, welcome back! How did it go down there? It was very good out there, very hot. I got 26th out of probably 200 people. I was there for two weeks and I played one game a day and the games usually last somewhere between three and four hours with a 90-minute time li...

Here I've found a very sound article about a journey of a Chess Coach, I quoted from the wholesalechess.com website. Specially dedicated to those who are trying to find some motivation to become a full timer as a Chess Coach. Good Luck! Chess Coach . . . The Beginning of the Journey July 19, 2010 Tags:  Teaching Chess Articles Written by guest author Erik Czerwin for Wholesale Chess. So you’ve been named Chess Team Coach. Awesome! Right?! Or was that a dubious move? It seemed like such a great idea at first, but now what? When I first started achess club at the school, it was easy. All I had to do was ask, and I was allowed to let a bunch of kids hang out, play chess, and listen to bad techno. We had fun that first year;  I never knew that 90s techno could strike such a chord  with such a diverse group of kids. Then again, there were only ten of them. And we weren’t a team; we were just a bunch of guys hanging out. And just when I started thinking...