I recently played in what is almost certainly my last ever tournament. So out of practice and rusty, I really should have known better. Common sense alone ought to have told me not to, alas love is blind. I enjoyed the event but not the chess, and regarding the latter, I just don’t want to write about it. I really don’t think I can make the same mistake again. Yes, okay, I won games, I won a prize and became tenacious but its hardly the point. Here, have some pictures instead! And yes you can see pictures of my daughter and her mum here too!
Myself and old friend Poompong recently had a recorded chat about the state of chess in Thailand. I chose to ask him because he has become an FM, and an International Arbiter as well, and is involved with many things in Bangkok. I’ve always known him to be an intelligent and well-informed guy with excellent English skills too!
Myself ‘How would you describe the level of interest in chess in Thailand now?’
Poompong ‘If we look back about 10 years ago, chess was not as popular as it is right now. I remember that I played in my very first tournament, the national championships for adults back in 2004, and I remember that I was one of the only two juniors out of all the participants (ed. 24), so now 20 years has passed and you can see that kids are everywhere in the tournaments, and not only that but kids are starting to beat adults as well.’
Myself ‘Why does Bangkok have a lot more schools and tournaments than it used to?’
Poompong ‘It is because of two things adding up together. One is because there are more chess clubs/chess schools popping up. For example, nowadays we have Big Rook Chess Academy, Red Knight Chess Club, we have JCA, and a few more that I didn’t mention. Some of them also entered into international schools and made themselves the after school provider, and this is one of the big reasons why its all happening now. If you actually take a closer look at these kids, these juniors that are playing in the tournaments, most of them can speak English pretty well, they either study in a government school, international programme or study at an international school, and these clubs involved with international schools sometimes organize their championships, the most recent one was at Shrewsbury. They had their own tournament and also challenged other international schools. Regarding their own championships, they usually gather around 250 chess kids.’
Myself ‘Has the government done much to promote chess?’
Poompong ‘The government right, not the TCA (Thai Chess Association)? The government organization that is closest to the chess community is the Sports Authority of Thailand, the S.A.T. The TCA is one of their members and under their direct care. What they do is give a yearly funding to the association, in addition to specific tournaments here and there, so yes you could say the government is helping but our feeling is it is not enough and we are still pretty much on our own.
Myself ‘Are there any obstacles or difficulties facing young chess players today?
Poompong ‘The prime time for young players is usually going to be somewhere from grades 5,6, and 7 until a few years before they enter university because the last few years before they got to university they need to study a lot and read a lot of books to be qualified for university, and some players lose interest in chess along the way. If you are lucky you might see some of these players return once they get to university, some of them just stop some just become inactive. Generally, juniors have two main turning points in their life career, one is when they are about to enter university, and that can be one of the factors that makes these kids stop playing chess, and the second turning point is when they have graduated from the universities and are about to get a job, that can play a big part of things as well it can either make them stop playing chess too or make a come back if their job suits for a chess schedule.’
Myself ‘What does the future look like for chess in Thailand?’
Poompong‘In order to answer that I need to look back to 10 years ago, and if I were asked back then how chess would look right now, honestly speaking I wouldn’t say I was expecting we would already have an IM, so looking back it seems that chess is doing better than it seemed to be back then, so that’s another clue that chess is growing quite fast and is gaining popularity quite fast as well, and it seem as though its going to keep that way for a while but that is also working world wide in the same way and same pattern but how far and how developed well we will get to that, I’m not quite so sure whether we are going to see a GM or not, I am actually looking forwards to it because right now because Prin (ed. Thai IM) is promising and his dad is very supportive, like he funded Prin to go and play abroad and from what I know he is also going to GM tournaments like those round robin things, so he is pretty close and he was very close to getting his first GM norm in a tournament last month but he was just only half a point away but I think the others will come soon, so I think I’m going to see a GM but that is only because of one particular individual that has a very supportive dad but again this is just one example. I think we are going to see more promising players and one thing I do see for sure is kids are getting better, faster, and younger. The top level of junior 10 years ago was a lot lower than the top juniors nowadays, and I think its going to keep on being like that in the next ten years.’
It’s seven and a half years since I last played competitive chess and my-oh-my do I miss it. So much so how wonderful was it to learn that slap-bang in the middle of next month’s break lies a chess tournament just up the road from where I will be based. Load on in I did – now 2650 Baht (£58) poorer as a result cheap at half the price!
Still with some seventeen days to go, what were those early considerations?
First, which pen to use? The two chosen are both orange inked -here they are.
The black one is better, it writes in orange and is smoother, the other is back up.
Second was headwear. I have worn many hats playing chess over the years and bandanas too, inspired by Mike Muir the singer of Suicidal Tendencies, a band I went to see on October 14th, 1990 and March 6th. 1993.
I have three bandanas; one white and one black (these I always wore to metal concerts), and one multi-coloured (this I wore in Kyoto Japan a lot), and so I thought I would give them a wash and get them ready.
I’m leaving them in there to soak overnight -bandanas in the wash!
Third was, refresh and tidy up my opening repertoire. I looked into the Breyer against the Caro-Kann and am on board with that. The other change is to revert back to the Sicilian Kan from the Taimanov. I don’t like this early Nb5 stuff in that, which FM Gayson played against me recently, and I also don’t like it when white captures on c6. So the Kan, again, it is.
Preferable since I think you bring your queen’s knight out too early in the Taimanov.
The remaining considerations are what food and drink to bring to the hotel, whether to arrive on the day or the day before, and what to do in the half-day we have (ATV Tour looks most likely).
I am reading Rowson’s T7DCS, and analyzing chess positions deeply, that’s enough for now.
The province it is being held in Nakhon Nayok, just north-east of Bangkok. It is shaded light green and if you look in the top right corner you will see a blue dot. That is a lake and next to it is a white dot, that’s where the tournament hotel is (see below).
One of the benefits chess gives us is it teaches us the importance of learning from our mistakes. Entering a tournament rusty is something I have done before quite a few times and do not wish to repeat. And so… .
Forth was putting a PGN viewer (Chess PGN Master) and Engine (Stockfish 15.1) on my Samsung Tablet, so that I have better access to analysis, where I may choose to store my games. Because the interface is customizable, after looking and playing around I settled on the aforementioned.
My LTFC look 🙂
Fifth was entering a Rapid tournament the weekend before.
It is a necessity to bring chess back into my life and reacquaint with that presently not within my reach. The following question is what comes next?
As it stands: March 29th Bangkok Chess Club visit
March 31st FIDE Rated Rapid Tournament
April 5th-9th CAD Nakhon Nayok International Open
Sixth consideration is how much cider is consumed throughout? A tough question indeed.
‘Women, can’t live with them, can’t shoot them.’ Sean Penn, U-Turn
As a creature of habit I put no thought whatsoever into my visit to the chess club tonight. I go every week, so why should I? Why should I? I have a better question, how about you apply to life the things that chess teaches you like learning to think ahead before you make your next move. Then ask yourself ‘What might happen if I play out a trip to the chess club tonight?’
Of all the countries in S. E. Asia, I just so happen to be located in the sleaziest of them all; namely, Thailand. The capital is the main base of many I have around the world -and importantly it’s Thai new year at present. This means hundreds of thousands flock to the city centre to get blind drunk and have one huge water fight. Why did I not question whether it was a good idea to go into the city? I wish I knew. Was it nothing more than a preference to not stay at home all day long and to go out and do something instead? Why didn’t I tell myself that to stay at home is for the best sometimes? I just don’t know. I really don’t.
Hardly anyone showed up at the club but we rolled out a blitz tournament nonetheless. With the time limit at 3m 2s increment I under-performed as usual but that’s fine, I am quite used to it. But I went and let the whole evening be derailed by women, whilst in the chess club. What on earth possessed me to allow that you might wonder!
Firstly, I had some woman from New York state wanting to chat to me on Instagram, secondly I also had a former colleague wanting to hook up and bring two women along, one of which he made very clear was quite drunk, wanted to meet me and spend the night together, thirdly I had an ex-girlfriend sending me messages about how much she loves me whilst she was high on what the Americans call crystal meth.
Why could I not just see the night as a night of chess, ignore everything else, go home and go to bed? I just don’t know. So anyway, I met this fucking woman who wanted to sleep with me whilst I was dealing with my Vietnamese ex-girlfriend. My colleague was very drunk, she was too and so was her friend. Yes she liked me and made it clear we were to spend the night together but before that they wanted to party. It was now 11pm, so I started drinking too, so that we could enjoy the night together but with it being new year I wasn’t sure where to go after the English pub we were in closed. Festivities are supposed to stop at dusk but it never happens. The street I chose to go to was total carnage, the likes of which I have never witnessed. Rammed full of drunken idiots partying on like never before, in the street on the road in all the bars, it was everywhere, there was no escaping it. We were fucked and had to change location. What I thought would be a safer option was no better. The whole city centre was besieged by pissed up revellers, partying all day and all night. Acting like total fucking drunken idiots all the time, not knowing what they are doing or even why they are doing it. We got attacked en route numerous times thus completely drenched in water -and I got very pissed off indeed. Those with me could see I had become super-stressed, so when I said I was going home AND going home alone, there was no argument.
There was no argument but matters complicated further because the carnage was everywhere and I was trapped on the street I was on. Even though I had already said goodbye, I kept bumping into those I had spent the last few hours with -we were all trapped. The route I wanted to take out of the city I couldn’t because there was pure mayhem that way, so that meant a good 5km walk through more carnage to escape the area I was in. Taking a taxi out of the situation was impossible because they prey on tourists heavily downtown, and charge you extortionate fees to go anywhere, so I had to walk for kilometres just to get out of the tourist zone. All I could tell myself was ‘Mark, don’t hit anyone, please don’t hit anyone’ but I knew that was coming, I knew for sure. The second route I wanted out of the city was so blocked I knew it was a bad idea. I had to take a third route which involved skirting the Arab quarters, where thankfully no such partying continued. Yes it was a long walk but it turned out to be a wise decision. I knew all too well that about 3kms from the road I was on there was another major road parallel to it, one which led in the direction I needed to go in. I knew that tourists never go there so picking up a taxi would be easy, which it was. Sit in the air con drenched from head to toe I did, not relieved, not overjoyed, just very pissed off. I chose the wrong evening to socialize and start dating someone -and it came back on me big style.
Men and women are principally different and women are much smarter then men. Want to know why? Women only think with one part of their body; namely, their brain. But men think with two parts of their body. Yes their brain is one of them but also another part much lower down the body is used, and used with great frequency. But I don’t think with that part of my anatomy. I never have and I never will. Yes I love women because I love life per se but that’s as far as it goes. I don’t need to get laid. I did it more than enough times already thank you very much.
And so what should have been a quiet night of chess turned into a total fucking nightmare that I never want to happen in my life again. For the next two days the city is besieged with the same stupid shit. So I am staying at home and going nowhere until it’s returned to normal and everyone has stopped fucking about and acting like complete idiots. At times I fucking hate this place and with good reason. Never again will I go into the city to play chess during new year festivals -never again.
And the moral of the story is: ‘If you allow women to enter your life and have more than one, two or three on the go bear in mind that needs to be managed at all times and do not bow down to their wishes when festivities are at their worst because that is so often a recipe for disaster, as was the case tonight’.
That’s the sort of stupid rubbish I had to put up with tonight.Yes, you’ve guessed it -more stupid shit.Even more bollocks.
There is a tournament taking place in Pattaya next month. I have attached a photo with all the details. You could say the timing is somewhat questionable, and that its not an established tournament and so its rather unlikely that there will be a huge turn out. It would have helped if they had mentioned the fees for joining also but in the five minutes or so it took to knock that flyer up, it never entered their heads. And you might wonder if they can’t get basic things right like advertising and promoting, can they get organizing a tournament right, being 100 times harder. If you are desperate to play chess it may well be worth going otherwise it looks like a bit of a non-event.
“Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god.”
Aristotle -Politics
What would he have made of those who opt for online chess instead of OTB chess I wonder?
The Unhindered
Been back in Thailand for over three months now I have. Meet every Friday upstairs in The Royal Oak pub, Sukhumvit 33/1 Bangkok Chess Club does.
The Royal Oak, formerly The Red Bull
A little noisy it is, a little cramped for space too, but for a club moved on every couple years or so, our latest home is tolerable. Whether good (il buono), bad (il cattivo), or ugly (il brutto), I will still like it and enjoy going there most weeks. It’s a stark contrast to what I left behind: life in the desert was getting to me, of that there is no doubt but now ‘unhindered’I can do as I so wish -phew!
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly final scene
If anything, it has been a slow and gradual welcome return to the fold. In Bangkok for more than fifteen years to play chess now I have been, and make many friends along the way I did, most of whom are still here plying their trade OTB with a steady pint on hand by their board. Highlight of the week it is, play in the blitz tournaments I do always, even though play well I usually don’t. The topography of Bangkok Chess Club is a tough terrain, not just because the playing premises is subject to upheaval biennially…or thereabouts, but more so that several stalwarts aside you never do know who will turn up week to week. You don’t know how many also, with numbers varying between five to thirty usually. There’s a different bunch that make up the numbers as each week passes, predominantly ex-pats sometimes, predominantly local players sometimes, a mix of both usually. There’s a sense of continuity and impermanence stood side by side at Bangkok Chess Club, making each visit to the club both familiar and unpredictable. For me the overarching emotion in play is a sense of belonging. Neither a tourist nor resident, I am one who comes and goes, never staying for too long or too short a time. Not part of the furniture and not one of the passers by either, somewhere in between I am… .
Because of an unwitting and enveloping sense of ‘this is my home’ has grown and grown since my return to the club, it has made OTB chess a rock in my life. Always a pleasant night out where enjoy the occasion I do; the social aspect of the evening more dominant than the competitive side of it always it is… .
The Unabashed
Unleashed from the desert, now entering the city aka BKK was a breath of fresh air in itself. Just seeing people congregate on a sky train freely was enough per se not to mention seeing women in public, dressed as they so wish. Quickly, a spectacle was there to behold with nightlife awaiting. Having spent many years in Bangkok already, I knew everything was on sale, drink, drugs, women, anything I wanted, and plenty of it too. This meant that I started drinking alcohol in the chess club then was off out partying after it had finished ‘unabashed’. Cider was thy tipple in numerous bars in the red light district.
Magners Cider by the board
All this I had to reign in within a month or so because, as anyone can tell you, chess and alcohol do not mix very well. As the night went on, my play got worse and worse, reaching the point where I was blundering thus losing too frequently. It had to stop. So it did stop, and diet coca-cola soon took over. For sure thy cider enhanced the social aspects of the evening and assisted in mood elevation but on the chess front, it was not acceptable, so I pushed it out, and out it stays. Boycotting booze OTB is both good for my health and good for my wallet but what soon followed I didn’t expect. I curtailed partying too, and a month or so later, cut it out, and accompanying loose women I kept dating unsobered. Normality ensued, reigned supreme, and stayed put. There were no more cancellations to the chess club for the likes of her.
I spent quite a few evenings with her
Her nickname is ‘Nan’, her real name ‘Pannada’ and she’s 29 years old. She’s from up north, Nong Bua Lamphu to be exact, and came to like me quite a bit that night she pulled me out of the chess club -which I took as a compliment. Certify I can, she has quite a body on her 🙂 (and before you ask, yes of course I’ve had my hands all over her countless times but no Luton’s handsomest chess player is not telling you what his favourite part of her body is and not through faulty memory because I was bloody drunk all the time!) What the picture, perhaps, doesn’t show you is that when she wears make up and dresses herself up she really is a very beautiful woman.
The Unflappable
Rather than fool around/about/again drinking excessively at the club, making bad videos for this site, I started to focus on my chess more and more week by week. At first, it was far from easy: online chess has altered my level of concentration when I play so much, too much in fact, making me prone to make mistakes more because online chess is rather unserious, a corollary of which being concentration levels are nominalized. So step by step, I stopped online chess altogether, deleted the apps from my Samsung A8 tablet and focused solely on OTB chess aka the real thing.
Thy trusty tablet. With all online chess apps deleted
Notice that with OTB chess the ability of your opponent differs much more greatly than it does with online chess I did and take some weeks to adjust to it took. Was rusty me off the pace with blitz being played at 3m 2s per game? Yes. So speed up I did. Gradually, my results began improving but only because I lost on time less often. Emotions during play had to be contained, something I put into practice by not allowing myself to give up if a mistake was made, for the simple reason you could still win on time. Taught myself to become ‘unflappable’I have, and to focus solely on my next move during play became the norm. Adjusting to etiquette OTB, and FIDE rules too, has taken time. You can’t, for example, knock a piece over, press your clock, then put it back on its square. That’s illegal and loses you the game on the spot but easily done it is. And spotting illegal moves with so little time on the clock is not as easy as you might think, most often with kings not being moved out of check -immediate loss.
Three months have come and gone. The desire to act like a playboy do what I want has as well. What is left is a ‘to do what’s right OTB’ attitude. To win. To win more. And more still. The light at the end of the tunnel -pride in oneself! Chess has become a rock. ‘I am a rock, I am an island’ as Simon and Garfunkel once together sang.
Yes I do have a colourful life, don’t I? Quite unlike that of your average chess player, isn’t it? Wonder why? What if I told you under no circumstances whatsoever should I still be alive? And no I am not joking… .
‘I was sitting at home and had a profound experience. I experienced, in all of my being, that someday I was going to die, and it wouldn’t be like it had been happening, almost dying but somehow staying alive, but I would just die! And two things would happen right before I died: I would regret my entire life; I would want to live it over again. This terrified me. The thought that I would live my entire life, look at it and realize I blew it forced me to do something with my life.‘
Hubert Selby Jr.
Mark. J. McCready, 5.33pm, Tuesday, February 21st.
The tournament is being held in Chiang Mai this year at the beautiful 5-star Shangri-la hotel.
The field is stronger than usual, with the Norwegian number two, Aryan Tari joining the already strong contingent of GMs. Oftentimes in the past the tournament was held in April and clashed with the Dubai Open, however, despite having much less prize money in play comparatively, the tournament remained popular and has continued to flourish across all levels in the game. This is down to the fact that it is known to be a well-organised tournament in a popular destination, with many participants wanting a bit of holiday thrown in with their chess -which they get!
Chiang Mai? Where’s that then? It’s in the north of the country and is the largest city up there. Steeped in tradition more so than anywhere else, the city centre is encompassed by a huge wall, within which is no end of temples both ancient and modern. Some have so much care and attention poured into them that an epicentre for Buddhism is the vibe floating through the streets which criss-cross it. There’s a great, sprawling night market there too, with something on sale for everyone, and a chilled atmosphere amongst the many bars and restaurants discovered. And yes, as you can perhaps guess, it is your beloved author’s favoured location in Thailand, and for many reasons too! Besides Chiang Mai there’s a huge mountain. It’s easy to travel up and you can find a famous temple offering stunning views of the city as well as indigenous people -who are more than happy to have their photo taken with you! What is the symbol of Chiang Mai and how do I find out more about the chess scene in Thailand? Just click on this link http://bangkokchess.com/
Sadly, I just can’t make it this year. I played in and functioned as photographer enough times in the past but this is the sixth consecutive year of non-participation. In truth, since suffering from a major head injury in 2016 I haven’t been able to play competitively, and perhaps that’s how it has to stay.
Bias aside, should you ever consider participating in an international tournament, I strongly recommend the Bangkok Open -it ticks all the boxes. May I also strongly suggest that you don’t party too hard if do you sign up and play on. So many have done in the past, including visiting GMs, and were much the worse for wear because of it. It’s perhaps an exaggeration to say its become something of an embarrassment amongst those of us in the know but the preferred option is that we see less of it -of that there is no doubt. Defining what a ‘chess’ holiday should be something of an open question…but still. Moderation is what I, your beloved author, recommends along with fighting chess each and every day.
…on what this site has become…on what this site is becoming…on what this site cannot become…
On what this site has become
…here, the chess-related musings of an adrift academic are bound playfully and electronically, in this online journal of sorts. It has grown and grown in the decade I have kept it going and above all you must understand I write through a love of writing AND NOT to be read. Content is often personal and that alone should tell you I am writing for myself. Most importantly of all, I am proud of my own originality (as you won’t find content like this anywhere else) and believe in what I do…
On what this site is becoming
…this site is becoming a sanitized archive of chess in Bedfordshire both past and present. I am a post-modern historian by heart, and largely by practice too. I chronicle as much as I can about the history of chess in Bedfordshire but I am only human, fallible, and not a trained historian as my qualifications are in Philosophy. Friends and former playing partners back home describe me as the go to guy for the history of chess in Bedfordshire. That may well be true and so I have created three categories: ‘Bedfordshire Chess’ and ‘History of Bedfordshire Chess’ and ‘Luton Chess Club’. This website is moving in those directions steadily and away from challenging the conservatism chess is dominated by…
On what this site cannot become
…I am both creative and amusing, and I like subterfuge too! Remove posts that angle towards the aforementioned is something I cannot do. This site cannot only be about chess in Bedfordshire and nor should it be. It is titled McCreadyandChess for a reason and I cannot remove my own thoughts and experiences of chess from its content. Everything is open to interpretation. All you have are: ‘Some thoughts on the beautiful game’. Nothing more, nothing less…
McCreadyandChess 