Yesterday I read the FB posting of one of our former national level junior chess player which defended the curry powder man. The claim was that he was hounded and punished by the authorities for doing a religious sermon while racists of other racial denominations are rewarded for their racist unpatriotic rants. I have to admit that I was disappointed by that post. The first thing that went through my mind was the recollection of who he was. I have known him for many years and have spent a lot of time with him in tournaments. I have known him as one of the most level headed and fair minded boy I have had the good fortune to have met. But let me say this first. We are so fast to congratulate the Americans who oppose the unfair policies of their Country. We applaud the Jews who refuse to participate in the Zionist agenda. And yet we cannot weigh out the points raised by our fellow citizens of double standards here. Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge I dont think curry powder man has been punished yet but still the post implies that he has already been persecuted. Chess teaches us to form our conclusions from the facts and not to fit the facts into our conclusions. So I wondered what sort of pressure must this boy be facing that goes against all that training from chess. And why did he buckle at this later stage of his life. Allow me to share some of my insights here. One of the first things I taught my son in his chess training is that the mind has the propensity to trick itself. And his first lesson was to identify all the emotions he can in himself. Anger, anxiety, exuberance, impatience etc etc. ie FEARS. Then I asked him to reflect on the effects of these strong emotions on his decision making. This is not easy to do. And that is why I like chess as a training tool for developing thinking skills. In chess you can observe the effects move by move, game by game and tournament by tournament. You have a chance to correct your thinking before the next move. And if you are able to do that, to counter the negative effects of those strong emotions, it is measurable by the objective results. Ergo you win the game. It takes practice, a lot of practice to develop mental strength. It cannot be earned cheaply. You need to confront those strong emotions to clear your mind. That cannot be developed in an ivory intellectual tower but only in healthy competition. The self competition to raise your own knowledge and your SKILLS. The only way that those lessons cannot be taught is when the fighting spirit is broken. And that is what I think has happened to the boy. Now he cannot see even the elephant in the room. Shila Rossi, Intan Adamas, Haslina Hussin, Marina Mahathir, Mariana Musa, Tariq Ismail, Asra Azlan Ismail, Norhayati Yusof, Vana Vadiveloo, Rosiani Jaafar, Izzee Sulaiman, Adzlin Azhar, Huan Ung, Willy Lim, Sunil Allen, Chellum Raptor, Zaha Sharm, Abdullah Che Hassan, Iza Noor, KK Aw, Syakir Shazmeer, Farida Shah, Noor Farida Ariffin, Inge Bursell, Liong Ing Kiat, Kevin Guan, Catur Melaka, Pesatuan Catur Negeri Perak, Raja Petra Kamarudin - Malaysia Today, Malaysiakini, Casey Seow, Steven Cheong,
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 04:11:46 +0000