Initially, the participants were expecting a blow by blow demonstration of Dan’s sharp moves in his encounter with other GMs. To their surprise, Dan focused and explained in detail the concepts and nuances of various rook endgames instead and further emphasised on the importance of knowing them.

So, what has these got to do with Dan’s best games?

It was subsequently unveiled in the following games that he showed, the knowledge of such endings was vital in him prevailing over his illustrious opponents. In some examples, Daniel already had the endgame in mind even at the opening stages and so guided the fight towards the endgame structure he had envisaged.  So, before every game he showed, he would discuss and tutor the participants in how to deal with the endgame. This enabled participants to see the link between the openings/middlegames to the relevant endings and also drummed into them the importance of knowing the endgame, (the pet peeve of many juniors).

At the end of the Masterclass, I asked various participants about what they thought of it. Zachary Chia from Nanyang Primary School said he enjoyed learning about the rook endings. Two members of the Sgp vs Kaz squad, WCM Bernadette Kong and Gladys Koh were also happy they had attended this session. Bernadette liked the section on rook endings with the bishop pawn and the rook pawn and Gladys found the masterclass instructive and it had given her much insights into endgame knowledge. However, as the kids also noted, most of them were a bit intimidated in posing queries to the GM (he did assure them that he is very much homegrown here and the only difference btw him and us is his British accent) so only Julian Wang and the adult participants asked relevant questions. Likewise, Daniel also felt, from prior experience as well, that this is typical of our local children, as their natural instinct is to clam up when a foreign GM starts talking. In any case, I thought it’s amazing kids can sit through and be engaged during the full 3-hour lesson.

So thank you so much, GM Dan, for your Master Class and helping to raise more than $1000 for the #ChessAgainstCovid charity drive.

Also, we would like to thank a mystery sponsor, a chessmum who very generously sponsored 5 spots for the masterclass.  Thanks so much, Mrs K!

Last but not least, we would like to thank FM Andrey Terekhov, ‘the Ruskie Steamroller’, for facilitating the event, handling technical glitches and making sure the participants had no problems with the game demonstration.

I am firstly grateful to the young masters, led by FM Lee Qing Aun and FM Ashvin Sivakumar who came forward voluntarily to contribute to the cause. Qing Aun in particular did a lot of coordination work and project management pertaining to the Young Masters Simul Series. Ashvin played a key role in his super prompt and detailed post event report and he went through every single game played in meticulous fashion in order to highlight key moments. Despite not being selected for the match FM Lee Jun Wei and CM Tan Jun Hao selflessly volunteered to join the technical team for the upcoming #SGPKAZ match to be held on 3rd May, while of course I have to mention the many other young masters who have shared their time with the younger generation through the simul series and post mortem analysis.

The Young Masters have loads of new ideas and they have planned a series of fun and interesting events for the month of May. Please keep a look out!

Together with Mr. Arun S., the founder and CEO of a local chess training platform are now working on a website which would help to organise all our materials and reports. Coming very soon!

And of course, our tournament technical director CM Junior Tay and Ms Esther Koh who helps to manage participants’ interests in our events and make sure that every single aspect goes smoothly.

This whole team has worked very hard indeed but yet, doing community work is a new experience for many of us. There are many charity organisations and support workers out there who do this every single day, coronavirus pandemic or not. They are the real unsung heroes and it is our privilege to provide some assistance, even if its just a little, towards their goal of helping others.

If you believe in this, please contribute to our initiative here. A link will be shared in the comments and please also let us know if you have any other ideas and we will be happy to reach out.

Thank you

Wei Ming