Chess

Convenor: Prakash Pillai | Article by: Owen M. Hawkes

Chess Section Committee from left to right: Team Captain and Events Coordinator, Tham Hock Chee; Secretary, Owen Hawkes, Convenor, Prakash Pillai; Committee Member, Tristan Tan; and Treasurer, Bryan Woon. Not pictured, Committee Member Fahreed Bhalsara.

From top: First board: Chess Section Convenor Prakash Pillai (right) ponders his next move against his Tanglin Club opponent; The next generation of Grandmasters? Chess Section members from left to right, Muthukrishnan Govindan, Kiaan Ebrahim and Vishnu Govindan.

Chess has long been a hobby of many SCC Members and a Chess Interest Group had been established by now-Chess Section Committee Members Bryan Woon and Tristan Tan in 2021. So a SCC Chess Section seemed long overdue by the time that the SCC’s newest section held its first AGM on 13 August. The Section has started a regular session of friendly matches every Sunday between 3pm and 6pm and looks forward to welcoming anyone with an interest in chess, at any level of proficiency, to join us.

POT GAMES

The first post-AGM Chess Section major event was the POT Games against Tanglin Club on 25 September. The SCC’s handpicked team of ten players put up a valiant fight across the board. Tanglin Club’s team had the better of the play on the day however and took the win.

Undaunted by this tough first outing, the SCC Chess team is planning further friendly intra-club games against other Singapore chess clubs with a view to providing opportunities to learn and develop through competitive play. The Chess Section is especially keen to support and develop young players. To this end, the Section is also planning to arrange training to complement its regular schedule of friendly games with tuition to hone the skills of the Club’s chess players. Lastly, the Chess Section Committee would like to thank Mohietheen Fathima, Chairlady of Member Engagement Subcommittee (General Committee), Wan Lay Chi, Head of Events & Sponsorship and Bianca Gatchalian, Events Executive, for the effort they have put into assisting the Chess Section in getting up and running. We would especially like to recognize Lay Chi and Bianca’s help in organizing the POT Games against Tanglin Club. We look forward to seeing our fellow SCC Members over a board soon!