Honey4Boyz

It could be the free time Brandon has in his homeschooling environment. Or it could be the prolonged haze that deterred all outdoor activities. He became very obsessed with playing chess. He took every opportunity he had, playing with his father or brothers, but mostly his online chess enthusiasts. He already knew how to play chess, but was playing it casually. We thought he will revert to some normalcy after the haze is gone. But the craze continues... We allowed him to immerse in chess cos we're so caught up with many other issues during that time. It's a very good distraction. W e're too busy to send him to any classes then, which turned out well for him.  He watched chess games of other grand masters, analysed the moves and even appreciated some of the brilliant moves. The free time really allowed him to blossom and learn on his own.  Jin was equally a good chess player but he's so tied down with school work that he hardly had time to play and enjoy the ga...

Go, Go, Go!! April was the month of sports and games. The boys have their sports days, inter school sports and state level sports. I have gotten used to the extra hours of practising and the extra effort sending them everywhere. The boys both enjoy their school experience, and participating in sports or club is a key part of this. Win or lose, they'll learn a lot about themselves and their limits. These days, sports day was not all about competition. It's a lot of Fun.... ... doing a tribal dance .... or a mummy race .... walking barefoot on the tracks ..... to attend the Pharoah's wedding... ... a few of the invited guests Jin just made it to the podium in the 200m race.  For the record, Jin's comeback after a longgg hiatus.  Wei has a very different experience in sports day this year. He's always very physical and the athletic one in the family. But this year, he surprised us with his participation i...

Posting by Xian Wei A few of us, including my brothers went to the chess camp held at the International Youth Centre in Cheras recently. Jin was in the higher intermediate level, whereas Brandon and I were in the lower intermediate. When the competition started, I was doing well, then I made a few mistakes and ended up in the 2nd place. I learnt a lesson not to take people's praises seriously and get overconfident. But I still enjoyed the games.  I was playing against the winner. I almost won him but he checkmated me a few minutes before his time ran out. Winners of the tournament (lower intermediate). Brandon got 4th place. Jin standing next to the Spanish coach, Captain Alberto. Like me, he got 2nd place.

Posting by Xian Jin That's me, the 3rd player on the left row! It was my first time participating in a chess team event, and I was very excited. My team and I represented our school in the 33rd Astro Merdeka Rapid Open Team Chess Championship on 17 and 18 August. Each team must have four players.  I was surprised at the number of participants, at least 400 people from different age groups. Before the match, I was very nervous about making mistakes in the competition. I had to read the rules from time to time because I have trouble remembering them. What's different in this competition was that we initiated the participation on our own. We formed our own team and handled all the procedures by ourselves.  At first, there was some misunderstanding over the procedures but at last we agreed and were happy with our playing positions.  There were nine rounds altogether. After the first match, we lost. But we didn't give up hope. The next round, our team leader wo...

Come May/June every year, tis the season of chess camps, tournaments, inter-club meets, inter-school meets, etc. The stage is set for chess battle! "Grand Master in training" Start them young..... Chess is still popular in Malaysia!