Now that the Malaysian Masters and MCF Selection are over and the team for Tromso Olympiad decided, it is time to reflect back on what was done and what was done wrong.
Initially, I did not intend to write this post but a number of readers and friends were asking me about this very subject. This is what I found out and also my personal views.
Before I start let me state that there are no conspiracy theories. There are no collusions amongst the MCF officials to favor or to deny any players. For those who love such theories, you can proceed to the poison blogger's site. If you are more interested in facts, then read on.
Everything that I have written here was gleaned from speaking to an MCF official and using some common sense. Getting it from the inside is better than making up stories to fit your agenda, yes?
Also, I am not an mouthpiece for MCF, so everything written here are my own opinions.
Qualification into Olympiad team
It was widely announced that this year's olympiad team would consists of the top five players from the 2014 Malaysian Masters. The composition of the Masters :
- Highest rated player on the active FIDE rating list
- First eight players from 2013 Malaysian Masters
- Top three players from the current National Closed
It seems that the chess community only knew that something was not going according to plan when Haslinda quietly posted this on her blog. The rule was changed and instead of the top five, only the top three from the Masters would be picked for the Olympiad team.
Then what about the remaining two spots? Now we have Lim Tze Pin announcing on his own blog how these two will be selected. The last three players from the Masters will join IM Lim Yee Weng to play a four player selection to decide the two spots.
Aside: I found it quite fascinating how MCF does not announce any of these important decisions on its own official site but rely on others to publicise it.
Questions
1. Why only six players for the Masters?
What MCF did not foresee was the number of players from last year's Masters who would decline to play this year. The 8 players are -
- Lim Yee Weng
- Aron Teh Eu Wen
- Mas Hafizulhimi
- Lim Zhuo Ren
- Wong Jianwen
- Ng Tze Han
- Fong Yit San
- Ronnie Lim Chuin Hoong
Only Aron Teh and Ng Tze Hand accepted the invitation while Yit San also qualified through the National Closed. Even the qualifier from the rating list , Nicholas Chan, declined his place. The next highest rated player was Mas who was in the previous Masters so this place was given to Yeoh Li Tian who was the next highest rated Therefore MCF "lost" six players from the previous Masters. The main reasons were work and study commitments
2. Why not make up the numbers to make the intended 12 player or even a 10 player Masters?
MCF wanted to stick to the announced invitation criteria. For example, Yit San already qualified as he played the previous Masters and he was also the top in the National Closed. So MCF could have chosen the another player from the National but did not do so. Here, MCF is showing that it is very principled in its decisions. Three will come from the Nationals and three it is.
If more players were needed, MCF could choose from the 9th and 10th player (full disclosure: I happen to be the 10th) from the previous Masters. Or it could choose the next highest rated players in the FIDE list. And finally it could even pick the next best players from the Nationals. But MCF decided not to do so.
I think MCF made a big mistake here. The Malaysian Masters was conceived as a premier event in the chess calendar which is why it is by invitation only and a round robin tournament. By having a six player tournament playing only five rounds, it has become something of a joke. Even a rapid week-end Swiss has more rounds than this.
3. Why did MCF change the qualifiers from five to three?
After they found that only six players were willing to play the Masters, MCF looked at the composition and decided that any team formed from these six would be too inexperienced for a major tournament like the Olympiad. From past experience, I can say this is a real concern. The team needs a strong and experienced player as a stabilizing force.
A more disturbing factor; with five places in the team, each of the six players had a very high certainty of representing the country just by "showing up". The image of the Malaysian Masters as a selection tournament was in jeopardy. Of course, this was the fault of MCF, basically they painted themselves into a corner by being "principled".
4. Why include IM Lim Yee Weng in the MCF Selection when he did not want to play the Masters?
Yee Weng did not reject the Masters but he just could not take the number of working days off to play. We must not forget that anyone who makes the team will also have to take over two weeks of leave to go to the Olympiad. With these considerations , he decided he would play only on week-ends.
So the MCF committee came up with this idea of a selection over the week-end with the non-qualifiers from the Masters joining Yee Weng (the only player who did not decline to play) to make up a four player tournament.
Now, this is where I found the decisions puzzling.
- Firstly, the three players had already failed to secure a place, why are they given a second chance?
- Secondly, they are fighting for two places which two of them should already have won if MCF had not changed their own criteria.
- Thirdly, they are now competing with a very strong candidate who is almost certain of taking one of the spots.
5. If an experienced player is what MCF wanted, why not just pick one as a wildcard?
Why not reduce the qualifiers from the Masters to four and just include the player with the experience that they sought? Again, MCF sticks to principles and did not want to just pick a wildcard without going through a selection. Whatever the reason, the result is that Yee Weng qualified for an important team event by playing just three games.
Final thoughts
The Tromso Olympiad team will be (in no particular order) :-
1. Yeoh Li Tian
2. Ng Tze Han
3. Aron Teh
4. IM Lim Yee Weng
5. NM Fong Yit San
This is a good team representing experience and youth. Li Tian and Aron are the best youngsters we have. I predict they will do very well. We also have an IM , Lim Yee Weng, who is very experienced , showing good results and also have played in six Olympiads. We have the current National Champion in Yit San. Finally NM Tze Han is a former strong junior and national champion who has also played in one Olympiad. Since his return to active chess he has good results in the Penang Opens and also last year's K.L. Open.
The next question is - who will take the first board? Yeoh Li Tian who has the highest rating on the team or Lim Yee Weng who has vast experience in this event and a great team player?
I think this is an balanced team and look forward to seeing them in action in the coming Olympiad.
61 comments:
A wild catd should be given to Mas, not only strenghten the team, but also reflex multiracial Malsysia.
I those who have rejected to play already thought they are unable to play @ Olympiad because they need over two weeks of leave.
I am okay for mas to take wildcard spot based on experience. ...I disagree for mas to take wildcard spot to reflect multiracial malaysia.
Player should represent malaysia based on strength and experience. ..never on racial consideration
Then why wildcard for Mas at all? Nicholas is higher rated.
It doesn't matter who...mas, nicholas, sumant (MANIS) etc...as long as he or she is not chosen based from racial consideration.
It could be from highest rating or most active or most promising or most experience or most hardworking whatever but as long as not from racial consideration.
...maybe to avoid all this there should not be wildcard...president choice etc. Strictly based from pre agreed criteria. It will be transparent and fair.
KISS
Top 5 from masters pre-agreed and announced to the world. MCF changed it for yee weng. Agree with Ilham should stick to original. Best for all is yee weng withdrawn himself. Otherwise, people will say he selfish and don't fair play. Why other people can take leave play national closed, master and go olympiad. Yee weng tak mau take leave for master but 3 week can go olympiad. Some more one year dont play. Better commited young player go n gain experience.
MCF can fine tune on the selection plan by taking into account on what they have overlooked now. Many points should be stated clearer; eg. plan B will take place should plan A is unable to be met due to unavoidable circumstances.
"Communications problem with MCF" means MCF do not understand him or he do not understand MCF ? Surely, with internet and hand phone, it would not be difficult to communicate with him.
MCF had plenty of time to arrange this Masters but left everything to the last minute. Totally their fault for not prioritizing what is more important. Hope they learn a lesson. Many in the chess community are not happy with how MCF manage this masters and selection.
I agreed with Ilham view, chess selection is based on merit, not based on multi racial composition, if 10 chinese player make it on merit , so be it. BTW i am malay.
Who is the stupid person suggesting Mas to be included so that we have multi racial team?
"MCF changed it for yee weng. Agree with Ilham should stick to original."
As far as I know, MCF invites the remaining 5 players from National Squad 2013 who had opted to sit out for Master 2014 and 4th placing NC (after playoff) to play in the MCF selection. Unfortunately, only YW agreed to play while the other 5 declined in different timeline. The draw lots of the Selection was conducted based on 6-men RR, not 4-men RR. Don't spread lie about the selection was done to suit YW weekend schedule.
"The draw lots of the Selection was conducted based on 6-men RR, not 4-men RR." This documentation was sent to every players who take part in the Masters several days before the Masters begin.
Ilham is good because he explained his point of view, unlike someone just called others stupid. It was very low standard.
Obviously, Raymond Siew suggested the multi-racial insult.. He was on a "pro-Malay" tactic since Langkawi talking about Syariah, blah, blah..., and Fadzil. He's angling for Malay support. When Ilham showed him out, RS quickly "attacked" that Mas comment on his own blog as defensive move so people don't think it is him who originally insulted our Malay friends with the Mas comment.
Mas is strong and well-respected enough to get into the team on his own strength. No crutches needed. Mas chose not to be in the team for his own personal reasons which some of us know well and respect.
Let's stick back to the selection criteria. This issue about race has gone off tangent.
Anonymous (April 30, 2014 at 2:30 AM) brings new evidence that in fact it was the other players that initially declined to play in the Malaysian Selections and not Yee Weng. So is there any truth in that? Jimmy, did you hear anything about this?
Again MCF should come clean with their act, now that they have a new website. Not difficult to clarify this since it is all too obvious that having two Round Robins in a short space is tantamount to inviting unwanted scrutiny and controversy.
If the masters had only 5 players and all 5 qualified there will be no controversy. And if MCF take top 4 and a wild card, not many will disagreed.
If those who sit out at Masters, why would they then agree to play a Selection? does it make sense? Yee Weng did not decline to play in either as I have written above. The timing was the problem. When the Selection held over the week-end then there was no problem for him and he played and won.
I do not agree that MCF should change the selection process as they please. I also agree that MCF could take the top 4 and put a wild card to stabilize the team. This was also what I suggested to the MCF official involved. Obviously nothing can be changed now, but MCF can learn from this to better prepare for next year.
YW along with 4 others in National Squad 2013 declined to play in Masters due to working and study issue because the schedule is from 22nd Apr to 27th Apr (6 days). The Masters schedule cant be change as Aron had bought his ticket to arrive in Malaysia on 20th and depart on 28th when all the players in thr National Squad 2013 knew on the schedule. One by one decline to play.
MCF has an Exco meeting to resolve this issue on 10th April. It was decided that MCF proceeds with the Masters having 6 players [A known figure after 5 of the 8 players from National Squad 2013 had declined to play] and all 6 of them will be included into National Squad 2014 and to be accorded all privileges that comes e.g. free DATMO entrance and etc. Also, it was decided that top 3 placing of the 6 players shall be given an automatic choice to Tromso. While, another two placing shall comes from a Selection event (not another Masters) that comprises of The remaining 5 National Squad 2013 players + 4th to 6th placing in Masters 2014 + Losing playoff between NC 3rd/4th placing. In the same meeting, Greg was put in-charge to start calling all 5 National Squad 2013 players AGAIN informing them on the selection event and also all 5 known Masters players since playoff wasn't done yet NC 2014 3rd/4th placing.
The dates of the Selection will start from 25th Apr onwards for 5days if all 9 agrees to play. As at 16/4 (Wed), 3 persons from National Squad 2013 had declined with 1 accepted, where he had agreed to forfeit 1 or 2 of his Friday game due to work commitment based on the maximum 6 men RR schedule. As the timeline passed towards Masters date, NC 4th placing and the remaining one player from National Squad 2013 also declined. By the time Masters starts, only 4 players left to play in the MCF selection from a list of maximum 9 players. Since, there is 4 players, therefore the Selection starts on Sat.
YW didn't know he has to play on Friday before the 6 men RR was drawn up. After knowing the schedule, he had agreed to concede walkover to his opponents on Friday games if need be.
I smell bullshit and some cover up. Looks unfair to players who agreed to play Masters especially the 4th and 5th placers. Still looks like 2nd selection was created primarily for YW. By 10 April meeting, Greg and TP already knew that all 2013 NS players except YW will not play in 2nd selection. The 2013 NS players were not interested enough in Olympiad team or be in 2014 squad so did not want to play Masters. Nothing to do with the dates. Only YW asked for the weekend dates and Greg and TP convinced MCF to bend backwards to accommodate YW. The fair thing is to revert to the original criteria and have Fadzil in the team instead of YW. That should help repair MCF image which has been badly damaged by this sad episode of catering to one player's whim over the interests of the greater Malaysian chess community.
MCF pronouncements must mean something. It should not be changed just because Greg and TP did not like the 6 players who took the trouble to comply with all the criteria MCF announced to public. If we allow Greg and TP to get their way now, very soon they'll be handpicking the team all over again like in the past. If the existing criteria is not what they want, then change only in the next cycle. It is wrong in principle to change the criteria mid-stream.
Aron flew all the way from Shanghai, Sumant travelled overnight from Kuala Terengganu just to play Masters. Yit San travelled 3 hours on the 5 am train from Perak to play Masters 1st round and then forced again to travel 4 hours in the morning by train to reach Bangi on time for 2nd selection. Tze Han travelled all the way from Penang. Each of these players have to spend hundreds of ringgit or thousands (in Aron's case) on transport and hotel accommodation and take time off from their studies or work All these effort by our young heroes, and what MCF do?? Arranged for 2nd Selection just for one player working and living in KL who is not willing to sacrifice 2 additional days' leave to play Masters.
C'mon, give me a break.
Greg and TS are just MCF officials seen and known by public so when they tried to answer questions raised they are deemed to be responsibled.The Chairman of Selection Comm. should be directed all these questions and state MCF's official stand. Greg and TS do not have the real power, the power is with theChairman appointed by the President. The Chairman has to clarify the situation. He definitely has a difficult task tocarry out his duty but we must not ignore the facts that many players who will make a difference to the team like Mas, N Chan,Mok , Ronnie have declineed to play and make the selection even harder. Mok should put aside his pride and make a reentry into the NS by playing in the NC.
The post at 7.30pm is another bullshit story e.g. TP is one of the smaller half aka minority in the meeting who is in support to choose 5 from Masters list to go. Once, a decision is made based on majority decision, it becomes a collective decision that TP and the other minority must defend the Exco collective decision.
Anonymous 10:18 pm, good to see u come out and clarify TP's position. So let's speculate again. Selection committee got 5 people, Kamaruddin (Chairman), Yeap (Vice), Greg (Sec), TP and Ismail.
Ismail rejected his 'place' in 2nd selection. That is a principled decision because just to vote for, let alone play, 2nd selection would raise accusation of cronyism against Ismail. So a real 'tabik', Sarjan. So I'll speculate Ismail was against the 2nd selection.
We know Greg always give back door to YW in the past so for sure, Greg wants 2nd selection for YW. To have majority means Yeap also support the unprincipled 2nd selection. Kamaruddin also must have supported 2nd selection. So we know the culprits. Or shall we wait for a denial from Yeap?
Also Anon 10:18 pm, TP is always at liberty to voice out his objection in public if other committee members act against the interests of the Malaysian chess community. MCF committee is not the Army lah. Even in Supreme Court, a dissenting judge is allowed to publicly voice his dissent although the majority decision holds. The chess public wants to know where each committee member stand in each issue. This way, the States can elect the right people to the committee in the next election and kick out the bad hats.
Hookaaay! Greg is now saying the 'real power' is with Chairman (Kamaruddin) and pushing all the blame on Din.Typical Greg. So I let's hope Kamaruddin find the 'balls' to come out and use his 'real power' to do the right thing. That is to annul the 2nd selection and reinstate MCF's original public selection criteria as the authoritative document. The consequence will be Fadzil gets into the team and YW goes out. 1st reserve is Sumant (Masters 6th place), 2nd reserve should be Ismail (National Closed 4th place) and then Jimmy (National closed 5th). 2nd selection cannot count because it was not part of the original selection framework.
So selection is actually very simple and easy. Just follow the criteria announced and no special favor or arrangement for any one player or group of players. Everything is very transparent and no controversy. It became messy just because Greg wanted a backdoor for 'his players' with the weak excuse of 'strengthening the team'. It sounds as if Malaysia is going to fight for a medal and an 'experienced player' will increase Malaysia's chances for a medal. Again, c'mon give me a break.
btw, does anyone remember the Malaysian team members who finished in 96th position in 2008 Olympiad. Malaysia's worst ever placing in an Olympiad. I rest my case.
Just some additional info, since you decided to include the titles of Yee Weng and Yit San. Ng Tze Han is not just a formerly strong junior. He is also an NM. He won the National Closed in 2000.
Thanks Ninja, that slipped pass me. I have corrected it in the post.
From what I was told, the main committee make the final decisions not the Selection Committee.
The information that I gathered was the main committee who voted "against or for" based on Selection Committee multiple recommendations. After the voting process (9 people) on each recommendation, the final product was made as a collective decision. No one inside the main committee including those who voted opposite suppose to go against the collective decision and the WHOLE Exco should shoulder the responsibility on the decisions made. The Chairman of the meeting had stated CLEARLY that it is a collective decision. The speculations started when piecemeal information gathered by the public plus ones imagination.
Jimmy, more insights into the whole issue. It seems like this is shedding a lot of light plus a lot of information from "insiders" which is all good.
By the way, Anonymous April 30, 2014 at 7:30 PM, if I got it correct, YW isn't working in KL. He is apparently working in Singapore. So he does need to travel as well to come back to play.
So will the MCF Committee and Selection Committee step up and clear the air?
But Anonymous May 1, 2014 at 12:23 AM has got it right. For a team like Malaysia in the Olympiads, experience counts a little bit more. But that's about it. Just a little bit. It isn't critical. So a team selected fairly should count higher.
Though he's the the new NM and with all due respect Yit San's performance on black is a "bit suspect", First in the KL Open he drew w a MAS player rated 1548 whilst playing black. Then y'day in Selangor Open he drew again on black against a MAS player rated 1570.
Yit San had Black against both Fadzil and Sumant and still won at 2nd Selection.
Not forgetting he beat Mark Siew at National Close with black also :)
You reap what you sow! Nothing had changed over the years! Those have the avenue and the time to attend to tournaments and a selection trail can represent the country! And he who claim he knows best declared that this is fair and the back doors had shut!
This latest selection debacle simply means we commit ourselves to believe that Malaysia deserves players that are “willing to sacrifice time and commit to monetary expense” shall be fit to represent Malaysia! By keeping the other “factors” out, Malaysia shall look forward to have her first GM soon...
Of course this maxim does not hold water when one after another, the established senior players are unable to take time off from bread and butter commitment to play at those relevant tournaments which in most occasions, are tailored for those that have the time to play! The invaluable commodity called “Time” is the criteria and yet, it was claimed to be a mind game that was gladly presented to the gallery in the most manipulative way.
Let us not forget that commitment to the game of chess does not just mean appearing in the confines of playing in the designated Tournaments and selection trail. There is just so much more in the preparation and desire to reach the pinnacle of the game. The Presidential choice was a clear lifeline for those that are talented and committed to continue playing for the country. But the gallery were influenced to discontinue this important aspect of the Malaysian chess scene that those that have not have the time will drop off from the game. We have seen that and will continue to see this happen; not only to those that appeared to be penalised by this selection debacle but the others (read here as the youngsters of today) that could not possibly escape from the trail of time. The simplest of conclusion is that there is no long term prospect to be in the game.
Over the years, talented chess players had envisaged this is the fate destined in a Malaysian chess scene that is suffering from a serious resource gap. This new selection debacle shows that we will continue to be locked inside this abysmal cycle. The clear outcome will be more potential talents will move out of the game.
My understanding to this on going matter is that Hobson plays a huge role in the flip-flopping selection decisions.
As usual, I cannot get what the heck siewfai is saying.
Yit San can only draw with black against 1500 players but can beat Mark Siew easily with Black. Surely that means Mark is not even a 1500 player. Not surprising as his coach talks as if a super GM but actually cannot even play the game. Okay, maybe that coach know how the pieces move. Maybe can play at about 900 standard max.
The team selection is done. Lets move on. RS attack on yit san and li tian is low class and is aim at their confidence.
But Anonymous at May 1, 2014 at 12:04 PM got it pretty right. Yit San needs to improve his consistency when it comes to lower ranked players. You can't be expecting to lose to these lower ranked players, especially when you are going to the Olympiads. He's got to work harder.
Anonymous, may 1 2.19PM. You referring to the "illegal" 2nd selection?
Good that he beats Sumant and Fadzil on black but even worse and horrible is that a NM draws with 2players rates 1500+ in back to back Open event.
At least YS played both KL Open and Selangor Open which is a big plus for YS over the other Olympiad team qualifiers. YS also finished as 2nd best Malaysian at KL Open ahead of LT.
Mark Siew chickened out of Selangor Open after all the hoohah by his father over KL Open.
Anyway only a person who doesn't understand chess competitition would make an issue over YS draws with lower rated players. We all know of one such low class person who writes a lot but is known to be largely ignorant of real chess matters.
Ha! Ha! Pathetic how you need to compare YS against LT. Is YS taking part in the Woman's Olympiad? Chess fraternity knows he was "gifted" the NM.
You have a point. The chess fraternity will certainly agree with you. Of course, I take it that by "chess fraternity" you mean a certain blogger and literally no one else?
A NM Malaysia tile is no longer relevant. Has it ever been? There are so many around and a number even no longer play chess. It is time perhaps to limit the award of such titles, or to mandate the qualification by achieving norms … maybe twice National Champion or FIDE 2300+ or success in international FIDE tournamants. This way, past NM’s and aspiring young players will have to really put in more effort. Have we not noticed that new National Champions surface every year. That is not logical. Better still, make it a requirement to maintain the title by “requalification” over a time period. No more inactive NM.
Tsk tsk... U insult the women's olympiad. If the legendary team of Mas Mok Yee Weng Jimmy Nicholas plays in the women's olympiad, will they even get top 20? And u claim for fairness and equality in Malaysia. I bet u can't even beat any of the girls representing malaysia. I know who u are.
That sounds so stupid. The problem is because there is no benefits to becoming a NM anymore. It is not prestigious enough. For example Yit San wins NC this year but still has to qualify to go to olympiad. So people like Yee Weng that wants to go to olympiad doesn't have to play in NC. Instead they should make NC the official qualification for anything. Top 5 NC goes olympiad. That's all. Another way to make NC more prestigious is let's say give the champion full year sponsorship or something like that. Just an example.
Top five go to Olympiad. That is why the team cannot perform because the top five are not the strongest available.
First of all what do you mean by 'perform'. Does it mean challenging for top ten placing or does it mean challenging for top 100 placing? Secondly the olympiad hasn't even started yet...why are you so negative about the team? The players have 3 months to train and hone their skills. I'm sure they can improve by then. I would rather have these seasoned players rather than those that have not played a single chess game in months to go.
Get into the selection committee and then talk. What you rather have is no use. IF I choose, I wiil pick Nicholas, Mas, Yee Wing, Mok/Chuin Hoong and Li Thian. What about you?
Kasparov once said there are "real chess players" and "chess tourists", even labelling 2600 players as the latter. Of course, this would be too stringent in the Malaysian context but something like that distinction can be applied locally. A few "real chess players" come to mind. By far, Nicholas is the strongest. He is GM material but unfortunately his time has passed. He somewhat reminds me of Jess Sarwer, an American chess prodigy who won the World under-10 championship in 1986 but stopped playing chess soon after. Jeff remains a strong 2300 player today though he hardly plays. Had he developed his talent, he might have been a GM. Same thing with Mas, though probably Nicholas was the more talented one. I would place Li Tian below both Nicholas and Mas. He is strong but he is also already 15 and he still loses rating points playing in the KL open when somebody his age like Aravind Chithambaram is sitting at the top boards. So despite his initial promise, I'm afraid Li Tian will end up just like the rest of the group: Yee Weng, Tze Han etc..., i.e. IM material but nothing more. Of course, I hope Li Tian could prove me wrong but time is running out..
Regards
Not a "Sofa Expert"
Li Thian has to go professional if he is to achieve GM. Tough decision for his parents. Aron Teh, maybe, but with parental support to play overseas, that is a real possibility. No others come to mind.
Hopefully Aron, LT and even Fadzil, Sumant etc and others can at least make FM if not IM. When there's more Malayisan FM+IMs/WFM+WIMs in 1-3 years time, this should then paved the way for a first Malaysian GM in perhaps 3-7years time.
Very tough if you are doing tertiary education. If you want to earn a good living in Malaysia, practically impossible, unless parents are very rich and support chess as professional career. Even then, years down the road, if you tell your friends you are a chess professional, they will likely be surprised. Peer pressure.
I agree with the comment above that we should strive to increase our pool of IMs and FMs. Thereafter the GM would naturally arrive.
Btw, there was a typo earlier. I meant JEFF Sarwer, not Jess. Li Tian is already qualified for FM but it seems he doesn't just want that. Totally agree that being a chess player per se is not a viable option as a career in Malaysia. On the other hand, being a chess coach may be another story :) Having JUST more FMs/IMs BY ITSELF is not really going to help us find our first GM. What we need is to have more "real chess players" in Malaysia, not just "chess tourists". Players who really understand chess or "have chess culture" as Kasparov would say. If you don't what I mean, you can refer to Kasparov or Aagaard's writings. Or even ask any visiting Filipino IM/GM :)
Not a "Sofa Expert"
What happens if a player gives up education, goes down the chess path and only gets IM? Even an average GM doesn't earn get a good life in this world. Day in day out travel here and there to earn some money in order to survive. There are stories by GMs which are quite sobering. Of course, if you are Kasparov then no problem. Who wants to be a coach in his prime playing days?
Chess is a pyramid guys. No way to get a GM until we get a big group of active IMs first.
No true for Singapore, at least.
Tromso Olympiad in serious financial trouble!!
Maybe no go in the end for everyone after all.
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