Battle for the De La Salle

The De La Salle chess tournament, where an epic battle had taken place for the Champions Trophy which has stood proudly in St. Michael's Institution for the past 2 years.

My team was named SMI A, and was hand-picked from the very best St. Michael's had to offer. The team was:

Board 1: Mark Siew
Board 2: Lau Tuck Khein
Board 3: James w. Foong
Board 4: Tan Kian

Our 1st round was against our long standing rivals, ACS(Anglo-Chinese School). I drew against Lawrence Teoh(from a winning position dammit) whereas my other team mates got a win, a loss and another draw. So the final score was 2-2 which meant that the championship would be decided by the next 4 rounds.

We had the advantage, because even though ACS had Lawrence Teoh, Yew Keng Heng and Issac Teoh...their 2nd Board player was an unknown from MY school, who lost too many of his games (this was a game-point tournament)

Needless to say, both teams wiped out all other opposition. After our first round, we won EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR GAMES. I was so freakin happy.

In the end, I had to playoff with Lawrence for the Best Board trophy and James had to fight Issac. The time control was 5 minutes. Lawrence was seriously winning but lost on time control (I couldn't believe it). James lost to Issac.

So, SMI A took the Champions Trophy with the Best 1st Board and Best 2nd Board titles. ACS took 2nd place with Best 3rd Board and Best 4th Board

Apart from Lawrence, it was a relatively simple tournament for me
-Mark-

MSSM 2008 - Season Finale (Part 2)

Where was I?
Oh yeah...

Day 2 -
I did not sleep well the previous night. One of the teachers kept us awake by telling ghost stories (that's called sabotage!)

Anyway, the tournament hasn't even started yet so we went to check out some of the Museums. But first, we went shopping for souvenirs and stuff. Then we visited all of those places you usually only see in your sejarah textbooks. So it was kinda cool seeing all that history. Anyway, we came, we saw, we made a hell of a lot of noise and we took lots of pictures...which I have not recieved yet.
Oh yeah, we (which includes Myself, Yit San, Yit Ho, Mi Yen, Lawrence, Siew Ting, Kay Lynn and Kong Liang) took a photo with Chef Wan!...which I have not recieved either.

I can't remember what I ate...but I remember eating alot. I was so seriously sick by the time I got back on the bus.

To be continued again - under time pressure right now

Kensei

Hey, guess what?
I PASSED MY AIKIDO GRADING EXAMS!!!!!!

*screams*

Anyway, time to calm down
Next grading is on the 28th of June

I rock
-Mark-

MSSM 2008 - Season Finale (Part 1)

I suppose the last post about my MSSM was both too short and too boring.
This is a more detailed account of what happened

Day 1 -
I arrived at PPD (Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah) early in the morning, only half-awake and looking forward to sleeping on the bus. I honestly can't remember what happened during the bus ride, as the dramatic events that followed seemed to have wiped out most of my memory. Anyway, we arrived at Melaka around 6 hours later. We stayed and slept at SMK Teluk Mas when we weren't at the Tournament Hall or going on outings. Our teachers were great, making sure we had plenty of rest and relaxation before the fight (we arrived 2 days before the tournament actually started)

I was feeling pretty good, as our Under-15 team has never been stronger. We had Fong Yit San, Fong Yit Ho, Helmi Zakaria and of course, myself. We were labeled the 'Dream Team' by our teachers, an illusion which would soon be shattered...

Anyway, I went sight-seeing with the rest of the team. On the first night we went on a ride on the 'Eye of Melaka' It gave us an amazing view of downtown Melaka, which is even more spectacular at night. Dinner was McDonalds

I tried my best to enjoy myself, as the days ahead would definitely not be so kind...

-to be continued-

I came, I saw...

Last night was my Aikido grading exam.
I was taking 6th Kyu, skipping the 8th and 7th Kyu tests. My partner was Michelle, who was also taking 6th Kyu.

The techniques (Waza)we had to do were:
-Shomen Uchi Daiikyo
-Katatedori Shihonage
-and Suwariwaza Kyoku-Ho

Anyway, I didn't do as well as I hoped (I was so blur)but I think we still passed the test. Our examiner was Nakamoto-sensei, who watched sternly as we executed our moves.

This was my very first grading exam, I seriously hope I passed
-Mark-

Blood, Sweat & Tears

After all the excitement that followed after MSSM, I almost forgot to write about the Water Games that took place in my church (CGMC) last week.

Anyway, I was put in Group 9 with old-timers Christopher, Carl Cheong and Jenny Cheng. There were also these 2 girls whom I've never seen before. So overall, we were a solid team with a good mix of experience and new blood.

Our first game was called H.U.G.O (How You Go On?), where we had to throw and catch water balloons using a cloth over a volleyball net against the opposing team (under Jane Lam). I honestly can't comprehend the name of this game.

The second game was Capture the Flag. The objective was simple: Run to the other side of the field, capture your enemy's flag and make it back alive...
We fought against Kerry's team. Kerry is a good strategist, and he organized an entire group of freshies effectively while he guarded his flag with water balloons. Our team had fast runners like myself and Carl, but we were all over the place. Amidst all the confusion, we were defeated by Kerry and his team.

The 3rd game was BUTT. I feel slightly uncomfortable describing the details of this particular game. But our team won (I think...)

After this, Water Games was interupted by heavy rain. So, rather than let all the water balloons go to waste...we assaulted one another in a free-for-all battle with no rules and no regrets!

In the end, the heavy rain turned into a violent storm. Water Games was cancelled due to the fact that one of the tents had collapsed. Hot milo was provided by the church.

I had a good time
-Mark-

MSSM 08 - Love & Chess

It seems that everything I update this bloody thing, I start off with apologizing because the last post was done many, many months ago.

Anyway, plenty has happened since last year...some good, some bad. But thankfully, my brain only seems to remember the good stuff.

So the current major event of my life is the MSSM, which ended last week.

-It started with me representing my school (St. Michael's Institution) to the MSSD, where I got Champion ahead of such tough competitors such as James William Foong and Mohd. Azam, so needless to say...I was kinda proud of myself.

-Then there was MSSD selection, something which has never happened before. Azam was not able to come, and I defeated James to earn my status as the Under-15 Champion of Kinta Utara.

-MSSPK, which almost killed me, especially after 2 brothers (insanely strong, diehard chess players) from Selangor migrated to Perak and played in my category. I lost to the younger one (Fong Yit San), and drew with the older brother (Fong Yit Ho), securing my place as number 3. Abdul Rahman, who got 3rd place in the Nationals last year (2007) was unfortunately knocked out of the top 8.

-MSSPK Selection, which was slightly easier...since there were 2 players who weren't as strong as the rest of us. The top 6 would represent Perak to the MSSM. I drew with both brothers, which put me in 3rd place...again.

-Centralized Training, where we trained for the final battle at MSSM Melaka. We had group bonding activities, which was kinda fun. I was put in the Team Category alongside the two brothers. We were allies at last!

-MSSM, where I experieced heartbreak too severe to describe. Anyway, our team did alright, 4th place ahead of Kuala Lumpur. I only got 3 points over 7, having drew 4 games! (which is a record for me). I wish we had done better...we were aiming for the Gold medal this year.

-So having failed in Love and Chess...I began the long journey back to Ipoh. I slept most of the way.

Pictures are on their way...my friends haven't sent them to me yet

-Mark-