Hey there! I'm a former MSSM (national) level chess player who played for Sabah, and I'd like to help you on your road to chess mastery :D

Find out more about Isaiah

• When did you start practicing? How did this passion find you?

  I started playing chess at the young age of 5, which was when my father first taught me the game. I always enjoyed the game, but I only started developing a competitive passion for the game at the age of 14 because I wanted to be a better player and play in major tournaments.

• Which artists or works affect you the most?

  In terms of chess works, the game between Levitsky vs Marshall in 1912 was the most memorable case study for me, but in terms of general arts and works, I am an avid fan of literature. Thus, I would say that Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll, impacted me a lot as a child reading it – I would say it’s perhaps the second most challenging book I’ve read, first place goes to The Chronicles of Narnia, but I had a lot of fun trying to make sense of the story and I found the thrill of understanding it exhilarating.

• What are the qualities and skill required to succeed in this area?

  Just like any other game, you will improve by simply playing the game. But of course, your improvement will be faster through good habits such as analysing games after playing, solving puzzles and perhaps, more importantly, having a consistent training schedule.

• What is the most valuable advice you can give to help someone stay focused on creative projects?

  Apart from the usual “Don’t give up!”, I would advise that person to never be afraid to explore alternative solutions, even if it means going back to square one because many times, we may end up in situations where we feel like we’ve hit a dead end with no good way of continuing, but that probably just means it’s time to find a different solution, and this is the same for anyone out there trying to master chess as well :)

• How would you describe your passion; how does it make you feel?

  Chess used to be my proving ground back in my school days – I wasn’t great athletically, so chess was my best shot of proving that I can be excellent not just academically, but also outside of academics.

• What creative achievements are you particularly proud of?

  My proudest achievement in chess was my 2015 season campaign. Having failed to qualify out of the district stage one year back, I trained hard, using only free resources on the internet as well as the chess books my father kept back at home. I ended up surpassing my goals that year – I only aimed to qualify into the state tournament but ended up qualifying for the nationals that year, which was a pleasant bonus and also proved that with hard work and effort, anything is possible!

• Have you ever been surprised by a student; by their ability or quick progression?

  Most of my students are children, so I do sometimes wonder how I can never fail to be amazed at their amazing capabilities and aptitude for learning new things. Most of them do see statistical improvements in their online chess performance within 5 sessions, but the one that stood out the most, for me, was a student’s ability to make a 700-point improvement in two weeks on their Puzzle ratings on lichess, which indicates an excellent sense of logic and pattern recognition.

• Being a Superprof is an art! What is your secret?

  I always try to befriend my students, and it’s so much more fun and easier
  talking to friends!