Children's Day Chess Competition - Eastern Knight Chess Club

This is Nicholas' 2nd Chess Competition. Its small scale compared to the one that he had for his first. This competition is something special to the 3 kids as their 2 cousins and 2 good friends will be playing too. I must say they all played very well with Nicholas winning 3 games and drawing 1. He had played with this boy in the previous competition which he lost, so when he drew this time round, it was a big step forward for him!

As for his 2 sisters, they were paired with very strong opponents and their games were definitely much tougher. There was 2 games when Rachel put up a super good fight till the end. She was actually winning but due to lack of experience, she made a mistake and that's becomes the turning point.

Charmaine had one game unfairly ruled against her and she was so upset that she cried. She was supposed to win that game but the opponent played foul (a long story) and the arbiter gave him the benefit of doubt.

Though the girls were not in the top 5, they enjoyed themselves nonetheless...a break from books!

Nicholas got a special seat! hee..I though he would be too short so brought this blue cushion along to give him a boost!

Round 1, the girls were seated side-by-side.

Nicholas found a comfortable position to sit while waiting for Round 1 to start.

The game officially started with a hand shake. I loves this moment.

Its his first time doing recording of his game. I told him to record only the first 10 moves.

Round 2, Rachel was paired with this boy. Very strong but Rachel did well and gave him headache. She could have won but she was too nervous to realise her winning position and make a mistake, which became the turning point of the game. Lots of people gather to watch this game as it was really well played.

In deep thoughts...

thinking....

Nicholas was very focus in this competition. He just needs more exposure.

Writing his moves slow his reflex which is good in a sense. This way, he will not moves carelessly.

My cheeky boy was paired with his cousin on the 6th round.

My tomboyish girl...what a way to sit..like "ah lian"

The kids were excited to see the trophies and medals. Nicholas kept asking if he had win enough to win something. (I didn't tell the kids that everyone will get a medal/trophy) So when his name was being called, he was so excited!

A photo with all the U-8 kids.

The girls missed the top 5 but they still get a merit trophy each (for top 10)... hahahaha...they are lucky cos there were only 9 under 10 girls took part in this competition. Anyway, Rachel was 6th and Charmaine was 7th.

A photo with their medal/trophy.

and their cousins...

and the girls' good friend, L.

A good game played by all...so now its back to books again! hahahaha...exam in a week's time!

Cake in a Cone

Make these for my 2 girls to cheer them up during this exam period. They loves it!

Messy Art Play

Ryan was down with fever, flu and cough for the last few days. Today feeling better, we took out some poster colours and papers. At first, we were just doing some painting with the paintbrush...then he started using it to paint his hands and feet! and we have little foot and hand prints everywhere...so glad I have helper to clear up the mess!

Birthday Celebration with Chessmates

Charmaine's birthday fell on the same day as the competition date and after getting her consent, we decided to celebrate her birthday with all her chess friends instead of her classmates. Her classmates were disappointed as they look forward to her party every year. One came up to me even asking if she could come for Charmaine's party!

Since we are celebrating her birthday with the chess friends, I seek her approval to add Nicholas in too which she happily agreed. So this is the $200+ cake that she chose! The hottest bird in town now....ANGRY BIRD!

Back view..

Nicholas finishes his game first so I got him to take a picture.

The 2 birthday kids...

The cake is such a hit that when I took it out, all the kids and adults went "WOW!!!" and all the kids forgot about their analysis and came rushing over to "chop" the birds that they wants. They pestered Nicholas and Charmaine to reserve the "birds"!

A group photos before the birthday song.

And the cake cutting. The kids got to go for their final round so they only got to eat it when they return. I was glad that all of them are able to regain focus and not think about the cake when they were playing or I'll be the culprit...*phew*

Happy Birthday Nicholas & Charmaine!

His First Chess Competition

Patrick Tay Chess Challenge 2011 is his first competition after 9 months of lessons. He was a little disappointed that he did not win any medal but he shown great determination to do better the next time. He told me he wants to win a medal like his sisters who has a whole shelf filled with trophies and medals. All I can say to him was "work harder and be careful the next time."

Through this competition, Nicholas had again proven to me that he is no longer a little scaredy boy but a big brave boy...

First
Being one of the youngest player there, it means that all his opponents will be older than him. He played with a few kids twice his age and he shown no fear.

Second

He shown that he is not easily intimated by his opponent. There was one 7 yrs old girl who he played with. Throughout the game, I can see her waving her hands around him and telling him off.

Third

He shown courage to speak up for his rights. When his opponent makes illegal moves, he is able to explain to the arbiter the situation.

Fourth

He had shown determination to win and put in his best though he run out of steam after lunch. There was one game which he was losing but he put on his thinking cap and his effort paid off.

The best and funniest moment was when he won his first round. He raised his hands and shouted "Mummy, I win! I win!" and every one turned to look at him. But who can blamed him?! Its his first win!

Although he only scored 2 out of 7 rounds but both the coaches and I were very proud of him. Not forgetting that he is the youngest player in this tournament where many great seasoned players are playing.

Good job Nicholas!

Here are some shot of him in action...

First chess competition together with his sisters

Showing a little tense while waiting for Round 1 to start

Building castle in the sky while waiting for all to be seated...

See him? He in the center of the picture.

This is a tough game for him. He lost his queen but managed to fight back and win.

See how excited he was! He couldn't contained his excitement and knelt on his chair to play.

Birthday and mooncake celebration

No fanciful cake...No celebration in school...just a small cake which I grabbed from Breadtalk after Church for my little darling 5 yrs old birthday. He didn't mind at all (probably he still too young) and was happy to see his uncles joining us for steamboat dinner too. They were here for the "mooncake reunion dinner" and so its "one stone kills two birds"

Since Charmaine and Nicholas actual birth date was 3 days apart, we celebrated for her as well.

Nicholas wanted to give Charmaine a birthday kiss but Charmaine was too shy to receive it from him.

Ryan couldn't wait any longer for a taste of the yummy cake...

Our 4 babies...

For the mooncake celebration part, hubby got a complimentary box of delicious and creatively wrapped mooncake Marina Bay Sands - Casino. No lah..he is not a gambler but he brings his clients there for entertainment. The mooncake not only comes in a very creative box, but it tastes very good too. Even for a person like me that doesn't fancy mooncake ate half a piece of it..which is a lot for one sitting!

Anyway...

Happy Birthday to both my darlings!!!

Ryan @ 29 mths

HIS SPEECH....

I'm very happy with his speech development though he is definitely much slower than his peers.

His speech had now progressed to more than words per sentence and able to use words that made up of 2 syllabus like:

Ma Mee (mummy)
Play ground (playground)
Dad dee (daddy)
Read book
Right leg
Ep leg (left leg)

He is also able to recognise some alphabets like A; B; C; O and T but he can only pronounce A & O. He equates everything circle to the letter "O" even the bottom circle of the letter "g". See what I mean? The bottom of the "g" is a full circle, so he think that is "o" too.

We like the way he speaks when he "complain". He sounds so poor thing that there's no way anyone not feel for him. Sometimes when we spotted a scratch mark or abrasion on his hands or legs and asked him what happened, he will narrate the incident to us in his most pathetic voice with action included - "run...fall down....play ground...pain". Its the same old reason for a few weeks but just this week, he had made some modification and gave us a new version.... "bees...here...bees....there...bees bite me...pain"

HIS TEMPER...
There is still room for improvement for his temper. He has super quick temper. Whenever things are not to his liking or someone took his things without asking, he will be angry and cry. Sometimes, he even stomp his feet and fold his arm and turned his face away from the person he is angry with. Let's pray and hope he will mellow down once he is able to communicate well.