Checkmate!!…Hai Feng Su defies the odds and masters the chess board

Feb 09, 2014 Sports

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As the legendary Bruce Lee and Jet Lee are synonymous with karate, so too one would assume that Hai Feng Su must be of a similar disposition on the local sports scene. My first thoughts were that he also was an accomplished karateka or martial arts practitioner. Imagine my astonishment when I eventually learnt that Hai feng is a chess player but with the similarity

slick moves as his karate equals.
Hai Feng first won the prestigious local junior chess championship in 2011 but lost it the following year. But just like Bruce Lee and Jet Lee, he rebounded one year later with such ferocity that his opponents wilted and once again Hai Feng reigned supreme when he reclaimed the prize late last year.
Kaieteur Sport caught up with this unassuming young man and learnt that he was born in Guangdong, a large province in southernmost China with a coastline of over 4,300 kilometers and a population of 86.42 million inhabitants. He migrated to Guyana 13 years ago, with his parents, Yue Tien Cao and Cao Liang Su, when he was a mere 6 year old tot.
Hai Feng attended the North Georgetown Secondary School and became interested in Chess when he was in third form. He said that he took an instant liking to the game but on trying out his hand, discovered that sitting on the side lines observing and actual involvement were two distinct variables. “While observing others playing I felt that I could easily outplay them but it was a totally different reality to the actual competition,” he chuckled.
Hai Feng remembers the humiliation of being checkmated in just 4 moves. “I suffered the indignity of many losses of this nature but I remained undaunted,” he informed with a sheepish look on his face. He said that he had initially heard of the long hours of keen rivalry that characterized most encounters and was simply flabbergasted that a player could be checkmated in such a short period. Nevertheless, chess was in his breast and he chugged on.
By that time, Hai Feng had moved over to Mae’s Secondary School where he discovered that there were quite a few students that nurtured a similar love for the sport. It was here that he met Rashad Hussain, a national youth player with a similar passion for the game. The two players clashed in a tournament organized by Jessica Clementson, a former player of Mae’s Secondary who has now migrated to Barbados. “I lost out to Rashad but was nevertheless delighted because I had improved from the humiliating 4 moves loss to a more competitive standard,” he mused. He said that Hussain was impressed by his standard of play and encouraged him to continue playing the game.
This bit of encouragement led to Hai Feng seeking membership in the local Federation where he faced sterner challenges among such stalwarts as his predecessor, Anthony Drayton, Drayton’s predecessor, Ron Motilall and Cecil Cox.
The experts advocate that ‘constant practice leads to perfection,’ and while he was far away from such lofty goals, Hai Feng had improved immensely and was now matching pawns with the top players and firmly holding his own. Thus in 2012, he earned the coveted accolade of National Junior Champion after chalking up 5 ½ points from a possible 6. That victory became even more meritorious when it was learnt that Cecil Cox had amassed a similar number of points that necessitated a two best of 3 showdown to determine the champion. Hai Feng eventually won by a close 3-2 margin.
Hai Feng held onto that crown for one year before being dethroned by Drayton. He exacted sweet revenge last October when they clashed for championship honours when he amassed an impeccable 6 points as against 5 ½ by Drayton and once again Hai Feng was crowned the National Junior Champion.
For most chess players, becoming a grandmaster is their ultimate dream but they know that they must first attain a lucrative FIDE rating. Hai Feng is rated at 1724 by that body and he is optimistic of attaining an even higher rating in the near future. “Really, attaining grandmaster status is not an easy thing but it is every (chess) player’s dream so naturally, I am nurturing such ambitions,” he said with a wry grin.
Notwithstanding, Hai Feng said that he is balancing his love for chess with his academic accomplishments and is currently preparing to write the Cambridge examinations sometime in June. He feels that chess is a microcosm of life and supports academic accomplishments.
“Chess fosters patience and tolerance, two variables that are glaringly absent in our society today,” the aspiring grandmaster philosophized. He said that chess is about precision moves; carefully plotting one’s course and using one’s wits to overwhelm the opponent. “So you see, your moves are deliberate and well-structured which, when extrapolated to life, could foster wholesome behaviours,” he concludes.
One would think that Hai Feng would have enjoyed a plate of good old Chinese fried rice or maybe a lap chung chowmein but instead he has blended into the Guyanese culture and prefers a plate of curried chicken. He said he loves browsing the internet as a means of recreation as well as expanding his knowledge base. And to his fellow youths he advises, “Utilize your time wisely for it is through idleness that the devil finds work for idle hands!”

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