Taufik splits with coach

Taufik Hidayat got a financial boost in the run-up to his 2004 Olympics campaign, but Indonesia's number one shuttler disclosed after the contract signing here on Wednesday that he had already parted with his coach in suspiciously controversial manner.

Taufik and doubles specialist Candra Wijaya signed a one-year contract, whose value was not known, with Samsung Electronics Indonesia (SEIN), under which the latter is committed to providing financial support for the players' tournament expenses throughout the season until the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Candra, who was a gold medalist with Tony Gunawan at the 2000 Olympics, has made it a third year of partnership.

It is the first year partnership by Taufik, and it should pave way for the 22-year-old to have a chance of attaining one among the major titles that has become his obsession.

However, the road to Olympic gold could be rough for Taufik as it appears that he had not trained under coach Joko Supriyanto for the past three weeks.

"I last trained with him one week before my competition in the Denmark Open," Taufik said. His face showed a downbeat mood.

The Denmark Open lasted from Sept. 23 to Sept. 28, where Taufik, who had successfully defended his Indonesia Open title in two weeks earlier, crashed out in the quarterfinals.

"I have been training away from Cipayung," he said, referring to the Indonesian Badminton Center, where national badminton athletes are groomed.

"It's hard, I have to admit, to train without a coach. But that's what I have to do now," said Taufik, adding that he left the matter to the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI).

Taufik said that it was Joko who left him, but the badminton star would not disclose the reason behind the fallout.

"He wouldn't tell you why, would he? Why should I?" he said.

Joko was not available for comment.

When contacted, Christian Hadinata, the director of the Cipayung center, asked the media not to harp on the issue, saying that he could not comment as yet.

"Don't overhype this. We are certainly looking for a way out," he told The Jakarta Post.

When asked whether the apparent rift could affect Indonesia's Olympic campaign, he said: "we still have a lot of time to prepare. Hopefully, we can bring it to an end soon."

While the truth has yet to be discovered, Taufik's breakup with his coach is yet another problem on his list of coach-player relationship issues.

By the end of 2002 he was upset with the national badminton association and protested against the association's decision not to partner him with his preferred coach.

The fallout led him to his threat of quitting the national team and defecting to Singapore. The two side came to compromise at the end.

The bumps in the road in his training could wreck Taufik's ambition to win gold in Athens.

Taufik went to the 2002 Sydney Olympics as a favorite only to exit in the quarterfinals at the hands of eventual champion Ji Xinpeng.

creat by id4_dani

Teach the Game of Chess to Kids

There are a number of good reasons for teaching young children the game of Chess. The sharing of time between you and the child can be priceless. Chess is more then just a game. It can be a bridge to the future. One in which the child learns to respect your views, your sense of fair play, and even how to deal with success and setbacks that occur in life. Chess can help develop all aspects of the child's intellect, both of the practical and artistic. The game of Chess can enhance a child's ability to think in the abstract. It can increase the visual acuity so important to the skills needed in mathematical, and critical thinking.

If done right, teaching the game of Chess can be just plain fun too!! It can be fun for both of you. Over the years, I have read a lot of books on Chess. There are scores of them on how to play the game. There is book after book on "How to" do this or "How To" do that in Chess.

You can easily find books on: " How to Handle Chess Openings," or "How to Play the Middle Game in Chess," or " How to Play The End Games." There is, of course, always the, " How to Win In Chess" books. Many of them are produced either by or with some notable in the chess world. Such as one book called, " Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess." The one draw back of a "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" type book is it does just that, and only that!!

They teach the rules and basic strategy of the game, yet lack any fundamentals on how to capture a child's interest in the game to begin with. I anticipate you are now asking, "Well just how do you get the child's interest?" In addition "At what age should I start?"

Lets start with the:

"What age do I start with?"

The answer to this is dependent on a couple of factors. The first, but not the most important is; how deep is your knowledge of the game? Are you just a beginner yourself? Are you an accomplished tournament player and perhaps even a registered USCF (United States Chess Federation) member? The answer to those questions combined with the following, "How well do you know the child?" determines what to do first.

id4_dani