My Biggest Takeaway from the World Chess Final
We’re often brought up to think that to enjoy something, you have to start young, join the club, represent the school, get serious early.It can feel intimidating to step into something new if you haven’t been part of that world from the beginning.
It’s a mindset that applies to almost anything, the feeling that you need credentials, or need to be 'worthy,' before you're allowed to enjoy something.
December 2024 marked a rare moment in chess history, only the second time the World Chess Final was held in Southeast Asia (the first being in Baguio, Philippines, 1978). Hosted in Singapore and powered by Google, it was also the first time two Asian players, Ding Liren from China and Gukesh Dommaraju from India, representing the two Asian superpowers, faced off for the title. It was also my first visit to Singapore in 10 years, my last being in 2012 right after finishing high school. Coming back for something like this made the trip feel even more meaningful.
My friend Apek took a six-hour bus ride from KL, arriving in the evening just in time for the match. That same night, after the event, he left for home again. He’d never even played a full game of chess before, not like many chess players who grew up playing in primary school, competing at district or state level. But his excitement was real.
What struck me most was Apek’s presence. Other than Encik Hamid, who was appointed Chief Arbiter of the event, I didn’t meet a single other person from the Malaysian chess scene that day, not from the usual tournament circles, not from the regular chess crowd, no one.
And yet here was Apek, someone with no chess background, who made the trip out of pure interest. He even spent a good amount of time experimenting with AI-generated prompts to print out cards that reimagined chess sets with different themes and styles for his two sons back home, not for himself, but to share that excitement with them.
Sometimes, it’s not about your chess rating, or how long you’ve been playing. It’s about curiosity, presence, and the willingness to step into something unfamiliar simply because it interests you. The beauty of moments like these isn’t just in the game itself, but in the stories of the people who show up, who choose to care, even when they don’t have to. For me, that was the strongest lesson of all.