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The following interview of NM Mark Holness was conducted via yahoo
messenger by Mark Bowen.
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Mark J. B. Bowen: National Master Mark Holness. When did you achieve
the title ?
NM Mark Holness: I achieved my Title in 1999 the same time as Fide
Master Warren Elliott.
Mark J. B. Bowen: that's interesting he's also from Montego Bay. Was
that coincidental ?
NM Mark Holness: Yes it was purely coincidental but also it was a
good coincidence.
Mark J. B. Bowen: I remember visiting Mobay once and staying by
you. Elliott would come over and beat the Rebel program on your
computer. How hard is it to attain the title ?
NM Mark Holness: It's difficult to say how hard or how easy it is to
obtain the National master title. It depends on your ability but
there is also a psychological factor.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Did you always know you'd become a National Master
?
NM Mark Holness: I didn't always know I would become a national
master. At one point it wasn't a priority anymore.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Confidence is key ?
NM Mark Holness: Confidence is always key in general. But there is
something else. The key factor in becoming a national master in
Jamaica is to have the composure to win the games that you are
winning by making the transition at the right moment. And also to
remain composed when you are in inferior positions. This is the
critical factor which separates National masters from candidate
masters and not just mere strength.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Yeah I notice masters sometimes have bad positions
and still win. Shane is even called the Magician . So Houdini skill
is from composure then ? How do you get this, is it just experience
?
NM Mark Holness: Yes NM Shane Matthews is a good example of this
psychological factor.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Is it an inborn talent or can I train to be more
composed ? Is there a magician school ?
NM Mark Holness: And of course The clock is a part of the game. Some
chess players are naturally psychologically tougher than others but
it can be learnt.
Mark J. B. Bowen: So the aspirant must understand the clock and
psychology as well as the normally stated opening, middlegame and
endgame ?
NM Mark Holness: Yes exactly. There are many books on chess
psychology and in fact it can be studied in much the same way as a
chess opening book for example.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Which chess books helped you most in your career ?
NM Mark Holness: The art of the middle game by Borovsky and Playing
the c3 Sicilian by Murray Chandler.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Znosko-Borovsky was a Markland Douglas favorite
too.
NM Mark Holness: Yes, he has a clear style of writing not often seen
in more modern books.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Your opening repertoire is quite tough to beat. I
know from losing a couple matches to you. Is that a main factor as
you get closer to the title ?
NM Mark Holness: No, not a main factor at all. The main factor as
you get closer to the title is largely psychological.
Mark J. B. Bowen: your openings, like the Dutch, Scandinavian, the
c3 Sicilian, they take opponent out of book early and let your
strategical depth shine thru.
NM Mark Holness: Yes but this is just my style. I still had to
convert my won games. It is a given that you have to play good
openings and play strong chess.
Mark J. B. Bowen: but you say its mainly a mind game ? Is that the
differentiating factor, the edge, like the difference between a
Brazil and a USA in soccer ?
NM Mark Holness: Well this is slightly different since Brazil is not
chasing a title in the same way that a candidate master might be
chasing an NM Title.
Mark J. B. Bowen: how did you develop your ability to win endgames
others find tedious or even boring ?
NM Mark Holness: Again Borovsky to the rescue!
NM Mark Holness: The endgame book by Borovsky helped me a lot in
studying the ending. It was with this book I learnt about related
squares.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Forgive my football analogy, but someone told me
you and your brothers play soccer well, is that true ?
NM Mark Holness: Well Yes I played Manning cup football for my
school and this also helped my chess.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Which school ? How did it help ?
NM Mark Holness: I played football for Campion and also I Played
division 2 football in Montego Bay. I played a lot of football when
I was trying to achieve my title.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Is that physical fitness helpful or did it help
with strategy too ?
NM Mark Holness: Mental fitness is key in playing chess, especially
during those special psychological moments at the board. It helped
mainly with concentration and in focusing especially at critical
moments at the board. Therefore it helps you to convert winning
positions. Since that's when you have to focus the most. And also in
defending inferior positions.
Mark J. B. Bowen: You mentioned that to me once ( after flogging me
in blitz ). It was like something Dorfman said. You said that the
game is decided at those critical points. Explain that some more.
NM Mark Holness: Yes the game is usually decided at a critical
moment when everything is fuzzy and one or both opponents are down
on time. I was a strong player for many years but when the game
became critical I would usually make a mistake and lose.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Campion had a great chess team when you were the
captain. I remember playing for Ardenne in the same Zone and barely
holding Jomo Pitterson to a draw and he was in like third or fourth
form, then you still had Peter Myers, and a dude named Chad, a great
team.
NM Mark Holness: Yes that was truly a fantastic team.
I showed good vision by drafting Jomo Pitterson , Peter Myers and
Chad Cunningham into the chess program at campion. I received
resistance from the 6th formers but I was thinking of the
future. My decision paid off, since even after I left the team
continued to get stronger and eventually went on to win three
consecutive titles.
Although there are more Juniors now, I don't see any current teams
even in the past few years that could rival that team. Chad was a
prodigy in my opinion but he stopped playing chess very early.
Mark J. B. Bowen: I think the Equitable Brown's team with Karlos and
maybe Manning's High team with Townsend, or Haughton and Cox's team
may be only options I know off to rival that team. Did you learn
chess at Campion ?
NM Mark Holness: Yes the two teams you mentioned were very strong
but not as strong as that Campion team, which had more depth. And
also more psychological strength.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Maybe if Ardenne High could have had Bowen and
Brandon Wilson playing at the same time we'd have gotten a draw ?
NM Mark Holness: ( Smile ). Maybe. Brandon is very strong.
Also, Mark Bowen is a very promising player, under the right
conditions.
Mark J. B. Bowen: What is impressive is that you guys are still
active in chess. Most high school teams are not even in touch with
each other now.
NM Mark Holness: Yes this is very impressive. And of course Peter
Myers is making a good contribution to Junior chess as well as
playing, while NM Pitterson also served on council and is now one of
the top players.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Tell me about Chad ? What does it take to keep
such talent interested in chess ? This is even more important now
with computers and so many other distractions.
NM Mark Holness: I think the key to keep Talent interested in
playing chess is to give them a long term goal. This long term goal
might mean a chance not just to represent Jamaica but to represent
Jamaica often.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Is Chad in Jamaica still ? I hardly knew him but
always heard people speak in awe of his talent, it was like how I
heard of Tobisch and Shane before ever meeting them.
<i>
NM Mark Holness: Chad was a chess prodigy. I think he studied abroad
and is now back in Jamaica. He made deep positional sacrifices which
was rare for juniors in his day. And he had the right attitude
towards studying chess. He invested in a lot of books and studied
the endgame profoundly.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Interesting that's what I like to see depth at a
young age . Mario Marshall and Equitable Brown really impressed me
because of their style of play even as teenagers. Marshall seemed
able to play any type of position well and Equitable was very
strategic. Most young players are basically tactical I think .
NM Mark Holness: Most young players in Jamaica are Tactical. But
Marshall was naturally a strategic player. But he changed his style
through practice.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Yeah Marshall seemed like a sponge for chess
ideas. In one Nationals he played a Morra like Byfield, I think he
used your Dutch, then he can play the Dragon, even against Shane,
its just amazing to me. He even used 1. Nc3 in that event, a move
I'd discussed in a training session with him. For most players
studying the endgame when there is a Topalov novelty to see, is not
likely .
NM Mark Holness: True, but to make a big leap you have to master
positional chess, and the endgame, and of course those psychological
moments. Even Tal had to study the endgame in great depth, to remain
at the top level.
Mark J. B. Bowen: How would you describe your chess style ?
NM Mark Holness: My chess style primarily is defensive, logical and
positional. My weakest area is not tactics, as many players think,
but calculating variations.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Your chess horizon ? Tal is one of my favorites
who are some of your favorite players ?
NM Mark Holness: My favorite chess player is Capablanca.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Who in the modern game impresses you and why ?
NM Mark Holness: Kasparov impresses me, in the modern game, because
of his ability to keep up with the younger Grandmasters, not just
because of his strength but his willingness to fight so hard to
remain at the Top.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Yes it is very unbelievable to see someone so
motivated even after achieving so much. It's like Jordan in
basketball or Bill Gates still making more billions. It's the
motivation factor, as you say, its the psychology that makes the
difference ?
NM Mark Holness: Exactly ! Yes definitely. This is why Ivanchuck is
just below Kasparov. If Ivanchuck could master this Psychology he
could perhaps be Number one in chess.
Mark J. B. Bowen: I think Ivanchuck is brilliant too. Same could
probably be said of my heroes Khalifman and Ehlvest. So earlier you
said we need to have more international tourneys here or maybe more
sponsorship to travel more often ?
NM Mark Holness: Yes we definitely need more international
tournaments to sustain the interest of Junior chess players.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Hey how do you train ? How much hours a day do you
spend on chess ? Is it structured or just haphazard ? You give an
impression like you don't work as hard as Shane or Jomo yet you have
good results against them.
NM Mark Holness: I hardly train seriously at chess, I have too much
work administrative work on the JCF Council plus my own work related
activities. I can get away with this because of my style.
Capabalanca for example hardly studied chess as much as the other
Grandmasters.
Mark J. B. Bowen: What type of work do you do ? I know you're a
computer network brains but is that your profession ?
NM Mark Holness: I have my own business in Website design and
Programming. This Business is called Omark Productions and is based
In Montego Bay.
Mark J. B. Bowen: So your life doesn't revolve around chess solely ?
how do you balance it ? Any time management tips or life management
?
NM Mark Holness: No my life doesn't revolve around chess but I do
spend a lot of time working with junior chess players in the western
region and of course I come to Kingston often to play chess. It's
difficult to balance chess with my personal life. Chess takes up a
lot of time.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Yes you are a very active player. Have you ever
represented the country at the Olympiads ?
NM Mark Holness: Only once in 1990, when I went to Yugoslavia.
Mark J. B. Bowen: I know you played a Venezuela tourney once and
many Jamaicans were watching your progress with great anticipation.
Tell me about these and any other international experiences you have
had in chess. Is this something you plan to do again ?
NM Mark Holness: This was a great experience going to Venezuela in
1999. I also went to the 2005 Junior champs in Barbados with two
players from the western region in Jamaica.
Mark J. B. Bowen: some strong players are over that side of the
island. Any players we in Kingston should watch out for ?
NM Mark Holness: Yes Sahir Abbas is a very promising Junior. Also
Rayon Smith is very strong.He is from Westmoreland.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Rayon Smith beat me with a Benko once, he's a
great attacking player. He is full of energy and really loves the
game.
NM Mark Holness: It's good to interact with chess players from other
countries. It's the only way to sustain long term interest.
Mark J. B. Bowen: do you think the JCF should host more
international tourneys here or do we travel more ? Or do we invite
other federations like USCF to have events down here ? What's the
solution there ? Why isn't it done now ?
NM Mark Holness: I think the main problem has to do with Human
resources. I also think we need to have more international
tournaments in Jamaica.
Mark J. B. Bowen: The tournament with Cuban Velez was excellent I
thought .
NM Mark Holness: Yes it was a very good Tournament.
Mark J. B. Bowen: What are your goals in chess ? As player, as
administrator, as a coach ?
NM Mark Holness: Well after being a national master, which is the
highest title in Jamaica my only other Goal would be to obtain an FM
Title. However this Goal is only secondary to my administrative
Goals. One such Goal Is to have formal chess activities in every
Parish in my region. Which can sustain itself without my
intervention.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Do you think all chess problems should be solved
by JCF or do you welcome more private activities ? How can the game
spread ?
NM Mark Holness: All chess problems cannot be resolved by the JCF.
We need more human resources, and more people willing to
administrate and to cooperate with the JCF
Mark J. B. Bowen: and I guess financial too.
NM Mark Holness: This means that more people have to be involved
administratively the key is that all these people must be working
together towards an ultimate goal. Yes but if we can solve human
resources, then the Financial resources will be easier to come by.
Mark J. B. Bowen: we may need to study how other sporting bodies and
other federations deal with these same problems.
NM Mark Holness: I have been to many parishes and its difficult to
find adults willing to work in and administrative capacity.The
ultimate goal must always involve interacting with other countries.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Did your family support your chess endeavors ? Was
their support important to you ?
NM Mark Holness: Yes, My family was always supportive of my chess
endeavors but also Jealous too!
Mark J. B. Bowen: how so ?
NM Mark Holness: You see sometimes they have to compete with chess
for my time. I love chess but every time I play chess it means time
spent away from my family
Mark J. B. Bowen: I can imagine.
NM Mark Holness: Still we have to find a balance.
Mark J. B. Bowen: right now my daughter is literally crying out for
attention but I'm busy interviewing you.
NM Mark Holness: I can also imagine. On the other hand chess players
are also my family.
NM Mark Holness: So one way or the other I'm still with family.
Mark J. B. Bowen: one thing many people may not realize about you is
that you have a subtle sense of humor.
NM Mark Holness: Yes I do. I think that's the best kind of humor to
have.
Mark J. B. Bowen: You have that ability to make a sarcastic remark
and make people wonder if you meant the double meaning or if they
are reading too much into it. I notice on Internet Chess Club your
name is drancro is that referring to the "john crow" ?
NM Mark Holness: It refers to the psychological aspect of the game.
and indirectly in a sense , to the "John Crow".
Mark J. B. Bowen: please explain
NM Mark Holness: Its difficult to explain but I will try. In Jamaica
a " John Crow" is a bird that seizes an opportunity and achieves
success by unlikely or extra-ordinary means.
NM Mark Holness: My chess career has been similar. I'm an unorthodox
player. And there have been many positions where I was inferior but
somehow I managed to turn the tables or seize an opportunity.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Is this related to the concept of "Bhutto chess" ?
NM Mark Holness: Yes it is related to that concept. Also very
related to that Psychological moment idea.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Talk about that or does it give away the "secret"
too much ? What is Bhutto chess ? I can't even spell it .
NM Mark Holness: There is no secret. It happens a lot especially in
open Tournaments. It means winning by any means neccessasry even
when you are losing.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Sort of like "gangsta" style in hip-hop or rap
terms I guess ? I've heard Porter and Marshall mention "Bhutto
Chess" many times.
NM Mark Holness: NM Porter is a fantastic psychological player
Mark J. B. Bowen: How so ?
NM Mark Holness: There are many times when he plays inferior
positions but wins because he seizes the psychological moment.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Yes he lives for pressure and always seems calm on
outside.
NM Mark Holness: By understanding the position better than his
opponent or just seizing on an opponents mistakes.But that's the key
to sieze the moment when your opponent makes a mistake.
Mark J. B. Bowen: I think more than any other local player, I hate
seeing Porter's name on the pairing list next to mine. He's tough.
NM Mark Holness: Yes he is very strong and also has done a lot for
chess by coaching in Jamaica.
Mark J. B. Bowen: yes Deborah Richards is very talented and he's
major reason for that .
NM Mark Holness: That is true.
Mark J. B. Bowen: I feel like I'm forgetting to ask you something
important. Anyone you want to big up, maybe Enos grant John Powell
or some opponent who pushed you more than others ?
NM Mark Holness: Well I want to Big up Peter Myers, who is also a
Vice president of the JCF. I have done a lot of work with him
regarding Junior chess. Also I have a lot of respect for the hard
working members on the JCF Council and I'm very supportive of Ian
Wilkinson, the JCF President.
Mark J. B. Bowen: I must say one thing about you I admire I is the
way you have an open mind. Even listening to ideas from low rated
players. You are not egotistical like some others.
NM Mark Holness: Yes I'm very open minded. And I respect all chess
players regardless of their rating
Mark J. B. Bowen: even your chess style is flexible its kind of
unusual in jamaica most people seem very fixed in certain views.
NM Mark Holness: Yes my chess style is flexible except... I have a
weakness for material gain.
Mark J. B. Bowen: heh, heh, you're a "john crow" for "poisoned
pawns", huh ?
NM Mark Holness: A pawn is a Pawn. ( Smile ).
Mark J. B. Bowen: well we all have weaknesses but your strength is
that very deep self knowledge and ability to admit it. I hope myself
and others can emulate this.Thank you.
NM Mark Holness: Thank you also. We all have weaknesses. but the key
is to work together so that we cover each others weakness
Mark J. B. Bowen: I must also commend you for work on the JCF
website. Even this morning I was looking at some games from the
women's champs that you uploaded there. I think this is a way we can
impact the world. I know sites like Chess Drum are watching Jamaica
and chess is a really international game.
NM Mark Holness: Thank you. I think the JCF Website needs
improvement but we will get there. I agree.
Mark J. B. Bowen: Any closing remarks you wish to make ?
NM Mark Holness: Like I said International chess is the only way to
sustain interest and allow Jamaicans to rally together for a common
goal. I cannot think of anything except to say that I hope in 2006,
all the various chess entities will work together for the good of
chess in Jamaica.
Mark J. B. Bowen:Thanks again for this interview.
NM Mark Holness: Also to thank you for doing this interview and I
hope you return to active chess.
Mark J. B. Bowen: yeah man I have alot of ideas on stream.
NM Mark Holness: Thank you also.
Mark J. B. Bowen: :-)
NM Mark Holness: Smile. |
