2nd Place "Unexpected" For Ben

The year end FIDE tournament held at Serangoon CC saw Ben achieving 5.5 points out of a possible 7 to finish as tournament 1st Runner-up, in the process he defeated the eventual 2nd Runner-up and Champion Ren Qi - both of which in a tightly contested endgame where Ben eventually won after grabbing a microscopic advantage and drove home the full point by exhibiting superior endgame technique.

Before the tournament Ben has to admit he would never be expecting what he would be achieving by the end of it. Singapore favorite chess player and coach got off to a stunning start by winning his first 5 games, the first time he has done that, he then proceeded to grab a further half point in the finale game to finish 2nd.

Ben admitted after the tournament he was expecting something "more realistic", "perhaps a top 10 finish" said the iconic Singapore-based chess player and coach, "After being out for 2 years it really doesn't do your confidence much help, I was really expecting just to finish top 10, so to end up as 1st Runner-up is a real honor to me".

When questioned about why he meekly offered a draw in the last round with Burmese star chess player Zaw Thet instead of trying to fight for the first place, the Singapore acclaimed chess player merely avoided the question, instead saying "I did not see the incident".