Back in Form Four and Form Five, Vong Chen-lam's maths and science grades were average. But his grades improved dramatically once he got to Form Six. His secret: Chinese chess.
Chen-lam, a student at Escola Estrela do Mar, a Catholic school whose name means 'star of the sea', was recently the champion at the Macau Schools Chess Competition. He also practises international chess to broaden his horizons and help with strategies in Chinese chess.
'Chess enhances one's logical thinking and analytical power,' said Chen-lam.
Aspiring to take his chess skills to a new level, Chen-lam plans to continue playing chess when he goes to Taiwan for his university studies the next academic year. If chess playing had not improved his logical thinking and academic abilities, he might not have landed a place in the electrical engineering department of the National Taiwan University, he said.
Two of Chen-lam's schoolmates, Form Six student Fong Kam-fai and Form Four student U Heng-chun, won awards in the Go chess contest. Kam-fai came first and Heng-chun came third.
Describing his passion for Go chess as a 'daily indulgence', Kam-fai said he used to play five hours a day, much like teenagers addicted to computer games.
'I learned because I accompanied my elder brother to some interest classes,' he said. 'Soon I was fascinated. Now I am a five duan player, at the top level in Macau.'