Need a favour from GilaChess readers.
If you come across Oct 31 issue of the Malay Mail can you please keep a copy for me?
I was in Vietnam at the time so did not have time to buy a copy.
In it is an article featuring this blog (blog.gilachess.com) as well as GilaChess.com. This is the first time GilaChess.com appears in traditional media. Understandably, I’m anxious to see how GilaChess looks in print! 
Update:
Thanks to the Gabey Goh, the reporter who wrote the story I got a softcopy of the article.
Here it is:-
American History X divx I must say that the reporter did a good job researching the background facts on Malaysian chess as I didn’t provide those information. Also, the picture of me with Wan Khye Theng is not an easy one to find from previous blog posts.
Read the article online.
Or full text after the jump.
For Andrew Ooi, work and a passion for chess have happily collided into one very satisfying lifestyle.
Better known as Mr Gila of GilaChess (www.gilachess.com), this former programming lecturer and ex-web programmer is now a blogger by profession and loving every second of it.
“I am currently in Vietnam as a webmaster/blogger for the World Youth Chess Championship, which involves about 73 countries and 885 participants,” writes Ooi via email.
Not too shabby for one who initially held many reservations about leaping head-on into an endeavour which many would deem financially unstable.
“In the past I was just a hobbyist chess player, reading about famous grandmasters and chess personalities. Today, I get to meet these grandmasters in person and talk to them,” he says.
As Ooi has proven, you’ve got to love what you do to really make things happen. And on the chessboard of life, his gambit has certainly paid off.
How and when did you start to blog?
I started posting on Geocities websites around 1995 when the term “blog” was not even coined. Back then I was teaching programming languages in a college, so picking up HTML was very easy for me.
My other interest is chess so I started a chess website in 1998. It is called ‘GilaChess’ (www.gilachess.com
) because I am so crazy about the game. The website went through many changes in URLs and CMS platforms but the content remained the same, which is to report on the major chess events in Malaysia. As interest in chess has been steadily growing, so has the traffic for GilaChess.com.
What were your reasons?
My objective is to totally live off the revenue from my blogs.
What have you achieved?
Shadowheart video Achieved some fame (sort of) from blogging. Among the chess community my blog is well known and some don’t even remember my real name but call me “GilaChess” or “Mr Gila”. Blogging has allowed me to quit my full time job and support myself.
I am also honoured when I attend a major international chess event and I’m given special privileges of a reporter/journalist.
I recently travelled to Philippines and Vietnam for two major chess tournaments, namely the 4th Pitchay Cup in Manila and World Youth Chess Championship in Vung Tau, Vietnam.
Any regrets?
Yes. Should have become more active in website development and blogging much earlier. Even though I started early, I spent too much time studying programming, and most of the languages I learnt are obsolete now.
Has blogging changed your life?
After more than 10 years of having a full time job, it’s refreshing to work from home and not face the daily grind.
What does the “Blogosphere” it mean to you?
It’s just a word. Blogs are so common today they’re become a part of life. You blog to communicate and to share.
Who is your absolute favourite blogger?
I really don’t have any one favourite blogger. Blogs I most commonly visit are HongKiat.com, LiewCF.com, 5xmom.com and StevePavlina.com.
Foremost feature in the Blogosphere that amazes/ irritates you?
It amazes me that people who were not receptive to blogging in the past are picking up blogging for various reasons.
It irritates me when people use blog platforms for personal and anonymous attacks.
If there were someone you could influence to take up blogging, who would it be?
I am always trying to encourage my chess friends to take up blogging to share their experiences, which are valuable in the game of chess. Some already have, and Malaysia is one of the more active countries when it comes to chess blogs.
Any memorable incidents?
Many funny moments arise when I actually take part in a chess competition, as my opponents feel additional pressure when they play against me. If they lose, they know that it will be publicised on my website and blog because I consider myself relatively weak in chess. I am convinced some players have actually lost games to me because of this factor.
If I could do it all over again, (of course with hindsight) I would have quit my fulltime job earlier and not have been so afraid to blog for a living. I would have avoided my years as a programmer, which I did not enjoy very much.
Additional thoughts?
There is nothing special about blogging. Everybody can blog and it can be for many reasons. A blog is not just a diary of daily events. It can be informational, educational, sharing of experience, brochure type website, reviews etc.
A good example is my newest website, (www.chessasia.net), which I started with a friend, also on chess. It’s run on a blog platform but serves chess news. It’s a new site but already has a daily hit of 1,000 to 2,000.
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Chess blogging for money : 08 November 2008 at 4:22 pm
[...] mentioned in the Malay Mail interview that Malaysia is quite active when it came to blogging about chess. I would like to encourage more [...]
Collin : 09 November 2008 at 10:10 am
Congrats on the Malay Mail write-up on you, Andrew !! Keep up the good work.