World chess championship kicks off

THE famed Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas is the venue for the World Chess Federation's latest world chess championship which begins tomorrow. Already, most of the 100 players in this month-long event are assembled in Las Vegas to await the start of the first round.

Like the previous championship that was played in Groningen at the end of 1997, this present one is organised as a knock-out event. In the first round are 72 players who will be engaged in a two-game match against their opponents.

Asia is represented by 10 players: IM Imad Hakki (Syria), IM Amir Bagheri (Iran), GM Dibyendu Barua (India), Rogelio Antonio Jr (Philippines), Utut Adianto (Indonesia), FM Vladimir Feldman (Australia), IM Liang Chong (China), GM Peng Xiaomin (China), GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan) and GM Pavel Kotsur (Kazakhstan).

The surviving 36 players will join 28 other participants who have been seeded directly into the second round by virtue of their high Fide ratings.

In a departure from tradition, the defending world champion is required to enter the championship from the second round. Obviously, this decision has not gone down well with Anatoly Karpov and it is not known whether he has decided to play or not. Earlier, there were threats from Karpov to take legal action against Fide if the world championship in Las Vegas were to proceed.

If Karpov does not play, it will mean that he will join India's Viswanathan Anand and former world champion Gary Kasparov as notable absentees. Viswanathan and Kasparov are trying to put together a separate match of their own which they want to call a world championship match. Although such a contest between the two strongest players in the world will generate a lot of interest, playing it outside the ambit of the World Chess Federation makes it rather pointless.

It is interesting that the American player, Gata Kamsky, has also been slotted into the second round. Kamsky has not played for several years as he had opted to pursue his medical studies. There had been talk of him returning to chess, at least for this event, but until he turns up in Las Vegas, not even the organisers are certain of Kamsky's participation.

The field will be reduced to 32 players for the third round, and will again be halved for each succeeding round until the sixth round is reached by Aug 15. Here, there will be only four players left and they will play a four-game knock-out match to determine the final two players.

The final match will be played over six games beginning on Aug 21, and the new world chess champion will be declared on Aug 29.

Readers can follow the progress of the world chess championship from the official website at http://www.worldfide.com/

Chung Ling boys still leading

Despite losing to Penang Free School "A" in the seventh round of the ninth Bayview Chess League on Sunday, Chung Ling High School "A" still maintained an almost unassailable lead in the Premier Division. With only two more rounds to be played, the Chung Ling boys are leading the standings with 20.5 points while PFS "A" is in a distant second with 16 points.

The Chung Ling Old Boys Association (CLOBA) has climbed back into contention for a top prize with a 3-1 win over the International College, pushing the Old Frees' Association (OFA) into fourth position.

CLOBA now has 15.5 points, followed by OFA with 14 points. Further behind are Pessca with 11 points, Chung Ling High School "B" with 10.5 points, PFS "B" and International College with nine points each, and St Xavier's Institution with 6.5 points.

In Division One, PFS "C" has a big lead and is likely to win the tournament. The team now has 23 points, which is four points more than Chung Ling High School "C".

Dell "A" is close behind with 18 points, while the Penang Chess Association Novices has 16.5 points and Chung Ling High School "D" has 16.

In Division Two, Chung Ling High School "E" continues to lead with 19 points. Chung Hwa Confucian School has played strongly in the last few rounds and is now in second place with 17.5 points.

The Penang Chinese Girls High School has been playing well of late to be in third place with 15 points, while the Penang Chess Association Ladies team has 14 points.

The eighth round will be played this Sunday morning at 10am in the Sri Perak Room of The City Bayview Hotel's newly opened wing, while the ninth round at 12pm on Aug 8 will conclude this year's Bayview Chess League.

UP NEXT

Fight for DPM's trophy

The Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur will again be the venue of this year's 18th Merdeka team chess championship from Aug 29 to Aug 31.

The main attraction of the three-day event is the state category where the fight is for the Deputy Prime Minister's trophy. The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) can expect most of the state chess associations to send their strongest line-ups.

For the youth category, the winner will be awarded the Merdeka youth challenge trophy. The other main feature of the tournament is the open category which has always attracted teams from far and near. Competition in this category is expected to be very keen. Registration for the teams starts at 8.30am on Aug 29. Prizes for the state category are RM2,000, RM1,500 and RM1,000. The winner will also receive the Deputy Prime Minister's challenge trophy. The five prizes in the youth section are RM1,000, RM750, RM500, RM300 and RM150. The Merdeka youth challenge trophy will also go to the winner.

There will be seven prizes for the open category. The winning team will receive RM2,000 and the runner-up RM1,500. The other prizes are RM1,000, RM800, RM600, RM400 and RM200.

Entry fees are RM150 for teams playing in the state and open categories, and RM80 for the youth category. The closing date for entries is Aug 23.

Readers with Internet access can download the entry form from my website at http://www5.mol.com.my/qss/Library

Perak attractions

The Perak International Chess Association will organise two tournaments at the Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman library in Ipoh next weekend.

On Aug 7 and 8, a two-day Category A tournament with a time control of 60 minutes per player for each game will be organised. This is a six-round event and it will be open to all players who have a Fide, MCF, Perak or Penang rating of 1,700 or more.

A one-day Category B event will be held on Aug 8. This six-round tournament, which will use a 25-minute time control for each game, is open to players without a Perak rating or who is rated below 1,700.

For details, call W.K. Wong at 05-366 1692.

Malaysia vs Singapore

THIS year's annual match between Malaysia and Singapore will be played this weekend at the Parkway Parade shopping centre in Singapore. The two-round match will be contested over 40 boards. While the games between the six men and four women players in each side will be of higher profile, the final outcome is expected to hinge on the performances of the veterans and the boys and girls in the under-20, under-18, under-16, under-14, under-12 and under-10 age-group sections.

In last year's match, the Malaysians won 20-14 in the first round and 24.5-9.5 in the second round. The match was played over 34 boards.

Aye to Olympic recognition

THERE are several developments on the international chess front in recent weeks, all involving the World Chess Federation (Fide), but I will limit myself to commenting on the two most interesting ones.

The first concerns a significant and welcome development for chess. In a meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Seoul last month, Fide has finally been accepted as one of the IOC's International Sports Federations (IF) under Rule 29 of the Olympic Charter.

What this means is that chess is now recognised as a sport by the IOC.

Each of the IFs is responsible for the integrity of its own sport on the international level. These organisations establish the playing and eligibility rules, set the schedule of events and select the referees, judges and other officials to run their respective sports at the Olympic Games or other international competitions. With Fide included, there are 35 International Olympic Sports Federations and 28 International Recognised Federations.

The recognition by the IOC means that national chess federations around the globe can now apply to be full-fledged members of their respective national Olympic councils.

To my knowledge, the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) has never been a member of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM). The MCF may have been accorded observer status in the past, but this status counts for nothing. A check with the OCM reveals that there are presently 44 national sports associations affiliated to it, with triathlon being the latest to be accepted into the OCM fold.

So far, there is no indication how long it will take the MCF to react to this development. Perhaps for the federation, the implication of this news has yet to be fully absorbed. However, with the OCM set to hold its 114th council meeting on July 28, this may seem a good time for the MCF to prepare the necessary membership application to the OCM.

The sooner the MCF becomes an OCM member, the better it will be for the chess movement in the country. For one, the state chess associations can now promote the game as a recognised Olympic sport.

The other chess news involves the release of Fide's July international rating list. Fide issues two editions of its rating list annually - in January and July - and they are keenly awaited by the worldwide chess community.

Another Russian, Vladimir Kramnik, is third on the Fide biannual rating list while Indias Viswanathan Anand is second.

After all the controversy surrounding the delayed release of the January list, Fide has made amends by ensuring that its July list came out on time. This list, in Zip format, can be downloaded from the new Fide homepage at http://www.data.ru/fide/index.html

This list is a huge collection of 16,384 names of chess players worldwide who have a rating. Nobody knows for sure how many chess players there are in the world but it is estimated that these names represent only a very small fraction of them. These are the players who are lucky or good enough to have fared reasonably well in an international tournament to be accepted by Fide for the purpose of ratings.

Of course, at the top of the heap is Gary Kasparov (Russia) whose rating surged 29 points to 2,841 during the past six months. Viswanathan Anand (India) dropped 10 points to 2,771 but he still retains second spot in the overall list.

The world's current best 10 players and their rating points are as follows:

1. Gary Kasparov (Russia) - 2,841

2. Viswanathan Anand (India) - 2,771

3. Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) - 2,760

4. Alexander Morozevich (Russia) - 2,751

5. Alexei Shirov (Spain) - 2,722

6. Boris Gelfand (Israel) - 2,713

7. Anatoly Karpov (Russia) - 2,709

8. Michael Adams (England) - 2,705

9. Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) - 2,702

10. Peter Leko (Hungary) - 2,699

There are 62 Malaysian names on the Fide rating list but I am again very concerned that Fide has not resolved the problem of split personalities. Wong Zi-Jing and Ng Tze Han are still listed twice and thrice respectively, but now I find that even Deon Moh is affected. This Ipoh schoolboy is mentioned twice in the latest Fide list.

Apart from these discrepancies, I can now confirm that Ahmad Maliki and Mohd Jamil Yahaya are officially mentioned on the Fide rating list. Their names were missing from the official January list although I later discovered their names elsewhere.

Only four Malaysian players were active internationally since the January rating list appeared. Lim Chuin Hoong played two rateable games but there is no change to his rating which remains at 2,226; Mas Hafizulhelmi has been the most active with 35 rated games and his rating has gone up to 2,426; Deon Moh played nine rated games and he has a rating of 2,035; and Wong Zi-Jing, having played 11 rated games, is now rated at 2,288.

What I understand from the MCF is that it is still following up with Fide on the discrepancies. Hopefully, by January next year we shall see a correct list where the Malaysians are concerned. By the way, I have posted the list of Malaysian rated players on my website and readers with Internet access can download it from http://www5.mol.com.my/qss/Library

Bayview results

AT THE halfway stage of the ninth Bayview Chess League, Chung Ling High School "A" has opened a significant lead over its nearest rival, Penang Free School "A", in the Premier Division. In the fifth round a fortnight ago, CLHS "A" scored a 4-0 win over St Xavier's Institution while PFS "A" could only draw 2-2 with the Chung Ling Old Boys' Association.

CLHS "A" now has 16.5 points, followed by PFS "A" with 13.5 points. CLOBA is behind them with 11 points, the Old Frees' Association 10.5 points, Pessca seven points, PFS "B" 6.5 points, CLHS "B" and International College six points each, and St Xavier's Institution three points.

In Division One, PFS "C" won 4-0 against the Penang Development Corporation to maintain its lead. The team now has 16 points, which is two points more than CLHS "D" which beat the MSSPP Girls 3-1. CLHS "C" inflicted a 4-0 score on PFS "D" to keep within a point of its "D" team.

Dell "A" has 12 points, Hitachi 11 points, Penang Chess Association Novices 10.5 points, Penang Development Corporation 9.5 points, MSSPP Girls eight points, Hewlett-Packard three points and PFS "D" two points.

Meanwhile, in Division Two, CLHS "E" had its lead trimmed after managing only a 2-2 draw with the MSSPP Juniors. CLHS "E" now has 13 points, one more than the Penang Chess Association Ladies who scored a triumphant 4-0 win over PFS "F".

Trailing them are Chung Hwa Confucian School and Penang Chinese Girls' High School with 9.5 points each, Dell "B" and the MSSPP Juniors with nine points each, Union High School 8.5 points, PFS "E" five points and PFS "F" one point.

The sixth round of the chess league will be played this Sunday at the Sri Perak Room on Level Four of the City Bayview Hotel's new wing. The hotel is sponsoring the use of its premises for the weekly games. The Penang Chess Association homepages at http://come.to/the.pca.homepage and http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Stadium/2379 are updated weekly detailing the results.

Up Next

Malaysia-Singapore match

THIS year the annual Malaysia-Singapore match will be organised by the Singapore Chess Federation on July 31 and Aug 1. The two-round match will be contested over 40 boards. While the games between the six men and four women and two veteran players in each side will be close, the final outcome is expected to hinge on the performances of the boys and girls in the under-20, under-18, under-16, under-14, under-12 and under-10 age-group sections.

In last year's match, organised by the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysians won 20-14 in the first round and 24.5-9.5 in the second round. The match was played over 34 boards.

Merdeka team championship

THE MCF will organise the 18th Merdeka team championship at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur from Aug 29 to 31. Like in previous years, the championship will be played over seven rounds with cash prizes for the top teams. Entry fees are RM150 for the state and open sections, and RM80 for the youth section. More details will follow in a fortnight.

Seremban Parade challenge

THE four-day Seremban Parade Chess Challenge, jointly organised by the MCF and Endah Parade, starts this weekend in Seremban.

On Saturday, the 11-round Seremban Parade blitz tournament begins at 2.30pm. The registration of players will start one hour earlier. There will be five cash prizes with the champion receiving RM150 and a trophy. Entry fee is RM10.

On Sunday, the six-round Seremban Parade age-group tournament for under-12 and under-16 players will start at 9am. There are three cash prizes for each age group with the winners of the two categories each receiving RM100 and a trophy. Entry fee is RM10.

On July 24, the Seremban Parade junior (under-20) open tournament will start at 9am. The winner will receive RM100 and a trophy. There are two other main cash prizes and also special prizes for the best girl, under-12, under-14 and under-16 players. Entry fee is RM10.

The Chess Challenge concludes on July 25 with the Seremban Parade open tournament. The winner will receive RM200 and a trophy. The second prize is RM150 and a trophy, the third prize RM100 and a trophy, the fourth RM80, the fifth RM60, and the sixth to 10th prizes RM50 each.

For registration or more information, call Jessie or Jamuna at 06-764 8282 or fax: 06-761 9177.

 

Kasparov against the world

GARY Kasparov has embarked yet again on another publicity stunt. This time, he is challenging the rest of the world in a chess game which is being played on the Internet.

According to the special rules of this game, Kasparov will make the first move and the rest of the world will then submit their suggestions through the Internet to a group of coordinator-analysts who will pick the most popular move from the entries. This move is relayed to Kasparov who will then make his reply, then it is the turn of the rest of the world again.

At the pace which this game is being played, it is expected to last maybe two months. How much public interest this is going to stir is debatable but the chances are that the interest in the game will dwindle as the game progresses. After all, it is being played at a most agonisingly slow pace and it is only the most hopelessly optimistic person who will expect the rest of the world to win this game. However, I will tell you this much: Kasparov will not lose.

How can he lose? He has the experience of more than 16 years at the pinnacle of chess. The rest of the world can offer nothing that he has not seen before. Even if there is one bright spark who can suggest the most inspired move in any given position, the chances of the coordinators recognising this move for what it is worth will be slim. After all, the coordinators are only picking the most popular move from the tens of thousands of moves sent in by the rest of the world.

It is doubtful that the majority of the rest of the world's players would be able to recognise a brilliant move when they see one. Even if they can, the chances of them following it up correctly are poor. In all probability, the game will be reduced to a farce, the rest of the world's moves will border on the ordinary and Kasparov will score a quick knockout after maybe one and a half months. That is, if he has not become bored with this challenge itself.

The people who are taking part as the rest of the world are probably thrilled that they are participating in a game against the strongest chess player in the world. But they forget that the psychology of this game favours Kasparov. His one mind is so singularly focused on chess that nothing else distracts him from it. The rest of the world, on the other hand, have too many cooks, diversions and opinions, and they will eventually spoil the soup.

I think this match does nothing to enhance Kasparov's reputation. He gains nothing by ''defeating" the rest of the world. The non-chess playing public, in their ignorance, may marvel at him for daring to pit his mind against tens of thousands of people but for the chess playing public, this game remains simply a publicity stunt.

Anyone wishing to learn more about this game can browse http://www.zone.com/kasparov/home.asp.

Bayview Chess League Results

AFTER four rounds of the ninth Bayview Chess League, Chung Ling High School "A" remains at the top of the Premier Division with 12.5 points. In the fourth round last Sunday, CLHS "A" chalked up a 3.5-0.5 score against the Pessca team. Their nearest rival, one point behind, is still Penang Free School "A" which kept up the pressure with a similar win over the St Xavier's Institution.

These two teams have opened a significant lead over the other teams in the division. After them is the Chung Ling Old Boys Association which has nine points, the Old Frees Association 7.5 points, Penang Free School "B" 6.5 points, Chung Ling High School "B" and International College five points each, Pessca four points, and St Xavier's Institution three points.

In Division One, Penang Free School "C" is leading with 12 points despite losing 1-3 to the Penang Chess Association Novices. This surprising loss allowed Chung Ling High School "D" to creep within one point of them. In the fourth round, CLHS "D" inflicted a 4-0 win against Hewlett-Packard. Third place belonged to Dell "A" after the team fought hard with Chung Ling High School "C" for a 2-2 score.

Dell "A" now has 10.5 points while behind it are Penang Development Corporation with 9.5 points, Chung Ling High School "C" nine points, Hitachi 8.5 points, Penang Chess Association Novices eight points and MSSPP Girls seven points. Languishing at the back of the standings are Penang Free School "D" with two points and Hewlett-Packard with 1.5 points.

In Division Two, Chung Ling High School "E" is in a commanding lead with 11 points after giving Dell "B" a 3.5-0.5 hiding in the fourth round. A distant second in the standings is Union High School which lost 1.5-2.5 to Chung Hwa Confucian School.

Union has 8.5 points, followed by both the Penang Chess Association Ladies and Dell "B" with eight points each. The MSSPP Juniors has seven points, Chung Hwa Confucian School 6.5 points, Penang Chinese Girls High School 5.5 points, Penang Free School "E" five points, and Penang Free School "F" one point.

The fifth round of the chess league will be played this Sunday morning at level four of The City Bayview Hotel's New Wing. The hotel is sponsoring the use of its premises for the weekly games. The results of the chess league are currently available from the Penang Chess Association homepage at http://come.to/the.pca.homepage and http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Stadium/2379

Up Next:

Tournament for Students

BUILDING on the success of the first inter-team tournament for institutions of higher learning last year, the Chess Association of Selangor will organise a second such tournament next weekend at the Sunway College in Petaling Jaya.

The two-day event, which aims to encourage chess players to continue playing chess after their secondary school days, is expected to attract university and college students from around the Klang Valley and possibly from outside this area too. Each team will comprise three players and one reserve.

The registration of teams will begin at 9am on July 10 and will be followed by the first round at 11am. Three rounds will be played on the first day, and four rounds on the day after. A one-hour time control will be used for all the games.

The winning team will receive RM250 and a challenge trophy. The second and third prizes are RM150 and RM100 respectively. In addition, the first five teams will each receive RM600 worth of computer software. The best CAS members in these five teams will also get cash prizes from the association. Apart from these main prizes, hampers will be given as board prizes and also for the best girl player. Certificates will be given to all prize winners.

Entry fees are RM80 per team, RM140 if two teams are sent from each institution, and RM180 if three are sent.

For enquiries, call Jackie Wong at 03-703 8237, Lim Tse Pin 012-298 4922 or Jason Yap at 017-888 9121.

Meanwhile last fortnight, the CAS had organised the first two legs of its fourth Royal Selangor under-16 junior grand prix.

The first leg on June 20 was won by Wong Zi Chuang who obtained five points from six games. The four players who finished half-a-point behind him were Yap Chin Leong, Nicholas Chan, Yap Chin Keong and Hafiz Shafruddin. Those who scored four points were Marcus Chan, Lim Ven Gee, Eugene Khoo, Mohd Nur Shafiq and Zarul Shazwan.

The second leg was held a week later and it ended in a four-way tie at the top. Marcus Chan, Nicholas Chan, Yap Chin Leong and Johan Iskandar each obtained five points in the six-round event. Joel Ng scored 4.5 points, while Eugene Khoo, Lim Ven Gee, Wong Zi Chuang, Wan Khye Theng and Foo Swee Chuen obtained four points each.

At the end of the two legs, very little separates the five players who are leading in the Grand Prix standings. Yap Chin Leong, Nicholas Chan, Wong Zi Chuang, Marcus Chan and Johan Iskandar are all jointly at the top with five GP points and it is only the various tie-breaks that separate one from the other. Hafiz Shafruddin, Joel Ng, Yap Chin Keong, Lim Ven Gee and Eugene Khoo are next in the standings with 4.5 GP points. Readers with Internet access can download the GP standings from my web page at http://www5.mol.com.my/qss/Library/Library.html

National Allegro Circuit

THE Bank Pertanian Malaysia-sponsored national allegro chess circuit continues with two more legs this month. The Kedah leg will be played at the Kolej Tenaga Nasional, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, tomorrow while the Perlis leg is scheduled for the Sekolah Menegah Putra in Kangar on Sunday.

Entry fees per event are RM10 for members of the Perlis Chess Association, Kedah Chess Association, Bank Pertanian employees, women, under-12 and veteran players, and RM15 for all others.

The total cash prize for each leg is RM1,500 of which RM1,000 goes to the main winners and RM500 to the minor winners. The winner of each leg will qualify automatically for the Grand Prix final in October. To register, call Abdul Latiff Mohamad at 013-301 0204 or Aziz Osman at 04-938 6584.

Seremban Parade Games

THE Malaysian Chess Federation and the Seremban Parade are jointly organising this chess fest over two weekends in the Seremban Parade. All games will be played in the concourse area of the shopping centre. Cash prizes amounting to RM2,000, hampers, trophies and other prizes in kind will be given to the winners.

Scheduled for July 17 is an 11-round blitz tournament with five cash prizes. On the next day, there is a six-round tournament for under-12 and under-16 players. On July 24, the Chess Challenge continues with an under-20 junior open tournament. For these three events, the entry fee is RM10 per player. Cash prizes will be given to the top winners.

The last event will be the Seremban Parade open tournament on July 25. The top 10 winners and the best under-16, under-14, under-12 and girl players will receive cash prizes. The entry fee for this final event is RM15 except for under-12 players who need to pay only RM10.

Only a maximum of 100 players will be accepted for each event. For registration or more information, call Jessie or Jay at 06-764 8282, or fax: 06-761 9177.