Sunk in oblivion

IN THE past fortnight, a four-man Malaysian team slipped quietly out of the country to compete in this year's Asian team chess championship in Shenyang, China.

Normally, I would have expected the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) to issue a press release, but this time there was none. It is as if the MCF had been caught procrastinating over the selection of team members and is now embarrassed by its final choice.

The question begging to be asked is why only four players were sent. With that number, every one of them would have been required to play without rest. Not only is that mentally tiring, it is also psychologically and physiologically bad, especially if one player were to hit a bad patch during the event.

Including a fifth player would have allowed some sort of rotation within the team. The stabilising effect of an extra player can mean the difference between sinking into oblivion or giving a respectable performance.

Because the challenge trophy was originally donated by the late Tun Abdul Razak in 1974, Malaysia has always considered the Asian team championship a very important tournament. It will be a shame if Malaysia no longer considers this event worthwhile enough to send our strongest possible team.

According to precedence, three of the team's players are selected from last year's national closed championship. The MCF committee then select two more players while the federation's president has the right to choose the sixth player.

In last year's national closed championship, the top three places had gone to Ng Ee Vern, Lim Chuin Hoong and Jonathan Chuah. They would have automatically qualified but since Ng and Lim were unable to join the national team, Agus Salim and Ng Tze Han were selected in their places.

However, a most embarrassing situation arose when it turned out that Agus does not hold a Malaysian passport. He has a Certificate of Identity which means he is not a Malaysian citizen. His place was offered instead to Azahari Mohd Nor.

Luckily, Mas Hafizulhelmi had indicated to the MCF that he would be available to play in the Asian team event. The experienced Mas would be the asset required to prop up the team on the first board. Ng had already played in several international tournaments, so he was the logical choice for the second board. But of the other two players in the team, neither could really be considered to have the necessary temperament for such a high-level event.

It would have made sense to select a more experienced fifth player for the team. Names like Jimmy Liew or Mok Tze Meng readily come to mind, but there are also a host of younger and relatively stable players like Wong Zijing or Lim Yee Weng to consider. Regrettably, for one reason or another, the fifth position in the team was never filled.

Malaysia was one of 16 teams in Shenyang. The first round was a real embarrassment as Malaysia went down 0-4 to the Philippines. After a 1.5-2.5 loss to Tajikistan, the Malaysians beat Macau 3-1, drew 2-2 with China "B" and lost 1.5-2.5 to New Zealand.

Another 2-2 draw followed, this time with Mongolia, after which the team's luck went downhill for the rest of the tournament. A 1.5-2.5 loss at the hands of traditional rival Singapore was quickly followed by 0.5-3.5 results against Iran and China "C."

The total points scored was 12.5 which placed the team in 14th position ahead of only New Zealand and Macau. By Mas' own standard, four points from nine games cannot be considered good but I suspect he was affected by the form of the other players. Ng was slightly better, scoring 50% with 4.5 points, while Chuah and Azahari ended with 2.5 and 1.5 points respectively.

At the other end of the table, there was a strong fight for the Tun Razak trophy. Going into the final round, India was the surprising leader with 20 points but only half a point behind the Indians were Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Iran. A further half-point behind the trio were China "A," Uzbekistan and Indonesia.

In the final round, India could only overcome a stubborn Indonesia by 2.5-1.5. It was not enough for the Indians who watched Uzbekistan breeze ahead of them with a 4-0 trashing of hapless New Zealand. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan and the Philippines joined India in joint second to fourth placings with similar 3-1 scores against Vietnam and Iran respectively.

Final standings: Uzbekistan 23 points; India, Kazakhstan and the Philippines 22.5 points each; China "A" and China "B" 22 points each; China "C" 21.5 points; Indonesia and Iran 20.5 points each; Vietnam 19 points; Singapore and Mongolia 17.5 points each; Tajikistan 16 points; Malaysia 12.5 points; New Zealand 6 points; and Macau 2.5 points.

CAS allegro

The Chess Association of Selangor held its third-quarter allegro tournament at the Sunway College in Petaling Jaya last month. Although there were only 34 players, the field was very strong and included Singaporean international master Giam Choo Kwee and second-quarter allegro winner, Terry Van Der Veen.

The eventual winner of the competition was Fikrul Saifuddin who beat Giam in the fourth round and Van Der Veen in the fifth. A fighting draw with Saprin Sabri in the final round ensured Fikrul the first prize. This round also saw Giam drawing his game with Lim Chin Lee and Van Der Veen drawing with Ilhamuddin to keep the standings of the top boards unchanged from the previous round.

Top standings: Fikrul 5.5 points; Van Der Veen, Giam, Saprin, Lim and Ilhamuddin 4.5 points each; Mohd Erwan, Abdullah Aziz Shukor and Mak Weng Kong 4 points each; Cheah Eu Gene and Nicholas Chan 3.5 points each.

National allegro results

The Kelantan leg of the Bank Pertanian Malaysia-sponsored national allegro chess circuit was played at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (formerly ITM) campus in Machang earlier this month.

The tournament attracted 36 participants and it was won by Ahmad Maliki Mohamad with 5.5 points.

Mohd Nizam Hamzah and Fairul Yusoff both tied with five points each, while Mohd Bakri Jusoh and Mas Harithul Fadli obtained 4.5 points each. The four-pointers who were among the prize-winners were Arjunawira Ahmad, Halim Suhaimi, Hashim Jusoh, Farid Hassan and Tengku Zulkifli Tengku Amri.

Wan Abdul Fatah Wan Ali won the prize for veterans, while the three women's prizes were given to Yusma Yuhanis, Wan Syarina and Che Nor Emelia Abdul Halim. The under-12 prizes were won by Mohd Tajul Aris, Mohd Tajul Subki and Mas Latiful Syukri.

UP NEXT

Kuala Beliat Open

THE Kuala Beliat Chess Association and the Brunei Shell Recreation Club are jointly organising a one-day open chess tournament at the BSRC in Seria, Brunei, this Sunday.

The nine-round event will be played using a 15-minute time control per player for each game. The first round will start at 10am and the final round is expected to conclude by 5.30pm.

There are five cash prizes with B$300 (about RM675) going to the winner. The second prize is B$200 (about RM450) and the third prize B$100 (about RM225), while the fourth and fifth prizes are B$75 (about RM170) and B$50 (about RM112) respectively. In addition, the top three winners shall receive trophies.

Entry fee is B$10 (about RM23) per player. Registration closes tomorrow. For more information on the event or accommodation, contact Leong Voon Choon at 673-3-373 612 during office hours or e-mail (voon-choon.v.c.leong@shell.com.bn).

Kepong Junior Open

FOR the sixth year runnng, the Parent-Teacher Association of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (China) Kepong Dua in Kuala Lumpur will be organising the Kepong junior chess open tournament. This annual event, which is divided into four age categories, will be played on Nov 7 in the school hall.

Children born in 1991 or later will be eligible to take part in the under-eight section, and the winner will receive the SJK (C) Kepong 2 PIBG trophy. The winner of the under-10 section will get the Cheah Lim Choy trophy, the under-12 winner will win the Kong Foo Leong trophy and the under-16 winner, the Datuk Tan Kim Hor trophy.

The top four winners in each age-group will also receive cash prizes, while the next six winners will get consolation prizes.

Entry fees are RM7 for pupils of the school and RM10 for other players. Anyone registering after Oct 30 will be required to pay a RM5 late fee.

Lunch and snacks will be provided for all players, and the first 180 entries will be given souvenir chess boards. There will also be lucky draws after the event.

Enquiries, contact F.L. Wong at 017-888-2216 or 03-636 4197 between 3pm and 10pm.

JB Open

THE sixth Johor Baru open chess tournament, jointly organised by the Johor Baru District Chess Club and Johor Land Bhd, will be played on Nov 14 at the Dewan Menara Komtar in Johor Baru.

There are three sections in this event: the open, under-16 and under-12. The open section features 10 cash prizes totalling RM1,710 with a first prize of RM500. The winner will also receive the Piala Mentri Besar Johor. The under-16 and the under-12 sections also have 10 cash prizes each. The top prize for the two sections are RM100 and RM80 respectively.

Entry fees are RM20 for the open section, RM7 for the under-16 section and RM5 for the under-12 section. Entries will close on Nov 12; only the first 300 entries will be accepted.

Details, contact Narayanan Krishnan at 07-333-8215 or e-mail (naraa@tm.net.my).

UKM tournament

THE Urusetia Alumni Kamsis Rahim Kajai, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, will organise an open tournament at the university on Nov 27 and 28.

Entry fee is RM15 for students and RM30 for the public. The closing date for registration is Nov 20. Details, contact Bakri Abdul Karim at 03-829 3101, e-mail (ua_catur@yahoo.com) or write to Penganjur Kejohanan Catur Terbuka KRK UKM 99, Urusetia Alumni KRK UKM, Kamsis Rahim Kajai, UKM, 43600 Bangi.

Against Kasparov, the world survives

GARY Kasparov is perhaps the only chess player who can truly proclaim: "been there, done that." He became the youngest world chess champion at 22 years old, broke with the World Chess Federation (Fide) over the running of the world championship series, yet - paradoxically still embracing certain Fide programmes like the Chess Olympiad - became the highest rated player in the annals of chess, and twice played with the world's strongest chess computer, IBM's Deep Blue.

Just when it seemed that there were no more mountains for Kasparov to climb, he embarked on a project in June to play a chess game on the Internet against the Rest Of The World.

On July 2, when commenting on this project, I wrote in this column that Kasparov was embarking yet again on another publicity stunt.

I had expected the game to last about two months with Kasparov scoring a quick knockout punch. I was very confident that Kasparov, with his vast experience, would not lose the game. And I said that The World, with its many cooks, diversions and opinions, would not be able to agree on the best moves and would eventually spoil the soup.

Today, almost four months later, the game is still going on. I am surprised that Kasparov has not managed to gain a clear upperhand. The revelation so far is that The World has maintained its strategy of defending resourcefully, even taking risks during early stages of the game, and will most probably draw it!

Recently, I received a very interesting e-mail from a reader, Soo Ching Pin, who chided me for my dismissive comments. Let me reproduce the salient points:

"I remember that after the game was started on the Internet, in your column you dismissed the whole thing as a publicity stunt by Kasparov. You thought that the game might be rather dull as you did not believe that The World team could put up a consistently good fight. From the tone of your writing I did not expect you to take an active part in the game, if at all.

"Having followed the game since it started, with the exception of a few moves which I could not participate in as I was outstation at the time, I find the game an entertaining and interesting one so far. I will give you the moves that have been played so far so that you can judge for yourself.

Kasparov vs The World

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nc6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.0-0 g6 8.d4cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bg7 10.Nde2 Qe6 11.Nd5 Qxe4 12.Nc7+ Kd7 13.Nxa8 Qxc4 14.Nb6+ axb6 15.Nc3 Ra8 16.a4 Ne4 17.Nxe4 Qxe4 18.Qb3 f5 19.Bg5 Qb4 20.Qf7 Be5 21.h3 Rxa4 22.Rxa4 Qxa4 23.Qxh7 Bxb2 24.Qxg6 Qe4 25.Qf7 Bd4 26.Qb3 f4 27.Qf7 Be5 28.h4 b5 29.h5 Qc4 30.Qf5+ Qe6 31.Qxe6+ Kxe6 32.g3 fxg3 33.fxg3 b4 34.Bf4 Bd4+ 35.Kh1 b3 36.g4 Kd5 37.g5 e6 38.h6 Ne7 39.Rd1 e5 40.Be3 Kc4 41.Bxd4 exd4 42.Kg2 b2 43.Kf3 Kc3 44.h7 Ng6 45.Ke4 Kc2 46.Rh1 d3 47.Kf5 b1=Q 48.Rxb1 Kxb1 49.Kxg6 d2 50.h8=Q d1=Q 51.Qh7 b5 52.Kf6+ Kb2

"To find out Kasparov's 53rd move, as well as to vote on The World's reply, visit (http://www.zone.com/Kasparov/TodaysMove.asp).

"On voting days, votes will be accepted online between 3am and 9pm Malaysian time. On non-voting days, The World's response can be checked practically at any time. Only the percentages of votes received by the main candidate moves will be posted. So far, the closest approach to a unanimous vote (even for a forced move) has been 98+%. The narrowest vote so far was decided by a margin of less than half a percentage point. So these votes have not all been dull and predictable affairs.

"We are now in a complicated end-game, and the World Team can use all the help it can get. As a knowledgeable chess writer, if you are not already on the team, your contributions from this point onwards would certainly be welcome. There is a forum which you can access from the above webpage where The World team discusses strategy against Kasparov.

"Incidentally, at this point I think the best The World can hope for is a draw against the world champion, but let's at least give him a good fight while we're at it!

"Thank you for your time. Keep up the good work in your column."

Well, Soo, thank you for your feedback and opinion. For your information, although I had not written about the game since July, I have been following its progress occasionally. I have to concede that it has been very interesting. Let me make a few observations.

It is widely accepted that 10...Qe6 was a surprising move that took the game into uncharted territory. The former world champion accepted the challenge to win the exchange (rook for knight) but he also had to give up two pawns in the process. The World played vigorously to keep an even keel and, after the queens went off the board, much depended on how both sides could carry out ideas on the opposite sides of the board.

By the time the new queens appeared, Kasparov found himself down a pawn. Nevertheless, I still do not foresee him losing the game. He has an active king and a more dangerous pawn remaining on the board. Perhaps The World can find a quick way to force a draw by continually putting Kasparov's king in check.

I still maintain that the whole idea of this chess game is a publicity stunt. It is good publicity - there is no doubt about it - but the worldwide response to the game in the past four months remains unknown.

The official website does not mention the number of people who actually voted on each of The World's moves; only the voting percentages are given. Without such figures, it is open to speculation whether interest or participation in this project has waxed or waned.

But what a stunt it has been so far. I think The World has played admirably. No matter how the game ends eventually, everyone who takes part will be a winner.

UP NEXT

The Kuala Beliat Chess Association and the Brunei Shell Recreation Club are jointly organising a one-day open chess tournament at the BSRC in Seria, Brunei.

This is a nine-round event which will be played using a 15-minute time control per player for each game. The first round on Oct 24 will start at 10am and the final round is expected to conclude by 5.30pm.

There are five cash prizes with B$300 (RM750) going to the winner; the second prize is B$200 (RM500) and the third prize B$100 (RM250), while the fourth and fifth prizes are B$75 (RM187) and B$50 (RM125) respectively. In addition, the top three winners shall receive trophies.

Entry fee is B$10 (RM25) per player. Registration closes on Oct 23. For more information on the event or accommodation, e-mail Leong Voon Choon of the BSRC at (voon-choon.v.c.leong@shell.com.bn); or contact him at 673-3-373 612 (office hours) or 673-3-333 157 (after office hours).

(Seria is about one-and-a-half hours drive from Miri which has an active chess community of its own.)