Game for a challenge

MORE than 350 players from around the country converged at the Putra World Trade Centre for the very popular national age-group chess championship last month. This annual event is organised by the Malaysian Chess Federation. As in previous years, the championship was divided into six age-groups, with separate events for boys and girls.

The under-eight boys' section attracted 27 players. The top five winners were: Fong Yip Siang (6.5 points), Fong Yit Ho and Sumanth Subramaniam (5.5 points each), and Chia Yoon Wei and Mohd Shafeeqdeen (five points each).

The under-eight girls' section had nine entries. The two joint winners were Alia Anin Azwa Bakri and Adeline Gan Li Ling, both with 6.5 points. Third was Kwan Tszee Yeung with 4.5 points.

There were 42 players in the under-10 boys' section. The winners in this event were Anas Nazreen Bakri and Abdul Kadir Jailani who each scored 6.5 points. In the third to seventh places were: Tan Wei Yang, Ahmad Noordin Mohd Azmi, Nur Ahmad Faiz Mohd Azmi, Chong Geng Cheng and Khoo Sing Wan with five points each.

The under-10 girls' section attracted 17 entries, with Wan Khye Theng emerging as the winner with five points. Behind her was the trio made up of Michele Tai Chee Yann, Chia Yoon Yoong and Shireen Farhana Sirajudeen who obtained 4.5 points each.

The under-12 boys' section drew 75 players. The event was won by Abel Yap Jin Wei with 6.5 points. The other winners were Victor Hong Wee Lian, Muhyiddin Muhammad Isa and Zarul Shazwan Zulkafli who earned six points each.

In the girls' section, Nur Shazwani Zulkafli easily defended the title that she won last year with a clean sweep of seven points. Effaliana Mohd Farid came second with six points, and Chan Wei Qi was third with 4.5 points.

There were 46 players in the boys' under-14 section. The winner was Effazuwan Mohd Farid who scored six points, while there was a three-way tie on 5.5 points among Fariz Shafrussin, Pok Wern Jian and Ernest Chia Chuan Ping. Six players--Wong Zi Chuang, Ahmad Fadzil Nayan, Ragu Ram, Zarul Shafiq Zulkafli, Thaw Chee Hou and Mohd Johan Iskandar--shared the fifth to tenth positions with five points each.

The girls' under-14 title was won by Lim Han Ying with six points. Tied for joint second and third placing were Lee Su Lynn and Hazuin Husain with 5.5 points each.

The boys' under-16 section was hotly contested, and Nicholas Chan emerged as the winner with 6.5 points, half a point ahead of Jonathan Chuah. In third place was Hafiz Shafruddin with 5.5 points. The players with five points each were Au Yoong Yow Loo, Gerald Soh, Effawira Mohd Farid, Aaron Yee Keng Yew, Foo Chee Kin, Hisyam Ismail, Wan Jen Lye, Mohd Nazmi Ahmad and Mohd Musa Alashaari Mohd.

The girls' under-16 section was won jointly by Hazerina Jaffar and Nishaah Rengahathan who both scored 6.5 points. In third place with five points was Norhidayah Azman.

The most keenly-contested event was for the boys' under-20 title. Two players, Lim Chuin Hoong and Wong Zi Jing, were equal firsts with six points each. There was also a five-way tie on five points among Lim Yee Weng, Khor Shihong, Thaw Chee Yin, Lim Beng Tatt and Faiezul Zainal for the third to seventh places. Abdul Haq, Marcus Chan and Ooi Chong Hean scored 4.5 points to take the eighth to 10th places.

Seven players took part in the under-20 girls' section which was won by Lim Jean Nie (six points). Second was Marina Soh (five points) while in third place was Sim Chui Fong (four points).

Dell League

The fourth and fifth rounds of the 11th Dell Penang Chess League will be played this Sunday at the Kolej Damansara Utama premises in Jalan Anson.

Thirty teams divided into three divisions are taking part.

After three rounds, the Penang Free School A is leading in the Premier Division with 10 points. Close on their heels, however, are the Chung Ling Old Boys Association, Old Frees Association and Chung Ling High School A with 9.5 points each.

The Penang Chess Association Novices has six points while Pessca has 5.5 points. Placed further back are Penang Free School B with 4.5 points; Penang Development Corporation, 2.5 points; and both Dell Asia Pacific A and Kolej Damansara Utama with 1.5 points each.

In Division One, St Xavier's Institution A is in the lead with 9.5 points. Next in the standings are the Penang Chess Association Ladies with nine points; Universiti Sains Malaysia, 7.5 points; Chung Ling High School B, 6.5 points; Chung Ling High School C, six points; and Hitachi, 5.5 points. Both Penang Chinese Girls High School and MSSPP Juniors have 4.5 points each, while Penang Free School C has four points and SM Hamid Khan A, three points.

In Division Two, Tunku Abdul Rahman College has collected the maximum 12 points so far, but close at their heels is St Xavier's Institution B with 11 points. Malayan Sugar has eight points, followed by Chung Ling High School D and Penang Free School D with seven points each. SM Hamid Khan B has 6.5 points; Dell Asia Pacific B, six points; St George's Girls School, 1.5 points; and Union High School, one point. Penang Free School Girls has yet to score.

There will be two matches this Sunday. The fourth round begins at 10am while the fifth round starts at 2pm. Dell Asia Pacific is the main sponsor for this annual event while Kolej Damansara Utama is the sponsor for the venue.

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BPM national allegro

THE next two legs of this year's Bank Pertanian Malaysia-sponsored national allegro chess circuit will be played in Penang on July 15 and Perak on July 22.

These events will be held over six rounds with a 30-minute time control for each game. However, if the number of participants exceeds 100, the tournaments will be played over seven rounds, using a 25-minute time control.

Entry fees are RM10 for ladies, Bank Pertanian employees and members of the two chess associations running these legs, RM5 for players below 12 years old, and RM15 for all other participants.

To register, contact Ooi Kiem Boo in Penang (04-226 2209) and Dr Yee Meng Kheong in Ipoh (05-5464 5308). Selangor under-16 grand prix

THE Chess Association of Selangor is now in the midst of organising the under-16 grand prix chess tournament to be held at Sunway College, Petaling Jaya. The second leg will be played this Sunday, followed by the third leg on July 8, and the final leg on July 14 and 15.

Each of these legs will be played over six rounds with a 30-minute time control. Entry fees are RM10 for CAS members and RM15 for non-members.

For more information, contact Lim Tse Pin (012-298 4922), Norhana (03-4108 2590) or Jackie Wong (012-261 3688), or you can e-mail CAS at chessmate@cas.com.kg.

Kepong Baru Open

THE SMK Kepong Baru chess club will organise an open chess tournament at the school this Sunday. Prizes comprise trophies, cash, hampers and certificates. The best girl player and the top five under-12 players will also receive prizes.

Entry fees are RM12 per person inclusive of lunch during the tournament.

For more details, contact Tan Eng Kian (03-6274 0635) or Chin Kai Sin (03-6276 4403).

Insofar Chess

THE Insofar Chess Club in Perak will hold a one-day chess tournament at the Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Ipoh this Sunday.

There are 10 cash prizes offered for the open section, ranging from RM300 to RM30, and 27 trophies for the best veteran, ladies, under-10, under-12 and under-16 players.

Members of the chess club will get to play in the tournament for free while non-members are required to pay RM10. Primary schoolchildren are charged RM8 per player. Only the first 60 entries will be accepted.

For more information, contact Mat Zaki Yeop ( 05-312 6696 / 019-540 5677).

Young talent to the fore

LIKE many of today's young players, Lim Chuin Hoong first burst onto the local chess scene as a small boy in shorts, obsessed with playing blitz chess and never giving up despite losing games against his bigger and older opponents and, to his credit, beating them occasionally.

Many players would feel demoralised after losing some particularly hard games but some like him have the tenacity to persevere. And you could see their elation when they managed to turn the tables on their opponents.

Lim Chuin Hoong ... a young
man with an obvious talent.

Chuin Hoong's talent for the game was obvious. Not only was he playing chess in Penang and at the national level, at events such as the annual national age-group and the national closed chess championships, he had the added advantage of being exposed to adult tournaments in Singapore and Australia in the mid-1990s. The World Youth Chess Festivals in Europe were also frequent playing grounds for him.

I remember a time not so long ago when the Penang Chess Association (PCA) was faced with the dilemma of deciding what to do with the army of little chess players whose abilities were maturing fast. The natural progression was to allow them to invade the territory of the senior chess players in the state at national-level competitions.

It was a good policy which brought the PCA much success, especially at the annual Merdeka team chess championships. Players like Ooi Chern Ee, Chuin Hoong, Lim Tze Han and Jonathan Chuah made the transition from scholastic chess to adult chess well.

Chuah and Tze Han went even one step further by winning the national closed championships in 1999 and 2000 respectively. For Chuin Hoong, however, the national closed championship title would remain out of his reach for many years.

In 1996, for instance, he finished second behind the eventual winner, Lim Yee Weng. One year later, he was placed outside the top two. In 1998, Chuin Hoong again finished second behind the champion, Ng Ee Vern.

The national championship in 1999 was one of the tightest and it saw a three-way tie at the top between Chuah, Chuin Hoong and Teng Wei Khoon. Yet, the coveted title of national champion eluded him once again when Chuah finished ahead of him in the play-off for the title. Again in 2000, a second place behind Tze Han was all that Chuin Hoong could achieve.

However, luck finally smiled on him. This year's national closed championship, held last month in Kuala Lumpur, was finally won by Chuin Hoong who played by far the most consistent chess to pick up eight wins while conceding only a single draw. He had a winning margin of 1.5 points more than his closest rival, Ismail Ahmad, who had collected seven points.

Among some of the better known players who lost to Chuin Hoong were Ismail Ahmad, Wong Zi Jing, Ahmad Maliki and Mohd Saprin Sabri. His only draw was with Chauh in the final game.

Joint third to fifth in the national closed tournament were Lim Yee Weng, Wong Zi Jing and Marcus Chan who each had 6.5 points, while on six points were Jonathan Chuah, Rizal Ahmad Kamal and Ahmad Maliki.

The national women's closed championship was won by Siti Zulaikha for the third year running. She scored 6.5 points from seven games, which was a full 1.5 points more than second-placed Lim Jean Nie. Joint third and fourth in the women's tournament were Lim Han Ying and Nur Shazwani.

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Kepong Baru Open

The SMK Kepong Baru chess club will organise an open chess tournament at the school on July 1. There will be prizes consisting of trophies, cash, hampers and certificates. The best girl player and the top five under-12 players will also receive prizes.

Entry fees are RM12 per person, which will also cover the cost of lunch during the tournament.

For more details, contact Tan Eng Kian ( 03-6274 0635) or Chin Kai Sin ( 03-6276 4403).

Chess League in full swing

The second round of the 11th Dell Penang Chess League will be played this Sunday at the Kolej Damansara Utama premises in Jalan Anson, Penang. Thirty teams divided into three divisions will be taking part.

The Premier Division is made up of teams representing the Penang Development Corporation, Penang Free School A and B, Old Frees Association, Dell Asia Pacific A, Kolej Damansara Utama, Chung Ling Old Boys Association, Penang Chess Association Novices, Chung Ling High School A and Pessca.

The teams in Division One comprise Penang Chinese Girls High School, Penang Chess Association Ladies, Penang Free School C, Chung Ling High School B and C, St Xavier's Institution A, SM Hamid Khan A, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Hitachi and MSSPP Juniors.

In Division Two, the teams taking part are SM Hamid Khan B, St George's Girls School, Malayan Sugar, Penang Free School Girls, Tunku Abdul Rahman College, Union High School, Chung Ling High School D, Dell Asia Pacific B, Penang Free School D and St Xavier's Institution B.

The games are played on most Sundays until Aug 5. Dell Asia Pacific is the main sponsor for this annual event while Kolej Damansara Utama is the sponsor for the venue.

BPM national allegro

The next two legs of this year's Bank Pertanian Malaysia (BPM)-sponsored national allegro chess circuit will be played in Penang on July 15 and Perak on July 22. These two events will be held over six rounds with a 30-minute time control for each game. However, if the number of participants exceeds 100, the tournaments will be played over seven rounds using a 25-minute time control.

Entry fees are RM10 for ladies, Bank Pertanian employees and members of the respective chess associations running these legs, RM5 for players below 12 years old, and RM15 for all other participants.

The prizes for the open section will be RM300 for the winner, RM200 for the second-placed, RM150 for the third, RM100 each for the fourth and fifth, and RM60 each for the sixth to 10th. The best Bank Pertanian player will also win RM60 while the best players in the other categories will get RM50.

To register for the three events, contact Ooi Kiem Boo in Penang ( 04-226 2209 / e-mail: ooilsv@pd.jaring.my) and Dr Yee Meng Keong in Ipoh ( 05-546 4530).

The remaining legs in the series are in Negri Sembilan (call Charles Chan; 06-631 7971) and Sabah on Aug 12 (Sylvester Asai; 088-764 305), Sarawak on Aug 19 (Lim Kian Hwa; 082-427 772) and Labuan on Oct 28 (Sebli Hassan; 087-463 471).

Asean international chess open

The Brunei Chess Federation will host the first Asean international open chess championship at Bandar Seri Begawan from July 29 to Aug 5.

This is an individual event which will be played over nine rounds. Entry fees are US$50 (RM190) per player and, except for grandmasters, international masters and invited players from the Asean countries, participants are required to pay for their own board and lodging.

The organisers are offering 15 main prizes worth a total of US$10,000 (RM38,000) with the top three prizes being US$3,000 (RM11,400), US$2,000 (RM7,600) and US$1,000 (RM3800). In addition, there are smaller supplementary prizes for the top five Bruneian players, top three Asean players and the best under-18 player.

For more information, contact Leong Voon Choon ( 6733-333 157 / fax: 6733-372 182 / e-mail: Voon-Choon.V.C.Leong@shell.com.bn), Awang Zaidi Dollah ( 6733-373 970 / fax: 6733-330 195 / e-mail: bruneichessfederation@hotmail.com) or Yap Choow Tun ( 6733-372 485 / fax: 6733-373 130 / e-mail: Choow-Tun.C.T.Yap@shell.com.bn).

The details of this event can also be obtained from the Brunei Chess Federation website at http://www.geocities.com/bruneichessfed.

11th edition

ONE of the most enduring events on the Malaysian chess calendar that is organised regularly by the state chess associations is the Penang Chess League. This Penang Chess Association (PCA) event is in its 11th edition this year and has come a long way since its inception in 1991.

At that time, the PCA was slowly emerging from a long period of the doldrums in the second half of the 1980s and the new committee that was elected into the picture had decided that the best way to raise the association's profile again was to have a sustained chess programme over a number of weeks.

Thus was born the concept of the Penang Chess League. It would be open to teams from the commercial, business and government sectors as well as from factories, institutions of learning and bona fide associations and clubs. In an effort to increase participation, all teams were allowed to include guest players who could effectively boost the teams' playing strengths.

By playing games on Sundays, it was envisioned that the participants could enjoy playing serious games with proper time controls over a period of about three months.

When the chess league first started, there were only 12 teams taking part. However, over the years, its popularity meant that the chess league had to be split into different divisions to cater for the wide spectrum of playing abilities. In its latest format, there are three divisions, with the third division comprising teams of mainly novice players.

In 1991, the PCA was lucky in that its proposals for this league was met with a sympathetic ear from the owners of the Bayview Hotel chain who allowed the association to hold the chess league at its two hotels in George Town and Batu Ferringhi in the first two years.

From the third year onwards, sponsorship for the chess league was undertaken wholly by The City Bayview Hotel which even contributed a challenge trophy for the competition.

However, a new challenge confronted the PCA in the late 1990s when a new management took over the running of the hotel. Coupled with the regional economic crisis at that time, the PCA suddenly found that the hotel was only willing to provide the venue for the chess league and the association had to dig deep into its small financial reserves to keep the event running.

There was a search for new sponsors and the PCA found a willing party in Dell Asia Pacific, now the number one manufacturer of personal computers worldwide. Dell Asia Pacific was convinced of the viability of the chess league and the commitment of the PCA to popularise a thinking game in the state, and agreed to sponsor the association for three years.

The Year 2000 edition of the competition, now aptly named Dell Penang Chess League, was held at Dell's impressive factory premises in the Bayan Baru Industrial Zone. This year, however, the venue changes to the Kolej Damansara Utama in Anson Road, Penang.

More information about this year's chess league below.

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11th Dell Penang chess league

Entries are now open for the above which kicks off on June 10. Dell Asia Pacific is the main sponsor while KDU is co-sponsoring the venue.

The championship will be played on consecutive Sundays (except July 8 and 15) and is scheduled to end on Aug 5.

Only teams representing the public and private sectors, institutions of learning and registered associations, societies and clubs are allowed to play in the league. A guest player may be included in each team, but the other players in the team must strictly be employees, students or members of the organisation which they represent.

Players who are unable to join as guest players in any team are requested to contact the PCA immediately. The PCA will consider grouping them together to play under the association's banner.

The entry fee is RM150 per team and cash prizes are guaranteed for the top teams in each division.

For more details, contact Chan Kim Beng at (012-451 8811 / e-mail: KimBengChan@Dell.com), Goh Yoon Wah ( 04-645 5362 / e-mail: yoon@caissa.pc.my) or Ung Tay Aik ( 017-477 5418 / e-mail: taung@alumni.uwaterloo.ca).

BPM national allegro

The next three legs of this year's Bank Pertanian Malaysia-sponsored national allegro chess circuit will be played in Perlis on June 9 and both Kedah and Pahang on June 10.

These events will be held over six rounds with a 30-minute time control for each game. However, if the number of participants exceeds 100, the tournaments will be played over seven rounds using a 25-minute time control.

Entry fees are RM10 for ladies, Bank Pertanian employees and members of the respective chess associations running these legs, RM5 for players below 12 years old, and RM15 for all other participants.

The prizes for the open section will be RM300 for the winner, RM200 for the runner-up, RM150 for the third-placed and RM100 each for the fourth- and fifth-placed. Players coming in the sixth to 10th place will receive RM60 each. The best Bank Pertanian player will also win RM60 while the best players in the other categories will get RM50 each.

To register for the three events, contact Bahari Baharom in Kangar ( 019-568 6256), Sohaimi in Alor Star ( 04-730 7288) and Wan Abdullah in Kuantan ( 019-916 3824).

The remaining legs in the series are in Penang on July 15 (Ooi Kiem Boo; 04-226 2209), Perak on July 22 (Dr Yee Meng Keong; 05-546 4530), Negri Sembilan on Aug 12 (Charles Chan; 06-631 7971), Sabah on Aug 12 (Sylvester Asai; 088-764 305), Sarawak on Aug 19 (Lim Kian Hwa; 082-427 772) and Labuan on Oct 28 (Sebli Hassan; 087-463 471).

Sri Aman junior tournament

The Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Aman in Penang will organise a chess tournament for under-12 boys and girls at the school on Sunday. This is a six-round event and there will be seven prizes for the under-12 players and three prizes for those under 10 years old.

Entry fee is RM5 per player. To register, be at the school by 8.30am on the day of the competition or alternatively, contact Eoh Hook Kim ( 04-826 0196 / e-mail: hkeoh@tm.net.my).

Selangor AGM

The Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) will hold their annual general meeting at 1.30pm this Sunday at the Sungai Wang Plaza exhibition hall in Kuala Lumpur. Among the highlights of the meeting will be the official launch of the CAS homepage, known as CASWeb, <http://www.cas.com.kg/>, and changes to their constitution on the types of membership and their fees.

Meanwhile, if you are in KL, do pay a visit to the exhibition hall on the third floor of the Sungai Wang Plaza (next to the IT Centre) this weekend to watch the 28th Royal Selangor open chess tournament which started yesterday. This event is traditionally one of the strongest tournaments held annually in the country.

Sarawak Open

The Sarawak Chess Association (SCA) will hold the Sarawak open tournament at the Dewan Suarah in Jalan Taman Budaya, Kuching, from June 3 to 5.

This event is divided into the open and under-18 sections. The open section will have 10 prizes, which includes RM600 and a trophy for the winner. There are prizes for the top eight winners of the under-18 section and the winner will receive RM180 and a trophy. There are also three special prizes for the best women players from the two sections.

Entry fees are RM10 for the open section and RM5 for women and under-18 players.

The SCA will provide free accommodation at the Telekom Training College in Semariang from June 2 to 6 for the first 30 outstation players who register for this tournament. The best players from Sarawak will be selected to represent the state in the Merdeka state and youth team chess championships in KL from Aug 31 to Sept 2.

Anyone interested in taking part can contact James Brodie in Kuching (082-616 177, 082-451 973 / fax: 082-610 757); Lim Kian Hwa in Kuching (082-203 112, 082-427 772, 011-218 192 / fax: 082-424 544); Bujang Poli in Miri (085-456 176, 085-654 487); Marzuki Hussain in Bintulu ( 086-252 300 ext 226, 086-252 902, 019-814 4369 / fax: 086-253 661); Ong Bee Hua in Sibu (084-336 909, 010-819 1129) or Tiong Chiong Ling in Sibu (084-322 327, 084-323 931).