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.
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| 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.
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