Malaysia chess fest

LAST SUNDAY at the closing ceremony of the four-weekend 16th Penang Chess League at the Han Chiang College in Penang, there was much excitement in the air as discussions inevitably turned to next month’s annual Malaysian chess fest in Kuala Lumpur.

Despite the temporary absence of one of its core events – the Merdeka team open chess tournament – from the chess fest, many state chess associations are just as likely to take part in the Merdeka rapid chess open team chess championship.

That’s true fervour for you. The Malaysia chess fest in general, and the Merdeka team events specifically, has become so ingrained in the minds of chess players that it is simply “not done” if they do not participate in this once-a-year affair.

It is a huge social event, a melting pot where players from every state are thrown in and stewed until they become so satiated with the game. Despite the rivalry, emotions do run the full gamut from exhilaration to glumness. 

It is exhilarating to win the top prize but there can only be one winner. Nevertheless, there are so many other big cash prizes being offered that it makes it worthwhile to finish in 10th position. Okay, you may not even cover all your expenses in 10th position but it is still the satisfaction of winning something, isn’t it?

On the other hand, glumness can of course mean a severe beating in the last round of the Merdeka team event which pushes the losing team way, way down the tournament standings. All your hard work in the earlier rounds will account for nothing because it is the final standing that counts at the end of the tournament.

Glumness can also mean just losing out on a better prize. In any team event, even a half-point difference in the tie-break can mean a big difference in fortune. 

Let me summarise just what are available at the Malaysian chess fest. 

Firstly, there is the ASTRO Merdeka rapid chess team open championship at the MidValley Megamall on Aug 19 and 20. Total prize fund is RM32,350 and the prize for the winning team is RM10,000. Even the best local team will receive RM3,000.

Also, running concurrently on Aug 19 and 20 will be the ASTRO Merdeka junior team open championship. Prize fund is RM2,650 with the winning team getting RM1,000.

Next, we have the showcase event of the chess fest, namely, the IGB Arthur Tan Memorial Malaysia open championship at the Cititel Hotel on Aug 21 to 27. The prize fund is US$18,000 (about RM66,500) and the winner’s purse is US$4,000 (about RM14,800). Big names among the foreign players are expected at this event.

Finally, there is also the AmBANK Group Malaysia chess challenge on Aug 21 to 27. Two weeks ago, I mentioned the prize fund stood at RM5,700 but the good news is that it has been increased to RM10,000. This also means that the first prize has also gone up correspondingly to RM2,000.

I should also mention that there will be a Malaysian blitz open tournament at the end of the chess fest on Aug 27.

You can download all details pertaining to these events, including the entry fees and prizes, from The Chess Network website at http://tcn.sourceforge.net

Alternatively, you can give the Malaysian Chess Federation secretary, Abdul Hamid Majid, a call on 019.3158098 or email him at aham@pc.jaring.my 

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Royal Selangor grand prix

The third and final leg of the Chess Association of Selangor’s 11th Royal Selangor Grand Prix for under-15 and under-12 players will be played ath the Sunway University College on Jul 30. 

Entry fees for the association’s members are RM15 while it will be RM20 for non-members. To pre-register for this event, email your name and age category to  selangorchess@gmail.com

SMK Ibrahim open

The Sek Men Keb Ibrahim in Sungai Petani, Kedah, will organise an open tournament at their school hall tomorrow.

Entry fees are RM5 for school students and RM10 for all others. Apart from the open prizes, there are separate prizes for the best under-15 players. To register, contact Yeoh Jia Dong (tel: 012.4247261), Loo Tung Lun (tel: 012.5136583) or Ch’ng Wei Seong (tel: 016.4895197).

Pelangi open

The Johor Bahru District Chess Association will organize the 17th Tebrau open chess tournament at the Pelangi Plaza in Johor Bharu this Sunday.

Entry fees are RM20 for players in the open section, RM8 for under-16 players and RM6 for under-12 players. The entries will close today, so do contact Narayanan Krishnan (tel: 07.3338215, email: naraa@tm.net.my) if you wish to participate.

UTM Convofair

The Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Tronoh, Perak, will organise a one-day tournament at the Foyer Chancellor Hall in conjunction with the university’s Convofair on Aug 13.

The organisers are aiming to attract around 900 players as this will also be an attempt by the university to get into the Malaysia Book of Records.

Altogether, there will be 10 categories – the open and institutions of higher learning (men and women), the under-12, under-15 and under-18 (boys and girls).

For more information on the entry fees, prizes and accommodation for outstation players, contact Raja Farah (tel: 012.7749891 email: etakarina05@yahoo.com), Ku Nor Azmira (tel: 012.5951065, email: ku_miera@yahoo.com) or Mazila (tel: 012.6573683, email: mazilamohamad@yahoo.com).

Malaysia chess fest

TRADITIONALLY, AUGUST has always been a very busy month for chess. 

More than any other time of the year, chess players look to August with a lot of anticipation because the Malaysian Chess Federation will be rolling out its best organizational capabilities for the annual Malaysian chess fest in Kuala Lumpur.

The showcase event will be the third Arthur Tan Malaysia open chess championship that will be played Aug 21-27 at the Cititel Hotel. As an international event played over 11 rounds with full time control, it is guaranteed to attract strong titled players from around this region.

If you had been been at the Mid-Valley Megamall at this same time last year, you would not have forgotten easily the heroics of Wang Hao, the young Chinese player who destroyed his opposition as he romped home to capture the first prize. International masters and grandmasters held no fear for him as he demolished them one by one.

Will he be here this year to defend his title? It is yet to be seen. But with or without Wang Hao, you can be sure that top players from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam maybe and even India will be beating a path to Kuala Lumpur as they eye the US$4,000 first prize. That’s a lot of money: a cool RM14,800.

And that is only the first prize. To bait the foreigners further, the second prize is worth US$3,000 while the third prize is still a respectable US$2,000. All in, there are 15 cash prizes worth US14,550 (almost RM54,000) for the open section while US$1,950 has been set aside for the best performing Malaysians.

You can expect competition to be very keen. But this is an event for the top regional players and a few select local players who feel they may have a chance against the foreigners. 

So where does this leave the more ordinary players like you or I? To be sure, we are not even among the few select who can face the big boys. We shall leave this to the likes of players like Mas Hafizul or Wong Zi Jing or Mok Tze Meng. 

For us, there is an alternative. The Arthur Tan Malaysia open is not the only event at this chess fest. There is also the Malaysia chess challenge, a separate tournament which is open to any player with an international chess rating of 2200 and below. 

If you fancy your luck at an international event with rating possibilities and some prize moneys, this 11-round, full time control event will definitely be for you. However, the prize fund stands at only RM5,700 of which the first prize is a modest RM1,500.

The third and fourth events in this year’s Malaysian chess fest are the ASTRO Merdeka rapid chess team open and the ASTRO Merdeka junior team open. Now in its 26th year, the Merdeka team events continue to attract local competitors from far and near. 

Somehow, it is not solely the competition that is attracting players but rather, the opportunity to meet with old pals from around the country once a year. The Merdeka tournaments are fast becoming a competitive yet social event and that is what draws me to KL almost every August.

However, if you are planning to play in the Merdeka events this year, you are well advised to heed the change of dates. For once, this year is not held on Merdeka Day itself. 

Because of some logistics challenges, the Malaysian Chess Federation is required to organize both Merdeka team events on Aug 19-20, just before the Arthur Tan Malaysia open. The venue for the Merdeka is the Mid-Valley Exhibition Centre within the Megamall.

But do not let the new dates put you off. There are very compelling reasons why you should continue to support the Merdeka team event by participating.

One, the prize fund. For a local event, the Merdeka rapid chess team open stands at an astounding RM32,350, making it the richest chess event in Malaysia. The first prize alone is RM10,000. Is this not enough to compel you to play?

Two, the Malaysian teams are all pampered. Not only are there good prizes for the three best Malaysian teams (the best Malaysian team gets RM3,000), there are also prizes for the three best junior teams, the best government team, the best ladies team, the best school team, the best family team, the best team from the institutions of higher learning and the best veteran team.

Three, the field looks to favour the local chess teams this year because the change to the earlier playing dates is likely to deter some foreign teams from participating.

Four, the playing field is levelled. According to the regulations, the average rating of a team during play must not exceed 2,250 points. So, if a team were to have a very strong 2,600 player as its first board, the rest of the team members must, by design, be quite lowly rated or not at all.

Five, this event is held over two days only. Some more, they are the weekends – a Saturday and a Sunday. It is just a matter of traveling to KL on a Friday, play two days and then leaving on Sunday night itself. 

Six, it is a short time control: a 25-minute game with 10 seconds added after every move. There is no need for some real hard thinking. Just go and enjoy your games. You get to play five games on Aug 19 and four more on Aug 20.

Seven, you get to meet your old chess friends and lots of new ones. I am surprised that I am able to renew my acquaintance with people that I first met 20 to 25 years ago.

Last, accommodation is so easy for outstation teams. It is just a matter of booking into the Cititel Hotel which is joined directly by a passageway to the playing hall

You can download all details pertaining to the four events, including the entry fees and prizes, from The Chess Network website at http://tcn.sourceforge.net

 Alternatively, you can give the Malaysian Chess Federation secretary, Abdul Hamid Majid, a call on 019.3158098 or email him at aham@pc.jaring.my 

UP NEXT

Royal Selangor grand prix

The Chess Association of Selangor will hold its 11th Royal Selangor Grand Prix for under-15 and under-12 players starting from this Sunday. It will be held over three preliminary legs and there will be a grand finale after that.

The first leg this Sunday, as well as the second leg on Jul 16, will be played at the Sunway University College. The venue of the third leg on Jul 30 and the grand finale on Aug 12-13 will be announced later.

For the three preliminary legs, the entry fees for members taking part are RM15 for one leg, RM30 for two legs and RM40 for three legs. The fees for non-members are RM20 per leg. The top 25 players after the conclusion of all three legs will qualify for the grand finale.

To pre-register, send your name and category to  selangorchess@gmail.com

Pelangi open

The Johor Bahru District Chess Association will organize the 17th Tebrau open chess tournament ath the Pelangi Plaza in Johor Bharu on Jul 23.

Entry fees are RM20 for players in the open section, RM8 for under-16 players and RM6 for under-12 players.

The entries will close on Jul 21, so if you harbour ideas of taking part, contact Narayanan Krishnan (tel: 07.3338215, email: naraa@tm.net.my)

UTM Convofair

The Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Tronoh, Perak, will organise a one-day tournament at the Foyer Chancellor Hall in conjunction with the university’s Convofair on Aug 13.

The organisers are aiming to attract around 900 players as this will also be an attempt by the university to get into the Malaysia Book of Records.

Altogether, there will be 10 categories – the open and institutions of higher learning (men and women), the under-12, under-15 and under-18 (boys and girls).

For more information on the entry fees, prizes and accommodation for outstation players, contact Raja Farah Raja Sariffuddin Shah (tel: 012.7749891), Ku Nor Azmira Mohd Roslim (tel: 012.5951065) or Mazila Mohamad (tel: 012.6573683).