It’s over even as it began

THIRTEEN YEARS ago, the chess crime of the century was committed. Gary Kasparov and Nigel Short committed an unthinkable crime when they hijacked the world championship match and took it outside of the World Chess Federation (Fide).

Since that watershed event in 1993, the world championship crown had gone two separate ways. 

Fide claimed that the world chess title was still theirs to organize legitimately. In response to the split, it sanctioned a match between Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman, which Karpov won. 

Then, the format of the world chess championships changed and in quick succession, the title passed to Alexander Khalifman, Viswanathan Anand, Ruslan Ponomariov, Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Veselin Topolov.

On the other hand, Kasparov could choose and select whom he wanted to play with and as a result, preserved his hold on his so-called world chess crown until 2000 when he lost it to Vladimir Kramnik. 

During these 13 years, there had been several attempts to reunify the two titles but all were subsequently aborted because the players disagreed over the terms of the unification attempts.

However, the latest attempt to bring the two crowns together has now succeeded. 

Even as you read this, the fifth game will be played today between Kramnik and Topalov in Elista, the capital city of the autonomous Kalmyk Republic in Russia where the Kalmyk president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, doubles up as Fide’s president.

So it was with a great sense of anticipation last Saturday that I joined thousands of people around the world to watch the games unfold on the Internet. It would be a great match between two great players who are quite evenly matched. Who would prevail?

Common sense tells us that when you have two very experienced and world-class players playing one another, it will be a very tough but even match. In a 12-game match, maybe we’ll see either Topalov or Kramnik scraping through with something like only one or two points difference.

But what happened? 

On Saturday, the first game was evenly matched. Though Kramnik was one pawn ahead, Topalov could have easily forced a draw with his more active pieces. But he chose not to and he lost his way and the game. Score: 1-0 to Kramnik.

The second game on Sunday was full of fireworks. Topalov took the game to Kramnik and went for a kingside attack. At one point, he could have pressed home the advantage after Kramnik blundered but he overlooked it. There was no second chance and Kramnik steered the game into another win. Score; 2-0 to Kramnik.

I fear the unification match is over, even at this early stage. I do not see Topalov recovering from this disastrous start to a world championship match. He is no Bobby Fischer or even a Kasparov. There will be no miraculous recovery.

And Kramnik is no novice in the game. Remember, he beat Kasparov to be where he is today. Having taken Topalov’s measure, he will hunker down and consolidate his play, offering his opponent little chance of recovering lost ground.

Topalov will be forced to take even more risks in his play because every single draw will take Kramnik closer to winning the match. By taking more risks, he will self-destruct and be punished mercilessly by Kramnik.

At the end, this unification match will be a momentous event for chess but it will go down in history too as a big triumph for Kramnik and a better-to-be-forgotten disaster for Topalov.

Before this match began, Kasparov was asked in an interview whom he thought would be the winner. Interestingly, Kasparov hinted that Topalov was not the favourite that many people had assumed him to be. 

He made a very astute observation: “Kramnik has a more profound understanding of the game while Topalov has energy and confidence on his side.”

Another hint of the players’ relative strengths can be gleaned from the fact that prior to this unification match, Kramnik and Topalov had faced one another 39 times between 1994 and 2005, with Kramnik having won 10 times and Topalov five times, with the other games drawn. In their last encounter together, Kramnik had been the victor.

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Penang chess camp

The Penang Chess Association will organise a chess camp for junior chess players at the Han Chiang College on Dec 4-7. This chess camp, limited to a maximum of 100 participants only, will be conducted for four levels of strengths: elementary, beginner, intermediate and advanced.

For details, contact Marcus Yeoh (tel: 012.4723873, email: marcusypl@yahoo.com

Improving chess in this country

I HAVE been in the thick of the chess movement in this country since the early 1970s and yet when it comes to understanding the mind of chess players in this country, I am still perplexed.

For instance, I have been hearing and reading comments from various people asking how we can improve the level of chess in this country. 

Yes, how can we possibly improve the level of chess? To me, the answer is rather simple: there must be a multi-pronged approach. At its most basic, take the game down to the grassroots level. Organize more one-day events. Involve the community. Do away with cash prizes. Instead, offer prizes in kind. 

I know many people will disagree with me, especially the part on doing away with cash prizes. But why should we offer cash prizes when the participants are mere starters in the game? We should be instilling the right expectation in players by not offering cash as prizes to them.

Second, at a higher level, involve the schools, colleges and universities. Help them organize events and allow outsiders to take part. Have them run their events but seasoned organizers should be in the background to help them in case of problems.

To achieve these two suggestions, it is imperative that defunct state chess associations must be revived. From what I know, there are a number of deregistered or dormant chess associations in the country. 

The chess-playing residents in those states must take in upon themselves to regroup because unless they do it themselves, I do not see anyone else who will do it for them. Help must come from within

Third, organize state-level chess events and offer incentives to the winners, such as selection to national-level tournaments. There are several national-level events that are held regularly, such as the national age-group tournaments and the national closed championships. I believe many players will be quite proud of the fact that they are selected to represent their states in national events. Take advantage of this.

When organizing state-level tournaments, where possible, do encourage players from other states to play. The interaction between players from other states can only lift the performance of the home players.

Fourth, the state chess associations must be prepared to organize national-level tournaments. 

For example, the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) need not run the national closed championship every year. The MCF has been organizing this event year in and year out simply because none of the associations have stepped forth to volunteer running this event. It will be a good learning experience for the state chess associations to take up this challenge.

Fifth, organize international-level chess tournaments. By international-level events, I mean Fide-rated events and even title events. Running international events is not the prerogative of only the MCF. Even the more experienced state associations can run them too.

Last, the players themselves must rise up to meet the challenges. The MCF and the state chess associations can only do so much in chess promotion. Can you imagine if organizers run events and nobody wants to play in them?

So players have a role to play in improving the level of chess in the country too. Chess organizers are mainly volunteers who have given their time to the game they love. Pay them back by supporting the events they hold.

Finally, I would just like to ask one question to set you thinking: do you think there are enough opportunities presently for our chess players to progress in the game at the international level?

I would like to invite readers to think about this and share your thoughts with me at ssquah@gmail.com. We shall return to this topic sometime in the future.

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RSC blitz

Here is something different for a change. The Royal Selangor Club will hold a blitz tournament tomorrow at the Bukit Kiara Sports Annex. Time control for each game is five minutes per player. There will be a total of 22 rounds in this one-day event.

Entry fees are RM15 per player. For details, contact Jax Tham (tel: 013.3232280) or Ajeet (tel: 012.2121372) or email: dawk@streamyx.com

Terengganu closed

The Terengganu Chess Association will organise their two-day Terengganu closed tournament at the Dewan Jabatan Laut in Kuala Terengganu on Sep 22-23. This event is open to only chess players who reside in Terengganu.

For inquiries, contact Muhammad Arshad (tel: 012.9210841, email: terengganu_chess@hotmail.com).

Stonemaster open

There will be a second Stonemaster allegro open tournament, organised by Stonemaster Event Management Enterprise, in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. Also included in this event is a one-hour chess seminar.

Entry fee is RM20 per player. To register for both the tournament and the seminar, send your email to seme_event@yahoo.com or contact Fadli (017.2880123). Closing date is Sep 12.

Najib on chess, Omar Khayyam on life

IN 1974, I had a first-hand view of our second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, officiating at the closing ceremony of the first Asian team chess championship in Penang. 

He was already quite frail at that time, yet he insisted on turning up at the closing ceremony so that he could personally hand his challenge trophy to the eventual winner of this inaugural event, the Philippines.

Almost 32 years later, I had another first-hand view. This time, it was of Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib who was the special guest of honour at the opening ceremony of the Malaysian Chess Festival.

Najib spoke of many things, including an observation of his father wanting to be a part of chess history, but he made one particular comment that struck a chord in me. 

In his speech, he said: “In tournament chess, you are forced to make decisions under time limits and are then forced to live with those decisions. I can think of no better mental and moral exercise for young people or, in truth, for many of us adults. You think something, you make a move and soon, you experience the consequences.”

When he said those words, immediately I started thinking how his thoughts were so similar to Omar Khayyam’s.

Omar Khayyam, if you do not know, was an Islamic scholar, poet and mathematician who lived in Persia some 900 years ago. That was at a time when Persia was at the centre of Middle Eastern civilization.

He is best known to the English-speaking world as the poet who wrote a series of quatrains or verses that is collectively known as the Rubaiyat. Today, the Rubaiyat is considered as one of the most popular classics of world literature.

The Rubaiyat was originally in the Farsi language and it underwent several translations into various languages. Its most celebrated translation was the English version by Edward J Fitzgerald around 1859. Fitzgerald took many liberties with his translation, sometimes dissecting and combining various quatrains, but there was no doubt that his version of the translated Rubaiyat was the most appealing and popular by far.

As a scholar, Omar Khayyam obviously knew a thing or two about the game of chess. In one of his verses, he wrote:

But helpless Pieces of the Game He plays 

Upon this Chequer-board of Nights and Days; 

Hither and thither moves, and checks, and slays, 

And one by one back in the Closet lays.

However, I have been intrigued by a more famous verse which Omar Khayyam wrote next:

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, 

Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit 

Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, 

Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

How similar Omar Khayyam’s thoughts were to Najib’s. Though expressed some 900 years ago, the Persian poet recognized that in life, you cannot turn back the clock. Whatever we do, we have to face the consequences of our actions. 

It is the same with chess. As succinctly observed by our deputy prime minister, when you think of something in chess and you then make a move, soon you will experience the consequences.

This is, in fact, the essence of chess and life. They mirror one another. After all, chess and life are all about planning, decision-making, implementing and taking responsibility for the consequences that follow.

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JB Merdeka open

The Johor Bahru District Chess Association will hold the 16th JB Merdeka open chess tournament at the Giant SouthernCity in Taman Suria, Johor Bharu on Aug 27.

Entry fees are RM20 for players in the open section, RM8 for under-16 players and RM6 for under-12 players. Closing date for entries is Aug 18. For details, contact Narayanan Krishnan (tel: 07.3338215, email: naraa@tm.net.my).

UUM open

There will be a one-day open event at the Dewan Kolej Bukit Kachi, Universiti Utara Malaysia in Kedah on Sep 2.

Entry fee is RM10 for UUM students and RM20 for all other players. For inquiries, contact Mahirah bt Rafie (tel: 012.5391337, email: era_gorgeous@yahoo.com).

Perak Merdeka open

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) will organise a one-day, seven-round tournament at the Cosmopoint Metro Campus Ipoh on Sep 10 in conjunction with the state’s Merdeka celebrations. 

Entry fees are RM5 for players under 12 years old, RM10 for under-16 players, women, PICA members and staff and students of Cosmopoint, and RM15 for all other players. For details, contact Yunus Sharif (tel: 013.3908129) or Hamisah (tel: 012.4313326).

Stonemaster open

There will be a second Stonemaster allegro open tournament, organised by Stonemaster Event Management Enterprise, in Kuala Lumpur on Sep 17. Also included in this event is a one-hour chess seminar.

Entry fee is RM20 per player. To register for both the tournament and the seminar, send your email to seme_event@yahoo.com or contact Fadli (017.2880123). Closing date is Sep 12.