Game for the KL open?

Chess activities continue to heat up in Malaysia. 

Come this April, we’ll be seeing the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association organize their third KL open chess tournament and it is going to be quite an affair. 

Why do I say this? It’s because of the number of foreign players who have more or less committed themselves to take part. The grandmasters expected here will be Mikheil Mchedlishvili (Georgia), Hou Yifan (China), Ziaur Rahman (Bangladesh), Saidali Yuldashev (Uzbekistan), Nguyen Anh Dung (Vietnam), Niaz Murshed (Bangladesh), Wong Meng Kong (Singapore), Barus Cerdas (Indonesia) and Susanto Megaranto (Indonesia).

In addition, familiar names among the international masters will include Richard Bitoon (Philippines), Oliver Dimakiling (Philippines), Alexander Wohl (Australia), Irwanto Saidikin (Indonesia), Liu Dede (Indonesia) and Tirto (Indonesia).

Did I also mention that Mok Tze Meng will be leading the local challenge? He’ll be playing this event together with our other top players, Jimmy Liew, Nicholas Chan and Lim Chuin Hoong. Altogether, there should be about 15 local representatives among the 90-odd registrants.

In addition to all these players, the organizers expect a special guest from England to turn up towards the end of the tournament. He’ll be arriving from Bangkok and staying for the weekend. His name: Nigel Short. 

Of course, Short shouldn’t need any introduction at all but just in case anyone needs to have their memory jogged today, it should suffice for me to mention “former world championship contender and many times Commonwealth chess champion” as among his credentials? 

Whilst in Kuala Lumpur, he will give a simultaneous exhibition to a maximum of 20 players on Apr 10 afternoon.

In the meantime, the dates for the KL open are from Apr 6 to Apr 12. There will be a total of nine rounds and on the last day, a blitz tournament is planned for the afternoon before the closing ceremony. Venue is the Grand Olympic Hotel in Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur.

Entry fees for the KL open are staggered. Grandmasters, woman grandmasters, international masters, woman international masters and players with Fide ratings of above 2400 get free entry into the tournament. Fide masters, woman Fide masters and players whose Fide ratings are between 2300 and 2399 are charged at RM100. Thereafter, the entry fees go up to RM150, RM200, RM250, RM300 until RM350 for unrated players. Entry fees are to be paid fully to the organizers by Mar 16 or otherwise, a 50% penalty will apply.

They may seem a bit steep but that’s the normal price if players wish for the experience of competing in a quality event against quality players. For registration and more information, visit the KLCA blog at http://klchess.blogspot.com or contact Peter Long (013.3920920, peterlong@aol.asia)

Up next  

KL rapid grand prix

The Kuala Lumpur Chess Association (KLCA) and Polgar Chess Asia will jointly organize the second leg of the KL rapid grand prix tomorrow and on Sunday. The grand prix. Entry fees for the open section are RM15 for members of the KLCA and the Royal Selangor Club (RSC) and RM20 for non-members. For the under-12 section, the entry fees are RM5 for children of KLCA and RSC members and RM10 for others. Venue is the RSC’s Card Room at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. More details at  the KLCA website, (http://www.klchess.com/)

Perak grand prix

The first leg of the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Perak grand prix chess tournament kicks off this Sunday at the Wisma Belia in Jalan Ghazali Jawi, Ipoh. Entry fees are RM25 for the open section, RM15 for under-16 players and RM10 for under-12 players. Members of the Perak International Chess Association (PICA) and players born in Perak pay RM5 less. More information and details are available from http://perakchess.blogspot.com 

National age group

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) and the Penang Chess Association (PCA) will jointly organize this year’s Chiptronics national age group chess championships for the under-18, under-16, under-14, under-12, under-10 and under-8 categories for boys and girls at the Dewan Sri Pinang in Penang on Mar 14-16.

Entry fees are RM25 for the under-12, under-10 and under-8 events and RM35 for the under-18, under-16 and under-14 sections. Entry fees for entries received after Mar 10 will be doubled and accepted only at the organizer’s discretion. To register, contact Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@streamyx.com) or Tan Eu Hong (012.4882133, euhong@euhong.net) 

Cheras challengers

The Cheras Chess Academy and Percawi will jointly organize the Cheras challengers chess tournament on Mar 17-20. This is a Fide-rated event over seven rounds, limited to unrated players and those with a Fide rating of 1950 or less. Venue is the Excel Chess Academy at the Overseas Union Garden, Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur. Entry fees are RM50 for a Fide-rated player and RM80 for those unrated. More details from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578, geodat@yahoo.com).

Chess camp

There’ll be a KL chess camp on Mar 17-20 with GM Ziaur Rahman, IM Mas Hafizulhelmi, IM Lim Yee Weng, Gregory Lau and Najib Wahab. More information from Gregory Lau (012.9020123, greglau64@gmail.com).

DATCC chess league

The third DATCC Kuala Lumpur commercial and recreational chess league at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex kicks off on Mar 24. The DATCC chess league is a Fide-rated team event over nine rounds played on Wednesdays at the chess centre. 

Entry fee is RM400 per team of a maximum 10 players. Junior teams (all players must be below 20 years old) are charged at RM200. Any entry received after Mar 12 will need to pay an extra RM100. Details are available from Hamid Majid (019.3158098, aham@pc.jaring.my) or Najib Abdul Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@hotmail.com). 

Johor chess festival

The Johor Chess Academy, Johor Bahru Chess Association and the Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru are jointly organising the 14th Bandaraya chessmaster Johor open chess tournament at the JB indoor stadium in Johor Baru on Mar 28. Entry fees are RM10 for players under 12 years old, RM15 for those under 16 years old and RM70 for all others. There will also be the second Bandaraya chessmaster Johor open team chess tournament at the same venue on Mar 27. Entry fees are RM100 per team of three players. Closing date for both events is Mar 24. Details from Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525).