Your move, Fischer

The great Bobby Fischer may have died more than two years ago but even from his grave in Iceland, he continues to command a lot of attention.

The latest news to surface is the decision by the Supreme Court in Iceland to have his body exhumed to prove a paternity case. It seemed that when Fischer died in Jan 2008, nobody thought of preserving any blood sample for DNA analysis. But then at that time, nobody expected that he would be at the centre of an inheritance battle.

Yes, there is an on-going court battle for Fischer’s estate. He was said to have left an estate that was worth about USD2 million (about RM6.4 million). This estate is now being claimed by various parties from far-flung reaches of the earth. And all this is because he died without a will.

One of the parties is Fischer’s two nephews, Alexander and Nicholas Targ, who being the sons of his sister would seem to be the closest living blood relatives of the deceased former world chess champion in the absence of other claimants.

However, there are other claimants to Fischer’s estate. In the last years of his life, dating even before his sensational detention at Tokyo’s Narita international airport in 2004 for travelling on a revoked American passport, he had developed a close relationship with Miyoko Watai.

Watai herself is a chess player and holds the title of woman international master. At one time she was the acting president of the Japan Chess Federation. It’s known that Fischer and Watai had been living together in Tokyo. Even after he had been granted Icelandic citizenship in 2005, Watai continued to travel to Iceland to be with him.

Of course, the validity of Fischer’s marriage to Watai loomed large in the battle for the chess grandmaster’s estate, it being disputed by the two nephews. It is believed that an Iceland lower court had accepted that their marriage was registered legally and had been certified in Japan but there are now even conflicting reports about this.

In any case, there now emerges a fresh twist to the inheritance joustings. From the Philippines came word that about 10 years ago, Fischer had a Filipino girlfriend, Marilyn Young, and he could have fathered a young girl named Jinky. That young girl is nine years old today. 

According to Jinky’s mother and their lawyers in Manila, they have proof that Jinky is related to Fischer and he had accepted the girl as his daughter. 

They said that he had been sending Jinky money and toys regularly, and signing off on his letters and postcards to her as “daddy”. Images of the postcards floating on the Internet showed Fischer’s purportedly famous handwriting.

However, the court could not consider them as conclusive or indisputable proof of the blood ties between Fischer and Jinky. To prove a link, Jinky’s lawyers demanded for DNA tests on Fischer. Jinky had already given her blood to a hospital in Iceland but it was then learnt that the hospital where Fischer was last warded before his death did not keep any of his blood samples. 

In the absence of Fischer’s DNA specimens, Jinky’s lawyers then petitioned the court for exhumation, a move opposed quite naturally by the other claimants. When the District Court of Reykjavik turned down the petition, the lawyers turned to the Iceland Supreme Court and won.

It’s now expected that the exhumation process may be carried out soon, maybe within the fortnight. But if anyone thinks that the battle for Fischer’s estate could soon be over, there is yet another twist in the tale. 

The last claimant to Fischer’s estate is, believe it or not, the United States government itself. While he was alive, the United States were already hunting him down as a fugitive from their law.

All because in 1992, Fischer had thumbed his nose at an American-sponsored United Nations embargo on dealings with the former Yugoslavia Republic to play a highly publicized 24-game chess match with his old adversary, Boris Spassky. 

He won millions from this match and now in his death, the US government is claiming for unpaid taxes from the estate. Why the US is doing this is because Fischer, despite dying as an Iceland citizen, was a United States citizen for almost all of his life.

I said “almost” because until 2004, he was still an American citizen. But his detention at the Narita international airport changed all that. During the months that he was detained and fighting deportation to the United States, he gave up his American citizenship and was stateless until the Iceland government voted to give him their citizenship.

I don’t know what other surprises the late great Bobby Fischer can toss up from his grave but in the meantime, the world is closely watching the outcome of the exhumation. It’s still your move, Bobby Fischer.

Up next  

Telok Gong pro-am

The Persatuan Penduduk Telok Gong will hold their pro-am tournament at the Dewan Kampung Hamid Tuah in Telok Gong, Port Klang on July 4. For a one-day event, the total cash prizes on offer is more than RM5,000.

Entry fees are RM30 (for players in the Pro category, that is, with national ratings above 1701), RM25 (for payers in the Am category, rated below 1700) and RM20 (for Telok Gong residents and players below 12 years old). Entries close on Jun 26. To register, contact Zamri Sajari (016.2775005) or Azhar Mohd Said (012.6796193).

MBS chess

The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School in Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur will hold the fifth MBSSKL chess open tournament at the school premises on July 24. Entry fees are RM5 for MBS students and RM15 for non-MBS students. For enquiries, contact teachers Mr NK Chin or Mdm LY Yong at the school (03.20782293).

 

Will history repeat itself?

I’ve got a feeling in my bones that we may see a youngster as national chess champion this year. I know, I know, some of you will say that we have always had young national champions before, and you are not wrong.

For instance, in the last three national championships alone, the titles had gone to youngsters like Evan Capel (2009), Edward Lee (2008) and Zarul Shazwan (2007) and indeed, the list of national champions is peppered with names of other players who were till in their teenaged years when they won their titles.

I’ve this feeling that the trend will continue. I may be wrong but when I look at the list of participants in this year’s national championship, I believe the future of Malaysian chess rests with the likes of Edward Lee (good, that’s a former champion coming back to play), Sumant Subramaniam, Lim Zhuo Ren and of course, Yeoh Li Tian.

In the women’s national championship, Alia Anin Bakri is the current torch-bearer among the youngsters but two names to look out for are Fong Mi Yen and Tan Li Ting.

Interestingly, this year’s events are remarkably strong and there is a rather long list of players. Maybe it’s because of the prize moneys which have been increased from previous years. 

I still remember how the national champions were “rewarded” with a RM300 first prize that came from toiling hard for five or six days at the chess board. In my opinion, a rather bad return on investments (the entry fees).

This year though, the first prize is a more reasonable RM1,000 for the open championship and RM600 for the women’s championship, and these have certainly attracted more players to the event. Never mind that the national championships are being held at the more remote Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia campus in Bangi, the numbers are there and this should make the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) a happier organisation. 

Now, the next big task for the federation next year is to convince more of the top players to take part. Nevertheless for this year, there are many experienced names to count on: players like Loo Swee Leong, Tan Khai Boon, Kamal Ariffin Wahiduddin, Kamaluddin Yusof, Nik Ahmad Farouqi, Ismail Ahmad and Lim Kian Hwa. On their good days they are quite capable of upsetting the form books. 

We shall see how they prevail in this year’s tournament. Today is already the third day of the event and with four rounds have already been played since Wednesday, there are five more rounds to go.

All are very critical rounds because I know that as the championship progresses, the tension takes a great toll on the players. And the surprising revelation is that tension strikes hardest during a national championship than in any other tournament.

I’ve seen players almost collapsing from exhaustion towards the end of a national championship. Once, for example, I noticed a player close his eyes to snatch forty winks in between moves and he kept nodding off thereafter until the time limit. 

Many times, I’ve seen winning games ending up lost because the players could no longer think straight. Thoughts get muddled up or they become too tired to think. Either way, their games collapse. What matters is how well they can pace themselves and at the same time out-pace their rivals. 

If you want to follow the progress of national chess championships, visit the MCF national championship blog at http://nc-2010.blogspot.com/

Up next  

Perak grand prix

The Slim River leg of the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Perak grand prix chess tournament will be played at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Slim River on Jun 27.

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 and players born in Perak pay RM5 less. Closing date for entries is this Jun 23. To register, contact Yunus (013.3908129), Hamisah (012.5008723) or Ustaz Ismail (019.5520391). More details are available from http://perakchess.blogspot.com

Stonemaster chess

The third Stonemaster amateur chess tournament, organized by Cerdik Catur Enterprise, will be played at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex in Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 27.

Entry fees are RM30 for adults and RM20 for students. For enquiries, contact Mohd Fadli Zakaria (014.2312370, email: seme_event@yahoo.com). 

Telok Gong pro-am

The Persatuan Penduduk Telok Gong will hold their pro-am tournament at the Dewan Kampung Hamid Tuah in Telok Gong, Port Klang on July 4. For a one-day event, the total cash prizes on offer is more than RM5,000.

Entry fees are RM30 (for players in the Pro category, that is, with national ratings above 1701), RM25 (for payers in the Am category, rated below 1700) and RM20 (for Telok Gong residents and players below 12 years old). Entries close on Jun 26. To register, contact Zamri Sajari (016.2775005) or Azhar Mohd Said (012.6796193).

MBS chess

The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School in Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur will hold the fifth MBSSKL chess open tournament at the school premises on July 24. Entry fees are RM5 for MBS students and RM15 for non-MBS students. For enquiries, contact teachers Mr NK Chin or Mdm LY Yong at the school (03.20782293).

 

Russian roulette

Khanty-Mansiysk in the middle of Russian Siberia experiences wide swings in temperature during the course of a year. Historically, summer temperature is highest at 18 degrees Celsius while the lowest temperature in winter is around minus 21 degrees. 

September may be the last best opportunity to visit the Russian town while the average temperature hovers around eight degrees Celsius without dropping below zero. However, it’s still cold enough to threaten visitors from the tropics with some big shivers.

This September, however, should see the temperature rise a notch higher in Khanty-Mansiysk because not only will the next Chess Olympiad be held there, but the World Chess Federation (Fide) is set to hold its elections.

Yes, it’s election time In Fide. They are normally held every four years and in the months leading to the elections, candidates would start posturing themselves to the worldwide Fide family. Many times, however, the elections would fizzle out tamely. Why? Because by the election day, either the candidates have opted for a compromise solution or they would have withdrawn from contesting.

This year’s Fide elections may yet turn out tamely but then, there is also a fair chance that it will not. It’s particularly interesting this year because the former world champion, Anatoly Karpov, is making a big play for the Fide president’s position.

He has made his position quite clear by challenging the incumbent president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. And two developments have made this challenge very interesting. 

The first is that Karpov and Garry Kasparov have put their previous differences aside to work together. I know, there are gasps all around. It’s quite unbelievable, isn’t it? The two of them are now working together with Kasparov actively supporting Karpov’s candidacy for Fide president.

They have been the most bitter of bitter enemies in the 1980s when they were at the pinnacle of their chess careers. Their world chess championship matches were stuff that could inspire comparisons with the Cold War except that the two of them were from the same country, the former Soviet Union.

The second development is that the Russian Chess Federation has been put into a quandary. Who should they support? Karpov Is obviously Russian but so is Ilyumzhinov, and Fide regulations say that a federation can only support one candidate. 

Karpov is their former world champion so he merits their support. But Ilyumzhinov is the incumbent Fide president and also a political figure in Russia, he being the president of the autonomous state of Kalmyk in Russia. He would also be demanding support from the Russian Chess Federation.

About two or three weeks ago, the situation in Russia reached crisis point. One faction within their federation nominated Karpov for Fide presidency while a second faction insisted that that nomination was illegal. Of course, the second faction’s choice was Ilyumzhinov.

To make matters more complicated, soon afterwards, the second faction descended on the office of the Russian Chess Federation, sealed it off and sacked the federation’s sitting board chairman who supported Karpov’s candidacy. The situation is so fluid now that it is impossible to gauge who is in control over there.

In the meantime, it has also emerged that Ilyumzhinov is striking back at Karpov, claiming that the former world champion had libeled him. 

The battle lines are clearly drawn and there does not seem to be any resolution or compromise until the Fide elections in Khanty-Mansiysk this September. That’s why I say that the heat is being turned up in the Russian town despite the dropping temperature. 

It’s still early days where most of the national chess federations are concerned, the Malaysian Chess Federation included. For sure, these three months are very critical months and they will pass by very quickly. The two presidential candidates or their teams have already started campaigning and crisscrossing the globe to convince the national chess federations for their support. 

Up next  

Gula Perlis open

The Kilang Gula Felda Perlis will organize the Gula Perlis open chess challenge at the Dewan Warisan in Kangsar, Perlis tomorrow. The organizers said that the total prize moneys have been increased to RM5,650. Entry fees are RM20 for the open section, RM15 for under-18 players and RM15 for women players.

For more details, contact Syaifulzamani bin Ismail (013.3939838) or visit the tournament website at http://www.kgfp.com.my/kgfp

Chess camp

The seventh Kids for Chess Camp will be held at the Pandan Lake Club in Pandan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 14-15. This chess camp should interest beginners, intermediate players and the aspiring tournament players. Those who know absolutely nothing about the game are also encouraged to join the camp.

The coaches and instructors will include resident Bangladeshi grandmaster Ziaur Rahman and our own international master Jimmy Liew. A flat fee of RM90 per player is applicable. For details, contact Collin Madhaven (03.91316474 or 016.2123578) or visit http://www.kids4chess.com

Perak grand prix

The Slim River leg of the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Perak grand prix chess tournament will be played at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Slim River on Jun 27.

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 and players born in Perak pay RM5 less. Closing date for entries is this Jun 23. To register, contact Yunus (013.3908129), Hamisah (012.5008723) or Ustaz Ismail (019.5520391). More details are available from http://perakchess.blogspot.com

Telok Gong pro-am

The Persatuan Penduduk Telok Gong will hold their pro-am tournament at the Dewan Kampung Hamid Tuah in Telok Gong, Port Klang on July 4. For a one-day event, the total cash prizes on offer is more than RM5,000.

Entry fees are RM30 (for players in the Pro category, that is, with national ratings above 1701), RM25 (for payers in the Am category, rated below 1700) and RM20 (for Telok Gong residents and players below 12 years old). Entries close on Jun 26. To register, contact Zamri Sajari (016.2775005) or Azhar Mohd Said (012.6796193).

MBS chess

The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School in Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur will hold the fifth MBSSKL chess open tournament at the school premises on July 24. Entry fees are RM5 for MBS students and RM15 for non-MBS students. For enquiries, contact teachers Mr NK Chin or Mdm LY Yong at the school (03.20782293).

 

Giving back

It’s school holidays again for the next two weeks. And traditionally, during the mid-year semester holidays, the national chess championships get organized. This year, the tournaments move a little south of Kuala Lumpur to the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia campus at Bangi.

I find it interesting and encouraging that the Malaysian Chess Federation is now finding it more comfortable to hold their signature events outside of Kuala Lumpur. It definitely gives the game exposure to more people who do not normally get to see quality chess competitions in their backyard.

Besides, the University environment should provide an ideal atmosphere to the players. Not only will they be surrounded by academia, it will also prove more peaceful without the distractions that come with staying within the city.

According to the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF), both the national closed chess championship and the national women’s closed chess championship will be organized at the same time, and both shall be nine-round events with long regulation time control. Dates will be Jun 16-20.

Each state chess association is eligible to send four players to the national closed event and four women players to the national women’s closed event. However, the states are now required to put up a commitment fee of either RM25 or RM50 for each of their players, depending on their associations’ status with the Malaysian Sports Commission.

Anyone wishing to represent their state in these annual chess championships should, therefore, get in touch with their state chess associations as soon as possible.

Alternatively, players may choose to register directly with the MCF, in which case an entry fee will be charged to each player. Those with Fide ratings need pay only RM50 to participate while others are required to pay RM150. With entries closing soon on Jun 8, players will need to hurry up with their registrations.

The MCF also allows former national champions to take part free of charge and I always encourage these former champions, especially those who won in the past 10 years – players like Evan Timothy Capel (picture), Edward Lee, Zarul Shazwan, Jonathan Chuah, Marcus Chan, Nicholas Chan, Wong Zijing and Ronnie Lim – to come back and play. 

After all, they are products of the Malaysian chess system and they became national champions because of the MCF. In return, they should give a little bit back to the federation by supporting these two national events. 

Furthermore, former champions shouldn’t be afraid of having to prove themselves again in the championships. Actually, there’s nothing to prove at all. If anything, I would say that former champions who take part are likely to gain a lot of respect and goodwill from the other players (and from me).

For more information about the national closed championships, contact Gregory Lau (012.9020123) or Haslindah Ruslan (019.2069605).

Up next  

Holiday activities

Readers may be interested to know that the school semester break also brings with it other holiday chess activities. 

The Polgar Chess Asia is organizing several holiday workshops at Desa Sri Hartamas in Kuala Lumpur. 

Complete beginners with very little idea about playing chess can attend the beginners-level workshops on Jun 7-10 or Jun 14-15. Fees are RM280 per student. For slightly more advanced players, there are workshops on learning strategies of attack and endgame fundamentals. The “strategies of attack” workshop is on Jun 7-8 while the “endgame fundamentals” workshop is on Jun 9-10. Fees are RM300 per student.

For more information, contact Louisa Yip of Polgar Chess Asia (03.23001680 or 019.2586355).

Meanwhile, the seventh Kids for Chess Camp will be held at the Pandan Lake Club in Pandan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 14-15. This chess camp should interest beginners, intermediate players and the aspiring tournament players. Those who know absolutely nothing about the game are also encouraged to join up.

The coaches and instructors will include resident grandmaster Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh and our own international master Jimmy Liew among many others. There’ll be a flat fee of RM90 per player. For details, contact Collin Madhaven (03.91316474 or 016.2123578) or visit http://www.kids4chess.com.

Perak grand prix

The Slim River leg of the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Perak grand prix chess tournament, sponsored by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad, will be played at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Slim River on Jun 27. 

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. Closing date for entries is Jun 13. To register, contact Yunus (013.3908129), Hamisah (012.5008723) or Uztaz Ismail (019.5520391). More details are available from http://perakchess.blogspot.com 

MBS chess

The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School in Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur will hold the 5th MBSSKL chess open tournament at the school premises on July 24. There will be three categories of events: under-20, under-17 and under-14 for boys and girls. Entry fees are RM5 for MBS students and RM15 for non-MBS students. More details are available from Mr NK Chin or Mdm LY Yong at the school (03.20782293).

Telok Gong Pro-Am

There will be a Telok Gong Pro-Am chess tournament at the Dewan Kampung Hamid Tuah in Telok Gong, Port Klang on July 4, organized by the Persatuan Penduduk Telok Gong. For a one-day tournament, the cash prizes are very attractive, totalling more than RM5,000. 

Entry fees are RM30 (players in the Pro category, that is, with national ratings above 1701), RM25 (players in the Am category, rated below 1700) and RM20 (Telok Gong residents and players below 12 years old). Entries will close on Jun 26. For registration and enquiries, contact Zamri Sajari (016.2775005) or Azhar Mohd Said (012.6796193).