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).

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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).