Olympiad begins

Finally, the main chess event of the year – the World Chess Olympiad 2010 – gets underway in Khanty-Mansiysk, a Russian town that’s buried deep in Siberia. Today is already the fourth day of the event which will continue until Oct 3.

Altogether there are 260 teams participating in the competition, of which 146 are in the open Olympiad and 114 in the women’s Olympiad. 

We are represented by two teams. Our men’s team – comprising Mas Hafizulhelmi, Mok Tze Meng, Tan Khai Boon, Peter Long and Gregory Lau – and our women’s team – consisting up of Alia Anin Azwa Bakri, Nur Nabila Azman Hisham, Nurul Huda Wahiduddin, Fong Mi Yen and Roslina Marmono – all left for Khanty-Mansiysk last Saturday via a long roundabout route that took them through Dubai and Moscow.

Controversially, Russia are represented by five very strong men’s team in the open Olympiad and three in the women’s Olympiad. The two “Russia A” teams are the top seeds and they are looking to wrest the title from Armenia and Georgia, the open and women’s team winners of the last Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany two years ago.

There were questions asked about why the organizing country had been allowed to field so many teams. Apparently, it seemed that Russia was first promised three teams in the open Olympiad.

The regulations allowed them an additional team should there be an odd number of teams, which there was, and then when Romania pulled out of the Chess Olympiad at the last minute, a vacancy was created and the World Chess Federation (Fide) granted the organizers a replacement.

The first round of any open chess event would normally be uneventful. Although it would be unlikely for any of the stronger teams to lose their matches against the weaker ones, casualties do happen on the individual boards.

In the open Olympiad, one of the earliest surprises was the second-board loss by Indian grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna to an unheralded Tim Kett of Wales. A few minutes later, there was an even greater shock when Vietnam’s top board, the 19-year-old grandmaster Le Quang Liem, fell to Botswana’s Phemelo Khetho. 

White: GM Le Quang Liem (Vietnam)

Black: Phemelo Khetho (Botswana)

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. b3 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Bb2 Bf5 6. c3 e6 7. Be2 cxd4 8. exd4 Bd6 9. O-O Ne4 10. Nbd2 Qf6 11. c4 Qh6 12. cxd5 Nxd2 13. Qxd2 Bxh2+ 14. Nxh2 Qxd2 15. dxc6 Qxe2 16. cxb7 Rb8 17. Ba3 Qa6 18. Bc5 f6 19. Rfe1 Kf7 20. a4 Qxb7 21. b4 h5 22. a5 a6 23. Re3 h4 24. Nf3 h3 25. g3 h2+ 26. Nxh2 Rxh2 27. Kxh2 Rh8+ 0-1

The first round also saw the Malaysian men’s team losing to a very strong England team. It was an expected result but the blushes were saved by Mas Hafizul’s quick draw with the England grandmaster, Michael Adams, in a position that still promised lots of play for both sides:

 

White: IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (Malaysia)

Black: GM Michael Adams (England)

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Na5 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 c6 7. a3 Nxc4 8. dxc4 d6 9. Qd3 Be6 10. Nge2 Be7 11. b3 g5 12. Bg3 Qa5 13. f3 O-O-O 14. O-O Kb8 15. Rfb1 h5 16. Bf2 Nd7 17. a4 Rc8 18. b4 Qd8 19. a5 g4 ½-½ 

The Malaysia women’s team lost all their games to Slovakia.

The battles on the chessboard are actually a prelude to a much more important contest in the days to come: the Fide elections on Sep 29 between the incumbent president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, and former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov. Leading to this very pivotal election, it has been a very acrimonious campaign by both candidates.

The presidential elections next week should be proceeding as planned unless there is already a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne in Karpov’s favour. The former world champion had filed a suit at the Court to disqualify Ilyumzhinov and his team. At this time of writing, no decision has been announced yet.

Interesting days are ahead for chess….

Up next  

DATCC weekender

The Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur will organize the fourth DATCC super supreme rapid chess weekender tournament at their premises on Sep 26. Seven rounds, 25-minute time control.

Entry fees are RM15 (players below 12 years old) and RM30 (others). Contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com) or Justin Kumar (018.3960781, kjustin09@yahoo.com) for more information.

Perak grand prix

The Kampar leg of the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Perak grand prix chess tournament, sponsored by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad, will be played at the Grand Kampar Hotel in Kampar, Perak on Sep 26. Seven rounds, 25-minute time control.

Entry fees are RM25 (open), RM15 (under-16 players) and RM10 (under-12 players). Members of the Perak International Chess Association (PICA) and players born in Perak pay RM5 less. To register, contact Yunus (013.3908129), Sukumaran (012.5252445) or Kamaruddin (019.4316793). More details are available from http://perakchess.blogspot.com 

UTP rapid chess

As part of Universiti Teknologi Petronas’ convocation programme this year, there will be a national rapid chess open tournament at the main hall of the university’s campus in Tronoh, Perak on Oct 9-10. The Malaysian Chess Federation and the Perak International Chess Association are the co-organisers with the University. Seven round, 45-minute time control. Entry fees are RM35 (adults and players below 18 years old), RM30 (players below 16 years old) and RM25 (players below 12 years old). Closing date for entries is Oct 2. More information available from Saeksarn Sinnaso (017.5514682, saeksarnskill@gmail.com), Zulaizat (013.4666195) or visit http://nationalrapidchess.blogspot.com

UPSI open

The Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) will organize an open chess tournament at their university campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak on Oct 23-24. Seven rounds, one-hour time control games. Entry fees are RM30 (open), RM15 (school children) and RM10 (UPSI students). More details from Mohd Huzairi (013.5959350, mohdhuzairi89@yahoo.com) or Izza Hasrina (012.7412326). 

MSSM-Masterskill chess

The Polgar Chess Asia will organise the MSSM-Masterskill national scholastics chess championship at the Masterskill University College campus in Ipoh, Perak on Nov 8-12 in association with the Ministry of Education, Majlis Sukan Sekolah-Sekolah Malaysia and the Malaysian Chess Federation. 

There will be six age group events: under-13 open and girls sections, under-11 open and girls sections, and under-9 open and girls sections, and each state, through their respective schools’ sports councils, may enter one official player for each section. individual non-official entries are also accepted with a RM100 entry fee. 

The respective winners get the right to be the official Malaysian representatives at the Asian schools chess championship in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Dec 16-23. More details available from Peter Long (peterlong@aol.asia) or Gregory Lau (greglau64@gmail.com). 

Sarawak open

The Lanang Chess Association and Sarawak Chess Association will jointly organize the Universal Chinese Sports Sarawak open chess championship in Sibu, Sarawak on Dec 17-19. This will be a FIDE-rated event with a RM2,500 first prize. Eight rounds, full time control. Entry fees are RM50 (adults) and RM25 (ladies and players below 18 years old). Contact Joseph Ting (016.8893185, fax: 084.331451) or Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, lkhwa@tm.net.my) for more details.

 

Finest moments

One thing for sure: this year’s Malaysia Chess Festival was a resounding success on all fronts. A slicker organization and yes, more teams and players from home and abroad that registered for the 11-day chess fest than ever before. The chess festival has indeed become a recognized event in the international chess calendar.

 

However, there is some consternation within the chess community that this year’s chess festival may be the last that we would see organized in its present format. In my private conversations with the man at the forefront of the chess festival in recent years, Datuk Tan Chin Nam told me that he would be taking a two-year leave from sponsoring chess.

“I feel that I have become a hindrance to chess development,” he said. “Chess should not solely depend on Tan Chin Nam. I need to stand down so that other big sponsors can come in and help lift the game to its next level in the country. Please help tell the chess community to understand. I shall be on a sabbatical.” 

Curiously piqued, I asked how he would then occupy his time in the mean time. I doubted that he could take a back seat for too long. After all, chess had been in his blood since 1974.

“I want to look at chess from the other side of the chess board,” he replied, “I shall want to play in more chess tournaments in the next two years. It doesn’t matter if it is a slow or fast game, I just want to play.”

Obviously, Tan had been bitten by his foray at the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng international seniors open tournament. “I’m encouraged with the two points scored in this tournament. In other games, I found that I had reasonable chances too but unfortunately, I spoilt them all. I shall want to play more so that I can learn. I’m not too old to learn how to play better.”

How then will the Malaysia Chess Festival proceed without his financial sponsorship? “There are other sponsors but as long as I’m there, they are reluctant to come forward. This is the time for chess organizers to build their relationships with them,” he said.

So this seventh Datuk Arthur Tan Malaysia open chess tournament may be the last we shall see played in memory of his late son, Arthur Tan, for some time. But in the meantime, this seventh Malaysia open tournament was won fittingly by Vietnam’s 37-year-old grandmaster Cao Sang. 

Cao Sang has been at the game for a very long time. In this event, he was always up there among the title chasers. After the first six rounds, he was among the leaders. Two rounds later, he fell back half a point behind them. However, in the ninth round, a determined win meant that he climbed back to join two other players at the top of the standings. 

Some anxious moments passed as the organizers got down to break the tie but eventually, word leaked out that Cao Sang had indeed pipped Chinese grandmaster Zhou Weiqi and Indian international master SP Sethuraman to the top prize of USD4,000. Here is the game that won him the prize and the Malaysia open challenge trophy:

White: Cao Sang (Vietnam)

Black: Nguyen Anh Dung (Vietnam)

1.e4  c5  2.Nf3  d6  3.Nc3  Nf6  4.d4  cxd4  5.Nxd4  a6  6.Bg5  e6  7.Qf3  Nbd7  8.0-0-0  Qc7  9.Bd3  b5  10.Rhe1  Ne5  11.Qg3  b4  12.Nce2  Bb7  13.Bxf6  gxf6  14.Kb1  0-0-0  15.f4  Nc4  16.Nb3  d5  17.exd5  Bxd5  18.Qf2  Be7  19.Ned4  f5  20.Nf3  Bf6  21.Bxc4  Bxc4  22.Ne5  Bxe5  23.fxe5  a5  24.Nc5  Qb6  25.b3  Rd5  26.Rxd5  Bxd5  27.Rd1  Rg8  28.Rxd5  exd5  29.Qxf5+  Kc7  30.Qxf7+  Kc6  31.Qxg8  Kxc5  32.Qf8+  Kb5  33.Qf1+  Kc5  34.Qf6  Qb5  35.Qf2+  d4  36.Qf8+  Kd5  37.Qf7+  1-0

Up next  

DATCC weekender

The Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre will organize the fourth DATCC super supreme rapid chess weekender tournament at their Wilayah Complex premises in Kuala Lumpur on Sep 26. Seven rounds, 25-minute time control. Entry fees are RM15 for players below 12 years old and RM30 for others. Details from Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com) or Justin Kumar (018.3960781, kjustin09@yahoo.com).

Perak grand prix

The Kampar leg of the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Perak grand prix chess tournament will be played at the Grand Kampar Hotel in Kampar, Perak on Sep 26. Entry fees are RM25 for the open section, RM15 for under-16 players and RM10 for under-12 players. Members of Perak International Chess Association and players born in Perak pay RM5 less. To register, contact Yunus (013.3908129), Sukumaran (012.5252445) or Kamaruddin (019.4316793). Details from http://perakchess.blogspot.com  

 

Finest moment

It has been an interesting week at the Malaysia Chess Festival in Kuala Lumpur. I'm home in Penang right now but still suffering the dizzying effects of playing in this event. It's been correct what I said last week about it taking more than sandpaper to scrape off the rust.

Still, I've no reason to regret playing in the first Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng international seniors open tournament, one of the three events that made up the festival proper. There is nothing like playing to really create a bond with the other players in the event, especially if the field is compact and well manageable. 

And I like to think that 18 players was a decent and well manageable number for the seniors event. It can only get better next year. Nevertheless, the field this year included a grandmaster from Uzbekistan (Dimitry Kayumov), two international masters from Singapore (Tan Lian Ann and Giam Choo Kwee) and a Fide master from Australia (Brian Jones), plus several other foreign entries from China and India.

The main event was, of course, the seventh Datuk Arthur Tan Malaysia open tournament with 133 entries. Many more than the organisers had expected; 33 players more than last year's tournament. And rather unsurprisingly, since none of the previous champions are here, the trend continues that there is a new champion for each edition of the Malaysia open.

But I shall write more about the Malaysia open and the AmBank chess challenge (52-player field) next week when I have more time over this weekend to sort out and look deeper into the results.

In the meantime, I shall leave you with these three games from the Malaysia Chess Festival. 

The first game saw 11-year-old Yeoh Li Tian hold Uzbek grandmaster Saidali Yuldachev to a gritty draw in the very first round of the Arthur Tan Malaysia open.

White: Saidali Yuldachev (2496) 

Black: Yeoh Li Tian (2112)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 Bxf3 9.gxf3 e6 10.Qxb7 Nxd4 11.Bb5+ Nxb5 12.Qc6+ Ke7 13.Qxb5 Qd7 14.Nxd5+ Qxd5 15.Bg5+ f6 16.Qxd5 exd5 17.Be3 Ke6 18.0-0-0 Bb4 19.a3 Rhc8+ 20.Kb1 Bc5 21.Rhe1 Kd6 22.Bf4+ Kc6 23.Re6+ Kd7 24.Re2 g5 25.Bc1 Kd6 26.Red2 Ke6 27.f4 gxf4 28.Re2+ Kf7 29.Rxd5 f3 30.Red2 Rab8 31.R5d3 Re8 32.Rxf3 Re1 33.Rd7+ Ke6 34.Rdd3 Rf1 35.Rd2 Bd6 36.h3 Be5 37.Rc2 a5 38.b3 Rd8 39.Rc6+ Kd5 40.Rc4 Rg8 41.Rd3+ Ke6 42.f4 Bb8 43.Kc2 Rg2+ 44.Rd2 Rff2 45.b4 axb4 46.axb4 Rxd2+ 47.Bxd2 Kd5 48.Rc5+ Kd4 49.Kc1 Bd6 50.Rc8 Ke4 51.b5 Rg7 52.Rc6 Kd5 53.Rc3 f5 54.Rd3+ Ke6 55.Be3 Rg3 56.b6 Rg7 57.Kc2 Rb7 58.Kc3 Rb8 59.Kc4 Rc8+ 60.Kb5 Rc2 61.b7 Rb2+ 62.Kc6 Rc2+ 63.Kb5 Rb2+ 64.Kc6 Rc2+ ½-½ 

The second game was played in the fourth round of the Arthur Tan Malaysia open. Dr Lim Chuin Hoong, known more popularly in local chess circles as Ronnie Lim, scored a full point off German grandmaster Gerhard Schebler.

White: Lim Chuin Hoong (2302)

Black: Gerhard Schebler (2474)

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+ 3.Bd2 Bxd2+ 4.Qxd2 Nf6 5.g3 0-0 6.Bg2 d5 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.0-0 dxc4 9.a4 Rb8 10.Qc2 b6 11.Rd1 Bb7 12.Qxc4 Bxf3 13.exf3 c5 14.Nc3 cxd4 15.Qxd4 Nc5 16.Qe3 Qe7 17.Nb5 Rfd8 18.Nd4 Qe8 19.b4 Nd5 20.Qa3 Nb7 21.Rac1 Rbc8 22.f4 Rxc1 23.Rxc1 Rc8 24.b5 Na5 25.Rxc8 Qxc8 26.Bxd5 exd5 27.Qd6 h6 28.Qxd5 Qc4 29.Qxc4 Nxc4 30.Nc6 Nb2 31.a5 bxa5 32.Nxa5 Kf8 33.Nc6 Ke8 34.Nxa7 Na4 35.Nc6 Kd7 36.Ne5+ Ke6 37.Kg2 f6 38.Nc6 Kd5 39.Kf3 Nc5 40.g4 Nd7 41.Ne7+ 1-0

The third game is from the Lee Loy Seng international seniors open. Now, many people know that Dato Tan Chin Nam is an octogenarian. His knees may be weak and his hands may be shaky but his mind is still as razor sharp as ever. And he loves the game of chess very much.

Given half a chance, he can figuratively run rings around any opponent. If anyone happens to let their guard down, Tan is capable of building up an attack that sucks them off the chess board. India's Ummer Koya happened to be the one to get caught in the murky whirlpool in the fifth round of the seniors open tournament.

White: Dato Tan Chin Nam (Malaysia)

Black: Ummer Koya PT (India)

1. e4 b6 2. Nf3 c5 3. Bc4 d6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. d3 e6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. O-O a6 8. Bxc6 Bxc6 9. a4 Nf6 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Qd2 Qc7 12. b3 0-0 13. h3 h6 14. Bh4 Rfe8 15. Ne2 d5 16. Bg3 Qb7 17. e5 Nh5 18. d4 f5 19. exf6 Bxf6 20. Be5 Bxe5 21. Nxe5 Rf8 22. c3 Rae8 23. f4 Qc7 24. Rf3 Nf6 25. Qc2 Ba8 26. Rg3 Ne4 27. Rf3 Rc8 28. Raf1 Bb7 29. Ng3 cxd4 30. Ng6 Rf6 31. Ne5 dxc3 32. Nh5 Rff8 33. Ng6 Rfd8 34. f5 Nd2 35. f6 Nxf3+ 36. Rxf3 gxf6 (At this stage, the spectators were getting somewhat restless. What a turnaround in the game. From a worse position, he now had a lot of chances to win. But the problem was, would he blow it? Could he win the game?) 37. Nxf6+ Kg7 38. Nh5+ Kg8 39. Nf6+ Kg7 40. Nh5+ Kg8 (Well, we thought, was he going for the draw or was he trying to win?) 41. Rg3 (No, there was no doubt in our minds that he was going for the win! No splitting of point. The forced win would be 41. Ne7+ Qxe7 42. Qg6+ Kh8 43. Qxh6+ Qh7 44. Qf6+ Kg8 45. Rg3+ Qg6 46. Rxg6+ Kh7 47. Qg7# but okay, under such circumstances, his game continuation was good enough) 41...Qxg3 42. Nxg3 d4 43. Ne7+ Kf7 44. Nxc8 Bxc8 45. Qh7+ Ke8 46. Qg6+ Ke7 47. Qg7+ Ke8 48. Nh5 Rd6 49. Nf6+ Kd8 50. Qf8+ Kc7 51. Ne8+ 1-0

I've never seen the man so happy after a chess game!

Up next  

UTP rapid chess

As part of Universiti Teknologi Petronas’ convocation programme this year, there will be a national rapid chess open tournament at the main hall of the university’s campus in Tronoh, Perak on Oct 9-10. The Malaysian Chess Federation and the Perak International Chess Association are the co-organisers with the University. Entry fees are RM35 for adults and players below 18 years old, RM30 for players below 16 years old and RM25 for players below 12 years old. Closing date for entries is Oct 2. More information available from Saeksarn Sinnaso (017.5514682, saeksarnskill@gmail.com), Zulaizat (013.4666195) or visit http://nationalrapidchess.blogspot.com. 

 

In full swing

I have been here at the Malaysia Chess Festival at the Cititel Midvalley in Kuala Lumpur since Tuesday: much later than I would have liked since I missed all the fun and bustle of both the ASTRO Merdeka individual and team rapid chess tournaments but there is compensation.

I am able to soak in the full atmosphere of this year’s Datuk Arthur Tan Malaysia open tournament and the AmBank Malaysia chess challenge. Both events are currently in progress and to boot, there is also the first Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng international senior open tournament going on at the same time. 

And here’s a little admission. A few weeks ago, the organizers had been suggesting that I take part in the senior event. No, no, no, I had told them, I won’t be taking part. But it’s all good clean fun, they pleaded. And besides, “many of your friends will be competing too.” 

I tell you, the pressure was unrelenting but it was all very appealing, to say the very least. To cut a long story short, they won the war but my battles are only starting. Truth is, I haven’t sat down in front of the chess board for quite a while. When rust sets in, it takes more than sandpaper to polish it off. 

So I’m quite certain that I’ll be making a fool of myself at the senior event but what the hey. Like what I was told, it will all be good clean fun, win or lose, as long as we confine the battles to the chess board and keep our friendship off it.

Earlier, as I had expected, entries for the ASTRO Merdeka individual rapid chess event swelled to 107 participants due to the last-minute registration by foreign players who had arrived early for the Malaysia open. 

Saidali Yuldachev, the seasoned grandmaster from Uzbekistan, secured the top prize despite a draw with local youngster Irfan Haqqim in the opening round. After that slight hiccup, Yuldachev went full speed ahead to win his remaining games which included victories against German grandmaster Gerhard Schebler in the sixth round and Uzbek international master Khamrakulov Dzhurabek in the final round. 

Schebler, who led the event until his loss to Yuldachev, had to be contented with the second prize. In third place was Fide master Nicholas Chan who was undefeated and impressive with five wins (including one against Uzbek grandmaster Marat Dzhumaev in the final round) and two draws in the one-day tournament. Another Uzbek player, Vakhidov Jahongir, finished fourth.

Jointly fifth to seventh were international master Mok Tze Meng, grandmaster Ziaur Rahman and Sutarno; and rounding up the top 10 prize-winners were Dzhumaev, Dzhurabek and Carlos Leonardo.

Amidst all the excitement of the festival’s opening tournament, a hastily arranged one-day visit to Malaysia by World Chess Federation Kirsan Ilyumzhinov passed by almost unnoticed by the local chess fraternity.

Kirsan was en route to Manila but he made a brief stopover in Kuala Lumpur to visit the Ministry of Sports and the Olympic Council of Malaysia where he witnessed a symbolic flag transfer ceremony to the Malaysian Chess Federation delegation taking part in next month’s World Youth Championships 2010 in Greece.

Meanwhile, more action was seen at the ASTRO Merdeka team rapid chess tournament which attracted 70 teams, a modest increase of four teams from last year’s event. Considering that each team consisted of at least four players, tables and players filled the playing venue from wall to wall. 

Noticeably, there were fewer foreign teams from Indonesia and the Philippines in this year’s competition but from my observation, the strength of the event has not been diluted. In fact, the increased number of mixed teams that fielded local talents with foreign players had balanced up the event and helped it retain its competitive fervour.

This year, the round-by-round pairings were made using match points instead of game points, which brought a refreshing change to the scoring system. What this meant was that a team winning by a crushing 4-0 score would be given the same match points as another team that scraped through by 2½-1½. 

There are advantages and disadvantages of this system – which has already been utilized in other team events worldwide, including the biennial World Chess Olympiad – but the main reason in its favour is that it minimizes the rollercoaster pairing fluctuations when teams are heftily pushed up or pulled down the pairing tables based on the results of a single round. 

By the way, the event was won by Chesskidz Men’s Team – fronted by two Filipino grandmasters working in Singapore, Nelson Mariano and Bong Villamayor – which won eight matches and drew one for a total match point of 17, two match points more than their closest rivals, Bengal Tigers. Third place went to the Crusher team. The best Malaysian team was SMS Gold which were four match points behind the winners.

Incidentally, if this event had been scored using the traditional game point method, Chesskidz Men’s Team would still have emerged as the winners. However the second spot would have gone to Crusher and the Jakarta B team would have been third.

Up next  

Malaysia chess festival

Here is a summary of the remaining events at this year’s Malaysia Chess Festival. All games are played at the Cititel Midvalley ballroom:

a)Datuk Arthur Tan Malaysia open: Fide-titled event, nine rounds, ongoing until Sep 7;

b)AmBank Malaysia chess challenge: Fide-rated event, nine rounds, ongoing until Sep 7;

c)Merdeka national age group rapid open: seven rounds, Sep 5, medals as prizes, RM25 entry fee;

d)Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng international seniors open: Fide-rated event, nine rounds, ongoing until Sep 7;

e)ASTRO simultaneous chess display: Sep 3, 10 grandmasters and international masters against 250 players below 16 years old, entry fee RM20 per player per ASTRO account;

f)Malaysia blitz open: details to be announced later, Sep 7.

More details from Hamid Majid (019.3158098, fax 03.40244337, aham@pc.jaring.my or aham4you@gmail.com).

UTP rapid chess

As part of Universiti Teknologi Petronas’ convocation programme this year, there will be a national rapid chess open tournament at the main hall of the university’s campus in Tronoh, Perak on Oct 9-10. The Malaysian Chess Federation and the Perak International Chess Association are the co-organisers with the University. Entry fees are RM35 for adults and players below 18 years old, RM30 for players below 16 years old and RM25 for players below 12 years old. More information available from Saeksarn Sinnaso (saeksarnskill@gmail.com) or Wan Fatin Izyan (eyanzdaqpe@gmail.com).