Selection trials

Every year, the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) faces the same old dilemma of selecting players to represent the country at official overseas chess tournaments. It’s a problem that the federation has been unable to uncover a satisfactory solution even after almost 40 years.

So many selection methods have been employed in the past. Initially, it was thought that selecting a team based solely on the results of the national closed championships would be good enough but as we all know, how accurate can that be when a chess competition is run according to the Swiss pairing rules with a limited number of rounds? 

At worst, only the champion can really be considered as worthy of selection. All other standings become less accurate as we go down the final prize-winners’ list and that is why organizers use all sorts of tie-breaking systems to justify the players’ standings. Still, it is not quite sufficient.

There were also occasions when the best one or two players in the country were given automatic entry into the national teams and the rest of the players were selected from either the Fide rating list or the results of the national closed championships or a combination of both.

Then it was decided that the MCF president should have the prerogative to select a player of his choice into the national team, based on a short-list provided by the council. Sort of a wild card entry just in case a really worthy case needed to be considered at the last moment.

But any reasonable person will realize that all these alternatives are not really fool-proof. Every method may have its good points but each also has its own different short-comings. So every time a major chess event comes along, there are always new suggestions and new tweaking made to find an appropriate solution to suit that occasion.

Let me say here about Malaysian chess that we do compete regularly at world and regional chess events. At the heart of our activities is the biennial Chess Olympiads but lately, there’s also the Asian Games and the SEA Games. 

Well, with the SEA Games in Jakarta just around the corner – in about six months’ time – the MCF is now in the midst of selecting the players to fill spots in the national men’s and women’s teams.

This year, without any great surprise, we learn that the federation has decided yet again to adopt yet another selection format. This time, there would be round-robin selection trials with the bulk of eligible players to come from this year’s national men’s and women’s closed championships that had concluded recently.

I’m sure that this decision will please several people who feel that the national closed results are now being given more recognition by the same body that organized it. But on the other hand, this decision could also have distressed other people who had expected it their right to compete in the selection. To be fair, the MCF had announced the national selection trials way ahead of the national closed championships so that any of the top players who find themselves now missing from the selection trials have only themselves to kick, isn’t it?

The main basis for a player to be eligible for the selection trials was to finish within the top eight positions in last month’s national men’s and women’s closed championships. If any of the players were to decline participation, their places would be taken up by players from either the FIDE rating list or by going down further through the results of the two national closed events. There are two remaining two slots that would be filled by the participants in last year’s Asian Games.

So last weekend, the selection process for the men’s and women’s teams began in earnest in Kuala Lumpur but it had to break for two weeks in order to accommodate the running of the week-long 38th Selangor open chess tournament, at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur, which overlaps into this weekend. The resumption of the selection trials will be on May 7 and 8 when the sixth to ninth rounds are played. 

In any case, based on these eligibility criteria, the players who started the men’s selection tournament were international masters Mas Hafizulhelmi and Mok Tze Meng (the two had participated in last year’s Asian Games), international master Jimmy Liew, current national champion Lim Zhuo Ren, Sumant Subramaniam, Fong Yit Ho and Fong Yit San (qualifiers from the national closed championship) and international master Lim Yee Weng, former national champion Kamalariffin Wahiduddin and Tan Jun Feng (whom MCF had chosen to replace three players that had declined to take part).

Meanwhile for the women’s selection tournament, the players were Nur Nabila Azman Hashim (qualified from last year’s Asian Games but she is also the current national women’s champion), Nur Najiha Azman Hisham, Fong Mi Yen, Tan Li Ting, Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar, Camilia Johari, Sarika Subramaniam and Puteri Munajjah Az-zahra Azhar (qualifiers from the national women’s closed championship) and Nurul Huda Wahiduddin and Tang Kar Khei (as replacements for two other qualifiers).

I shall leave you this week with a game from the very first round of the selection trials. Sumant Subramaniam is a very promising junior player but he came a cropper in his game with Jimmy Liew. Here it is:

Sumant Subramaniam (rated 2065) – Jimmy Liew (rated 2302)

National selection tournament, 2011

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Be2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bg5 a6 8.Qd2 b5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Qe3 c6 12.Qg3 Nd7 13.Bh6 Bf6 14.Rad1 Qe7 15.Rd2 Nc5 16.Be3 Ne6 17.Rfd1 Nd4 18.Bg4 Bxg4 19.Qxg4 Ne6 20.Ne2 Rad8 21.Ng3 Rxd2 22.Rxd2 Rd8 23.Nf5 Qb4 24.c3 Qc4 25.Rxd8+ Nxd8 (The game had been on a rather even keel with Black having equalized comfortably. Now, White thought that his worthy opponent had missed something. See the diagram: was there a small brilliant combination here in this position that could net him a winning advantage?) 

26.Nxg7? (But this sacrifice turned out to be delusional. Black saw deeper into this move and had a rejoinder ready.) 26…Bxg7 27.Bh6 Ne6 28.Bxg7 h5 (And this is the move that wrecked White’s plans. Black would keep his knight although he loses two pawns. White was actually banking on 28…Nxg7 29.Qc8+ Ne8 30.Qxe8+ Kg7 31.Qxe5+ and Black would be in trouble.) 29.Qxh5 Nxg7 30.Qxe5 Qxa2 31.h4 Qxb2 32.h5 Qc1+ 33.Kh2 Ne6 34.Qb8+ Kh7 35.Qe8 Qf4+ 36.Kg1 c5 37.Qe7 Kg7 38.Qe8 Qc1+ 39.Kh2 Qg5 40.g4 Qh4+ 0-1

Up next

Perlis events

In conjunction with the 68th birthday of the Raja of Perlis, there will be two tournaments in Perlis this weekend. Tomorrow, the Perlis Chess Academy will organize the Perlis open tournament with cash prizes totalling RM1,610. Entry fees: RM10 (players under 18 years old), RM15 (Perlis residents) and RM20 (non-Perlis participants). 

Then on Sunday, Kilang Gula Felda Perlis will organize the Gula Perlis open chess challenge. The cash prizes for the Gula Perlis event amount to RM5,555. Four DGT digital chess clocks are also given as lucky draw prizes. Entry fees: RM15 (players under 18 years old) and RM20 (adults). 

Both events are played at the Dewan Belia in Kangar, Perlis. More details available from Syaifulzamani (013.3939838), Darwis (012.4128207), Abdul Aziz (019.5700828), Azrul Sani (019.4651122).

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association will organize the third leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Slim River on May 15. Like the two previous tournaments in Taiping and Bagan Serai, this leg in Slim River will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The two remaining legs will be played in Kampar on Jun 19 and the grand final in Ipoh on July 10. Other than cash prizes, points are awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

Entry fees for the Slim River tournament: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). Closing date for entries is May 12. To register, call Yunus (013.3908129), Abu Bakar (014.2510852) or Uztaz Ismail (019.5520391). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

Chess camp

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess champ at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 6-7. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Discount of RM20 applies to anyone registering before May 15. Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

 

Wild draw

It’s just not the same any more. Not since the growing popularity of computer chess programs, anyway. 

Way back in the past when we talked about blindfold chess, it would mean just that: two players who were literally blindfolded. It was great publicity. I remember that in the early 1990s, this newspaper even once published a colour picture of two blindfolded players on the front page. 

It’s not so dramatic nowadays. Players in blindfold games are now more inclined to sit at a laptop computer. Some people say that the players stare blankly at an image of an empty chessboard on the computer’s monitor but there is much more going on than that. You see, their brains are whirring along – thinking, calculating and assessing – and the chessboard, though empty, helps them in the visualization process. And they are still required to record their every move.

So to the experienced chess players, an empty chessboard is not a hindrance at all; not when there are still the visible game scores to follow. These reminders are more than sufficient in allowing them to play normally. 

How normal or accurate could their games be, you may ask? Well, very normal indeed. For example, at the Amber tournament in Monaco last month, half of the games were played in this so-called blindfold fashion and I tell you, there were games of sheer accuracy and brilliancy. 

This week, I would like to show you one rather remarkable game from this event. 

Vladimir Kramnik (rated 2785) – Vassily Ivanchuk (rated 2779)

20th Amber Blindfold, Monaco, 2011

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.d4 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 c6 7.Qc2 0-0 8.0-0 b6 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.Bf4 Bb7 11.Ne5 Rc8 12.Nc3 Nh5 13.Bc1 f5 14.Qa4 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Qc7 (Something new from Ivanchuk which left Kramnik wondering how to refute.) 16.cxd5 (Later, Kramnik commented that he should have played the immediate 16.Bf3.) 16…cxd5 17.Qxa7 (And finally, White decides to take the offered a-pawn. So the queen is offside but it’s not so simple for Black to trap it with 17…Ra8 immediately. There is bigger game on the kingside.) 17…Bc5 (To support the b-pawn just in case the black queen needs to move away but more importantly, the bishop occupies the diagonal and gets aimed at White’s king.) 18.Bf3 f4 19.g4 (If 19.Bxh5, then 19…fxg3 rips into the white kingside. White sidesteps this but now comes a stunning move.) 19…Ng3! 

(See diagram) 20.b4 Ra8 21.Nxd5 Nxe2+ 22.Kf1 Rxa7 23.Nxc7 Bxf3 24.Nxe6 Nc3 (Possibly, 24…Bxb4 could have won the game. After Ivanchuk misses that, Kramnik steers the game into safe waters.) 25.bxc5 Nxd1 26.cxb6 Ra4 27.Nxf8 Kxf8 28.Rb1 Rxa2 29.b7 Rxf2+ 30.Ke1 Re2+ 31.Kf1 (Of course, not 31.Kxd1 Rb2+ 32.Ke1 Rxb1 and the white b-pawn falls.) 31…Rf2+ 32.Ke1 ½-½

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association informs me that the first leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament in Taiping a fortnight ago was a remarkable success with 217 participants. There could have been more players but the last-minute entries were turned away due to space constraints of the venue.

The second leg of the grand prix will be held at the Sekolah Menengah Teknik Kerian, Jalan Siakap, Bagan Serai this Sunday. Like the Taiping leg, this second leg will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The other three legs will be played in Slim River on May 15, Kampar on Jun 19 and the grand final in Ipoh on July 10. Other than cash prizes, points are awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

Entry fees for the Bagan Serai tournament: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). To register, call Yunus (013.3908129), Kamaruddin (019.4316793) or Mas’ud Hamzah (012.4681665). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

Percawi Labour Day team

The Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Chess Association (Percawi) will organize a Labour Day team tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur this Sunday. Six rounds, 30-minute games, four players per team. Entry fee: RM160 (companies and government departments), RM80 (schools, colleges and universities). Details available from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578) and Bob Yap (012.2878378).

Selangor open

The Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) will organize their 38th Selangor open chess tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur from Apr 28 to May 2.

This nine-round, Fide-rated tournament will have 10 main cash prizes totaling RM7,000 with the winner receiving RM2,500. There are also various minor category prizes. Entry fees: RM70 (CAS members with Fide ratings), RM80 (CAS members without Fide ratings), RM90 (non-CAS members with Fide ratings) and RM100 (non-CAS members without Fide ratings). Grandmasters and international masters play for free. Universities, colleges and schools that submit four players or more will receive a 20 percent discount. Entries received after Apr 21 will be charged an extra RM20.

For enquiries, contact Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922, selangorchess@gmail.com), Mat Zaki Yeop (017.2032051) or Yeoh Chin Seng (012.6199816). More information available from http://selangorchess.blogspot.com 

Perlis events

In conjunction with the 68th birthday of the Raja of Perlis, there will be two tournaments in Perlis on Apr 30 and May 1. On Apr 30, the Perlis Chess Academy will organize the Perlis open tournament with cash prizes totalling RM1,610. Entry fees: RM10 (players under 18 years old), RM15 (Perlis residents) and RM20 (non-Perlis participants). 

Then on May 1, Kilang Gula Felda Perlis will organize the Gula Perlis open chess challenge. The cash prizes for the Gula Perlis event amount to RM5,555. Four DGT digital chess clocks are also given as lucky draw prizes. Entry fees: RM15 (players under 18 years old) and RM20 (adults). 

Venue for both events will be the Dewan Belia in Kangar, Perlis. More details available from Syaifulzamani (013.3939838), Darwis (012.4128207), Abdul Aziz (019.5700828), Azrul Sani (019.4651122).

Chess camp

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess champ at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 6-7. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Discount of RM20 applies to anyone registering before May 15. Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

 

Wild attack

Would you give an arm and a leg to even play half as well as the winner of this game? I would. From the Chinese chess championship in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province, China earlier this month comes this fantastic game. 

Xiu Deshun is not to be scoffed at. Although he is still without any international chess title, not even that of an international master, Xiu’s rating of 2508 points ranks him in China’s current list of their top 20 players. Besides, he had won the Thailand open chess championship two years ago.

However, Xiu came undone while playing against Zhao Jun who is one of China’s chess grandmasters. This game is the stuff which gets shown again and again anywhere in the world as an example of brilliancy. Just bring out your chess set and enjoy it.

Zhao Jun (rated 2580) - Xiu Deshun (rated 2508)

Chinese chess championship, Xinghua, China, 2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Ne2 Ba6 9.e4 0-0 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bg3 d6 13.f4 Na5 14.fxg5 hxg5 15.0-0 Nh5 (From this point onwards, the game gets interesting. But first, before we continue with the game, it is to be noted that two of Black’s minor pieces are basically out of play on the queenside and his kingside pawns have been irreversibly weakened.)

16.Bxd6!! (See Diagram One. This piece sacrifice comes right out of the blue. It works not because of White’s bravado but because of great inspiration. His instinct tells him to go completely for broke in this game.)  (Diagram One)

16...Qxd6 17.e5 Qe7 18.Ng3 (This move would be a bit more difficult to see. Usually, a player would be quite loathe to exchange off pieces during an attack. Piece exchanges can only help the defender. And yet, here is White offering to swap knights.)

18...Nxg3 19.Rf6!! (See Diagram Two. This position deserves a diagram. Now we know why White was willing to exchange the knights: he wanted to remove Black’s last defending piece, especially its defence of the f6 square. Once the knight was gone, this rook move drives a wedge into Black’s position. The black king is stranded. Since it’s almost impossible to find safety, there is no escape route.)  (Diagram Two)

19...Kg7 (Black tries to create a flight square for the king after he moves away the rook from the f8 square. However, as the game shows, this plan doesn’t work. Another alternative for Black is to exchange off more pieces and hope to relieve the pressure with 19...Bxc4 20.hxg3 Bxd3 21.Qxd3 but unfortunately, it doesn’t work too.)

20.Qg4 (The rest of the game basically plays by itself. Again, do note that Black’s bishop and knight on the queenside are still offside and incapable of doing anything much. Black’s priority is to protect his king but his rook is a poor defender. White simply needs to throw all his remaining big pieces – the queen and the other rook – into the attack.)

20...Rg8 21.hxg3 Nb7 (Black’s next few moves see him trying to defend the f7 pawn and simultaneously open an escape route for the king to the queenside. However, White ignores everything that Black does and continues with his game plan to build up the pressure. Double the rooks on the f-file, totally seize the d3-h7 diagonal. White doesn’t even need to capture the g5 pawn yet.)

22.Raf1 Nd8 23.Qe4 Qb7 24.d5 (Great move, in my opinion.) 24…Rh8 25.Qg6+! fxg6  (25...Kf8 26.dxe6 and 27.Rxf7+ follows next. No escape for Black.) 26.Rxg6+ Kh7 27.Rxg5+ Kh6 28.Rg6+ Kh7 (28…Kh5 29.g4+ Kh4 30.Rf3 and it’s checkmate next.) 29.Rg4+ Kh6 30.Rf6+ Kh5 31.Rh4+ 1-0 (The net is complete: 31…Kg5 32.Rg6 mate.)

Up next

YAB chess open

The Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) will organize the YAB chess open at their campus in Kedah later this month. There will be two events: a Chinese chess tournament on Apr 22 and a chess tournament one day later on Apr 23. Each event, limited to 100 participants, shall consist of four categories: open, under-18, under-12 and UUM students. Entry fee: RM18. Accommodation is available at RM7 per person per night. Closing date: Apr 17. Registration forms available from Neoh Shi Ling (017.4762906, shil_neoh@hotmail.com), Yoong Kah Eng (017.6204688, kahengyoong@yahoo.com) or Yen Yee Kiat (012.5998347).

 

Larry Parr's passing

In the week that I want to share with you a few games from the recent national closed and national women’s closed championships, I received word that a familiar face in our chess circle had passed away in one of our local hospitals.

Larry Parr was a rather enigmatic person. He guarded his privacy jealously and only a privy few were let in to meet his close-knit family of wife, daughter and son. Yet, Parr’s public facade had quite a notorious streak about him. 

Many chess players worldwide would associate Parr with that well-known American institutional chess magazine, Chess Life, of which he was the editor from 1985 till 1988. He was also the author of a few books on the chess game. Plus, he surprised many with his fluency in the Russian language.

However, many people locally, and not only those in the chess circle, would probably recognize him better as the co-author of “Never Say I Assume!” which was the memoir of Datuk Tan Chin Nam, one of the pioneers of property development in Malaysia who also happened to be the honorary life president of the Malaysian Chess Federation.

To have been able to do the extensive research for that book, Parr would have stayed in Kuala Lumpur for at least the past 10 years to piece everything together but to people like me who have been involved in the game for quite a while, we will remember that he had been seen on and off in this country as long ago as the mid-1970s.

I do remember bumping into him in 1975 or 1976 and always, he would be deeply engrossed in discussing a chess game with this or that chess player who cared to sit down with him.

The more you know him, the more you’d learn that he had an elephantine memory and could be very talkative. He had stories to tell and he’d tell them in so dramatic a fashion that you’d think there’d be scandals behind them but there weren’t. He wove fascinating tales around the chess personalities. His favourite subject was Bobby Fischer and he loved to talk and write about him. 

Parr never considered himself to be a chess historian but clearly, he had a deep running interest in this subject. Once when I visited him at his old Tan & Tan office in Kuala Lumpur, he kept probing into the developments of Malayan chess in the 1950s and early 1960s but which, of course, I had no answer. That period was too long ago; it was way before my time.

But one other thing I do know about him is that he was very immersed in American and world chess politics. He had very strong views and was never afraid to speak his mind on various topics. He challenged people online and was challenged in return. Those were the early days of the Internet where instead of the World Wide Web, people were into the Usenet. 

Anyone who had joined the rec.games.chess main and sub-newsgroups could have hardly missed the no-holds-barred exchanges that Parr had with other opinionated contributors. Usually, they were a pack of more or less the same people that dominated the newsgroups to voice their opinions. But he could give as good as he received, that much I have to say about him. 

Even in the last years of his life, he was an active campaigner in other chess forums that had sprung up on the Internet. He continued sparring verbally with new people about perceived wrongs in the chess world. In his own unique way, he contributed much to the chess game.

All this will be missed. Parr’s death means that the chess world has become a little less noisy. His detractors may miss his online presence or they may not. But I do know that his friends in Malaysia will certainly miss him.

I shall end this week with two games from the recent national closed and national women’s closed championships. They were critical games for the winners of the two events. 

Lim Zhuo Ren found himself paired against a formidable opponent in the final round of his event. Though leading the pack of front-runners, he needed only a draw. However, Jimmy Liew took the game to him, and it was only with consistency and an alert mind that he weathered the storm.

Lim Zhuo Ren – Jimmy Liew

National closed championship, Round 9

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. g3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 g6 6. Bg2 Bg7 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. O-O Qc7 10. Qd2 a5 11. Na4 Rb8 12. Qc2 d6 13. Rd1 Bg4 14. h3 Bf5 15. e4 Be6 16. Bd2 Nd7 17. Rac1 f5 18. b3 Rf7 19. Be3 c5 20. Kh2 Rbf8 21. Qd2 fxe4 22. Bxe4 Bd4 23. f4 Bxe3 24. Qxe3 g5 25. Bg2 Bf5 26. fxg5 Ne5 27. Nc3 Bg4 28. Rd5 Bf3 29. Rd2 Qd7 30. Nd5 Bxd5 31. Bxd5 e6 32. Bg2 Nf3+ 33. Bxf3 Rxf3 34. Qxc5 Qb7 35. Qd4 a4 36. Rb1 Rf1 37. Rxf1 Rxf1 38. Rg2 axb3 39. axb3 Qxb3 40. Rb2 ½-½ 

Nur Nabila’s path to the women’s title also took here through several obstacles. She had to negotiate carefully through the likes of the former champions, Fong Mi Yen and Tan Li Ting. Though her game with Tan ended drawn, it had its interesting moments. For one, there was Nur Nabila’s determination to win in a largely drawn game and the other, Tan’s dogged defence to keep her half point. 

Tan Li Ting – Nur Nabila bt Azman Hisham

National women’s closed championship, Round 6

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 Bd6 5. Bg3 O-O 6. Nbd2 b6 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. O-O Bxg3 9. hxg3 Nbd7 10. Re1 c5 11. c3 Qc7 12. Qc2 h6 13. Rad1 Rac8 14. Qb1 Rfd8 15. Bc2 b5 16. Rc1 Qb6 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 Nf6 21. Qe2 cxd4 22. cxd4 Qb7 23. Rc5 Rxc5 24. dxc5 Rc8 25. b4 Nd5 26. Qb2 a5 27. a3 axb4 28. axb4 Ra8 29. Nd4 Ra4 30. Nc2 Qa8 31. Ra1 Rxa1+ 32. Nxa1 Nxb4 33. Qxb4 Qxa1+ 34. Kh2 Qa6 35. Qd4 g6 36. Qd8+ Kg7 37. Qb6 Qa1 38. Qd6 b4 39. c6 Qc3 40. c7 b3 41. Qd8 b2 42. c8=Q Qxc8 43. Qxc8 b1=Q 44. Qc3+ Kh7 45. Qf6 Qf5 46. Qb2 g5 47. Kg1 h5 48. Qe2 Kg6 49. Qc4 Qe5 50. Qc2+ Kg7 51. Qd1 Kh6 52. Qd2 Qd5 53. Qb2 e5 54. Qb6+ Kg7 55. Qe3 Kg6 56. Qb6+ Qe6 57. Qd8 f6 58. Kh2 e4 59. Kg1 f5 60. Qd2 Qf6 61. Qd5 h4 62. gxh4 gxh4 63. Qg8+ Kh6 64. Qd5 Kg5 65. Qg8+ Kh6 66. Qd5 Kh7 67. Qd7+ Kh6 68. Qd5 ½-½ 

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) kicks off this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix with the first leg at the Chinese Recreation Club in Taiping this Sunday. This is the second season of the local grand prix which will see five legs held in Taiping, Kerian, Slim River, Kampar and Ipoh until July. 

Each leg of the grand prix will be played over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. Other than the cash prizes, points will be awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

While entries have closed for the Taiping tournament, the next one for Kerian looms ahead. Entry fees for all the legs are: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). For updates, call Yunus (013.3908129) or visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com. 

Selangor open

The nation’s longest-running chess tournament is back. The Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) will organize their 38th Selangor open chess tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur from Apr 28 to May 2.

This nine-round, Fide-rated tournament will have 10 main cash prizes totaling RM7,000 with the winner receiving RM2,500. There are also various minor category prizes. Entry fees: RM70 (CAS members with Fide ratings), RM80 (CAS members without Fide ratings), RM90 (non-CAS members with Fide ratings) and RM100 (non-CAS members without Fide ratings). Grandmasters and international masters play for free. Universities, colleges and schools that submit four players or more will receive a 20 percent discount. Entries received after Apr 21 will be charged an extra RM20.

For enquiries, contact Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922, selangorchess@gmail.com), Mat Zaki Yeop (017.2032051) or Yeoh Chin Seng (012.6199816). More information available from http://selangorchess.blogspot.com 

Percawi Labour Day team

The Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Chess Association (Percawi) will organize a Labour Day team tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur on Apr 24. Six rounds, 30-minute games, four players per team. Entry fee: RM160 (companies and government departments), RM80 (schools, colleges and universities). Details available from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578) and Bob Yap (012.2878378).

 

Narrow win

In addition to Lim Zhuo Ren winning the national closed championship two weeks ago, there is also a new national women’s champion in Nur Nabila Azman Hashim. 

The national women’s closed championship, which was also being held at the same time, was an equally gripping affair. Not much actually separated the eventual champion, Nur Nabila, from her sister, Nur Najiha, who finished as the runners-up.

For much of the distance, both of them were going neck-to-neck in the tournament. Both started off the tournament on a winning note, winning their first two games, and in the third round they met one another and drew their game.

At that point, Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar had jumped into the early lead with three full points from her first three games. But that was about as far as she got with her impressive 100 percent score because immediately, she lost to Nur Najiha in the fourth round. In the meanwhile, Nur Nabila overcame the defending champion, Fong Mi Yen.

These two wins set the two sisters firmly in the lead and on a canter towards the finish line. It was only a matter of knowing whom they would be paired against in the subsequent rounds and how they would score in these games.

Nur Najiha made the first breakthrough in the sixth round as she overcame Camila Johari while Nur Nabila could only score a draw with Tan Li Ting, another former national women’s champion.

However, Nur Najiha’s sole lead in the championship was short-lived. In the seventh round, she could only draw with Li Ting while Nur Nabila easily overcame a challenge from Amira Syahmina Zulkafli. 

Now, both players were tied again. More importantly, though, they had opened up a one-point gap between themselves and their nearest rivals. That one of them would become the next national women’s champion was never a doubt; the only question was who would it be?

This far in the tournament, Nur Najiha had managed to avoid Fong Mi Yen. The defending champion had already played with Nur Nabila but not with Nur Najiha yet. In the eighth round, they met. If ever there was an occasion that Nur Najiha needed all the luck to win, this would be it. 

Unfortunately, Mi Yen was equally determined to win the game. A loss would have seen her spiral out of contention for a decent finish to this event and she wanted to avoid that. In any case, Mi Yen won the game to put a real dent into Nur Najiha’s chances. On the other hand, Nur Nabila had no problem disposing of Anis Fariha Saleh. 

With only a single round remaining in the championship, Nur Nabila suddenly found herself propelled into the sole lead for the very first time, and she still retained a one-point lead over her nearest rivals. Would she falter in the final round? It was still possible that the championship could end up tied if she lost and her nearest rivals won.

But Nur Nabila knew what to do. Paired against Camila Johari, she quickly extracted a half point from this game. This half-a-point meant that her lead would be unassailable no matter what happened on the other boards and it was enough for her to become the new national women’s champion.

Of her two closest rivals who were now fighting more for honour than the title, Nur Najiha won against Amira Syahmina Zulkafli to take the second prize while Mi Yen agreed to a draw with Li Ting. This result gave Mi Yen the third place and Li Ting the undisputed fourth place. 

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) will kick off this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix with the first leg at the Chinese Recreation Club in Taiping on Apr 10. 

This is the second series of the local grand prix which will see five legs held in Taiping, Kerian, Slim River, Kampar and Ipoh until July. Last year’s inaugural series attracted more than 900 players from around the country and were held at seven different districts in the state. PICA is confident that this year’s series would attract even greater response. 

Each leg of the grand prix will be played over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. Other than the cash prizes, points will be awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

Entry fees for the first leg in Taiping: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). Closing date: Apr 7. For more information, call Yunus (013.3908129) or visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for updates. 

Selangor open

The nation’s longest-running chess tournament is back. The Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) will organize their 38th Selangor open chess tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur from Apr 28 to May 2.

This nine-round, Fide-rated tournament will have 10 main cash prizes totaling RM7,000 with the winner receiving RM2,500. There are also various minor category prizes. Entry fees: RM70 (CAS members with Fide ratings), RM80 (CAS members without Fide ratings), RM90 (non-CAS members with Fide ratings) and RM100 (non-CAS members without Fide ratings). Grandmasters and international masters play for free. Universities, colleges and schools that submit four players or more will receive a 20 percent discount. Entries received after Apr 21 will be charged an extra RM20.

For enquiries, contact Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922, selangorchess@gmail.com), Mat Zaki Yeop (017.2032051) or Yeoh Chin Seng (012.6199816). More information available from http://selangorchess.blogspot.com 

Percawi Labour Day team

The Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Chess Association (Percawi) will organize a Labour Day team tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur on Apr 24. Six rounds, 30-minute games, four players per team. Entry fee: RM160 (companies and government departments), RM80 (schools, colleges and universities). Details available from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578) and Bob Yap (012.2878378)