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).