Now, don’t start me off. I’m not going to launch myself with superlatives to describe Dr Nicholas Chan’s feat in winning the annual Selangor open chess tournament for the third year in succession.
All that I’m going to say to him is, congratulations. Short and simple.
Really, there are no big words to describe Chan’s hat-trick of Selangor open achievements. He was the champion in 2009, he made a great defence of this title last year and then, earlier this week, he overcame some mid-tournament jitters to become the Selangor open champion again.
Add in his tournament victory in 2004 and Chan has won this event four times in the past eight years.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. He led until the sixth round and even reeled off five wins in a row which included a win over international master Jimmy Liew. Then Chan hiccupped in the seventh round, losing to Indian international master Srinath Narayanan. Suddenly, he found Liew, Srinath and familiar Filipino player Ian Udani leap-frogging half a point over him.
With two rounds remaining, the tournament now became alive. There were four contenders who could easily be winner of the tournament. However, some of them had still to play one another and so, there would be no easy gallop towards the finish line. The event was wide open.
In the eighth round, two of the leaders met. Udani and Srinath were paired together, but their game was drawn. Then, Chan beat Mohd Irman Ibrahim to draw level with the Indian and the Filipino. In the meantime, Liew took advantage of their lapse by disposing off his opponent, Abdul Rahim Ramli, to take the sole lead for the first time in the tournament.
So by the end of the eighth round, the standings were: Liew in front with seven points and followed by Udani, Srinath and Chan just half a point behind. The ninth and final round would be crucial.
To end up as the champion, Liew would need to win his final game. A draw might have been enough too but he could possibly be subjecting himself to a tie-break with two other players. It wasn’t a completely appealing situation but maybe, it would be better than nothing. In any case, his final-round opponent, Udani, refused to follow the same script and in a tensely fought game, the Filipino prevailed over Liew.
Srinath was also in a good position to join Udani at the top of the standings if he could beat his opponent, the newly minted national closed champion Lim Zhuo Ren. But Lim proved to be a tougher nut than expected and he put paid to any idea that the Indian player could have.
These unexpected results presented Chan with a precious lifeline which he seized gladly. Among the top contenders, he had possibly the most comfortable pairing of all. Sitting across from Mark Siew, Chan outplayed his opponent to win the game and thus finish on equal points with Udani.
But this is not the end of the story. Two players stood at the top of the standings with equal points. Who would be the champion? For Chan, his spurt of five wins in his first five games would now ensure him a much superior tie-break than Udani. And with this better tie-break came the coveted winner’s purse at the conclusion of this 38th Selangor open chess tournament.
Up next
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.
Ampang chess master
The Ampang Jaya Chess Club and the Office of the Member of Parliament for Ampang are jointly organizing the Ampang chessmaster open tournament at the Medan Selera Ampang Waterfront on May 15. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees are RM10 (school children) and RM25 (others). For more information, contact Abdul Hakim Nordin (019.3925828). To register, contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com).
Warrior weekend
The Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre (DATCC) will organize the Warrior rapid chess weekend tournament at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur on May 22. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Closing date for entries is May 20. Entry fees are RM20 (players below 12 years old) and RM30 (others). To register, contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com).
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).
MBSSKL open
The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School (MBSSKL) in Kuala Lumpur will hold the sixth MBSSKL open tounament at their school on July 23. Six rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees are RM5 (MBSSKL students) and RM15 (others). Closing date for entries is July 9. For more details, visit http://mbsskl.edu.my or contact Sanusi or Madam Yong LY (03.20782293).
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