Redeeming moment

For the most part of the past week, I’ve been trying to follow the Medias Kings tournament that was going on in Romania. The first time that I heard about this tournament, I thought that it would be an interesting event, seeing how the organizers had managed to invite some of the top players in the world to compete.

Leading the pack of six players in this double round-robin event was the Norwegian grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen who is currently the second highest rated player around. Then there was Russia’s Sergey Karyakin who was once the youngest grandmaster in the world and is still an immensely talented player.

Also in the field were Vasily Ivanchuk, the Ukrainian grandmaster who has climbed back to being number five in the world, top American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura who had won the strong Wijk aan Zee tournament earlier this year and the Azerbaijan grandmaster Teimour Radjabov who had recently competed in the Candidates elimination tournament.

Of course, this event being held in Romania meant that there would also be a place for a Romanian in the tournament and it fell to Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu to complete the sextet of players. Nisipeanu isn’t very well known but he is not unknown either. In 1999, he made it to the semi-finals of the FIDE world chess championship and six years ago, he had won the European individual chess championship.

But former successes counted for nothing in this Medias Kings tournament as Nisipeanu, the lowest rated player in the field of six players, found himself outclassed by most of his rivals. Most of his rivals, that is, except one. If not for Ivanchuk’s form, Nisipeanu could have found this tournament an embarrassment. Ivanchuk was so listless that I kept getting the impression that his mind was elsewhere and that he was in Romania only to fulfil an obligation to compete. 

However, the Ukrainian grandmaster was not the only disappointment of the tournament. Broadly, I found the excitement of the whole event rather below my expectations and uninspiring. Still, there were some redeeming moments, such as in this game below, which was played in the fifth round.

Vasily Ivanchuk – Sergey Karyakin

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.h3 (In case you are wondering what the players are up to, they are playing an ultra slow variation of the Guioco Piano. In my opinion, a not very inspiring choice except that soon, I was surprised by the exciting direction that the game was going to turn.) 7…Ne7 8.Re1 Ng6 (Even Black has the luxury to waste two moves in relocating his knight to a presumably better square on g6.) 

9.Nbd2 c6 10.Nf1 d5 (By allowing this centre pawn thrust, White indirectly admits that Black has already equalized.) 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Ng3 (White cannot win the e5-pawn by 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Rxe5 because of 13…Bxf2+ and the bishop cannot be captured due to the queen check on f6.) 12...h6 13.Bb3 Re8 14.Bd2 (I really don’t know. Until here, White’s game has really looked passive to me. Wouldn’t 14.d5 be a better choice?) 14…Bb6 15.Qc2 Be6 16.Rad1 (White continues to play mechanically but with this move, he totally cuts off his queen from the main play ground which is the kingside. But then, 16.Nxe5 is still not possible because of 16…Nxe5 17.Rxe5 Bxf2+, etc) 16...Bxh3! (See Diagram One)

(Black does not miss the opportunity. After this sacrifice, White is in deep trouble. Capturing the bishop loses, for example, 17.gxh3 Qf6 18.Kg2 Nh4+ 19.Nxh4 Qxf2+ 20.Kh1 Qxg3 and threatens checkmate next with …Qxh3.) 17. c4 Ndf4 18.c5 Nxg2 19.cxb6 Qf6 20.Nh2 Nxe1 21.Rxe1 axb6 (Only a miracle can save White now. Despite the recent pieces exchanges, Black hasn’t let up on his attack on the white king. The position is close to winning.) 

22.Bc3 Be6 23.Re3 Nf4 24.Rf3 Qh4 25.Bd2 Bg4 26.Qc4 Be6 (With this move, Black exchanges off the bishop and removes possible counter-threats against his f7-square.) 27.Qc2 Bxb3 28.Qxb3 Re6 29.a3 (White cannot afford to allow the black rook to capture the a2 pawn which would then expose his king to a back rank mating attack.) 29...Rae8 30.Qb4 (White tries to keep control of the e1 square but it is useless. Note that 30.Qxb6 loses to 30…Qh3 31.Bxf4 exf4 32.Rxf4 Re1+ 33.Nhf1 Rxf1+ 34.Nxf1 Re1) 30...Rf6 31.Qe4 Ree6 32.Ne2 (See Diagram Two)

(With his next move, Black signals his readiness to simplify into a winning endgame.) 32…Nxe2+ 33.Qxe2 Rxf3 34.Qxf3 Rg6+ 35.Kh1 Rf6 36.Qg3 Qxg3 37.fxg3 Rd6 (Faced with the prospect of losing a fourth pawn to Black, White decided to give up the game.) 0–1

Up next

Hillcrest open

The Sek Men Keb Hillcrest in Taman Seri Gombak, Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur will organize their first Hillcrest open tournament at the school premises on July 10. Six rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM25 (players below 18 years old), RM30 (others). Closing date for entries is July 1. For more information, contact Wong Yen Lee (017.3577788, yenlee741011_u@hotmail.com), Farah Alwani (013.3336849) or Manivannan (018.3757339).

JB Rakan Muda open

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, Rukun Tetangga Taman Sri Tebrau and Rakan Muda Johor Bahru are jointly organizing the 22nd Rakan Muda Tebrau open chess tournament at the Plaza Pelangi in Johor Bahru on July 10. Seven round Swiss with 25-minute time control. Entry fees: RM30 (open section), RM16 (under-16 section) and RM12 (under-12 section). Closing date is July 6. For more information, contact Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717 525, jb_chess_association@yahoo.com). 

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: 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).

 

Festival frenzy

Many chess players will be heaving a sigh of relief when they read this, and I mean a really big sigh. I know, because that was what I did upon learning last week that there will be a new edition of the Malaysian Chess Festival this year. 

Yes, the country’s premier chess festival will definitely continue for at least one more year. And what it means in practical terms for chess aficionados in this region is that the frenzy of almost non-stop chess activities this year will stretch from Aug 17 until Sep 10, save for a short holiday respite as the country celebrates both National Day and Aidil Fitri.

At the conclusion of last year’s Festival, there were real fears that we could have seen the last of the event in its present format. 

Datuk Tan Chin Nam, long the doyen of the Malaysian chess scene, had been hinting rather loudly throughout last year’s festival that he was going to take a sabbatical from sponsoring future major chess tournaments in the country.

When asked why, he had said that his continued presence was casting a very long shadow on the development of Malaysian chess. As long as he was putting up the money to sponsor chess events here, he feared that other sponsors would be reluctant to step into the picture.

Malaysian chess, he told me, could not depend on his largesse forever. Malaysian chess, he said, needed to seek and have other sponsors to rejuvenate the game. If he were to move out of the picture, he believed new sponsors could be found.

True enough, when the new year (2011) came around, chess organizers found that Tan had stuck to his promise not to fork out more money for chess. The hardest hit was, of course, the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur, the chess centre that bore his late son’s very name. It is to this chess centre’s credit that it has managed to reinvent itself and survive. 

Nevertheless, there would remain a big question mark over the future of the Malaysian Chess Festival, of which the Datuk Arthur Tan Malaysia open tournament was the flagship event. It was the event that attracted foreign chess masters to Kuala Lumpur; it was the event that was synonymous with the reputation of the Malaysian Chess Festival.

But in the event that there really was little funds to run a full-scale Malaysian Chess Festival, what could happen?

The worst case scenario was that the Malaysian open and the other supporting events could be scrapped and the organizers would revert back to organizing only the Merdeka chess events. If that were to happen, it would be a complete letdown for Malaysian chess and a huge blow to the foreign and local chess players who support the Festival every year. 

Therefore, scrapping the Malaysian open was not going to be a popular option. By hook or by crook, the Festival would have to go on and the organizers, a responsible lot, knew that. 

And finally, after many months of suspense and hard work to convince sponsors to continue backing the Festival, the Year 2011 Edition is announced.

So what can we expect this year? First of all, I am looking forward to the eighth edition of the Datuk Arthur Tan Malaysia open. As it still retains the name of Datuk Arthur Tan in the title, I can only presume that there is continuing sponsorship from IGB Corporation Berhad.

Then there are also the Malaysia Chess Challenge and the second Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng seniors open tournament which is sponsored by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad.

Apart from these three main events – all Fide-rated, by the way – there are four other tournaments that are now considered part and parcel of the Malaysian Chess Festival: the Swensen age group rapid chess open tournament, the Malaysian Chess Festival blitz open tournament, the Merdeka individual rapid open tournament and the 31st ASTRO Merdeka rapid chess team chess championship.

The three mentioned Fide-rated events will be played on Aug 17-25 while of the others,  the age group rapid chess open will be held on Aug 21, the blitz open on Aug 25, the Merdeka individual rapid open on Aug 26 and the Merdeka rapid chess team open event on Aug 28-29. All these events will be played at the ballroom of the Cititel Midvalley Hotel.

I mentioned earlier that the chess activities will stretch until Sep 10. This is because we mustn’t forget the fourth Kuala Lumpur open tournament. This event, now officially known as the Raja Nazrin Shah Masters & International Open Chess Championship, will take place starting Sep 4 at the Swiss Garden Hotel and Residences in Kuala Lumpur. 

This championship is under the purview of the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association and technically distinct from the Malaysian Chess Festival. There are two separate tournaments here. The first is a Masters event which is a 10-player round robin invitational grandmaster tournament that provides the invited hopefuls with the chance of attaining a grandmaster title norm. And the second is an open tournament that is something very similar to the Malaysia open tournament, that is, with title norm aspirations for the participants too. 

So basically, chess players will be rather spoilt for choice again come this August and September. If I were you, I would start thinking now about applying for my annual leave.

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association will organize the fourth leg of the second Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Grand Kampar Hotel this Sunday. Like the three previous tournaments, this leg in Kampar will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The grand final will be contested 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 Kampar 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 Jun 16. To register, call Yunus (013.3908129). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

SJKC Jalan Davidson open

The Cheras Chess Academy and Percawi will assist the SJK(C) Jalan Davidson in Kuala Lumpur to organize an open chess tournament at the school hall on Sunday. Entry fees: RM12 (students from the school and Percawi members) and RM15 (others). To register, contact Kids For Chess (03.91316474 or 016.2123578).

JB Rakan Muda open

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, Rukun Tetangga Taman Sri Tebrau and Rakan Muda Johor Bahru are jointly organizing the 22nd Rakan Muda Tebrau open chess tournament at the Plaza Pelangi in Johor Bahru on July 10. Seven round Swiss with 25-minute time control. Entry fees: RM30 (open section), RM16 (under-16 section) and RM12 (under-12 section). Closing date is July 6. For more information, contact Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717 525, jb_chess_association@yahoo.com). 

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: 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).

 

Full house

It's not often that I get to attend a MSSM chess tournament, so the fact that this year's national schools chess tournament was held in Penang meant that, by hook or by crook, I had to go and see this competition of the best of the nation's schoolboys and schoolgirls.

I was surprised when I arrived at the beach hotel in Tanjung Bunga, where the MSSM chess was taking place. The hotel was practically overrun by youthful chess players. On the sixth floor where the competition was played, the crowd had spilled out of the tournament hall into the foyer.

Players, teachers, coaches and parents: they were sprawled all over the floor. The noise level was high as the chess players, those who had finished their games and were required to leave the tournament hall, were either talking chess or in the midst of playing still more chess. 

In a corner of the foyer, the organisers had thoughtfully set up a closed circuit television to beam one or two games from the tournament hall. People were standing around and casting glances at the screen every now and then.

I looked around the foyer and picked my way gingerly towards the door of the tournament hall. I knew that once inside, I would be able to find some peace and quiet, look at a few of the unfinished games and perhaps even catch up with some familiar faces.

Of course, this MSSM being held in Penang meant that it did not surprise me to see several of the Penang Chess Association's committee members present to help in the running of the event. But I was surprised to see the Malaysian Chess Federation's secretary, Gregory Lau, there too. It was certainly a good gesture of him to lend the MCF’s presence to this national tournament.

Lau grabbed hold of me and started introducing me around as one of the pioneers of the MSSM chess movement. “You know,” he was saying, “this chap was actually playing in the very first MSSM tournament here in Penang in 1972?”

I could see people's eyes lighting up. Boy, was I uncomfortable. The very first MSSM at the Dewan Sri Pinang was 40 years ago. That really showed up my age, hasn't it? Luckily, the moment quickly passed.

But I’d like to make a swift observation between 1972 and 2011. Way back then, there were only eight state teams participating in the inaugural MSSM chess competition. The number of chess players involved? A grand total of 32 players. Boy, were we lost in the vast expanse of the Dewan Sri Pinang’s big auditorium! 

Last week, however, there were no less than 540 participants divided into three age groups (under-18, under-15 and under-12) and separated into events for teams and individuals, and boys and girls. In fact, there weren’t enough space to seat all of the players together in the tournament hall – and they were sitting elbow to elbow – which meant that the organizers were forced to adopt a novel solution which reduced the number of rounds from seven to six, and resting each age group once during the tournament. 

For the record, this is the list of winners at this year’s MSSM chess competition: 

Individual section: boy’s under-18 champion – Muhd Nabil bin Azman Hisham (Selangor); girl’s under-18 champion – Alia Anin Azwa bt Bakri (Melaka); boy’s under-15 champion – Elgin Lee Kah Meng (Penang); girl’s under-15 champion – Nur Nabila bt Azman Hisham (Selangor); boy’s under-12 champion – Muhammad Sirajuddin Munawar (Kedah); girl’s under-12 champion – Puteri Rifqah Fahada bt Azhar (Selangor).

Team section: boy’s under-18 champion – Penang; girl’s under-18 champion – Wilayah Persekutuan; boy’s under-15 champion – Wilayah Persekutuan; girl’s under-15 champion – Wilayah Persekutuan; boy’s under-12 champion – Wilayah Persekutuan; girl’s under-12 champion – Penang.

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association will organize the fourth leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Grand Kampar Hotel on Jun 19. Like the three previous tournaments, this leg in Kampar will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The grand final will be contested 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 Kampar 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 Jun 16. To register, call Yunus (013.3908129). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

SJKC Jalan Davidson open

The Cheras Chess Academy and Percawi will assist the SJK(C) Jalan Davidson in Kuala Lumpur to organize an open chess tournament at the school hall on Jun 19. Entry fees: RM12 (students from the school and Percawi members) and RM15 (others). To register, contact Kids For Chess (03.91316474 or 016.2123578).

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: 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).

 

The contender

 Boris Gelfand, the 42-year-old former Soviet chess grandmaster who emigrated to Israel in 1998, has earned the right to become the official challenger in the current world chess championship series.

Gelfand qualified from the recently concluded Candidates tournament in Kazan, capital of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic, and he will play against defending world chess champion Viswanathan Anand of India in a world title match that is scheduled for sometime next year.

In a tense final of the Candidates tournament, he defeated Russian grandmaster Alexander Grischuk in a six-game match. The first five games of the final had been drawn with neither player able to strike a decisive blow in the games. 

Before the start of the sixth and final game, many had wondered whether it would again end in a draw, as had many other games in the tournament, thereby plunging the tournament into yet another play-off to break the tie.

But this time, Gelfand managed to gain the upper hand after Grischuk mismanaged his position, and the Israeli grandmaster held on to his advantage to win the game and the match. 

This was a heartbreak result for Grischuk for after all, he had progressed through the Candidates tournament by eliminating more favoured contestants like Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively.

However, he has no reason to really complain because in the first place he was able to take part in the Candidates tournament after Norway’s leading grandmaster, the 20-year-old Magnus Carlsen, pulled out from playing. 

So as a replacement player, being able to go this far in the final was more than he had bargained for.

On the other hand, Gelfand had qualified for the Candidates tournament from the Chess World Cup in 2009, which he won. Like his opponent, Gelfand’s progress through the Candidates tournament had been a revelation. Along the way, he eliminated Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Gata Kamsky in the quarter-final and semi-final, respectively.

The only question that remains at this stage is how Gelfand will stand up against Anand in their world championship match. But that too would also be the same question asked even if Grischuk had qualified instead of Gelfand. 

Chess observers and promoters would have been happiest if the higher profile players like Carlsen, Kramnik, Aronian or Topalov had become the official challenger instead of second-line grandmasters such as Gelfand or Grischuk. But we know that it is now not going to happen.

As it turned out, people will have to sit up and take notice of Gelfand. To many people, he has always been a lower profile player living in the shadows of more well-known chess grandmasters. 

But there is no doubt that he is an excellent top chess player who has shown an ability to survive the process of elimination and qualification in a grueling event that had lasted some three weeks. Surely, that counts for something in his credentials.

Up next

Chess camp 1

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess camp at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Monday and Tuesday. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

Chess camp 2

There will be a two-day Kids For Chess camp at the Pandan Lake Club in Pandan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur next Tuesday and Wednesday. Entry fees: RM90 (player of any level: absolute beginners, beginners, intermediate and aspiring tournament player). For inquiries, contact Kids For Chess (03.91316474 or 016.2123578, http://www.kids4chess.com). 

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association will organize the fourth leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Grand Kampar Hotel on Jun 19. Like the three previous tournaments, this leg in Kampar will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The grand final will be played 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 Kampar 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 Jun 16. To register, call Yunus (013.3908129). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

SJKC Jalan Davidson open

The Cheras Chess Academy and Percawi will assist the SJK(C) Jalan Davidson in Kuala Lumpur to organize an open chess tournament at the school hall on Jun 19. Entry fees: RM12 (students from the school and Percawi members) and RM15 (others). To register, contact Kids For Chess (03.91316474 or 016.2123578).

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: 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).