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).