Busy days ahead

I made just some cursory mention of the Penang Heritage City open chess championship and the Sarawak open championship here in last week’s column without giving any details. 

In order that readers may start preparing themselves to participate in one or possibly both of these internationally-rated tournaments, here are some salient points that would-be participants should take note of.

First, the Penang Chess Association will hold the Penang Heritage City open at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel in Penang on Dec 6 to 10. There will be two rounds daily except for the final day which will see only one round. This is therefore a nine-round event with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

The championship will be separated into the open and the challenger tournaments, with the challenger event limited to players with FIDE ratings of not more than 2000 points or Malaysian ratings of 1750 points or below. 

There are altogether 26 prizes for the open tournament which include minor prizes for the best lady and five best PCA players. The top three prizes are RM5,000, RM2,500 and RM1,500 respectively. The challenger event will have 14 prizes with a RM500 winner’s purse. The first and second runners-up will receive RM300 and RM250 respectively. Medals are also awarded to the top five players in the under-eight, under-10 and under-12 age groups.

Entry fees for the open tournament: free for Malaysian national masters and all players with FIDE ratings of above 2300 points, RM100 (PCA members) and RM150 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 2000 and 2299 points, RM150 (members) and RM200 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1800 and 1999 points, RM200 (members) and RM300 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1600 and 1799 points, and RM250 (members) and RM350 (non-members) for players without any FIDE rating.

For the challenger tournament, entry fees are RM50 (members) and RM100 (non-members) for players with a FIDE rating, and RM100 (members) and RM150 (non-members) for unrated players. 

Closing date for all entries is Dec 1 and thereafter, all late entries will be charged double. All inquiries should be directed to Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com). There is also more information at http://penangchess.com

As for the Sarawak open, this internationally-rated event will be played at the Ultimate Professional Centre, opposite the Pullman Hotel, in Jalan Bukit Mata Kuching, Kuching on Dec 12-16. This is also a nine-round event with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

There will be two rounds every day except for the last day when only a single round is played. There are 10 main prizes with the champion set to receive RM2,500 and a trophy. The runners-up will receive RM1,500 and a trophy, while the third prize is RM800 and a trophy. In addition, the Sarawak Chess Association is offering special prizes for players in the under-16, under-14, under-12, under-10 and under-eight age groups.

Entry fees are RM25 (ladies and all players below 16 years old) and RM50 (all other participants). The closing date for entries is Dec 5.

More details are available from Morsin Ahmad (012.8949415, morsinab@sarawaknet.gov.my), Abang Mohd Reduan (019.8887786, reduan_sahari@bsn.com.my) and Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, limkhwa@gmail.com). 

Up next

Penang age group

The Penang Chess Association will hold this year’s Penang age group chess championship for boys and girls over five Sundays. Six rounds, time control of 15 to 40 minutes per game, depending on the age group. 

The first of the five events, for players under seven years old, will be played this Sunday. On Oct 30, the under-nine event will be played; on Nov 6, it will be the under-11 tournament; and on Nov 13, the under-13 event is scheduled. The under-15 and under-17 events on Nov 20 will wrap up the championship.

All the five events will be played at the clubhouse of the Residents’ Association of Bayan Baru in Bandar Bayan Baru, Penang. Entry fees are RM15 (PCA members) and RM30 (non-members). For inquiries, contact Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Frank Goon Cup

The Johor Chess Association will organize their Johor chess open tournament for the Frank Goon Cup on Oct 30. Venue will be the Level 35 of the Office Tower City Square in Johor Bahru. Depending on the number of players, there will be either six or seven rounds. Time control is 25 minutes per game.

Prizes are offered to winners in the open, under-16, under-12 and ladies categories. Entry fees: RM20 (open), RM10 (players below 16 years old). Closing date is Oct 24. For more details, contact Steven Cheong (016.7202272, steven52s@gmail.com) or Dinesh (014.6115256).

RSC rapid play

The chess section of the Royal Selangor Club will hold their annual RSC rapid play open tournament at their club premises in Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. Seven rounds, with the first three rounds on Oct 30 and the final four rounds on Nov 6. Apart from the prizes in the open section, there are also other prizes for the best under-13, under-11, under-9, veteran and lady players. Time control is 25 minutes per game, subject to final confirmation. 

Entry fees for RSC members: RM30 (single player), RM25 (family discount for two or more family members). For non-RSC members: RM40 (single player), RM30 (family discount for two or more family members). For more information, contact Wahid (016.3283160, awkarim@gmail.com) or Ajeet (012.2121372, ajeet@pc.jaring.my) before Oct 28.

Penang chess league

This year’s Penang Chess League will be held at the Dewan Sri Pinang in George Town, Penang on Dec 3 and 4. The two-day team event, organized by the Penang 

Chess Association, is open to teams from four broad categories: public sector, factories, institutions of learning and others. 

Each team shall comprise four players and an optional reserve player. Average rating per team during play should not be more than 2100 points. Seven rounds, time control of one hour play-to-finish for each game. Entry fees are RM150 (open category), RM90 (under-18 teams), RM60 (under-12 teams). Closing date is Nov 29. 

More details available from Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Giant Tampoi chess

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, The Giant Hypermarket Tampoi and the Rakan Muda Johor Bahru are jointly organizing their second Giant Tampoi junior chess tournament for under-16 and under-12 category players on Nov 13. 

Venue is the Giant Hypermarket at Tampoi, Johor. Seven rounds, 25 minutes time control. Entry fees are RM15 (under-16 players) and RM12 (under-12 players). Closing date is Nov 11. Call Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@yahoo.com) for more details.

 

Asian amateur open

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) will organize the second Asian amateur open and women chess championship in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 25 to Dec 1. The tournament is open to only Asian players who are either unrated or with an international rating of not more than 2100 points. Nine rounds with time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees are USD125 for players with international ratings and USD150 for non-rated players. Malaysians wishing to play will be charged at RM412 and RM495 respectively. Entries will close on Nov 4. 

Top prizes for the open section are USD1,500 (about RM4,500) for first, USD1,000 (about RM3,000) for second and USD800 (about RM2,400) for third. There are six other minor prizes that go down to USD200 (about RM600). For the women, there are four prizes with the best of them set to win USD400 (about RM1,200). There are also identical prizes for the four best unrated players.

All inquiries and requests for entry forms to the event secretariat (najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com) or the Malaysian Chess Federation (msianchess2010@gmail.com).