I spent the better part of last fortnight watching the live games from the world youth under-16 chess Olympiad that was taking place in Izmit, Turkey. Malaysia had entered a team in this competition which attracted 26 participating teams from 20 countries.
That’s not too many countries participating, unfortunately, but many nations with a long chess-playing tradition were there. As expected, the teams from Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and India were seeded above the Malaysian team but the greater surprise was to find England, Georgia and Slovakia seeded below our team.
As the rounds progressed, I could see our team of five players – Wong Jianwen, Yeoh Li Tian, Elgin Lee, Yeap Eng Chiam and Roshan Singh – were settling down well into their games. There were fortunate victories but there were also unfortunate losses. But overall, I could sense the boys’ confidence level rising with every round.
The highlight for them was the ninth round. The team was paired against top-seeded Russia. It was a good fight but tellingly, the Russian players’ techniques were better. Still, our boys avoided a whitewash and came away with a precious draw in one of the games.
Everything now depended on their results in the 10th and final round of the competition. A strong result was required against the Moldova team, just in case some of the other competing teams happened to catapult above the Malaysians.
Our boys won but unfortunately, the win was very narrow. So despite the satisfaction of winning the match, the frustration was in seeing England, Switzerland and Slovakia putting away their weak opponents and eventually ending ahead of Malaysia in the standings.
Nevertheless, I really believe that the Malaysian boys can hold their heads up high. Imagine scoring a 2-2 draw against Syria, losing only narrowly by 1½-2½ to Kazakhstan, drawing 2-2 with Switzerland, and beating both Georgia and Moldova by similar 2½-1½ results. Very respectable performances, I should say so.
Finally this week, I would like to share with you one of the Malaysian games. This was played in the eighth round against Georgia.
Guga Burduli (Georgia) – Yeap Eng Chiam (Malaysia), Round 8
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c4 Qc7 4. Nc3 e6 5. d4 d6 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Bg5 Nbd7 9. h3 h6 10. Be3 e5 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. exd5 f5 14. Ne1 O-O 15. f4 Bd6 16. fxe5 Nxe5 17. Nf3 Bd7 18. Bd2 Rae8 19. Bc3 Ng6 20. Bd3 Re3 21. Qd2 Bf4 22. Qc2 Bg3 23. Bd2 Re7 24. Kh1 Nf4 25. Bxf4 Qxf4 26. Ng1 Qg5 27. Ne2 Bd6 28. Rf3 Rfe8 29. Raf1 Re3 30. Qd1 g6 31. Rxe3 Rxe3 32. Rf3 Rxf3 33. gxf3 Kf7 34. Qc1 Qh4 35. Qf1 Qe7 36. Qc1 g5 37. b3 Qe5 38. Qg1 Qb2 39. Qb1 Qd2 40. Kg2 Kf6 41. Qc2 Qe3 42. Qd1 h5 43. Ng3 Qe5 44. Nf1 Qd4 45. Bc2 Qe5 46. Qc1 Qe2+ 47. Kg1 Qxf3 48. Qe3 Qxe3+ 49. Nxe3 f4 50. Nd1 Bxh3 51. Nf2 Bf5 52. Bd1 g4 53. Kg2 Kg5 54. a3 f3+ 55. Bxf3 gxf3+ 56. Kxf3 a5 57. Ke3 h4 58. Kd2 h3 0-1
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Penang age group
The Penang Chess Association is holding 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 third of the five events, for players under 11 years old, will be played this Sunday. On Nov 13, the under-13 event will be played; and on Nov 20, the under-15 and under-17 events will wrap up the championship.
All the events are played at the clubhouse of the Residents’ Association of Bayan Baru in Bandar Bayan Baru, Penang. Entry fees: 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.
National scholastics
The Malaysian Chess Federation will organize this year’s national scholastics age group chess championships for boys and girls over two weekends. The under-seven, under-nine and under-11 age group events will be played on Nov 12-13 while the under-13 and under-15 events are scheduled for Nov 19-20. Seven rounds for each event, time control of 60 minutes per game.
All the events will be held at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre at the Wilayah Complex, Jalan Munshi Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur. Entry fees: RM35 (under-seven, under-nine and under-11 events) and RM40 (under-13 and under-15 events). Closing date is Nov 6 after which, entry fees will double.
The respective age group champions will be selected as the country representative at the Asian schools chess championships in New Delhi, India on Dec 16-23. For inquiries, contact Gregory Lau (012.2577123, msianchess2010@gmail.com), Zuraihah Wazir (017.2837808) or Najib Wahab (016.3382542).
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).
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 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. 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.
Penang heritage open
The Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organize the Penang heritage city open chess championship at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel, Penang on Dec 6-10. Two separate events: open and challenger sections, both internationally rated. Nine rounds with time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.
Entry fees for the open event: 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.
Entry fees for the challenger event: RM50 (PCA 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. Direct all inquiries to Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com). More information also at http://penangchess.com
Sarawak open
The Sarawak Chess Association will hold the Sarawak open chess tournament at the Ultimate Professional Centre, opposite the Pullman Hotel, in Jalan Bukit Mata Kuching, Kuching on Dec 12-16. Internationally-rated event played over nine rounds and time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.
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.
Details 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).
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