Hou retains title

WELL DONE!

The picture shows our woman Fide master Nur Najiha bt Azman Hashim (left) and international master Lim Yee Weng proudly showing off their bronze medals that they won in the mixed pair chess competition at the recent SEA Games in Indonesia. 

These were the only medals won by the Malaysian contingent at the biennial games and they came at the expense of the Indonesian mixed pair, only because the regulations favoured determining results by match points instead of game points. 

The Malaysian pair had lost badly to Vietnam and the Philippines, gold and silver winners respectively, but had chalked up good victories against Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand, thus collecting six match points.

By comparison, the Indonesian mixed team had beaten Myanmar and Thailand, drawn with Vietnam and lost to the Philippines and Malaysia, to give them only five match points.

If game points had instead been used in this competition, the situation would have been reversed and the Indonesia team would have ended up ahead of Malaysia. So for once, the regulations were in our favour. My congratulations to the two bronze medallists. 

HOU RETAINS CROWN

At the end, it was a Humpy Koneru collapse of form that effectively ended her challenge in the women’s world chess championship match in Tirana, Albania.

When I was writing last week’s column, Humpy had just fallen behind by two games, having lost the third game and then the sixth game. 

And then, before I could even steel myself for her comeback in this match, the Indian grandmaster lost the seventh game as well. At the end of the game, she admitted that she was suffering from a loss of form.

But to my mind, it was more than a loss of form that did her in. Her nerves failed her as well. Humpy got herself into severe time pressure and she couldn’t cope with it. She made some pretty weak moves at critical stages in her games and her opponent, the defending women’s world champion, 17-year-old Hou Yifan  (pictured), punished her with some powerful play.

According to Hou, her opponent could have been under some great psychological pressure to perform too, especially since the Chinese grandmaster was already leading in the match.

The moment that Hou won the seventh game, Humpy knew that the end was near. Theoretically, she could still tie the match but it would mean having to win the last three games in a row. Practically, it was an impossible task and she knew it.

So in the eighth game, as soon as it became clear that there was no advantage to gain in the position, Humpy agreed to draw it. And with it, Hou had defended her women’s crown successfully.

Up next

Penang chess league

Teams participating in this weekend’s Penang Chess League are reminded of the change in venue to the SJKC Kheng Tean in Van Praagh Road, Penang. The two-day 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).  

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 heritage city open chess championship kicks off on Tuesday at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel, Penang on Dec 6-10. There are two separate events: the open and challenger sections, and both are internationally rated. There will be nine rounds played with a 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. 

Although the closing date was yesterday, the organisers, the Penang Chess Association, will still accept late entries but the participants are 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, 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

Entry fees: Free for grandmasters and international masters (men and women), 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). 

 

Imagine that

As expected, there’s no live coverage at all of the nine chess competitions at the SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia. The only details that are available from the official website are the round-by-round results.

Fortunately, the people running the chess competitions are all experienced international chess arbiters and they have taken a lot of trouble to ensure all the results can be viewed on the Chess-Results.com website. This is the only consolation so far.

The SEA Games are actually already winding down both in Jakarta and Palembang, and accordingly so too are the chess competitions. The men’s and women’s standard chess events and the rapid chess events started yesterday and will end on Monday. A blitz chess competition also on Monday will bring the proceedings to a close.

Earlier this week, the mixed pair standard chess team, the ASEAN chess individual and the blindfold chess individual events have been completed.

Like I mentioned last week, our blindfold chess players – I mentioned only Mok Tze Meng but have discovered subsequently that Jimmy Liew was also playing in the blindfold event – arrived in Indonesia not knowing what to expect from the organisers, only to find out later that during the blindfold games, a player and his opponent would be seated at an empty chess board.

There would be no dramatic blindfolds to cover their eyes. Instead, they were allowed to stare and concentrate on the empty squares of the chess board while their pieces danced and jiggled around in their minds. 

When they decided on a move to make, they would write down that move in long form algebraic notation on a piece of paper that they would pass on to the game controllers who then verified the moves on a normal chess board (with chess pieces) that would be out of the players’ sight. 

And the most newsworthy part was that infractions of the tournament rules, such as making an illegal move or not writing down the moves properly, would lead to the arbiters rendering YELLOW cards to the players after giving them an initial verbal warning. 

After two yellow cards, the third infraction during a game would lead to a RED card, which meant the automatic loss of the game. Very interesting regulation, indeed.

Let’s have a look at one of the games from the third round of the blindfold event. Perhaps by playing through this game, you can appreciate how much the players can compute even without sight of the chess board. Le Quang Liem is Vietnam’s top grandmaster but still, he managed to lose a blindfold game one round later to a Pinoy player.

Zaw Win Lay (Myanmar) – Le Quang Liem (Vietnam) 

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nd2 e6 5.Nb3 c5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.Nxc5 Qa5+ 8.c3 Qxc5 9.Be3 Qc7 10.Nf3 Nc6 11.Bb5 Nge7 12.Bc5 Bg4 13.0–0 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 Qxe5 15.Rfe1 Qc7 16.c4 0–0–0 17.cxd5 Rxd5 18.Rac1 Nf5 19.a4 Kb8 20.b4 Rhd8 21.Bf1 b6 22.Be3 Nxe3 23.Qxe3 Re5 24.Qc3 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Nd4 26.Qh3 h6 27.Qg4 Nf5 28.a5 Rd4 29.Re4 Rxe4 30.Qxe4 bxa5 31.bxa5 Qxa5 32.g4 Nh4 33.Qf4+ Qc7 34.Qb4+ Ka8 35.Qf8+ Kb7 36.Qxg7 Qf4 37.h3 Nf3+ 38.Kg2 Ne5 39.Kg1 a5 40.Bg2+ Kc7 41.Qf8 a4 42.Qc5+ Kd7 43.Bf1 Nf3+ 44.Kg2 Nd4 45.Kg1 Ke8 46.Bg2 Kd8 47.Qf8+ Kd7 48.Qc5 Ne2+ 49.Kf1 Qc1+ 0–1

I had also mentioned last week about the start of the women’s world chess championship match between 17-year-old Hou Yifan of China and 24-year-old Humpy Koneru of India in Tirana, Albania.

They are already playing the fourth game of the match today. If the match goes the full distance, it will end on Nov 30 with the tie-break games. You can follow the match live from the official website, http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com. The games start at 10pm Malaysia time.

Up next

Penang age group

The Penang Chess Association is holding this year’s Penang age group chess championship for boys and girls over five Sundays. The final two events, for players under 15 and 17 years old, will be played this Sunday. Venue is 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) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

National scholastics

The Malaysian Chess Federation will organise this year’s national scholastics age group chess championships for boys and girls over two weekends. The under-13 and under-15 group events will be played tomorrow. Seven rounds for each event, time control of 60 minutes per game. Venue is the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre at the Wilayah Complex, Jalan Munshi Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur. Entry fees: RM40 (under-13 and under-15 events). 

The respective age group champions will be selected as the country representatives at the Asian schools chess championships in New Delhi, India on Dec 16-23. For inquiries, contact Zuraihah Wazir (017.2837808) or Najib Wahab (016.3382542).

Asian amateur open

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) will organise 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. Closing date for entries is extended to Nov 14. 

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).

Penang chess league

This year’s Penang Chess League will be held on Dec 3 and 4. Pending confirmation from the Penang Chess Association, there may be a change in the playing venue. 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 organise 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, 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, 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

Entry fees: Free for grandmasters and international masters (men and women), 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). 

 

SEA Games chess starts

By the time you read this, our chess contingent of five men and four women should have arrived in Indonesia for the SEA Games. 

Altogether, there are nine separate competitions and consequently, nine gold medals at stake. First off for our players will be the mixed pair standard chess, the men’s individual ASEAN chess and the men’s individual blindfold tournaments from tomorrow until Wednesday.

Then on Nov 17 to 20, the women’s and men’s individual rapid chess tournaments will be played. Almost concurrently on Nov 17 to 21, there will also be the women’s and men’s individual standard chess tournaments. And finally, wrapping up the chess events will be the women’s and men’s individual blitz chess tournaments on Nov 17.

Our players donning the Malaysian colours at the SEA Games chess competitions are international masters Mas Hafizulhelmi, Lim Yee Weng, Jimmy Liew and Mok Tze Meng, Sumant Subramaniam, woman candidate master Nur Nabila Azman, woman Fide master Nur Najiha Azman, Tan Li Ting and Camilia Johari.

I was rather intrigued by the inclusion of a blindfold chess competition as one of the events. When I asked Malaysian Chess Federation secretary Gregory Lau about this, he professed bafflement as there was very little information how the organizers would be going about with it. 

Would the players actually be blindfolded or would they be staring at a computer screen with a blank chess board or would they be passing their moves on little bits of paper through the arbiters or …?  

Lau could not say but he did confirm with me that Mok would be our representative in this event. “It is already challenging enough to compete in normal games. What more playing without sight of the board or the pieces? Nevertheless, Mok could be our best bet to play blindfold chess,” he told me. 

I would want to wish our national players the best of luck because they will certainly need to play at their best. In South-East Asia, the two formidable chess power houses are Vietnam and the Philippines. And of course, the host country, Indonesia, is not far behind. Traditionally, their players are very strong too.

It will be great if we are able to follow the progress of the SEA Games chess through the Internet but don’t be surprised if we are unable to do so. I’ve seen nothing from the official SEA Games website that would suggest any real-time coverage. If at all, we may have to be satisfied with the final results only.

Apart from the SEA Games, one other international chess event looming next week is the start of the women’s world chess championship match between 17-year-old Hou Yifan of China and 24-year-old Humpy Koneru of India in Tirana, Albania, from Nov 14 until Nov 30.

Hou is the reigning women’s world champion, having won the title last year in a 64-player knock-out event. The regulations of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) required her to defend the title this year against the winner of the FIDE women’s grand prix cycle 2009-2011 but since Hou herself had won the chess grand prix, runner-up Humpy Koneru became the challenger instead.

According to the world standings, Humpy Koneru is rated higher than Hou and as such, hopes are running high in India that their player may be able to wrest the title from the Chinese girl. If this does happen, India will be in a unique position to boast of two world chess champions – both the men’s and the women’s chess titles – at the same time. 

However, having a higher ranking does not automatically mean that winning the match is a certainty for the Indian. Neither does past success guarantee new success in the future. This is something that the Chinese player is fully aware of. In previous head-to-head encounters at classical time control, Hou holds a six-game margin over Humpy Koneru, having beaten her in eight games while losing only two games and drawing six others. However, chess fortunes can easily change in this match which is contested over 10 games.

Unlike the SEA Games chess, it will be possible for us to follow the games of the women’s world chess championship match live from the official website, http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com

Last week, I showed one Malaysian game from the world youth under-16 chess Olympiad. Here is another interesting game from the last round of the event. It has a nice display of tactics and Black was probably lost by the 17th move.

Roshan Singh (Malaysia) – Egor Procop (Moldova)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 d6 4. Nc3 g6 5. e4 Bg7 6. f4 O-O 7. Nf3 a6 8. a4 e6 9. Bd3 exd5 10. cxd5 Re8 11. O-O Nbd7 12. Nd2 Rb8 13. Nc4 Nb6 14. e5 dxe5 15. fxe5 Nfxd5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Nd6 Rf8 18. Bc4 Bxe5 (see diagram) 19. Nxf7 Bxh2+ 20. Kxh2 Qh4+ 21. Kg1 Qxc4 22. Nh6+ Kg7 23. Rxf8 Kxf8 24. Qf3+ Ke7 25. Bg5+ Kd7 26. Rd1 Kc6 27. Nf7 Kb6 28. a5+ Ka7 29. Rxd5 Be6 30. Rxc5 Qb4 31. Qe3 Ka8 32. Nd8 Bf5 33. Rc7 h6 34. Nc6 1-0

Up next

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 fourth of the six events, for players under 13 years old, will be played this Sunday. 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 tomorrow and on Sunday, 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. 

Venue will be 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 this Sunday. 

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. Closing date for entries is extended to Nov 14. 

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 on Dec 3 and 4. Pending confirmation from the Penang Chess Association, there may be a change in the playing venue. 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.

 

Down to the wire

Last weekend, the national selection trials for the SEA Games continued from where it had left off two weeks earlier. 

When the men’s trials took a break in mid-event, international masters Mas Hafizulhelmi and Jimmy Liew were in the joint lead with four points from their first five games. One point behind them were international master Lim Yee Weng, current national champion Lim Zhuo Ren and Sumant Subramaniam. Further back were international master Mok Tze Meng, former national champion Kamalariffin Wahiduddin, Fong Yit San, Fong Yit Ho and Tan Jun Feng.

The race in the women’s selection trials was equally tight. At the midway stage, former national women’s champion Fong Mi Yen and Camilia Johari were both in the lead with four points and right behind them were the current national women’s champion, Nur Nabila Azman Hisham, and her sister, Nur Najiha Azman Hisham. Further back were Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar, Tan Li Ting, Sarika Subramaniam, former national women’s champion Nurul Huda Wahiduddin, Tang Kar Khei and Puteri Munajjah Az-zahra Azhar.

Normally, half-way standings can give a pretty good guide on how tournaments will turn out at the end but at the same time, they can be pretty misleading too.

The only non-surprise in the men’s selection trials was the consistency of Mas Hafizul in demonstrating that he was, perhaps, still the top player in the country. By the end of the tournament on Sunday, Lim Yee Weng had climbed up above Jimmy Liew in the standings although technically, both of them were tied in joint second place. 

There was a dead heat tie for the fourth and fifth places by Sumant and Kamalariffin, which even the tie-break systems were unable to resolve, but more about that later. And further down the list, Lim Zhuo Ren was in sixth place above his coach and mentor, Mok Tze Meng, who was in seventh position. Finishing below them were Fong Yit San, Tan Jun Feng and Fong Yit Ho.

And in the women’s selection trials, Fong Mi Yen had a rude awakening when she was bumped off the perch and could only finish joint fifth with Puteri Rifqah. Nur Najiha came triumphant to top the table while sandwiched in between the three of them were Tan Li Ting, Camilia Johari and Nur Nabila. In the second half of the table were Puteri Munajjah, Nurul Huda, Sarika and Tang Kar Khei.

Fong Mi Yen would be deeply disappointed with her play over the weekend because finishing in fifth place meant that effectively, she had missed qualifying for the four places in the women’s chess team that would be going to this year’s SEA Games in Jakarta. 

There would also be four places in the men’s chess team and three of these places are filled by Mas Haifzul, Lim Yee Weng and Jimmy Liew. Determining the last qualifier was more problematic and both Sumant and Kamalariffin had equal points and equal tie-breaks. Moreover, they had also drawn with one another in this tournament.

In order to break this tie, the Malaysian Chess Federation organized a play-off mini-match of two rapidchess games. Sumant won the first game but then, Kamalariffin struck back to win the second game. 

It was a tie again. According to the regulations, the two players now had to play two blitz chess games. Blitz games are normally played with five minutes on the chess clock so you can imagine tension running high in the two games. But then, there were still no decisive results when the two blitz games ended. Sumant and Kamalariffin were still tied.

The final resolution was to play Armegeddon blitz chess. Here, one player would be allotted five minutes on his chess clock while the other was given four minutes. The player with five minutes would be required to win his game, no if’s and no buts. If the game ends drawn, the player with four minutes would be adjudged the winner.

So this was going to be the decisive moment. There would be no more second chance for either player. In this game, Kamalariffin cracked and lost, thereby sending Sumant to the SEA Games. 

 

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 in Slim River on Sunday. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: 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). 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 Sunday. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: 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: RM20 (players below 12 years old) and RM30 (others). To register, contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com). 

Giant Tampoi youth open

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, Rakan Muda Johor Bahru and the Giant Hypermarket Tampoi are jointly organizing the Giant Tampoi youth tournament at the hypermarket in Tampoi on May 29. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM15 (players under 16 years old) and RM12 (players under 12 years old). Closing date for entries is May 25. More details available from Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@jyahoo.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: 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).

 

Vietnam is champ

 

To the Philippines

 

Medals and milestone

 

Onward to the Games

 

New York remembered

DID the sight of the two aeroplanes slamming into New York’s World Trade Center on Sept 11 shock you? It most certainly sent a chill down my spine. Undoubtedly, other chess players in the country would have been equally stunned even though the terrorist attack happened half-way round the globe.

However, I believe the two chess players who would have been most affected by the event were Gary Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand. Exactly six years ago to the very date, the two of them were playing a high profile match in New York. The event began on Sept 11, 1995, and it was to last four weeks. The venue of their match was the observation deck on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. So, when the north and south towers came crashing down, a part of chess history was also wiped out.

Physical aggression, fortunately, is not the normal way of life for chess players. The only aggression that we display is on the chessboard. Even then, we prefer to let our 32 pieces do the talking and when the game is done, we chess players return to reality.

Vietnam sweeps all

Despite the relatively low-key efforts of the Malaysian Chess Federation in organising the first SEA Games chess championship, the event was a resounding success.

Even though chess was only a demonstration game this year, eight of the SEA Games nations came together to support this historical event at the Mid-Valley Megamall shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur.

There weren’t any cash prizes offered in either the team or individual events, but the group of grandmasters (GM), international masters (IM) and other players taking part in this competition was more interested in competing for the honour of being the SEA Games champions rather than winners in financial terms.

When was Vietnam ever considered a chess powerhouse in this region? Decades ago, when one spoke about chess in South-east Asia, it was always Indonesia and the Philippines that were recognised as the strongest chess-playing nations.

With the next SEA Games scheduled for Hanoi in 2003, the Vietnamese contingent would have something positive to show their country’s Olympic Council when they get home. It will be good for chess.

The team competition went Vietnam’s way as they carved a narrow 2.5–1.5 victory over the Philippines in the finals. Vietnam’s GM Nguyen Anh Dung drew with GM Roger Antonio but after Le Dinh Tuan lost to Rolando Nolte, it was up to GM Tu Hoang Thong and Nguyen Thanh Son to pick up the winning points from Richard Bitoon and Nelson Mariano respectively.

Interestingly, the Vietnamese were lucky qualifiers for the semi-finals. In the preliminary stage of the team event, they had lost to the Filipinos by a large 1–3 margin. After they picked up a 4-0 score from Thailand, they managed to squeak into the semi-finals with a narrow 2.5–1.5 score against Malaysia.

The Malaysians were very game fighters. In the first round of the preliminaries, they had thrashed Thailand 3.5–0.5 and in the second round, had put up a very good fight against the Filipinos. IM Mas Hafizulhelmi drew with Antonio while Lim Chuin Hoong beat Richard Bitoon. However, Wong Zi Jing and Ismail Ahmad could make no headway against Idelfonso Datu and Nolte.

The match against Vietnam was crucial for Malaysia. At that point, both teams were tied with five points each, and the team that would win this match in the preliminaries would join the Philippines in the top half of the semi-final play-offs.

As it turned out, it was a very hard-fought encounter. Lim drew with IM Phan Minh Hoang while Lim Yee Weng won against Le. However, both Mas Hafizulhelmi and Wong could make no progress against GMs Nguyen Anh Dung and Tu who dug deep into their resources, and could not prevent Vietnam from taking the match.

I wish to stress that the Malaysians’ failure to progress to the top half of the semi-finals is not a true reflection of their chess strengths. I believe we had been drawn into a tougher preliminaries group. With a bit more luck, the tide could have turned our way. After all, when everything was considered, both finalists – Vietnam and the Philippines – had qualified from the same group as the Malaysians.

In the bottom half of the semi-finals, Malaysia easily accounted for Brunei 4–0, and in the play-off for the fifth and sixth places, Malaysia met Singapore and both teams played to a 2–2 score. Wong lost to Chan Peng Kong while Lim beat Jeremy Lim. Mas Hafizulhelmi drew with GM Wu Shaobin while Lim Yee Weng drew with Navin Sawalani.

The individual’s events were equally entertaining. Following the new World Chess Federation format for the world chess championship, it was held as a knockout contest. The men’s individual gold medal was won by GM Tu who beat Singapore’s GM Wu in the semi-finals and Indonesia’s Irwanto Sadikin 1.5–0.5 in the finals. Vo Hong Phuong won the women’s gold medal by beating her compatriot Nguyen Ngan Binh 2–0 in the finals.

In the men’s individual, Malaysia’s interests were represented by Lim Yee Weng, Lim Chuin Hoong, Ismail Ahmad and Mok Tze Meng. Unfortunately, only Lim Chuin Hoong managed to make any progress here.

Lim Yee Weng was eliminated by GM Tu, Ismail by Myanmar’s IM Myo Naing, while Mok lost to GM Antonio, all by identical 1.5–0.5 scores. Meanwhile, Lim Chuin Hoong took his game with Myanmar GM Zaw Win Lay to a play-off when they tied at 1–1. In the play-off, Lim qualified for the second round when he proved to be a notch better than his opponent. In the second round, Lim again beat IM Myo Naing by a 2–1 margin but in the third round, he was eliminated 1–2 by Indonesia’s Irwanto.

Siti Zulaikha was the one of two Malaysian players who went through to the second round of the women’s event. She created an upset by upstaging Indonesia’s IM Upi Tamin Darmayana in the first round, but could not find the resources to beat the eventual women’s silver medallist.

Norshazwani Zulkafli was the surprise winner over fellow Malaysian Lim Jean Nie but she was, however, beaten by Filipino IM Cristine Mariano in the second round.

Our other women representatives who played and were eliminated in the first round were Lim Han Ying, Haslindah Ruslan, Lim Jean Nie and Effalini Farid.