Lessons from an international tourney

FROM the organiser's point of view, there were several significant games played during the Wah Seong Penang International master chess tournament last month.

In the fourth round, Malaysia's current national champion inflicted a loss on one of Indonesia's most experienced players. Jonathan Chuah, 14, is the youngest Malaysian to have beaten a grandmaster in competitive play.

Ardiansyah - Jonathan Chuah

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nc3 0-0 6.e3 h6 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.Qd2 b6 9.0-0-0 Bb7 10.h4 dxc4 11.Bxc4 Nd7 12.Qc2 Qe7 13.Ne4 c5 14.g4 cxd4 15.g5 Bxe4 16.Qxe4 Rac8 17.gxf6 Rxc4+ 18.Kb1 Nxf6 19.Qd3 Qc7 20.Nxd4 Rc8 21.Nb5 Qe5 22.Nd6 Rc2 23.Qb3 R8c6 24.f4 Qc5 25.e4 Re2 26.e5 Ne4 27.Qd3 Qf2 28.Qb5 Rcc2 0-1

One round later, yet another foreign player fell at the hands of a Malaysian. Though not as earth-shattering as the preceding game, this game showed Wong Zi Jing at his most dangerous when he has the upperhand in an attack.

Wong Zi Jing - Liu Wenzhe

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Qb6 7.Be3 Qxb2 8.Ndb5 Qb4 9.Qe2 Qa5 10.Bd2 Qd8 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 Ne5 13.Bb3 a6 14.f4 Ng4 15.Na3 b5 16.c4 Bd7 17.cxb5 axb5 18.Nxb5 Qb6 19.Bc4 Ra4 20.Rb1 Rxc4 21.Qxc4 Qf2+ 22.Kd1 f5 23.Re1 Kf7 24.Re2 Qb6 25.Nc3 Qa7 26.h3 Nf6 27.Be3 Qa8 28.Bd4 h5 29.Ke1 h4 30.Qc7 Qc8 31.Rb7 Qxc7 32.Rxc7 Be8 33.Bxf6 gxf6 34.a4 Kg6 35.a5 Bh6 36.Rexe7 Bxf4 37.Ne2 1-0

Unfortunately, one round later, Wong was brought down to earth when he walked into a prepared variation. The game mirrored a similar one Wong had played two months earlier but Lim Chuin Hoong found an appealing improvement which Wong could not solve in over-the-board play.

Lim Chuin Hoong - Wong Zi Jing

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.f3 e6 6.e4 exd5 7.e5 Qe7 8.Qe2 Ng8 9.Nc3 Bb7 10.Nh3 c4 11.Be3 axb5 12.0-0-0 Qb4 13.Nf4 Ne7 14.Qf2 Qa5 15.Bb6 Qa6 16.Rxd5 Bc6 17.a3 Ng6 18.Nxg6 hxg6 19.Rxb5 Bxb5 20.Nd5 Qb7 21.Nc7+ Kd8 22.Nxb5+ Kc8 23.Bxc4 Qc6 24.Kb1 Qxc4 25.Rc1 Qxc1+ 26.Kxc1 Nc6 27.Bc7 Ra6 28.Qe2 Ra8 29.Qc4 f6 30.Qf7 Bc5 31.Qxg7 Rxh2 32.exf6 Rh1+ 33.Kd2 Nd4 34.Qg8+ Kb7 35.Qd5+ 1-0

Lim's quest for an international master result ended when he lost a do-or-die game in the seventh round to Mok Tze Meng. This win was vital for Mok who later went on to achieve an IM result. In the game, the wily Mok paralysed Lim by simplifying the game through the exchange of many pieces. Later, he won a pawn and the game.

Mok Tze Meng -Lim Chuin Hoong

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bg5 Re8 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.cxd5 c6 12.Bc4 cxd5 13.Bxd5 Nd7 14.Rc1 Nb6 15.Bb3 Be6 16.Bxe6 Rxe6 17.Ke2 h6 18.Be3 f5 19.Rhd1 f4 20.Bc5 Rc6 21.Bxb6 axb6 22.a3 Rac8 23.Rxc6 Rxc6 24.Ne1 Bf8 25.Rd7 Rc4 26.f3 Bc5 27.Rc7 Ra4 28.Nd3 Bd4 29.Kd2 Ra8 30.Kc2 g5 31.Kb3 h5 32.h3 Re8 33.Rxb7 Re6 34.Rd7 Rg6 35.Rd5 g4 36.hxg4 hxg4 37.fxg4 Rxg4 38.Nxe5 Bxe5 39.Rxe5 Rg3+ 40.Ka2 Rxg2 41.Rf5 Rf2 42.e5 f3 43.e6 Re2 44.Rxf3 Rxe6 45.Kb3 Kg7 46.Kb4 Re5 47.Kc4 Rc5+ 48.Kd4 Rb5 49.b4 Rh5 50.a4 Rh4+ 51.Kc3 Rh5 52.Kb3 Rh1 53.Rf4 Rh5 54.Rd4 Kf7 55.Rd6 Ke7 56.Rxb6 Kd7 57.a5 Kc7 58.Rg6 Rh1 59.Ka4 Kb7 60.Rg7+ Kb8 61.a6 Ra1+ 62.Kb5 Rh1 63.Kb6 Rh6+ 64.Ka5 Ka8 65.b5 Rh5 66.Rc7 Rg5 67.Kb6 Rg6+ 68.Rc6 Rg8 69.Rh6 Rc8 70.Ka5 Rc5 71.Kb4 Rg5 72.b6 Rg4+ 73.Kb5 Rg5+ 74.Kc6 Rg8 75.Kd6 Rf8 76.Ke7 Rb8 77.Rd6 Rh8 78.Rd8+ Rxd8 79.Kxd8 Kb8 80.b7 Ka7 81.Kc7 Kxa6 82.b8Q Ka5 83.Qb3 1-0

Ng Tze Han, with nothing else remaining for him in the tournament after failing to achieve a title result, faced a daunting task against the Chinese player Liu in the final round. It is a great credit to Ng that he withstood the pressure from Liu. This interesting game was the last to finish as Liu wanted the full point to place himself more respectably in the final standings. In the end, however, he had to concede that all he could get was a half point.

Ng Tze Han - Liu Wenzhe

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Qb6 7.Nb3 e6 8.Bf4 Ne5 9.Be2 Be7 10.g4 a6 11.g5 Nfd7 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.0-0-0 b5 14.Qd4 Rb8 15.a3 0-0 16.Kb1 Nc4 17.Bc1 Bb7 18.h4 Rfc8 19.Rh3 Qb6 20.f4 Qxd4 21.Rxd4 Ndb6 22.f5 e5 23.Rd1 Rc7 24.Nd2 Rbc8 25.Nxc4 Nxc4 26.Rdd3 Nb6 27.Rhe3 Rc5 28.f6 Bf8 29.fxg7 Kxg7 30.Bh5 R8c7 31.Rf3 Na4 32.Rfe3 Nxc3+ 33.Rxc3 Rxc3 34.bxc3 Rc4 35.Bf3 Be7 36.Kb2 f6 37.gxf6+ Bxf6 38.h5 Kf7 39.Re2 Ke7 40.Bd2 Bc6 41.Re1 Ke8 42.Re2 Ra4 43.h6 Ke7 44.Re1 Rc4 45.Re2 Be8 46.Re1 Bg6 47.Re2 Kf8 48.Re1 Bh4 49.Re2 Bd8 50.Re1 Bb6 51.Bg5 Rxc3 52.Kxc3 Ba5+ 53.Kd3 Bxe1 54.Bg4 Bf2 55.Bc8 a5 56.Bb7 Bc5 57.Bc1 Bf7 58.Bc8 Bc4+ 59.Kd2 b4 60.a4 Bd4 61.Bf5 Kg8 62.Bd7 Bf2 63.Kd1 Bg3 64.Bg5 Bf4 65.Be7 b3 66.cxb3 Bxb3+ 67.Ke2 Bxh6 68.Bxd6 Bf8 69.Bxe5 1/2-1/2

UP NEXT

BPM Allegro Events

The next three legs of this year's Bank Pertanian Malaysia- sponsored national allegro chess circuit will be played in Kota Baru tomorrow, Malacca on April 15 and Kuala Lumpur on April 23.

The entry fees are RM10 for members of the organising chess association, Bank Pertanian employees, players above 50 years old and girls below 12 years old and RM15 for all other participants.

The prizes for the open section will be RM300 for the winner, RM200 for the second-placed, RM150 for third, RM100 for fourth and fifth, and RM60 for sixth to 10th. The best Bank Pertanian player will also win RM60, while the best players in the other categories will get RM50.

To register for the event contact:

Nizam Hamzah ( 09-790 9870) for the Kelantan leg;

Abdul Hamid Majid ( 03-4021 9576, fax 03-4024 4337, e-mail aham@pc.jaring.my) for the Malacca leg;

Ibrahim Yaacob ( 03-636 3082) for the Kuala Lumpur leg.

Readers in Malacca can collect the entry forms for the Malacca leg from the Mahkota Parade shopping complex, while entry forms for the Kuala Lumpur leg are available from the Riverside Restaurant at the Putra World Trade Centre.

The other legs of the Bank Pertanian Malaysia allegro series are in:

Sarawak, May 1 (contact Lim Kian Hwa 082-427 772);

Perak, May 21 (contact Dr Yee Meng Keong 05-546 4530);

Johor, June 11 (contact Stephen Cheong 07-333 9636);

Negeri Sembilan, June 24 (contact Charles Chan 06-631 7971);

Kedah, July 23 (contact Mansor Muda);

Perlis, July 24 (contact Khirluddin Darus 04-976 5485).

Free School Open

The Penang Free School will hold their annual Free School open tournament this Sunday. It will be an eight-round event with an entry fee of RM8 per person and a total cash fund of RM600.

The first prize is RM200, second RM120, third RM80, fourth RM50, fifth RM40, sixth RM30 and seventh to 10th RM20 each. There will also be prizes for the three best players in the under-15, under-12 and ladies groups, and the best performers among the under-10, Penang Free School and Old Frees players.

Closing date for entries is tomorrow. The first 200 people to register before this date will get souvenirs. To register, contact Saw Chee Wooi ( 04-8297695) or Tan Jee Jian ( 04-8284487) or e-mail pfschessclub@yahoo.com.

Union Open

The Union High School in Penang will organise their Union open tournament on April 23. This is an eight-round contest and it will be played at the school hall using a 25-minute time control. The first round will start at 8am.

Entry fee is RM10 per player. For more details, contact Teoh Sze Ni ( 04-643 7037), Grace Lee ( 04-829 6268) or Evelyn Chang ( 04-228 9829).

Selangor events

Klang Valley chess players can participate in the Chess Association of Selangor's (CAS) second quarter allegro open chess tournament this Sunday at the Sunway College in Bandar Sunway.

This event, organised by the CAS, will be contested over six rounds and features 16 prizes which include a top prize of RM100, other cash prizes, books, chess sets and free entry to the CAS third quarter allegro tournament.

Entry fees are RM10 for CAS members and RM15 for other players. However, there is an incentive for non-CAS, under-20 players from schools and colleges: they need pay only RM12 per participant if they have at least three participants from the same school or college.

On April 16, the CAS will hold its first closed junior blitz tournament at the same venue. There are nine rounds and the prizes include cash and free entry to the Selangor blitz open tournament later this year.

Entry fees are RM5 for current CAS members and RM25 for players joining the CAS for the first time.

The third Selangor blitz open team tournament will be played at the Sunway College one week later on April 23. This is a seven-round event and the top three prizes are RM200, RM120 and RM80 respectively. The best team in the schools category will receive RM100, RM75 and RM50 and certificates. CAS chess mats will also be given to some winners.

Entry fees are RM10 for CAS members and RM15 for others. Schools entering at least two teams qualify for a 20% discount from their total entry fees.

To register for these events, contact Jackie Wong ( 03-703 8237), Lim Tse Pin ( 012-298 4922) and Jason Yap ( 017-888 9121).

Tournament ends on high note

WHEN I set out to organise the Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament two months ago, one of the main objectives was to provide an opportunity for local players to achieve international master title norms.

There was no lack of title aspirants in this tournament. Apart from Mas Hafizulhilmi who was already an international master, there were five other local players who were hopeful of playing well enough to get their norms.

Unfortunately, in an event of this kind where none of the players can be considered a pushover, not everyone would be able to realise this target. Exemplary play would have to be the order of the day, and the players would have to sort it out themselves over the chess board to see who was best qualified to gain the title norm.

I had written two weeks ago that if there was anyone who could earn an international master title norm, Mok Tze Meng would be a prime candidate. As the tournament progressed, Mok proceeded to show that I was correct in my prediction.

He had a very encouraging game in the first round against Wynn Zaw Htun, stretching the Myanmar player into a long drawn endgame before they finally agreed to a draw. In the second round, Mok made short work of national champion Jonathan Chuah and continued with another win in the third round against Ng Tze Han.

Two draws then followed against Myo Naing, an international master (IM) from Myanmar, and IM Mas Hafizulhilmi before he suffered a defeat at Chinese IM Liu Wenzhe's hands. It was a loss which could have been avoided if Mok had not been overly ambitious. A safe draw against the Chinese would have seen him on an easier track towards the title norm.

Instead, Mok found Lim Chuin Hoong very determined to stop him in the seventh round. However, he managed to avoid complications when he successfully negotiated an early simplification of the position. Lim tried hard but could not win and in the end, he had to concede defeat to Mok.

In the eighth round, despite spirited play by Wong Zijing, Mok managed to pocket the full point. Finally, Indonesian grandmaster Ardiansyah's offer of a draw in the ninth round was sufficient for Mok to reach the target of six points which was the requirement for the international master title norm in this tournament.

Amidst all the excitement over a Malaysian player getting this norm was the fact that another player had also played well enough to get a similar norm. Seventeen-year-old Wynn Zaw Htun, who came into this tournament with an impressively high rating of 2,524, played solidly enough to score six points.

He had a slow start in this event: a draw with Mok in the first round was followed by a loss to Ardiansyah. But then Wynn beat Chuah in the third round, drew with Ng, Myo and Mas in the fourth to sixth rounds, and then unleashed a victory against Liu in the seventh round. Wynn put in a final spurt in the last two rounds of the tournament by defeating Lim and Wong to achieve his norm.

The nine-day tournament, sponsored by Wah Seong (M) Trading Co Sdn Bhd and played at the CitiTel Penang, was won by Mas Hafizulhilmi. This was my first opportunity to see Mas Hafizul play in an international event and I was suitably impressed with his confidence and preparation. He made all his games seem rather effortless.

He was particularly deadly against the foreign competitors and he scored victories against Ardiansyah, Liu and Myo. Wynn was the only player to give Mas Hafizul some initial difficulties but the draw was never in doubt.

He was generous with the local players at the start of the event but towards the end when it became clear that some could no longer get their norms, Mas Hafizul moved into higher gear and mopped up everyone else.

Gone are the days when the foreigners can beat our players at will--as proven by the results of this tournament. Our players are on par with the foreign players. Otherwise, how would you explain the performances of the foreign players?

Ardiansyah, Liu and Myo obviously did not play at their very best levels or else they would not have suffered embarrassing losses to our own players.

In the fourth round, Ardiansyah went down to a shock defeat at the hands of Chuah; and one round later, Wong defeated Liu. Ng's high point in the tournament was when he beat Myo in the seventh round.

Anyway, it would be too presumptous to dismiss the foreigners for not trying hard enough. I know they did try very hard. In the second round, for instance, Ardiansyah pulled himself together to defeat Wynn in a delicate endgame position. In the final round, Liu piled a lot of pressure on Ng's position but failed to make a breakthrough and had to agree to a draw.

The tournament homepage is located at http://www.geocities.com/pg-chess/WahSeong2000/index.html

UP NEXT

BPM Allegro events

Readers wishing to take part in the Penang leg of the Bank Pertanian Malaysia national allegro chess circuit this Sunday are reminded that today is the closing date for entries.

The entry fees are RM10 for members of the Penang Chess Association, Bank Pertanian employees, players above 50 years old and girls below 12 years old, and RM15 for other participants.

To register for the event, contact Ooi Kiem Boo ( 04-657 4596), Eoh Hook Kim ( 04-826 0196; e-mail: hkeoh@tm.net.my) or Chuah Soon Pheng ( 04-657 4316; e-mail: jinhai@tm.net.my). Participants are required to turn up at Kolej Damansara Utama in Anson Road, Penang, at 8am on Sunday.

The other legs of the BPM allegro series in the next couple of months are: Pahang leg on March 25 (contact Wan Abdullah 09-583 3205), Sabah leg on March 26 (Sylvester Asai 088-764 305), Kelantan leg on April 8 (Nizam Hamzah 09-790 9870), Malacca leg on April 15 (Eugene Kong 06-232 1018) and Kuala Lumpur leg on April 23 (Ibrahim Yaacob 03-636 3082).

Perak Grand Prix

Next weekend will be a busy time for the Perak International Chess Association which will be holding their annual general meeting at 9am on March 19 at Sek Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Ipoh. In conjunction with this meeting, a two-day chess competition has been planned.

The first event is a continuation of the Perak chess grand prix for their Category A players who are locally rated above 1,700. The top prize for this event is RM150, so anyone wishing to take part should be present at Sek Tuanku Abdul Rahman by 2pm on March 18. A separate one-day Category B event for players below 1,700 will be held at the same place beginning 10.30am on March 19.

Both are six-round tournaments. The time control for the Category A event is one hour, while that for the Category B tournament is 25 minutes. For more details, call W.K. Wong ( 05-366 1692).

Shah Alam open

The Selangor Library will organise the Shah Alam open tournament over four days from March 26 to 29 at the Radisson Hotel in Shah Alam. The event, sponsored by Tenaga Nasional Berhad, will feature total prize money of RM5,000.

The tournament will be divided into five categories, with each category being played on different days. The under-12 category will be contested on March 26; the entry fee is RM10 per player. On March 26 and 27, the open and student categories will be held. Entry fees are RM25 and RM15 respectively. For these events, the games will start at 2pm on the first playing date.

The under-12 team tournament will be played on March 28 while on March 29, the under-18 team tournament will be held. Entry fees are RM40 and RM60 respectively. For more details, call Hashim (03-559 7667).

National Age-Group championship

The Malaysian Chess Federation will organise the second Bank Rakyat national age-group chess championship at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur on April 1 and 2.

Entry fees are RM15 for the under-18, under-16 and under-14 events, and RM10 for the under-12, under-10 and under-8 events. Entries will be accepted until March 31. For details contact Hamid Majid ( 03-402 19576; e-mail: aham@pc.jaring.my)

Winners of the various age-group events will be considered for qualification to the world age-group chess championship in Spain this October or November.

 

10 to slug it out

TODAY is the eve of the nine-day Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament. All hostilities over the chess board will begin tomorrow at the CitiTel Penang and continue daily until March 5.

The past two months had been very trying for me as I had to cope with the organising of this event. Luckily, I had the full support of Datuk Tan Chin Nam, honorary life president of the Malaysian Chess Federation, and the assistance of friends in the chess circle, without whom my task would have been very difficult.

For instance, there was the selection of foreign players. World Chess Federation (Fide) regulations require that at least one-third of players at an international master event must be foreigners. For a 10-player event, I needed four.

Initially, I had shortlisted grandmaster Ardiansyah from Indonesia, Chinese international master Liu Wenzhe, Indonesian international master Nasib Ginting, and Myanmar Fide master Maung Maung Lwin.

However, Ginting, who for the past year had been in Malaysia, could no longer be contacted while Maung had commitments elsewhere. But Maung offered to arrange for two highly-rated players from Myanmar to play, thus I now have their international master Myo Naing and untitled Wynn Zaw Htun.

The only thing left to do was wait and see whether the four foreigners would accept this invitation to play. As a standby, I have Singapore's international master Giam Choo Kwee who could come at very short notice.

It was a long wait, especially with the Chinese player. I received a message from Beijing that Liu's passport needed renewal and he would have to apply for a visa from the Malaysian Embassy in China. Compounding this problem was the long lunar festival in China when it was almost impossible to get in touch with many people. Luckily, the problem quickly sorted itself out after a few frantic phone calls to friends in Kuala Lumpur.

Another major task was to select local players for this event. From the onset, our international masters Mas Hafizulhelmi and Jimmy Liew are automatic choices for two of the six places.

The criterion for selecting the other four was simple. The Penang Chess Association would nominate two of their players while the remaining two would be selected by going down the latest Fide rating list. Local players who were overseas or had retired from playing were automatically scratched.

Aaron Yee was the first consideration but he declined from playing due to his school work. This left the field open to Fide master Wong Zijing and national master Jonathan Chuah, and they duly accepted the offer to play.

As for the Penang Chess Association nominations, Ng Tze Han and Lim Chuin Hoong were clearly the best choices.

Soon after invitations had been sent out, it occurred to me that Mok Tze Meng would be a good addition to this event if there were more places available. After all, Mok is a very experienced player, next in line in the Fide rating list after Jonathan Chuah. If there is anyone who could earn an international master norm, Mok would be a prime candidate.

Malaysian Chess Federation's Tan gave the okay for me to expand the field to its maximum 12 players. It should have been a 12-man event in the first place, but I was working within a budget. After referring to Fide regulations, I concluded that it is legitimate to have an 11-man event or the first four games played over two days.

(Fide regulations allow for a maximum two rounds per day for an international master result. For a grandmaster result, there can be no more than two days of two rounds each but definitely not in the final three rounds.)

A peculiar number, I must admit, but there were also two other reasons for staying with 11 players. For one thing, this event would be played without a rest day and I believe the players would welcome having a round during which they can relax.

The other reason was, despite confirmation from all the local players that they would play, there was a possibility someone would withdraw later. Call it intuition if you like, but Jimmy Liew later informed me that he was withdrawing due to his unavoidable work commitments.

So there I was, down to 10 players, the original number that I started out with. All the players are arriving today but I will not be able to rest completely until I see them all!

With these 10 players, the tournament is now a Category Five. To qualify for an international master result, our Fide master and untitled players must score at least six points from nine games.

I do not think it is an insurmountable target. Gone are the days when the foreigners can whip our players at will; our players can at least be their equals now.

It is not very often that an international chess event of this sort is held in Malaysia. I sincerely hope that chess enthusiasts, even those from outside Penang, can make it a point to visit the CitiTel Penang from tomorrow until March 5 to see these players in action. The playing times are from noon to 7pm daily at the hotel's Bayan Room.

Wah Seong (M) Trading Co Sdn Bhd is the sponsor of this event, while the CitiTel Penang is the official hotel for the tournament.

For readers with Internet access, you can follow the progress of the tournament at www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Stadium/2379/WahSeong2000/index.html

Chinese demo

In conjunction with the Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament, the Penang Chess Association is arranging for Chinese international master Liu Wenzhe to give some simultaneous chess displays to schools in Penang and selected members of the association.

Tentatively lined up is a simultaneous chess display to 30 students on March 7, a clock simultaneous chess match with six senior members of the PCA on March 8, and a second clock simultaneous chess match with six top junior players on March 9.

All these programmes are scheduled for the evenings starting at 7pm. Students who wish to play against the Chinese international master on March 7 should contact Chuah Soon Pheng ( 04-657 4316 / e-mail: jinhai@tm.net.my) or Khor Bean Hwa ( 04-658 1662 / e-mail: shihong@pl.jaring.my). The fee is RM2 per student.

UP NEXT

March 12: The Penang Chess Association will hold the Penang leg of the second Bank Pertanian Malaysia allegro grand prix at the Kolej Damansara Utama premises in Jalan Anson.

The event will consist of six rounds and there is a total cash prize of RM1,500. The bulk of this prize fund will go to the main winners while RM500 is set aside for the minor winners such as the best women, under-16 or under-12 players.

Entry fees are RM10 for adults and RM5 for junior players. Closing date is March 10. Late entries will not be accepted. There is also a cap at a maximum of 100 players.

For registration, contact Eoh Hook Kim ( 04-826 0196 / e-mail: hkeoh@tm.net.my), Chuah Soon Pheng ( 04-657 4316 / e-mail: jinhai@tm.net.my) or Ooi Kiem Boo ( 04-657 4596). Registered players are required to turn up at KDU by 8am on March 12.

Intriguing tournament

THE Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament is set to become one of the most intriguing tournaments ever organised in this country. Slated to begin in 15 days' time, the tournament will feature a group of experienced, highly-regarded foreign chess players facing off against what is considered to be the cream of Malaysian chess players.

Led by two veterans--Indonesian grandmaster Ardiansyah and Chinese international master Liu Wenzhe--the foreign chess masters are obviously not interested in having a holiday here.

They are well-known for their fierce competitive spirit, so the other participants had better be well-prepared when they sit down to face the Indonesian and the Chinese across the chessboard.

Ardiansyah was one of the very first Asians to become a grandmaster. When he was at the height of his playing powers in the 70s and 80s, he could claim to be among Indonesia's top three players.

Datin Rebecca Tan, wife of the late Datuk Tan Kim Yeow, former chairman
of Wah Seong group of companies, presenting a mock cheque to Datuk Toh
Kin Woon, Penang State executive councillor and president of the Penang
Chess Association. Looking on is Pauline Tan, Wah Seong director.

However, the emergence of new players in the last decade has gradually sidelined him. With a World Chess Federation rating of 2396, Ardiansyah is presently ranked 10th in Indonesia. He remains active in chess circles there and is still capable of delivering a few stings.

Interestingly, China's Liu Wenzhe is in a similar situation as his Indonesian counterpart. In the late 70s, he was considered the strongest player in China but now, with an international rating of 2451, he is ranked only 25th in his country. But his exploits are almost legendary. Till today, Liu is held in awe, especially for his celebrated victory over the late Dutch grandmaster Jan Donner during the Buenos Aires Chess Olympiad in 1978.

At that time, China was just making its presence felt in international chess circles, so it was inconceivable to many that Donner could lose to an unknown player. Yet, in the China-Netherlands game, Liu completely smashed Donner's defence and capped the game with a queen sacrifice that rippled through the Olympiad.

The two other foreign players invited to the tournament are from Myanmar. Myo Naing is an international master with a rating of 2545 while Wynn Zaw Htun, although untitled, still has a high rating of 2524.

On the Malaysian side, we have our two international masters who are expected to lead the challenge: Mas Hafizulhelmi, who is rated 2413, and Jimmy Liew, whose rating is 2325. Others who have confirmed their participation are Fide master Wong Zijing (rated 2324), Jonathan Chuah (rated 2271), Mok Tze Meng (rated 2270), Ng Tze Han (rated 2216) and Lim Chuin Hoong (rated 2214).

It will be interesting to follow the fortunes of our local, untitled players in this event as all of them will certainly aspire to play well enough to gain their first international master title norms. If any of them achieves the norm, it is by no means a guarantee that they will have the title but, nevertheless, it will be the first of several stepping stones towards becoming a master.

At Wednesday's cheque presentation ceremony in Penang, Datin Rebecca Tan of the Wah Seong Group of Companies presented a cheque of RM40,000 to Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon, State Executive Councillor and president of the Penang Chess Association (PCA). The Wah Seong Group are the sponsors of the tournament while CitiTel Penang is the official hotel.

Busy year ahead for local chess

If this year's chess calendar--released recently by the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF)--is anything to go by, it promises to be a year jam-packed with activities for chess enthusiasts of all playing levels.

It's only the second month of the new year but both the Chess Association of Selangor and the Perak International Chess Association have already held a few programmes for their members.

From this month onwards, the Bank Pertanian Malaysia-sponsored national allegro chess circuit starts anew. The circuit is now in its second year and, according to the MCF calendar, the first leg was organised by the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia at the start of this month in conjunction with Federal Territory Day.

Altogether, there will be 14 regional legs which the various state chess associations are scheduled to hold. The second leg will be played in Kuala Terengganu on Feb 25, the Selangor leg in Petaling Jaya follows two days later.

The other legs in this series are Penang (March 12), Kota Kinabalu (March 26), Kota Baru (April 14), Kuantan (April 16), Kuala Lumpur (April 23), Kuching (May 1), Ipoh (May 21), Johor Baru (June 10), Malacca (June 11), Seremban (June 26), Alor Star (Aug 12) and Kangar (Aug 13).

At the end of these legs, the final will be played in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 6 and 7. For the grand final, the winners of the various regional legs will be invited to join the paying participants to compete for the grand prizes on offer.

Next month, the programmes will include a three-day inter-university chess competition organised by Universiti Telekom in Malacca beginning March 10, the 14th Royal Selangor junior open tournament for the under-12 and under-18 organised by the Chess Association of Selangor on March 11 and 12, and the second Perak International Chess Association tournament in Ipoh on March 18 and 19.

The Selangor asssociation will also hold its closed allegro tournament on March 19, followed by the 14th Royal Selangor junior open tournament for the under-14 and under-16 on March 25 and 26.

One of the main local events that many chess players look forward to is the national men's and women's closed chess championships. These two MCF events are traditionally held in December but the federation has now decided to bring them forward to the first half of the year.

Thus, the Year 2000 edition of the two championships will be played beginning on March 31 and they will continue until April 4. On April 1, the federation will also be having its annual general meeting with the main item on the agenda most likely being the biennial election of new office bearers.

Some of the other events that will take place in April are the second Chess Association of Selangor allegro open tournament on April 9, the association's third blitz open tournament on April 23 and the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia-organised Labour Day team tournament which will be played from April 29 till May 1.

May and June are similarly quite busy months for chess organisers with Chess Association of Selangor planning the most number of activities. For instance, there will be the closed under-20 team tournament on May 20 and 21, the 27th Royal Selangor open chess tournament from May 31 to June 4, the third girls open tournament on June 3 and 4, the Royal Selangor under-18 grand prix on June 11 and 18, and the inter-institution team tournament on June 24 and 25.

The MCF will not be sitting still as it has its own chess events lined up. After the national closed championship in March/April, there will be a Government versus Private Sector match scheduled for May 18, and the national youth age-group chess championship which the federation will co-organise with the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia from May 28 to 30.

Almost immediately after the end of this event, two groups of Malaysians and Singaporeans will have the opportunity to renew their rivalry over the chessboard when the federation plays host to this year's annual Malaysia-Singapore match on June 2 and 3 in Kuala Lumpur.

The other significant federation event this year will be the annual Merdeka team chess championship in Kuala Lumpur from Aug 31 to Sept 3.

Apart from these tournaments, there is the third Perak International Chess Association tournament in Ipoh on May 13 and 14, the Selangor Merdeka tournament which will be organised on July 1 and 2 by the Majlis Perbandaran Shah Alam, the fourth PICA chess tournament in Ipoh on July 13 and 14, the Terengganu open tournament in Kuala Terengganu on Aug 5 and 6, the Kuala Kubu Baru Merdeka tournament organised by the Persatuan Catur Kuala Kubu Baru on Aug 23, the Malay Masters tournament organised by the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia in Bangi (Selangor) from Oct 26 to 28, and the Universiti Malaya Second College's seventh Grand Asian Chess Challenge sometime in October.

Although the MCF has done a commendable job in collating the activities of the various state chess associations into the Malaysian chess calendar, it is quite obvious that the list is not complete as some of these chess bodies have not been able to release their own calendars to the MCF.

The activities of the Penang Chess Association (PCA), for example, are not included in the federation's calendar but it is well-known that yearly, the PCA will hold its Penang Chess League over a number of consecutive Sundays from June to mid-August. There is also the Penang grand prix chess circuit, played over four legs over the course of the year and which culminates in the Penang closed championship.