High drama in New York

The latest news received through the Internet on Wednesday morning was that Gary Kasparov has won the 14th game of his US$1.5 million (RM3.75 million) world chess championship match with Viswanathan Anand in New York.

This result, coupled with a crushing 13th round victory one day earlier, means that Kasparov has taken a commanding 8.5-5.5 lead in the best-of-20-games match series and is set to retain his Professional Chess Association world title. He needs only two more points to take the winner's purse of US$1 million (RM2.5 million).

The Indian grandmaster's form seems to have collapsed and he is putting up little resistance this week. If Kasparov keeps piling up the pressure, who knows, the match may even set a premature conclusion this weekend!

What an dramatic change in the course of events. As reported last week, Viswanathan Anand was the first to draw blood when he won the ninth game of the match at New York's World Trade Center.

But the euphoria in his camp was short-lived. There was little time for him to savour the win. In the 10th game, Kasparov uncorked a gem and won an almost flawlessly played game to bring the match back to an even keel.

Worse was to come for Anand. Kasparov won the 11th game when Anand fell into a very obvious trap. For the first time, the defending champion had taken the lead in the match.

Viswanathan Anand - Gary Kasparov, Game 9

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.O-O Be7 8.a4 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.f4 Qc7 11.Kh1 Re8 12.Bf3

(In previous games, Anand had chosen 12 Bd3 but now, 12 Bf3 is played to direct his bishop at Black's queenside.)

12...Bd7 13.Nb3 Na5 14.Nxa5 Qxa5 15.Qd3! Rad8 16.Rfd1 Bc6 17.b4!

(Although it looks very strong and natural, this move is forced or else Black will play ...d6-d5 with strong counter play in the centre. The excitement level among the spectators rose instantly when this move was played.)

17...Qc7 18.b5 Bd7 19.Rab1 axb5 20.Nxb5 Bxb5 21.Qxb5 Ra8

(According to US grandmaster Yasser Seirawan, Kasparov's worried expression betrayed his lack of confidence in his position. White's active pieces are superb compensation for his slight structural weaknesses. If 21...Qxc2?, Black's queen is trapped after 22 Rfc1 Qa2 23 Ra1.)

22.c4 e5

(Or else White will play e4-e5 himself.)

23.Bb6 Qc8 24.fxe5 dxe5 25.a5 Bf8?

(Seirawan said Black has a good drawing chance after 25...Bd8! 26 Qxe8+ Nxe8 27 Rxd8 Qxd8 28 Bxd8 Rxd8 29 Rxb7 Ra8!, etc.)

26.h3 Qe6 27.Rd5!

(Offering the Exchange. Anand later said 27 Rd5 was necessary because the attack on the e5-pawn stopped Black's pieces from moving around. The move was more to prevent ...Rec8 and ...Qc6 if Anand pushes his pawn to c5.)

27...Nxd5??

(Instead of the better 27...g6, Kasparov grabs the rook. But it becomes immediately clear that he has badly miscalculated. White's bishops and central pawns now dominate the game.)

28.exd5 Qg6 29.c5 e4

(Afterwards, Anand told the 2000-odd audience at the World Trade Center: "After 29 c5, I knew I was going to win or he was was going to have to do something drastic. Maybe 28...Qf5 was better, but he would still be worse anyway. Perhaps he should have played 27...Rec8.")

30.Be2 Re5 31.Qd7!

(A crusher, combining both attack and defence. White's d5-pawn is defended while he also guards his kingside and attacks the b7-pawn.)

31...Rg5 32.Rg1 e3 33.d6 Rg3 34.Qb7 Qe6

(One last threat: 35...Rxh3+ followed by checkmate on the next move, but White parries it.)

35.Kh2 1-0

(After 35...Qe8, 36.Qxa8 leaves Black with nothing. The first victory of the match brought Anand a standing ovation.)

When Anand addressed the audience after the game, IM Maurice Ashley asked: "Was 27 Rd5 a dare?"

Anand laughed a little. "It was so pathetically obvious, it was hardly a dare, more of a beg."

A day after the ninth game, the 10th game was played. It was a triumph for home preparation. Kasparov played a stunning idea which launched a series of sacrifices. Anand was swept away in a tide of complications and his legendary speed of play, which had earned him the nickname "Speed King", deserted him completely.

On the other hand, Kasparov moved quickly and would then retire to his dressing room, leaving his opponent deep in thought. When Anand would finally move, Kasparov would briefly reappear and make his reply within seconds. Kasparov only used about five minutes for his first 24 moves!

The best Anand could do was simplify to a lost ending a pawn down. Kasparov then slowed his game and showed excellent endgame technique to win the point and equal the match.

Gary Kasparov - Viswanathan Anand, Game 10

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 d4 11.Ng5 dxc3 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.bxc3 Qd3

(Until this position, both the players have been following the first 13 moves of the eighth game of the match. Kasparov now reveals a fantastic novelty which comes from home preparation.)

14.Bc2!! Qxc3

(Seirawan: "Like a leaf in a strong wind, Anand will soon be carried off in a whirlwind of complications. He cannot decline the sacrifice as 14...Qd7 (14...Qd5? 15 Qh5+ g6 16 Bxg6+ wins) 15 Qh5+ Qf7 16 Qe2 is very strong for White." Observers said Kasparov went to his dressing room and returned only when Anand made his reply.)

15.Nb3!

(When Kasparov returned, he wrote Anand's move down on his scoresheet, instantly played 15 Nb3 and again went back to his room without delay. This was his second consecutive surprising move, and his second quick departure to the dressing room.)

15...Nxb3

(It is hard to see Black surviving for long, eg 15...Rd8 16 Bd2 Qxe5 (16...Rxd2 17 Nxd2 Nxe5 18 Ne4 Nxe4 19 Bxe4 Bd6 20 Rc1 which is good for White.) 17 Re1 Qd5 18 Qg4 etc. White has used only three minutes on his clock whereas Black, his difficulty showing on his face and clock, has used 69 minutes to think this far into the game.)

16...Nd4

(Or 16...Qxa1 17 Qh5+ g6 18 Qf3 Nd8 19 Qf6 Rg8 20 Bg5 Qb2 21 Bxe6 when White wins back material with a continuing attack.)

17.Qg4!

(When Kasparov returned, he recorded Anand's move, played his own, hit the clock, wrote down his move and immediately went back to his dressing room. There was no hesitation in any of his actions.)

17...Qxa1

(As Kasparov demonstrates in this game, capturing the rook on this move is wrong too but then, other tries are equally bad: 17...Nxb3 18 Qxe6+ Be7 19 Bg5 Qb4 20 axb3 winning, or 17...O-O-O 18 Bxe6+ Kb8 19 Bg5 Re8 20 Rac1 with a better development.)

18.Bxe6!

(Kasparov again emerged from his room, made his move quickly and disappeared. To the spectators, Kasparov's 18 Bxe6 was surprising (it traps the black king in the centre and threatens 19 Bd7+ Kf7 20 e6+ Kg8 21 Bh6 Qb2 22 e7, winning), for the same reason many of his moves in this game did. Each time, the audience would see a new position after Anand's move, but before they could think about it at any length, Kasparov would immediately make his reply. Anand was under an incredible psychological pressure: every time he made a decision, he was almost instantly confronted with another problem!)

18...Rd8 19.Bh6!

(Kasparov plonked this move down on the chessboard like a hammer blow. It is much better than 19 Bg5. After 19 Bh6, White threatens 20 Bxg7 Bxg7 21 Qh5+ and 22.Qf7 mate!)

19...Qc3 20.Bxg7 Qd3 21.Bxh8 Qg6 22.Bf6

(Up to here, Kasparov has still used only five minutes on his clock but Anand had used almost 90 minutes. Kasparov had anticipated Anand's line of defence and worked out the entire game until this position in his home analysis. In the post-mortem, GM Nick De Firmian quickly mentioned how little time Kasparov had taken to play his first 21 moves and he answered: "Yes, it took two minutes at the board but forty hours to analyse beforehand!")

22...Be7 23.Bxe7 Qxg4 24.Bxg4 Kxe7 25.Rc1 c6 26.f4! a5 27.Kf2 a4 28.Ke3 b4 29.Bd1 a3 30.g4 Rd5 31.Rc4 c5 32.Ke4 Rd8 33.Rxc5 Ne6 34.Rd5 Rc8

(If 34...Rxd5 35 Kxd5 Nxf4+ 36 Kc4 Ke6 37 Kxb4 Kxe5 38 Kxa3, White's two extra pawns will be enough to win.)

35.f5 Rc4+ 36.Ke3 Nc5 37.g5 Rc1 38.Rd6 1-0

Kasparov told his supporters that after the eighth game, the idea of 14 Bc2 came to him and it gripped him for the next 48 hours. The number of sacrificial options were staggering: a pawn, a rook, a bishop, in fact whatever was necessary to keep the attack rolling.

"Unfortunately, I cannot show you all the lines. The position after 15 Nb3 was immensely complicated and I am sure Anand will spend the next 48 hours analysing it. White is sacrificing a rook in so many variations. I checked it extremely carefully. It's difficult to sacrifice something without concrete threats, but when you start to analyse things, you see what is happening.

"Of course, the opponent has great difficulty analysing, too. In particular, 19 Bh6 was very easy to miss. Black's position was extremely dangerous.

"Still, if White did not play the right moves, he's dead. When you play a Rook down, you must play very precisely and after Bh6, Black cannot restore the cooperation of his pieces.

"One line which is easy to find is 15...Nxb3 16 Bxb3 Qxa1 17 Qh5+ Kd7 18 Bxe6+ Kxe6 19 Qg4+, and Black has nowhere to escape. He must keep his king on the light squares to avoid a check by White's c1-bishop which would win Black's queen. So, 19...Kf7 20 Qf3+ Ke6 21 Qxc6+ Bd6 22 exd6 Qe5.

"For a moment, it looks like Black has managed to do something but after Bd2, White's rook comes into the game. The game will be over soon, believe me.

"Having found this during the weekend influenced my poor performance (in the ninth game) yesterday. I played awfully in the opening and of course, Nxd5 was suicide. I couldn't wait to play with the white pieces and I forgot that he would be playing White first this week!"

For Anand who had been blown away by Kasparov's home preparation, the one-day break before the 11th game must have been spent soul-searching. But it offered little respite.

He returned to the chessboard on Friday, hoping to gain something with the white pieces, but Kasparov surprised Anand with the choice of the Sicilian Dragon - something he has never played before in his career.

Viswanathan Anand - Gary Kasparov, Game 11

1.e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6

(Seirawan: "Following his victory in the ninth game, Anand had hoped to force Kasparov to switch his defences and chase him into a well-laid ambush. Anand couldn't have dreamt that Kasparov's second-line defence would be the Dragon. "Kasparov's choice, however, is brilliant. The Dragon is an ultra-sharp defence with both players risking defeat in the most heavily analysed variations. Kasparov expected Anand to be unprepared and to adopt a quiet continuation. In that case, Black can usually achieve a balanced position and an easy draw - another opening success for Kasparov.")

6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Ne5 11. Bb3 Rc8 12. h4 h5 13. Kb1

(Seirawan again: "A disappointment. Anand backs away from the most harrowing lines. 13 Bg5 Rc5 14 g4 hxg4 15 f4 Nc4 etc, leads to far more excitement. This quiet move leads to balanced play, therefore Kasparov's opening gamble pays off.")

13. ... Nc4 14. Bxc4 Rxc4 15. Nde2 b5 16. Bh6 Qa5 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Nf4 Rfc8 19. Ncd5 Qxd2

(Kasparov now offers Anand a draw as White's advantage is so minimal that his chances of winning are negligible. Anand thought about it for four minutes and for the first time in the match, declined the offer.)

20. Rxd2 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Kf8 22. Re1 Rb8 23. b3 Rc5 24. Nf4 Rbc8 25. Kb2 a5 26. a3 Kg7

(This is a critical moment. Anand now plays a combination that goes terribly wrong for him.)

27. Nd5 Be6 28. b4?

Later, Kasparov confided that while in his dressing room he was watching the monitors and could hardly breathe when he realised that Anand was reaching for his b-pawn. Kasparov expected 28 Nxe7 Re8 29 Nd5 Bxd5 30 b4 axb4 31 axb4 Rc4 32 Rxd5 Rxb4+ 33 Kc1 f5 which should be sufficient to draw the game. GM Margeir Petursson, analysing the game in the Internet Chess Club, discovered that if White attempted to win the exchange by 28 b4 axb4 29 axb4 Rc4 30 Nb6, he would instead lose the game. In the World Trade Center, GM Ilya Gurevich made the same observation and quickly added that Anand would, of course, not fall into such a trap. However, after surprisingly little thought, Anand did play into this line.)

28. ... axb4 29. axb4? Rc4 30. Nb6? Rxb4+ 31. Ka3

(Anand thought that because both of Black's rooks were under threat, he could win the exchange but he completely missed Kasparov's rejoinder.)

31...Rxc2!! 0-1

(After 32 Rxc2 Rb3+ 33 Ka2 Re3+ 34 Kb2 Rxe1, Black will get back his rook and with two extra pawns too. With a shake of his head Anand resigned immediately.)

At the press conference after the game, Kasparov was bubbling. He had been down a point just two games ago but had completely reversed the situation. He was critical of Anand's play, stating, "If you want to play to win as White, you have to play g2-g4 at some point, otherwise I think it's a dead draw."

Kasparov said he had never played the Dragon in serious competition. The only time the Dragon had been played in Championship matches was between Mikhail Botvinnik and Vassily Smyslov in the 50's, when the theory on it was still young.

He said his choice of the Dragon must have been unpleasant for Anand after the previous games. "This game was much different from the first five times that Anand had played as White. If he plays solidly in this variation, he cannot hope to have any winning chances."

Kasparov felt that the match would still be complicated but the results of the previous two games had changed not only the score and the course of events. He added that there were still nine games to go but he also joked, "Maybe the first nine games served a good purpose; he lost respect for me."

Gary Kasparov - Viswanathan Anand, Game 12

1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bb5 a6, 4. Ba4 Nf6, 5. 0-0 b5, 6. Bb3 Bc5, 7. a4 Bb7, 8. d3 d6, 9. Nc3 b4, 10. Nd5 Na5, 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6, 12. Ba2 h6, 13. c3 bxc3, 14. bxc3 0-0, 15. Be3 Rad8, 16. Rb1 Bc8, 17. Qe2 Be6, 18. h3 Bxa2, 19. Qxa2 Bxe3, 20. fxe3 Qe6, 21. Qxe6 fxe6, 22. Rb4 Rb8, 23. Rfb1 Nc6, 24. Rb7 Rbc8, 25. Kf2 Rf7, 26. Ke2 Rcf8, 27. d4 g5, 28. Kd3 Rg7, 29. d5 exd5, 30. exd5 g4, 31. dxc6 e4+, 32. Kxe4 gxf3, 33. gxf3 Re7+, 34. Kd4 Rxf3, 35. e4 Rxh3, 36. Rxc7 Rxc7, 37. Rb8+ Kf7, 38. Rb7 Re7, 39. c7 Rxc7, 40. Rxc7+ Ke6, 41. Ra7 h5, 42. Rxa6 Rh1, 43. Ra8 h4 1/2-1/2

SIGN UP FOR SELAYANG JUNIORS

The Selayang Mall Shopping Centre will be the venue for the one-day Selayang juniors open chess tournament in Kuala Lumpur this Sunday.

This event, organised jointly by Selayang Mall Sdn Bhd and Total Chess, will be played in three sections: under-10, under-12 and under-16. Ten prizes will be given away for each section.

Whiz Kid Sdn Bhd is sponsoring the main prizes and these include a computer dictionary LC9200 worth about RM900, a computer disctionary LC250 worth about RM800 and a computer organiser worth about RM400 for each section. The other prizes are computer games software and discount vouchers.

Entry fee is RM12 per player, and lunch will be provided for all participants.

Entries close today at 5pm. Interested readers can call Cecilia or Rebecca at the Selayang Mall Shopping Centre (03-616-4588/03-616-9430) or Joseph (03-757-4606).

 

Anand in the lead

 

The great hope of Asian chess

THE GREAT HOPE OF ASIAN CHESS

For decades, world championship chess has been dominated by the West. Ever since the late Mikhail Botvinnik won the title in 1948, the world chess champion has always been a man from behind the Iron Curtain.

Well...almost always, actually. In 1972, the American Bobby Fischer challenged the Soviet hold on the title and he wrested the title from Boris Spassky in a match that mesmerised the world.

Will history be repeated? Right now in New York, at the observation deck of the World Trade Center, the Professional Chess Association's world champion, Gary Kasparov, is being challenged by Viswanathan Anand.

To many people from the West, Anand is the fourth non-Soviet/Russian player to challenge for the world crown. Apart from Fischer, regular readers of this column will remember that Kasparov played Nigel Short in London while the World Chess Federation's Anatoly Karpov played Jan Timman in Amsterdam and Jakarta three years ago.

However, to chess players from this region, "Vishy" Anand is the first Great Hope of Asian chess. Never before has Asia produced a player of such calibre and on Anand's shoulders rest the expectations of millions of Asian chess players.

In Anand's native India, chess interest is at an all-time high, and elsewhere across the Asian continent, there is fervour and excitement because of the bout.

Who is Vishy Anand? For the uninitiated, Anand was born in India on Dec 11 1969. His father is a retired rail station manager. In 1987, Anand became the world junior chess champion and people began taking notice of him when he began winning tournaments in Europe against established Western players.

When I first met Anand in Genting Highlands in 1989, he was an easy-going and mild-mannered player who proclaimed to me that he had little ambition for the world crown but yes, if given the opportunity he would want to play Kasparov one day.

When I next saw him, it was three years later in Manila. Anand's confidence had increased tremendously as by then he was already accepted by the leading grandmasters as one of the top players of his generation. He had already played Kasparov several times so his early ambitions had been realised many times over.

Anand is not only India's strongest-ever player but he is now ranked second in the world by the Professional Chess Association.

Adored by millions in India, Anand is still easy going, witty and warm. However, he still makes chess players nervous as they discover that Anand's friendly exterior hides a razor-sharp mind with the knack for setting cunning traps.

He is such a rapid chess player that he frequently unsettles his opponents and draws surprise and admiration from spectators. This rare ability means he is virtually never in time-trouble which is a big advantage in top-level chess when grandmasters play for high stakes against the clock.

In 1994, at the London leg of the Intel Grand Prix speed chess event, Anand gained notoriety for knocking out Chess Genius, the Pentium processor-based PC which had itself already eliminated Gary Kasparov in the first round of the contest. After beating t he machine, Anand said in relief: "I used to watch The Terminator and feel sorry for the machine -- but not any more."

Anand reached the pinnacle of the Intel World Chess Championship Final with ease by sweeping aside highly rated opposition including English grandmaster Michael Adams and Gata Kamsky of the United States.

Earlier this year he knocked Kasparov out of the Moscow leg of the Intel world chess Grand Prix. There are many people who believe that Anand is peaking at the right time and they believe he has a good chance to create an upset in New York.

The Intel world chess championships final at the World Trade Center has all the ingredients of being the most exciting chess match this decade.

CAN ANAND PULL IT OFF?

Can India's Viswananthan Anand create an upset victory over the Professional Chess Association's world champion, Gary Kasparov? Let me try to put a few observations in the right perspective. Firstly, the points to Anand's advantage.

When Anand lost a narrow match to Anatoly Karpov in the last World Chess Federation cycle, he began a run of tournament successes that suggested that he was ready to take the World Number One spot from Kasparov.

However, his confidence deserted him for a couple of years. But in spite of all this he remains comfortably placed as one of the top five players in the world. He has used this time to rebuild his style and rhythm of play in order to progress.

How good is Anand now? In the last year, he has played very little: just one high-level tournament in Riga where he finished second to Kasparov, even losing on the black side of an Evan's Gambit. Then he put in a sterling performance to beat Gata Kamsky i n the final of the Intel world championship qualifying matches and a couple of rapidplay events.

He looks strong, confident and extremely well prepared. If, as suggested, he is more naturally gifted than Kasparov, Anand might actually be a better player than Kasparov.

If Anand starts the match confidently and plays his best, then Kasparov might be in for a torrid time indeed. Howvever, his career record against Kasparov is spoilt by a surfeit of games with the black pieces. Speed, rhythm of play, good memory and excellent feel are the keys to Anand's play.

Now, when considering Anand's negative points, we have to look at his inexperience in playing world championship matches. If it is a big disadvantage to him, he will need to overcome this quickly and avoid the disasters that befell Vassily Smyslov in 1954 and Nigel Short in 1992. (Both these players made abysmal scores in the first games of their matches against Mikhail Botvinnik and Kasparov respectively.)

Questions have been asked of Anand's abilities in the endgame and his capacity to blunder. He was written off as a nervous player after his first loss to Kamsky in the FIDE cycle.

However, this is an over-simplification. Anand can be as ruthless as any other player. When the going gets tough Anand will have to be at his most competitive to see it through. World champions need to have this quality, and even if Anand believes he is t he best in the world he will have to tough out the inevitable setbacks in this match.

The final and obvious point is that conversely, we don't know what progress Anand has made in the last year. In the end, he may just turn out to be a worse player than Kasparov.

FOLLOWING THE GAME

For readers with Internet access who wish to follow the games live from New York, point your web browser (Netscape 1.1n or 1.2n are preferred for accessing the World Wide Web) to either http://www.xculture.de/sport/wcc95live or http://www.intel.com/intel/ chess/index.html.

The first URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a sports web site in Germany which carries on-going analysis by the strong Fritz3 chess program, while the second URL belongs to microchip giant Intel who are using this opportunity to advertise their own web site.

The world championship games are played four times weekly. The only problem is that the games begin at 3pm New York time, so if you want to catch them live you will have to be awake at 3am on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings.

TIME FOR SECOND USM OPEN

Encouraged by the good response to last year's USM national open chess tournament, the Universiti Sains Malaysia's Bridge & Chess Club will organise a second tournament this year at their campus from Dec 1-3.

This event will be held over three days and eight rounds of 1.5 hours each per player for each game. Ten prizes have been lined up for the participants and the winner will receive a RM1,000 prize.

The second prize is worth RM750, the third prize RM500, the fourth prize RM300 and the fifth prize RM200. The sixth to 10th prizes will be RM100 each. In addition, trophies will be given to the three best players in the university.

The tournament is open to all school, university and college students as well as members of the public.

The fee for students is RM20 and RM30 for the public. Accommodation for outstation participants can also be arranged within the university campus at a rate of RM2.50 per day for students and RM5 per day for the public. Foreign participants can expect free accommodation from the organisers.

To register for the tournament, contact Ms Chew Siew Imm (tel: 04-657-7253 after 8pm), or write to the Organising Committee, 2nd USM national open chess tournament 1995, Kelab Bridge dan Catur, Pusat Mahasiswa, 11800 USM, Penang. Entries will close on Oct 20.

JUNIORS IN SELAYANG

The new Selayang Mall Shopping Centre in Kepong will be the venue for a one-day Selayang juniors open chess tournament scheduled for Oct 8.

This event, organised by Selayang Mall Sdn Bhd with technical support from Total Chess, will have three categories - under-10, under-12 and under-16. Ten prizes will be awarded in each category.

Whiz Kid Sdn Bhd is sponsoring the main prizes for the tournament which are computer dictionaries worth about RM900 and a computer organiser worth about RM400. The other prizes include computer games software and discount vouchers. The entry fee will be R M12 per player (inclusive of lunch).

The closing date for entries is Oct 6 at 5pm. All registration and enquiries can be directed to Cecilia or Rebecca at the Selayang Mall Shopping Centre (tel: 03-616-4588 and 03-616-9430) or Toh (tel: 03-757-4606).

GAMES OF THE WEEK: NECK AND NECK

The Professional Chess Association's world chess championship match between Gary Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand is in full swing and here are the first four games from the match. The first player to win 10* points in the 20-game match will be declared winner. In the event of a tie at 10-10, Kasparov will retain his title.

Just before 3pm on Sept 11, the two players walked towards their sound-proof playing booth on the Observation Deck of the World Trade Centre. New York Mayor Guliani stood between them and made a ceremonial first move 1 c4 for Anand. Later, Anand thought the better of it and chose 1 e4. After 27...h6, Kasparov offered the draw which was instantaneously accepted by Anand.

V Anand - G Kasparov, Game 1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. a4 Nc6 8. O-O Be7 9. Be3 O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Qd2 Bd7 13. Rad1 Rad8 14. Nb3 Bc8 15. Bf3 b6 16. Qf2 Nd7 17. Nd4 Bb7 18. Bh5 Rf8 19. Qg3 Nxd4 20. Bxd4 Bf6 21. Be2 e5 22. fxe5 Bxe5 23 . Qf2 Nc5 24. Bf3 Rfe8 25. h3 a5 26. b3 Bc6 27. Rfe1 h6 0.5-0.5

The second game of the match was drawn after 27 moves when Kasparov offered to split the point with Anand. The PCA champion had about eight minutes remaining on his clock compared to about 21 minutes for Anand when the draw was agreed.

G Kasparov - V Anand, Game 2

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. e3 c5 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 cxd4 9. Bxd4 Nc6 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Ne2 Bd7 12. a3 Qe5 13. Nc3 f5 14. O-O-O O-O-O 15. g3 Kb8 16. Be2 (This move was played after thinking for more than 40 minutes) 16...Ne7 1 7. Qd3 Qc7 18. Qd6 Bc6 19. Qxc7+ Kxc7 20. Rhe1 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Rd8 22. Rxd8 Kxd8 23. Kd2 Nc8 24. Kd3 Nd6 25. Kd4 b6 26. b4 Ke7 27. f4 h6 28. a4 f6 29. a5 Bd7 0.5-0.5

The third game was the most exciting so far in the match. Again, the draw was offered by Kasparov.

V Anand - G Kasparov, Game 3

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. a4 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bd3 Nb4 13. a5 Bd7 14. Nf3 Bc6 15. Bb6 Qc8

Kasparov varies from 15...Qd7 which was played between Eric Lobron and Kevin Spraggett 10 years ago. That game ended in a victory for White after complicated play. By playing 15... Qc8, Kasparov reserved the d7 square for his Knight.

16. Qe1 Nd7 17. Bd4 Nc5 18. Qg3

The threat is checkmate on g7, but this is easily parried by Black.

18. ... f6 19. e5

When Anand made this move, the excitement level on the Observation Deck rose instantly. During the post-mortem of the game, Kasparov admitted that the situation had been very dangerous for him. He had believed that 18...f6 was tenable, but he changed his opinion after 19 e5. The reply 19...dxe5 would have been inadequate because of 20 Bxh7+, leaving no defense for Black, eg 20...Kxh7 21 fxe5 f5 22 Bxc5 Bxc5 23 Ng5+ which gives White a vicious attack.

19. ... Rf8 20. Bxc5

Kasparov said 20 exf6 Bxf6 21 Bxh7+ was very dangerous for him (eg 21...Kxh7 22 Ng5+ Bxg5 23 fxg5 Kg6 24 Rf6+! gxf6 25 gxf6+ Kh5 26 Qh3+ Kg5 27 Rf1 e5 28 Be3+ Kg6 29 Qh6+ Kf7 30 Qg7+ Ke8 31 Qe7 mate), and that he felt great relief when Anand played 20 Bxc5.

20. ... dxc5 White gets the better position after 20...Nxd3 21 exd3 Nxc5 22 dxe4 Rf7 or 21 Bxd6 Bxd6 22 exd3 Nxb2. Although White has the better position, Black's drawing resources were sufficient.

21. Bc4 Bd5 22. Nxd5 exd5 23. Bb3 c4 24. Ba4 Nc6 25. c3 fxe5 26. Nxe5 Nxe5 27. fxe5 Qe6 28. Bc2 Rxf1+ 29. Rxf1 Rf8 30. Rxf8+ Bxf8 31. Qf4 g6 32. Bd1 Qf7 33. Qd4 Qf1+ 34. Qg1 Qxg1+ 35. Kxg1 Kf7 36. Bg4 b6

0.5-0.5

The fourth game was drawn after Anand accepted Kasparov's offer. The inability of Kasparov to take an early lead in the match must be seen as a small psychological victory for Anand.

G Kasparov - V Anand, Game 4

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. Qb3 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d3 h6 9. e3 Re8 10. a3 dxc4 11. dxc4 Bxc3 12. Qxc3 e5 13. b4 e4 14. Nd2 Qe7 15. b5 Ne5 16. Nxe4 Nf3+ 17. Bxf3 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Qxe4 19. f3 Qe7 20. e4 Be6 21. Be3 0.5-0.5

Bandung wins in Hong Kong

Hongkong was an enjoyable experience. The typhoon weather and the hectic playing schedule notwithstanding, the Asian cities invitational team championship was very well organised.

Whether intentionally or not, the organisers from the Hongkong Chess Federation failed to disclose the ratings of the participants in the various teams. To an extent, it helped the quality of chess because unrated players, feeling unshackled during their games, played better by not caring whether their opponents were rated players or not.

But of course, even without ratings, grandmasters like Utut Adianto, Eddy Handoko and Rogelio Antonio and international masters like Rogelio Barcenilla, Ricky de Guzman, Luis Chiong and Wong Meng Kong were there in Hongkong, together with the likes of us.

By "us", I mean the Penang team which comprised Chuah Heng Meng, Khor Bean Hwa, Ng Weng Kong, Ooi Kiem Boo and myself.

We started off with a 0.5-point score against the Nagpur team, then improved with 1-3 scores against Bangkok and Yangon. The best results came during the second day's play when we scored 2.5-1.5 against Taipa and 3.5-0.5 against Macau before wrapping up with a 3-1 win against the BIC Club which represented the sponsors of the tournament.

But heady results are invariably met with a down-to-earth bump and on the third day we suffered a 0.5-3.5 loss to a pseudo Phuket team (really a second Bangkok team in disguise) and the ignominy of a 0-4 loss to Ho Chi Minh City in the final round.

Ho Chi Minh City were going great guns but in the seventh round they were brusquely brushed aside 3.5-0.5 by the eventual winners, Bandung. This pushed them artificially down the tournament standings and Penang was unfortunate enough to be paired with them.

We had hoped to have been paired with Kowloon as the two teams were the closest together in points but that was not to be.

Still, we could take some comfort in the fact that Singapore, with IM Wong Meng Kong in the team, were only two places higher than us while the three teams we beat all ended below us.

The final standings: Bandung (Indonesia) 24.5 points; Mandaluyung (Philippines) 21.5 points; Manila 20.5 points; Ho Chi Minh City 19.5 points; Hongkong Island, Bekasi (Indonesia) and Dubai 17.5 points each; Bangkok and Yangon (Myanmar) 17 points each; Neyveli (India) 16.5 points; Phuket 16 points; Nagpur (India) 15.5 points; Singapore and Kowloon 15 points each; Penang 12 points; BIC Club 11.5 points; Macau 9 points; and Taipa 5 points.

MERDEKA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

I must say this about Chuah Heng Meng: upon returning from the Asian cities invitational team championship in Hongkong, he found himself embroiled in the Merdeka team chess championship in Kuala Lumpur.

That's chess stamina and dedication for you!

Chuah joined the Penang team - defending the Deputy Prime Minister's trophy in the State section of the championship - in Kuala Lumpur but it was soon clear enough that the trophy would be beyond Penang's grasp this year.

Except for two 4-0 results in the first and final rounds, enough points were denied to the Penang team in the five rounds in between and on tie-break, the state could do no better than fourth.

The winner was Selangor, although it was in a controversial manner when they were accused of fixing the results of their last-round match against Kelantan. The big loser was Johor who was leading going into the final round only to see Selangor chalking a 4-0 win while they themselves fell 1-3 to Sarawak.

Terengganu was also justifiably unhappy because instead of their third placing, they could have ended up second or even first, depending on which way the games were decided.

In the youth section, the Merdeka Youth challenge trophy was won by the Penang youth team which carved out a narrow victory ahead of MSS Selangor. Only half a point separated the two teams at the end of the tournament. Third was Selangor.

Finally, the open section was won by Tan & Tan Sdn Bhd which fielded players like Jimmy Liew, Mok Tze Meng and Lee Soi Hock in the team. A very sporting Dato' Tan Chin Nam was one of the players from the team. Second was Singapore's Cairnhill Community Council and third was Chess Wanderers, also from the island republic.

The annual Merdeka team chess championship was organised by the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia. The event was played at the Wisma Belia in Kuala Lumpur, which was also the venue of this year's Malaysian Chess Federation annual general meeting on Sept 1.

GAME OF THE WEEK

This week sees the start of the Professional Chess Association's version of the world chess championship match between defending champion Gary Kasparov and his challenger, Viswanathan Anand, in New York.

Four games will be played each week for five weeks.

Last weekend in London, the Intel world chess grand prix tournament was won by England's Michael Adams who beat Alexey Dreev in the finals.

Michael Adams - Alexey Dreev
----------------------------
1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nd2 c5, 4. exd5 Qxd5, 5. Ngf3 cxd4, 6. Bc4 Qd8, 7. O-O a6, 8. Nb3 Qc7, 9. Bd3 Nc6, 10. Nbxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Bd6, 12. h3 Ne7, 13. Re1 O-O, 14. Qh5 Ng6, 15. Nf3 b5, 16. Be3 Be7, 17. a4 b4, 18. a5 Bb7, 19. Ng5 Bxg5, 20. Qxg5 Qc6, 21. Bb6 f5, 22. f3 Rae8, 23. Rad1 Rf6, 24. b3 Nf8, 25. Qf4 Rg6, 26. Kh2 Nd7, 27. Bc4 Nxb6, 28. axb6 Qxb6, 29. Re2 Qc5, 30. Qd6 Qc8, 31. Rde1 Kf7, 32. Re5 Rf6, 33. Rc5 Qb8, 34. Bxe6+ Kg6, 35. Bxf5+ Kh6, 36. Qxb8 Rxb8, 37. Bd3 g6, 38. Re7 Bc6, 39. g4 1-0

 

Latest on the local scene

It has been a long fortnight for me. After being out of the country for a week, I returned to find a lot of local news waiting for me to catch up on.

My first report is on the MSSM individual and team chess championships which were held in Arau, Perlis from Aug 21 to 26.

The team section consisted of two tournaments for the under-20 and the under-12 age-groups. The under-20 team event was won by Penang which collected 35 points. Second was Selangor (32.5 points) and third Malacca (31.5 points). Fourth-placed among the 12 participating teams was Johor with 27 points.

The five board prizes for this team event went to Teng Wei Ping (Penang), Ng Siew Cheok (Negri Sembilan), Ng Lan Tyii (Malacca), Ng Ee Vern (Selangor) and Lau Kar Wooi (Penang).

In the under-12 event, Johor was the champion with 31 points while Penang was the runners-up with 29.5 points. Third was Selangor (29 points) and fourth Perak (21 points).

The winners of the board prizes in this section were Sow Tien Yu (Johor), Liong Wei Li (Johor), Kamaril Ariffin (Selangor), Shafiruddin (Negri Sembilan) and Mohd Dziyaul Hafidh (Perlis).

The individual section saw six events held simultaneously. The boys' under-20 title was retained by Ooi Chern Ee (Penang) who scored seven points from seven games. There was a three-way for the second to fourth places between Lee Wee Peng (Johor), Toh Seng Joe (Terengganu) and Mohd Fairin Zakaria (Negri Sembilan) who each scored five points.

The girls' under-20 event was also played over seven rounds and it was won by Eliza Hanim Ibrahim (Selangor) with maximum points. Mizan (Kelantan), Zeti Ajemi (Kedah) and Loh Poh Ping (FT) each scored six points to finish joint second to fourth.

The under-15 events were newly introduced this year to fill a pressing gap between the under-20 and under-12 age-groups. The boys' under-15 event was won by Mas Hafizulhelmi (Kelantan) who won all his eight games. Second was Wong Zi Jing (KL) with 6.5 points, third was Mohd Haizal (Selangor) with six points and fourth was Mak Weng Yee (Selangor) with 5.5 points.

The girls' under-15 event was won by Samantha Lee Heng Jun (Selangor) while second was Roslina Marmono (Selangor). Third was Farhana Husiny (Negri Sembilan) and fourth was Seri Merdlana (Johor).

The boys' under-12 event was won by Lim Chuin Hoong (Penang) who obtained maximum points from seven games. Ali Ajemi (Kedah) was second with 5.5 points, Mohd Syaiful Ali (Kelantan) and Rustam Ikmal (Pahang) were third with five points each.

For the girls' under-12 section, the joint winners were Siti Fadlitina (Kedah) and Loh Poh Choo (FT), each scoring 6* points. Behind them on six points were Lim Jean Nie (Penang) and Nor Shafawati (Kedah).

Meanwhile in Petaling Jaya, the six-round Total Chess under-12 quickplay rating tournament on Aug 13 attracted 34 players including seven girls. The youngest player in the field was Tan Zhi Yi who was five years 11 months' old.

The winner was 10-year-old Hazril Husain who, despite falling violently ill during the tournament, scored 5.5 points to win himself some magazines worth more than RM60.

Second was Hoo Chin Khang who obtained five points, and in joint third to sixth places were Wong Zi Chuang, Ng Kian Yee, Low Kok Wai and Low Kar Mun who finished the tournament with 4.5 points each.

Some other Total Chess quickplay tournaments coming soon in the Klang Valley are a under-12 event this Sunday at the Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan China Kepong and an open tournament on Sept 17 at the Total Chess premises in Petaling Jaya.

For more details on these Total Chess events, contact Joseph Toh (tel: 03-757-4606).

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Last month, a Category 16 tournament in memory of one of the Netherland's most prominent grandmasters, Jan Heim Donner, who died several years ago was organised in Amsterdam.

The tournament ended with two grandmasters tied for the top honours: Dutchman Jan Timman and the Peruvian player Julio Granda Zuniga. On tie-break, however, Timman was declared winner.

This meant that Timman has managed to put a miserable year behind him. His other recent tournament results had been rather poor, for example, in July when he played in the annual grandmaster tournament in Biel, Switzerland, he finished 13th in a field of 14 players.

In Amsterdam, Timman bounced back with a vengeance and in the last round he beat Granda Zuniga who, if not for this loss, would have been the outright winner. Still, this event was one of the Peruvian's best tournament results.

Russian grandmaster Alexander Morozevich showed why he is regarded as one of the most exciting players in the world. He drew only two games throughout the tournament and his remaining nine games were always decisive. He impressed onlookers with his all-round tactical ability.

The final standings: Jan Timman (Netherlands) and Julio Granda Zuniga (Peru) 7.5 points each; Judit Polgar (Hungary) 7 points; Alexander Huzman (Ukraine), Yasser Seirawan (USA) and Alexei Shirov (Spain) 6 points each; Alexander Khalifman (Russia), Alexander Morozevich (Russia), John Nunn (England) and Valery Salov (Russia) 5 points each; Jeroen Piket (Netherlands) and Loek van Wely (Netherlands) 3 points each.

Here are crucial games from the event:

Jan Timman - Julio Granda Zuniga
--------------------------------
1. e4 e6, 2. d4 d5, 3. Nc3 dxe4, 4. Nxe4 Nd7, 5. Nf3 Be7, 6. Bd3 Ngf6, 7. Qe2 c5, 8. Nxf6+ Bxf6, 9. d5 Nb6, 10. Bb5+ Kf8, 11. dxe6 Bxe6, 12. a4 a6, 13. Bd3 Qc7, 14. O-O Re8, 15. a5 Nd7, 16. Re1 Re7, 17. Qe4 c4, 18. Bf1 Nc5, 19. Qf4 Qxf4, 20. Bxf4 Rd7, 21. Be3 Rc7, 22. Bf4 Rc8, 23. Bd6+ Kg8, 24. Ne5 h5, 25. Nxc4 Bxc4, 26. Bxc4 Bxb2, 27. Rad1 Rh6, 28. Bxc5 Rxc5, 29. Re8+ Kh7, 30. Bxf7 Rf6, 31. Bd5 Rxa5, 32. Be4+ g6, 33. Rd7+ Kh6, 34. h4 Ra1+, 35. Kh2 Rf4, 36. f3 Rxh4+, 37. Kg3 Rah1, 38. Re6 Rxe4, 39. Rxe4 Bc3, 40. Rxb7 Be1+, 41. Kf4 Bd2+, 42. Ke5 a5, 43. Kf6 Rh2, 44. Re2 Bc3+, 45. Kf7 Rh4, 46. Re4 Rxe4, 47. fxe4 Kg5, 48. Rc7 1-0

Judit Polgar - Alexei Shirov
----------------------------
1. e4 g6, 2. d4 Bg7, 3. Nc3 c6, 4. Bc4 d6, 5. Qf3 e6, 6. Nge2 b5, 7. Bb3 a5, 8. a3 Ba6, 9. d5 cxd5, 10. exd5 e5, 11. Ne4 Qc7, 12. c4 bxc4, 13. Ba4+ Nd7, 14. N2c3 Ke7, 15. Nxd6 Qxd6, 16. Ne4 Qxd5, 17. Bg5+ Ndf6, 18. Rd1 Qb7, 19. Rd7+ Qxd7, 20. Bxd7 h6, 21. Qd1 1-0

Alexander Morozevich - Jeroen Piket
-----------------------------------
1. e4 d6, 2. d4 Nf6, 3. Nc3 g6, 4. Nf3 Bg7, 5. h3 c6, 6. a4 O-O, 7. Be3 a5, 8. Nd2 Na6, 9. Be2 c5, 10. dxc5 Nxc5, 11. e5 Ne8, 12. exd6 Bxc3, 13. Bxc5 exd6, 14. Ba3 Bb4, 15. c3 Bxa3, 16. Rxa3 Nf6, 17. O-O d5, 18. Nf3 Re8, 19. Bd3 Bd7, 20. Bc2 Ra6, 21. Qd4 Rae6, 22. Bd3 Bc6, 23. Raa1 Ne4, 24. Rad1 Qe7, 25. Bc2 b5, 26. Qb6 bxa4, 27. Nd4 Qc5, 28. Qc7 Rf6, 29. f3 Re7, 30. Qc8+ Re8, 31. Qg4 Nd6, 32. Kh1 Nc4, 33. Qg5 Rd6, 34. Rde1 Rdd8, 35. f4 Qd6, 36. Nf5 f6, 37. Rxe8+ Bxe8, 38. Qg3 Qf8, 39. Re1 Kh8, 40. Qh4 gxf5, 41. Bxf5 Rd7, 42. Re6 Rg7, 43. Rxf6 Qe7, 44. Be6 Nd6, 45. Bxd5 Bc6, 46. Rxd6 0-1

Loek van Wely - Alexander Morozevich
------------------------------------
1. d4 d5, 2. c4 Nc6, 3. Nc3 dxc4, 4. Nf3 Nf6, 5. e4 Bg4, 6. Be3 e6, 7. Bxc4 Bb4, 8. Qc2 O-O, 9. Rd1 Ne7, 10. Be2 Bxc3+, 11. bxc3 c5, 12. O-O Qc7, 13. Qb1 b6, 14. h3 Bh5, 15. g4 Bg6, 16. Bd3 Rfd8, 17. Ne5 Qb7, 18. f3 cxd4, 19. cxd4 Rac8, 20. Rc1 Rxc1, 21. Rxc1 Nd7, 22. Nxd7 Qxd7, 23. Qb5 Qd6, 24. Kg2 h6, 25. h4 f5, 26. gxf5 exf5, 27. Qc4+ Kh7, 28. d5 Re8, 29. Re1 fxe4, 30. fxe4 Qd7, 31. Kg3 h5, 32. Kf2 Qh3, 33. Ke2 Nf5, 34. Kd2 Nd6, 35. Qc6 Nxe4+, 36. Bxe4 Rxe4, 37. d6 Qg2+, 38. Kc1 Qxa2, 39. Kd1 Rc4 0-1

Julio Granda Zuniga - John Nunn
-------------------------------
1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 g6, 3. Nc3 Bg7, 4. e4 d6, 5. Be2 O-O, 6. Nf3 e5, 7. O-O Nc6, 8. d5 Ne7, 9. b4 Nh5, 10. c5 Nf4, 11. Bc4 Bg4, 12. h3 Bh5, 13. Re1 a5, 14. Rb1 Nc8, 15. a3 axb4, 16. axb4 Kh8, 17. Bf1 f5, 18. exf5 gxf5, 19. Bxf4 exf4, 20. Nb5 dxc5, 21. bxc5 c6, 22. Nbd4 Qxd5, 23. Rxb7 Ra7, 24. Rxa7 Nxa7, 25. Ne6 Bxf3, 26. gxf3 Rg8, 27. Qxd5 cxd5, 28. Rd1 Nc6, 29. Kh1 d4, 30. Bb5 Rc8, 31. Nxf4 Na7, 32. Bd7 Rxc5, 33. Re1 Re5, 34. Ra1 d3, 35. Rxa7 d2, 36. Ba4 Bh6, 37. Nh5 1-0

Judit Polgar - Loek van Wely
----------------------------
1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 d6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 a6, 6. f4 e6, 7. Qf3 Qb6, 8. Nb3 Qc7, 9. g4 b5, 10. g5 b4, 11. Nb5 axb5, 12. gxf6 Nd7, 13. Bxb5 gxf6, 14. f5 Ke7, 15. Bxd7 Bxd7, 16. fxe6 fxe6, 17. Rf1 Bb5, 18. Qxf6+ Kd7, 19. Qxh8 Be7, 20. Qxa8 Qc4, 21. Qb7+ Ke8, 22. Rf2 Bh4, 23. Qf7+ Kd8, 24. Bg5+ 1-0

 

More scandals hit international chess

 

Dwindling in numbers

We do not seem to be getting many new Malaysian players on the international rating list that is maintained every six months by the World Chess Federation. On the contrary, we are slowing losing our numbers.

In the latest list released by FIDE last month, we lost Jimmy Liew, Christi Hon, Francis Chin and V Gregory due to their inactivity. I really cannot remember the last time that these four players had played in an internationally-rateble tournament.

It must be due to the pressures of working life. International tournaments can stretch over two weeks so it is simply not possible for a responsible breadwinner or family person to spend too much time away from work or their family.

But at least where Liew is concerned, we do see him occasionally in local tournaments where he is still a force to be reckoned with. But the others, where are they?

A second reason must be that of opportunity. Although there are many foreign tournaments, not many foreign organisers will think about inviting us as we do not have players of high calibre.

Our players cannot achieve higher ratings because they do not get much exposure. It is clearly a catch-22 situation which the Malaysian Chess Federation must rectify. It is good that a lot of encouragement is given to school children but it is equally good if some thought is given to the senior players.

If we do not provide the seniors with opportunities, sooner or later they will end up in the same company as Liew, Hon, Chin and the rest. It is possible to organise some serious internationally-rateable tournaments in the country with shorter periods of play to keep our players active but the seniors must play their part too.

Unfortunately, most of them tend to give MCF tournaments, including the national closed championship, a wide berth which is most regretable as this is a key tournament where the MCF is concerned. From this event, players are chosen to represent the country in events like the Chess Olympiad, the Asian team chess championship or the zonal tournaments. These events provide the best possible chances for our players to remain active in FIDE's eyes.

Consequently, we end up with senior players who are internationally rated but because they do not play further in FIDE events and are inactive, FIDE remove them from the rating list eventually.

As a result, the MCF is forced to depend on the new junior players to make their mark in the Chess Olympiad or Asian team championship.

Coming back to the latest FIDE list, Peter Long continues to be our top- placed player with an unchanged rating of 2350 while a newcomer to the list is Mas Hafizulhelmi who is rated at 2275.

Players with unchanged ratings are Eric Cheah (2255), Mok Tze Meng (2240), Goh Yoon Wah (2230), Collin Madhaven (2220), Mohd Kamal Abdullah (2210), Ng Ek Teong (2200), Mohd Sabar Hashim (2195), Ahmad Muzaffar (2185) and Thomas Lam (2105).

Apart from Mas, another new addition to the FIDE list is Mohd Fairin Zakaria who has a 2220 rating. Ooi Chern Ee is also rated 2220, an increase by 35 points over the January 1995 list. However, Yeoh Chin Seng's rating plunged from 2250 to 2195.

Among our women players, Audrey Wong is rated 2070 and Nurul Huda Wahiduddin is 2040.

TIME FOR ANOTHER AGM

The Malaysian Chess Federation annual general meeting scheduled on Aug 6 has been postponed due to lack of quorum.

The AGM has been fixed on Sept 1 (3pm) at the Wisma Belia in Kuala Lumpur. The federation can be assured of quorum this time as the AGM coincides with the Merdeka team chess championship in Kuala Lumpur.

The agenda of this year's AGM is rather straightforward: just a review of the previous year's programme and the adoption of the annual accounts. It is not an election year and there is no indication of any proposal to change the constitution.

Meanwhile, the 14th Merdeka team chess championship starts on next Friday and will continue until Sep 3. The Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia are the organisers and the three sections - state, youth (under-18) and open - will all be staged concurrently.

Entry fees are RM150 for teams taking part in the state and open sections, and RM80 in the youth section. Entries received after the closing date on Aug 31 will be charged an additional RM30 as late fees.

MERDEKA EVENTS

Here is a reminder to readers in Johor that the one-day Merdeka open tournament organised by the Johor Bahru District Chess Club will be played on Aug 31 at the Holiday Inn in Taman Century, Johor Bahru.

The open section features a top prize of RM300; the under-18 section has a first prize of RM100; and the winner of the under-12 section will get RM80.

Entry fees are RM15 for the open section, RM5 for the under-18 section and RM4 for the under-12 section. Those interested should register with the organisers by today since only the first 200 entries will be accepted. For details, contact Narayanan Krishnan (tel: 07-331-7604 or 07-333-8215).

In Perak, the state-level Merdeka celebrations committee will hold a similar tournament on Aug 31 at the Dewan Bandaran DBI in Ipoh. There will be 10 cash prizes, and the entry fee is RM8 per person.

This open event will double as a selection for players to represent the state at the Merdeka team championship in Kuala Lumpur. For details, contact Mrs Teh or Mr Chan of the organising committee during office hours (tel: 05-253-7924, 05-253-7926 or 05-253-7928) or Mohd Jamil Yahya in the evening (tel: 05-526-7091).

Meanwhile, the Perak Merdeka youth tournament in Ipoh on Aug 9 was won by Mohd Hussein Mohd Jamil. Second was Ooi Chong Chye, third was Hafizul Razali and fourth was Mohd Johan Mohd Jamil.

These four players will turn out for the Perak youth squad at the Merdeka team championship in Kuala Lumpur.

 

Local chess team fest

Two weeks to go before the 14th Merdeka team chess championship gets going again and as usual, this annual event will once again be organised by the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia.

To be held at Wisma Belia in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 1-3, the three sections of the competition - state, youth (under-18) and open - will all be staged simultaneously.

The premier attraction is the state section where traditionally, all the state chess associations in the country will compete for the Deputy Prime Minister's trophy. Everyone now accepts this event as the national team chess ] championship.

For the youth section, the winner will be awarded the Merdeka Youth challenge trophy. Normally too, many of the state associations will field teams in this event but lately, the organisers have also been allowing other junior teams to participate.

Finally, there is the open section which has never failed to attract teams from near and far. Numerous teams from Singapore will again be expected.

Two rounds will be played on Sept 1, three on the second day and the remaining two games on the final day of competition.

The closing ceremony follows the last round and the various winners can expect to receive their prizes from Tourism Minister Dato Sabbaruddin Chik who is also president of the Malaysian Chess Federation.

Three prizes are on offer for the state section. Apart from the challenge trophy, the winning team will receive RM1,500. The second prize is RM1,200 and the third prize is RM1,000.

For the youth section, the winner will get RM600, the first runners-up RM400 and the second runners-up RM250.

The open section will feature five prizes as there are normally quite a lot of teams taking part. The winner's purse is RM1,200 and the other prizes are RM1,000, RM800, RM600 and RM400.

Apart from these, special prizes of RM200 each are given to the best government department team, the best women's team and the best school team.

Entry fees are RM150 for teams taking part in the state and open sections and RM80 for the youth section. Entries received after the official closing date on Aug 31 will be charged an additional RM30 as late fees.

MERDEKA TOURNAMENTS

The Johor Bahru District Chess Club will organise a one-day Merdeka open tournament on Aug 31 at the Holiday Inn in Taman Century, Johor Bahru.

There will be three categories. The first is an open section featuring a top prize of RM300 and six other prizes totalling RM475.

The second is the under-18 section which also offers seven prizes with RM100 going to the winner; and the third is the under-12 section with a RM80 first prize.

Entry fees are RM15 for the open section, RM5 for the under-18 section and RM4 for the under-12 section. Readers interested in play in this tournament should register with the organisers before Aug 25 because only the first 200 entries will be accepted.

For more information, contact Narayanan Krishnan (tel: 07-331-7604 or 07-333-8215).

In Perak, the state-level Merdeka celebrations committee will hold a similar tournament on Aug 31 at the Dewan Bandaran DBI in Ipoh. This open event will double as a selection for players to represent the state at the Merdeka team championship in Kuala Lumpur.

For more information, contact Mrs Teh or Mr Chan of the organising committee (tel: 05-253-7924) or alternatively, contact Mohd Jamil b Yahya (tel: 05-526-7091).

FAST GAME BY YOUNGSTERS

There were 38 participants in Total Chess' one-day open quickplay tournament which was organised in Petaling Jaya earlier this month.

Although the more established senior players in the Klang Valley were absent, the tournament was well represented by a flock of fast improving youngsters.

The event was won by 14-year-old Lim Yee Weng who scored 5 1/2 points from six games. In joint second to fifth places were Michael Adrian Wind, Mustafa Kamal Zamhuri, Wong Zi Jing and Htay Win who each obtained five points.

The prizes for the best under-16, under-14, under-12 and under-10 players went to Lee Wei Kwang, Ng Kian Seng, Haniza bt Che Hashim and Jonathan Chuah respectively. Aaron Yee Keng Yew was the best Total Chess player.

Total Chess is an outfit in Petaling Jaya which specialises in providing training and organising events for chess enthusiasts in Petaling Jaya. Its next programme is a holiday camp for children up to 16 years of age during next week's school holidays.

The camp begins Monday and will go on until Wednesday from 10am to 6pm daily, and the fees are RM60 per person. For more details, contact Joseph Toh (tel: 03-757-4606).

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Games from the recent Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland.

Lucas Brunner - Jan Timman
--------------------------
1. Nf3 Nf6, 2. c4 c5, 3. Nc3 Nc6, 4. e3 e6, 5. d4 d5, 6. cxd5 exd5, 7. Be2 cxd4, 8. Nxd4 Bd6, 9. O-O O-O, 10. b3 Re8, 11. Bb2 Nxd4, 12. Qxd4 Be5, 13. Qd2 Bg4, 14. Bxg4 Nxg4, 15. h3 Nf6, 16. Rfd1 Rc8, 17. Rac1 Rc6, 18. Nb5 Ne4, 19. Qe2 Bb8, 20. Rxc6 bxc6, 21. Qg4 g6, 22. Nd4 Qf6, 23. Qe2 Qd6, 24. Nf3 Ng5, 25. Kf1 f6, 26. Nxg5 fxg5, 27. Qg4 h6, 28. Rc1 c5, 29. Ba3 Qa6+ 0-1

Alexei Shirov - Jan Timman
--------------------------
1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bc4 Bc5, 4. b4 Bxb4, 5. c3 Be7, 6. d4 Na5, 7. Be2 exd4, 8. Qxd4 d6, 9. Qxg7 Bf6, 10. Qg3 Qe7, 11. O-O Bd7, 12. Nd4 O-O-O, 13. Nd2 Nc6, 14. Qe3 h5, 15. Rb1 Nh6, 16. Qd3 b6, 17. a4 Kb8, 18. a5 Nxa5, 19. Qa6 Ka8, 20. e5 Qxe5, 21. Bf3+ d5, 22. Nc4 Bc8, 23. Qxa5 Qxd4, 24. Qa2 Qxc3, 25. Be3 Bb7, 26. Bxb6 cxb6, 27. Nxb6+ Kb8, 28. Nxd5 1-0

Alexei Shirov - Vadim Zvjaginsev
--------------------------------
1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 e6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nc6, 5. Nc3 Qc7, 6. Be2 Nf6, 7. Be3 b6, 8. g4 h6, 9. Qd2 Nxd4, 10. Bxd4 e5, 11. Nb5 Qb8, 12. Be3 Nxe4, 13. Qd3 a6, 14. Bf3 axb5, 15. Bxe4 Ra4, 16. Bd5 Bc5, 17. O-O-O O-O, 18. g5 hxg5, 19. Rhg1 g4, 20. b3 Rxa2, 21. Rxg4 Qd6, 22. Kb1 Ra6, 23. Rdg1 Qf6, 24. Bg5 Qxf2, 25. Bh6 e4, 26. Rxg7+ Kh8, 27. Qh3 1-0

Utut Adianto - Alexey Dreev
---------------------------
1. d4 d5, 2. c4 c6, 3. Nf3 Nf6, 4. Nc3 e6, 5. e3 Nbd7, 6. Bd3 dxc4, 7. Bxc4 b5, 8. Bd3 Bb7, 9. a3 b4, 10. Ne4 c5, 11. Nxc5 Nxc5, 12. dxc5 Bxc5, 13. Qa4+ Ke7, 14. axb4 Qxd3, 15. bxc5 Rhc8, 16. Bd2 a5, 17. Rd1 Ba6, 18. Nd4 Rd8, 19. Bb4 Qc4, 20. b3 Qxb4+, 21. Qxb4 axb4, 22. Nc6+ Ke8, 23. Nxd8 Rxd8, 24. Rd4 Nd5, 25. e4 Nf4, 26. Rxd8+ Kxd8, 27. Kd2 Nd3, 28. Ke3 Kc7, 29. Rd1 Ne5, 30. f4 Nc6, 31. Ra1 Bb7, 32. Kd3 e5, 33. g3 Bc8, 34. f5 Nd4, 35. Kc4 Bb7, 36. Ra2 Bxe4, 37. Kxb4 Nc6+, 38. Kc3 Bxf5, 39. b4 Be6, 40. Rb2 Nd4, 41. b5 Bd7, 42. b6+ Kb8, 43. g4 h6, 44. h3 Kb7, 45. Ra2 Nc6, 46. Rd2 Be6, 47. Rd1 g6, 48. Re1 Bd5, 49. Ra1 Be6, 50. Re1 h5, 51. gxh5 gxh5, 52. Rg1 Bxh3, 53. Rg7 Be6, 54. Rh7 Nb8, 55. Rxh5 Nd7, 56. Kb4 Kc6, 57. Rh1 e4, 58. Ra1 Ne5, 59. Kc3 e3, 60. Ra7 e2, 61. Rc7+ Kb5, 62. Kd2 Nc4+ 1/2-1/2

 

Swiss chess fest

The annual chess festival in Biel last month was again the highlight of the Swiss chess calendar. It is now in its 28th edition and as usual, the financial obligations for this year's festival were largely met by sponsorship from Credit Suisse, one of Switzerland's largest banks.

Several hundreds of players would normally take part in the festival's many attractions which range from the main billing, a Category 15 grandmaster tournament, to the side shows like blitz tournaments for officials and journalists.

Russia's Alexey Dreev won the premier grandmaster tournament by scoring nine points from 13 games. In the second place was Latvian Alexei Shirov who now plays under the Spanish flag. Shirov obtained eight points. Indonesia's Utut Adianto and Byelorus' Boris Gelfand each scored 7.5 points.

Some readers may remember Vladislav Tkachiev who played as the second reserve for the Kazakhstan team in the 1993 Asian team chess championship in Kuala Lumpur. He is now a strong grandmaster with a 2605 rating, and in Biel both he and Russia's Vadim Zvjaginsev each scored seven points.

Near the bottom of the table was Jan Timman. It was a most uncharacteristic position for a player who was once involved in a world championship title match. In Biel, he made gross oversights and lost quickly in several games.

In the Credit Suisse Masters open tournament, Germany's Igor Glek was the winner with 8.5 points from 11 Swiss rounds. He ended up in front of players like Sergey Smagin, Yuri Razuvaev, Vladimir Tukmakov and Boris Avrukh who each obtained eight points.

An interesting twist to this festival was a special tournament between two teams of 12 players - one representing Team Europe and the other Team Swiss/French. This event used the Scheveningen system which paired players from one team exclusively to players from the other team. Thus, players from the same team do not meet one another across the board.

Team Europe comprised a grandmaster, two women grandmasters and nine international masters while Team Switzerland/France had three Fide masters and nine untitled or unrated players.

Thus the Team Switzerland/France players, playing against the titled and rated players in Team Europe, would have real chances of picking up rating or title norms. Unfortunately, none qualified for any norm. The final scores were 91.5 points for Team Europe and 52.5 points for Team Switzerland/ France.

CHESS LEAGUE ENDS

In the final round of the Penang Bayview Chess League last Sunday, Chung Ling High School A completed their domination of the tournament when they beat the MSSPP Juniors by an emphatic 3.5 - 0.5 score. They ended the 11-week event undefeated and were deserving winners of the City Bayview challenge trophy.

There was a tense fight between Penang Free School A and the Old Frees Association. The schoolboys drew the match 2-2 to finish second in Division One.

In other first division matches, the Pessca team was also held to a 2-2 draw by Penang Free School B, while Universiti Sains Malaysia beat Penang Development Corporation by 3.5 - 0.5. Chung Ling high School B beat Hitachi Semiconductors 3-1.

In Division Two, Chung Ling High School swept the first two positions. Their C team beat Union High School 4-0 while their D team finished strongly with a 3-1 score against Penang Free School C.

Dynacraft beat the Penang Chinese Girls High School 3-1, while Bank Bumiputra and the MSSPP Girls were given walkovers on all four boards by their opponents, Mara Taiping and National Semiconductors respectively, which had withdrawn from the tournament.

Because of the withdrawals, all of Mara's and NS' scores against the other teams in the second division were excluded from the final tally of points.

According to the regulations, PDC and Hitachi will be relegated next year while their place will be taken by Hewlett-Packard and Bank Bumiputra which were third and fourth in their division.

This is because the rules of the competition disallow organisations from having more than two teams in each division. Thus, although the Chung Ling High School C and D teams came tops in the second division, they were unable to be promoted because the school already had their A and B teams in the first division.

The final standings:

Division One - CLHS A 32.5 points, PFS A 27.5 points, OFA 26.5 points, Persatuan Alumni Chung Ling 22.5 points, USM 22 points, Pessca 21.5 points, CLHS B 20.5 points, MSSPP Jrs 15 points, PFS B 13.5 points, PDC 11.5 points and Hitachi 7 points.

Division Two - CLHS C 28.5 points, CLHS D 20.5 points, HP 18 points, BBMB and MSSPP Girls 17 points each, PFS C 13 points, Dynacraft 12.5 points, Union 11.5 points and PCGHS 6 points.

BAYAN BARU OPEN

Readers who have submitted their entries for the Bayan Baru open tournament this Sunday are reminded that they have to be at the Residents' Association of Bayan Baru's clubhouse by 8.30am to confirm their participation.

A maximum of 64 players will be accepted for the tournament and I believe there may a few vacant places remaining. Anyone who have yet to register with the organisers may still have a chance to play if they turn up early at the tournament hall on Sunday.

This one-day tournament, now in its 10th year, is organised by the Residents' Association with technical assistance from the Penang Chess Association.

This is a seven-round event played along Rapid-30 chess rules and the winners will not receive cash but rather prizes in kind donated by various sponsors.

The entry fees are RM5 for members of either the Residents' Association or the Penang Chess Association. This rate also applies to players who are under the age of 18. All other participants will have to pay RM8.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

This week's games are taken from the Biel chess festival in Switzerland.

Alexei Shirov - Vladislav Tkachiev
----------------------------------
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. Be3 f5 11. f3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. a4 a6 14. a5 Rf6 15. g4 fxg3 16. hxg3 h5 17. Ng2 Rh6 18. Ne3 Nf6 19. Kg2 Bd7 20. b4 Qe8 21. c5 Qg6 22. cxd6 cxd6 23. Nc4 g4 24. Nb6 gxf3+ 25. Bxf3 Rf8 26. Nxd7 Nxd7 27. Rh1 Nf6 28. Qe2 h4 29. Rh3 Rc8 30. Qd2 hxg3 0.5-0.5

Utut Adianto - Boris Gelfand
----------------------------
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 a6 8. h3 Bd7 9. e4 e5 10. d5 Nd4 11. Nxd4 exd4 12. Qxd4 Qc8 13. h4 b5 14. cxb5 axb5 15. Qb4 Ng4 16. Bf4 Re8 17. Rac1 Qb8 18. Bh3 Qb6 19. Bxg4 Bxg4 20. Qxb5 Reb8 21. Qxb6 Rxb6 22. b3 c5 23. dxc6 Rxc6 24. Nd5 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Rxa2 26. Kg2 Bd4 27. Be3 Bxe3 28. Nxe3 Be6 29. Rb1 Bd7 30. g4 Bb5 31. Kg3 Bd3 32. Rd1 Bxe4 33. Rxd6 Rb2 34. Rb6 Kg7 35. g5 h6 36. b4 hxg5 37. hxg5 Kf8 38. f3 Bd3 39. Kf4 Ke8 40. Ke5 Re2 41. Kd4 Bb1 42. b5 Rf2 43. Rb8+ Kd7 44. Rb7+ Ke6 45. Rb6+ Kd7 46. Rf6 Rd2+ 47. Kc5 Ba2 48. Nc4 Rg2 49. Rxf7+ Ke6 50. Rf4 Rxg5+ 51. Kc6 Bb3 52. Re4+ Kf6 53. Ne3 Be6 54. b6 Bc8 55. Nd5+ Kg7 56. Nb4 Rg1 57. Rc4 Re1 58. Kc7 Re8 59. Re4 Rf8 60. Nc6 Ba6 61. Re3 Kh6 62. Ra3 Rf7+ 63. Kd6 Rf6+ 64. Ke7 Rxc6 65. Rxa6 Kh7 66. Kd8 Kh6 67. Ke7 Kh7 68. Kd7 Rf6 69. b7 Rxa6 70. b8=Q Ra5 71. Ke6 Rf5 72. Qg3 Kg7 73. Qg4 Rf6+ 74. Ke5 Rf7 75. Ke4 Kh7 76. Qc8 Kg7 77. Ke3 Rf8 78. Qc3+ Kh7 79. Kf2 Rf5 80. Kg3 Rg5+ 81. Kf4 Rf5+ 82. Kg4 Rf7 83. Qe5 1-0

 

Chung Ling School certain to win

With only one round remaining in the fifth Penang Bayview Chess League, Chung Ling High School have all but been officially declared winners in both divisions of the competition.

In the 10th round last Sunday, Chung Ling High School A dismissed the challenge from their closest rivals, Penang Free School A, by winning with a big 3-1 score.

CLHS A's lead of 3.5 points is almost unsurmountable considering that they are playing the MSSPP Juniors in the final round while PFS A will face the daunting task of meeting the Old Frees Association.

In the other Division One games, OFA squeezed a 2.5-1.5 win from Pessca, MSSPP Juniors beat Hitachi Semiconductors 3-1, Penang Development Corporation beat Penang Free School B 3-1, while Universiti Sains Malaysia and Persatuan Alumni Chung Ling played to a 2-2 draw.

Likewise in the second division, Chung Ling High School C are the clear winners. On Sunday, they beat Bank Bumiputra 4-0 to pull further ahead of the rest of the field. Hewlett-Packard could only draw 2-2 with Chung Ling High School D, while Union High School beat Penang Free School C 3-1.

Meanwhile, National Semiconductors and Mara Taiping have been removed from the tournament as the two teams failed to turn up for the last two rounds, and their results against the other teams will be cancelled.

Current standings after 10 rounds:

Division One - CLHS A 29 points, PFS A 25.5 points, OFA 24.5 points, PACL 22.5 points, Pessca 19.5 points, USM 18.5 points, CLHS B 17.5 points, MSSPP Jrs 14.5 points, PFS B 11.5 points, PDC 11 points and Hitachi 6 points.

Division Two - CLHS C 24.5 points, HP 18 points, CLHS D 17.5 points, BBMB and MSSPP Girls 17 points, PFS C 12 points, Union 11.5 points, Dynacraft 9.5 points and PCGHS 5 points.

The Penang Bayview Chess League is an annual tournament sponsored by The City Bayview Hotel since 1991. The final round this Sunday will be played at the hotel's Sri Mas Room at 2.30pm and this will be followed by the closing ceremony at 7pm during which the RM6,000 City Bayview challenge trophy will be presented to the winner of Division One.

MERDEKA MEETS

Two tournaments at separate ends of the peninsula will be held later this month to celebrate Merdeka.

In Johor, the Johor Bahru District Chess Club will organise a one-day tournament on Aug 31 at the Holiday Inn Johor Bahru.

There will be three categories in this tournament. The first, an open section, features a top prize of RM300 and six other prizes totalling RM475. The under-18 section also offers seven prizes with RM100 going to the winner; and the third is the under-12 section with a RM80 first prize.

Entry fees are RM15 for the open section, RM5 for the under-18 section and RM4 for the under-12 section. Those interested should register with the organisers before Aug 25 because only the first 200 entries will be accepted. For more information, contact Narayanan Krishnan (tel: 07-331-7604 or 07-333-8215).

In Perak, the state-level Merdeka celebrations committee will hold a similar tournament on Aug 31 at the Dewan Bandaran DBI in Ipoh. This open event will double as a selection for players to represent the state at the Merdeka team championship in Kuala Lumpur beginning Sept 1.

On Aug 9, the committee will also organise a one-day youth tournament at the Taman DR Seenivasagam in Ipoh. In both events, there is a cap on a maximum of 80 players for each event. The entry fees are RM8 for the open event and RM5 for the youth event. Cash prizes have been promised to the winners.

For information, contact Mrs Teh or Mr Chan of the organising committee (tel: 05-253-7924) or Mohd Jamil Yahya (tel: 05-526-7091).

BAYAN BARU OPEN

The Residents' Association of Bayan Baru, Penang, will hold its 10th annual open chess championship on Aug 13 at the association's clubhouse.

Entry fees for the one-day tournament are RM5 for players under the age of 18 and members of either the Residents' Association or the Penang Chess Association and $8 for all other participants.

Entry forms are available daily from The Times Bookshop at the Penang Plaza, Burmah Road, Penang. They are also available Mondays to Fridays from the association's clubhouse in Jalan Nibong, Bayan Baru (7pm-9pm).

As in previous years, cash prizes are not offered. Instead, winners will be given prizes in kind donated by various parties. Entries will close on Aug 6. Those interested in taking part can also submit them to the Penang Chess Association at The City Bayview Hotel this Sunday.

MERDEKA TEAM

The Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia, organisers of this year's Merdeka team championship, have pointed out to me that the dates for this event are from Sept 1-3 and not as reported earlier. The venue for the competition remains unchanged, that is, the Wisma Belia in Kuala Lumpur.

The premier attraction is the competition for the Deputy Prime Minister's trophy in the state section. For the junior section, the winner will be awarded the Merdeka Youth challenge trophy. Finally, there is the open section of the championship which normally attracts teams from far and near, including Singapore.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Vladimir Kramnik scored an impressive victory in the 10-player Category 17 Dortmund international tournament in Germany last month. He was pressed hard all the way by Anatoly Karpov but still managed to finish half a point ahead of the FIDE champion.

Vassily Ivanchuk and Peter Leko both finished tied for third and fourth, but Leko made a very solid impression by losing only in the final round. Ivanchuk's play was sort of lacklustre and he never really got going after his loss in the first round of the tournament.

Here are a few games from the event.

White: Vladimir Kramnik
Black: Vassily Ivanchuk
-----------------------
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. c4 dxc4 4. Qa4+ Nc6 5. Qxc4 Nf6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Nc3 Bd6 9. g3 O-O 10. Bg2 Bd7 11. O-O Rfd8 12. Rac1 Qe7 13. Ne4 Be8 14. e3 Rac8 15. Rfd1 a6 16. Nc5 Bxc5 17. Qxc5 Qxc5 18. Rxc5 Ne7 19. Ne5 Nd5 20. a3 f6 21. Bh3 fxe5 22. Bxe6+ Bf7 23. Bxc8 Rxc8 24. dxe5 Nb6 25. Rd4 Be6 26. f4 Kf7 27. e4 g6 28. Kf2 Ke7 29. Rc1 a5 30. Rc5 a4 31. Rb4 Bd7 32. Rc1 Bc6 33. Ke3 Nd7 34. Rbc4 Rb8 35. h4 h5 36. Rg1 Rh8 37. Rc2 Ke6 38. Rgc1 Nb8 39. Rc5 Ke7 40. R1c2 Nd7 41. Rxc6 bxc6 42. Rxc6 Rb8 43. Rxg6 Rxb2 44. f5 Rb3+ 45. Kf4 Rxa3 46. Rg7+ Ke8 47. e6 Nf6 48. g4 Ra1 49. e5 Nd5+ 50. Ke4 1-0

White: Peter Leko
Black: Eric Lobron
------------------
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 Nf6 5. Bd3 O-O 6. O-O Nc6 7. h3 e5 8. Re1 h6 9. Na3 Nd7 10. Bb5 Ne7 11. Nc2 a6 12. Bf1 b6 13. a4 Bb7 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. b3 Nc8 16. Ba3 Nd6 17. Nd2 c5 18. g3 Qc7 19. Bg2 Nf6 20. c4 Rad8 21. Qe2 a5 22. Bb2 Rfe8 23. Na3 h5 24. Rad1 Nh7 25. Nab1 Nf8 26. Nc3 Qb8 27. Nd5 Bc6 28. Nf3 f6 29. Nh4 Nf7 30. Rd3 Bxd5 31. cxd5 Nd6 32. Bc1 Qc8 33. Rc3 Qd7 34. Nf3 Qf7 35. h4 Kh7 36. Qe3 Nd7 37. Bh3 Qf8 38. Qe2 Bh6 39. Bxh6 Qxh6 40. Nd2 f5 41. exf5 Nxf5 42. Ne4 Kh8 43. Ng5 Re7 44. d6 Rg7 45. Qd2 1-0

White: Evgeny Bareev
Black: Anatoly Karpov
---------------------
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3 6. Qxc3 b6 7. g3 Bb7 8. Bg2 c5 9. b4 d6 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Bb2 Qc7 12. d3 Rfc8 13. Rac1 a6 14. Qd2 Bc6 15. Rfe1 Qb7 16. d4 Qb8 17. Bh3 Ne4 18. Qe3 d5 19. cxd5 Bxd5 20. dxc5 bxc5 21. Nd2 Nd6 22. Qc3 Ne8 23. e4 Bb7 24. Nb3 Ndf6 25. Bg2 cxb4 26. Qxb4 Rxc1 27. Bxc1 Bc6 28. Qc3 Qc8 29. Bf4 Bb5 30. Qb2 Qd8 31. Nc5 Rc8 32. Qb4 Qb6 33. Rc1 Qa7 34. h3 h6 35. Rc3 Qa8 36. a4 Bc6 37. Qb6 Nd7 38. Nxd7 Bxd7 39. Rxc8 Qxc8 40. a5 Bb5 41. Bf1 Bxf1 42. Kxf1 Qc4+ 43. Kg1 Nf6 44. f3 Nh5 45. Bb8 Qc3 46. g4 Nf6 47. Qd8+ Kh7 48. Kg2 Qb2+ 49. Kg1 Qe2 0-1

White: Vladimir Kramnik
Black: Alexander Beliavsky
--------------------------
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Qc2 O-O 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Rd1 dxc4 8. e4 Nb6 9. h4 Nfd7 10. Be2 Re8 11. Be3 c6 12. e5 Nf8 13. Ne4 Bd7 14. O-O f5 15. exf6 gxf6 16. Bh6 Ng6 17. Nc5 Qc7 18. Bxc4 Nxc4 19. Qxc4 Bf8 20. Bxf8 Nxf8 21. Rfe1 Re7 22. Qc3 Rae8 23. Ne4 Rf7 24. d5 e5 25. dxc6 Qxc6 26. Nd6 Qxc3 27. bxc3 Re6 28. Nxf7 Kxf7 29. Nd2 Ra6 30. Ne4 Bc6 31. Rd6 Nd7 32. Red1 Ke7 33. R6d2 Ra3 34. f3 Ba4 35. Rc1 Bc6 36. Nd6 Nc5 37. Nc4 Ra4 38. Ne3 Ne6 39. Rcd1 Kf7 40. Nf5 Nc5 41. Rd8 Rxa2 42. h5 Ne6 43. Rh8 Ng5 44. Rc8 Rxg2+ 45. Kf1 1-0

White: Alexander Beliavsky
Black: Vassily Ivanchuk
--------------------------
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bb5+ Bd7 8. Be2 c5 9. Nf3 cxd4 10. cxd4 Bc6 11. Qd3 O-O 12. O-O e6 13. Bf4 Nd7 14. Rac1 Nf6 15. Nd2 Qe7 16. Qe3 Rfd8 17. Be5 Bf8 18. Nb3 Nd7 19. Bf4 Qa3 20. Rfd1 Re8 21. Rc2 e5 22. dxe5 Nxe5 23. f3 f5 24. Qc3 Bg7 25. Bc1 Qe7 26. f4 Bxe4 27. fxe5 Bxc2 28. Qxc2 Rac8 29. Bc4+ Kh8 30. Rd5 Qh4 31. Nd2 Rxe5 32. g3 Qe7 0-1

 

Chung Ling High School in the lead

With only two rounds remaining in the fifth Penang Bayview Chess League, the domination of Chung Ling High School in both divisions of the competition seems complete.

After nine rounds of the competition, Chung Ling High School A continues to lead in Division One by beating Pessca 3-1. Penang Free School A continued to provide a strong challenge to CLHS A but despite winning 4-0 against Hitachi Semiconductors, they still trailed the leaders by 1.5 points.

In other Division One matches, Old Frees Association beat Penang Development Corporation 4-0, Persatuan Alumni Chung Ling beat Penang Free School B 3-1 and the MSSPP Juniors drew 2-2 with Chung Ling High School B.

In the second division, Chung Ling High School C beat the MSSPP Girls 3-1 to retain their lead while Hewlett-Packard scored a 3.5-0.5 result against Union High School.

In other matches, Bank Bumiputra beat Penang Free School C 3-1, DCI beat National Semiconductors 4-0 and Penang Chinese Girls High School beat Mara Taiping 4-0.

Current standings after nine rounds:

Division One - CLHS A 26 points, PFS A 24.5 points, OFA 22 points, PACL 20.5 points, Pessca 18 points, CLHS B 17.5 points, USM 16.5 points, MSSPP Jrs 11.5 points, PFS B 10.5 points, PDC 8 points and Hitachi 5 points.

Division Two - CLHS C 27.5 points, CLHS D 23.5 points, HP 19.5 points, BBMB 19 points, PFS C 17.5 points, MSSPP Girls 17 points, DCI 16.5 points, Union 14 points, PCGHS 9 points, NS 8 points and Mara Taiping 5.5 points.

The Penang Bayview Chess League is annually sponsored by The City Bayview Hotel and the 10th round will be played this Sunday morning at the hotel's Revolving Restaurant. The final round will be on Aug 6.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Bayan Baru Open
---------------
The Residents' Association of Bayan Baru, Penang, will hold its ninth annual open chess championship on Aug 13 at the association's clubhouse.

Entry fees for the one-day tournament are RM5 for players under the age of 18 and members of either the Residents' Association or the Penang Chess Association, and RM8 for all other participants.

Entry forms are available daily from The Times Bookshop at the Penang Plaza, Burmah Road, Penang. They will also be available Mondays to Fridays from the association's clubhouse in Jalan Nibong, Bayan Baru (7pm-9pm).

As in previous years, cash prizes are not offered. Instead, winners will be given prizes in kind donated by various parties. Entries will close on Aug 6.

Merdeka Team Championship

-------------------------

This yearly event will once again be organised by the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia at the Wisma Belia in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 2-4. As usual, this event will be separated into three sections all running at the same time.

The premier attraction is the competition for the Deputy Prime Minister's trophy in the state section. Traditionally, all the various state chess associations in the country make it a point to play, and this event is widely viewed as the national team championship.

For the junior section of the championship, the winner will be awarded the Merdeka Youth challenge trophy. Normally too, many of the state associations will send their teams to play here but the organisers have also been allowing other junior teams to participate.

In recent years though, the popularity of the junior section has diminished a little. This could be attributed to the Majlis Sukan Sekolah-sekolah Malaysia's own national junior championships which are held during the mid- semester break.

Finally, there is the open section of the championship which has never failed to attract teams from near and afar, including a number from Singapore.

More information on this event will be announced later.

Total Chess
-----------
Total Chess, a commercially-run chess club in Petaling Jaya, will be holding two local rating tournaments on August 6 and 13.

On August 6, an open category tournament will be played at the Total Chess premises in the New Town Centre, Petaling Jaya, and 10 cash prizes totalling RM300 will be at stake. There are also prizes for the best under-10, under- 12, under-14 and under-16 players.

A week later, a special tournament for under-12 players will be held. Here, 10 prizes comprising medals, chess books and magazines will be offered.

Both tournaments are six-round events using a time control of 25 minutes per player for each game. The entry fees are RM15 for Total Chess members and RM20 for non-members in the open category event, and RM10 and RM15 respectively for the under-12 event.

For further details, call Joseph Toh (tel: 03-757-4606).

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Joop van Oosterom is a familiar figure in Europe. Noted as an ardent supporter of chess, he is credited with having introduced many new ideas in promoting the game.

A notable example is the Melody Amber blindfold/rapidplay tournament which is an annual event that involves top chess players. Participants are required to engage their opponents in two games, one of which is played without sight of the chess board.

Recently, he sponsored the Polka women versus veterans tournament in Prague. This was a Scheveningen style of tournament in which five top women players were pitted in a double-round contest against five veteran players.

Despite a spirited fightback from the veteran players in the final rounds, the women won this event comfortably with a final score of 26.5-23.5.

Playing for the women's side were world champion Xie Jun (China), Pia Cramling (Sweden), Nana Ioseliani (Georgia) and two of the Polgar sisters from Hungary, Judit and Zsuzsa.

On the veteran's side were Viktor Korchnoi (Switzerland), Vlastimil Hort (Germany), Lajos Portisch (Hungary) and former world champions Vassily Smyslov (Russia) and Boris Spassky (France).

The joint winners of the tournament were Cramling and Judit Polgar who each scored 6.5 points. Third was Korchnoi with 5.5 points, while three players - Xie, Smyslov and Spassky - obtained five points each.

Zsuzsa Polgar and Hort scored 4.5 points each, while Ioseliani had four points and Portisch 3.5.

Here are a few interesting games from the tournament.

Vlastimil Hort - Pia Cramling
-----------------------------
1. c4 g6, 2. d4 Bg7, 3. Nc3 Nf6, 4. e4 d6, 5. Be2 O-O, 6. Bg5 Na6, 7. Bf3 c6, 8. Qd2 e5, 9. Nge2 Qe8, 10. O-O h5, 11. d5 cxd5, 12. Bxf6 Bxf6, 13. Nxd5 Bg7, 14. Nec3 Bd7, 15. Rfd1 Rd8, 16. b4 Be6, 17. Qe3 b6, 18. a4 Rb8, 19. Be2 Bc8, 20. Nb5 Qd7, 21. a5 bxa5, 22. Rxa5 Bb7, 23. Rda1 Bxd5, 24. Rxa6 Bc6, 25. Rxa7 Qd8, 26. Rd1 Bxb5, 27. cxb5 Bf6, 28. Bc4 Kg7, 29. Ra6 Be7, 30. Qa7 Qc8, 31. Rc6 Qg4, 32. Re1 Qg5, 33. Qe3 Qxe3, 34. Rxe3 Bd8, 35. Rd3 Bb6, 36. Rdxd6 Bd4, 37. b6 Ra8, 38. g3 Ra1+, 39. Kg2 Rb1, 40. b5 Rb2, 41. Rf6 Rb4, 42. b7 Ba7, 43. Rfd6 1-0

Xie Jun - Boris Spassky
-----------------------
1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 d6, 6. Be2 g6, 7. Nb3 Bg7, 8. O-O a6, 9. Re1 b5, 10. Bf1 O-O, 11. a4 b4, 12. Nd5 e6, 13. Nxf6+ Bxf6, 14. a5 Bg7, 15. Ra2 Qe7, 16. Be3 Bb7, 17. Qd2 Rfc8, 18. f4 e5, 19. f5 gxf5, 20. exf5 Kh8, 21. Raa1 d5, 22. Bc5 Qf6, 23. Bb6 Ne7, 24. Nc5 Bc6, 25. Nxa6 d4, 26. Nxb4 Bh6, 27. Qd3 Nxf5, 28. Nxc6 Rxc6, 29. Qe4 Be3+, 30. Rxe3 Nxe3, 31. Bd3 Kg7, 32. b4 Rg8, 33. Bc5 Rxc5, 34. bxc5 Kf8, 35. a6 1-0

 

Vietnamese challenge at Sutra Beach

It is not often that the state chess associations outside the Klang Valley manage to attract foreign players but the Terengganu Chess Association managed to get Vietnamese international master Nguyen Anh Dung to play in the Sutra Beach Resort open tournament.

Of course, the fact that the Vietnamese player happened to stay behind in the country after the zonal championship at Genting Highlands helped considerably. It did not take much to persuade Nguyen to try his luck for the first prize of RM1,000.

So Nguyen turned up in Kuala Terengganu very much the pre-tournament favourite. He reeled off four wins in a row, including a third round victory against the national champion, Mas Hafizulhelmi.

Unfortunately, the Vietnamese lost his touch in the fifth round and the local crowd was especially estatic when their homegrown player, lawyer Ghalam Sani, produced an inspired game to take a point off Nguyen.

Ghalam was in a good form. A round earlier, he had despatched off former national champion Mok Tze Meng and before that, former national schoolboy champion Ahmad Maliki. A draw against Mas Hafizulhelmi in the final round was sufficient for Ghalam to win the tournament.

After his loss to Ghalam, Nguyen was no longer in the running for the top prize despite winning in the sixth round against Maliki. He drew against Mok in the final round to place joint second/third with Mas Hafizulhelmi.

The three-day tournament was played at the Sutra Beach Resort in Kuala Terengganu. Sponsored by the hotel, the event attracted 40 participants including seven current or former national players. The local field was limited to only six players with the rest, excluding Nguyen, coming from various parts of the country.

The prize winners: Ghalam Sani 6 points, IM Nguyen Anh Dung and Mas Hafizulhelmi 5.5 points each, Ahmad Maliki, Mok Tze Meng, Rosli Mohd Nor and Agus Salim 5 points each, John Chay, Mohd Fadli Zakaria and Ismail Ahmad 4.5 points each.

THE BAYVIEW UPDATE

With eight rounds completed in the fifth Penang Bayview Chess League, Chung Ling High School A is in the lead in Division One after a 4-0 win over Penang Development Corporation.

Penang Free School A suffered a slight setback when they lost to Chung Ling High School B by a 1.5-2.5 score. Old Frees Association beat Persatuan Alumni Chung Ling 3-1, while Universiti Sains Malaysia scored a 3-1 win against Penang Free School B and Pessca beat Hitachi Semiconductors 4-0.

In Division Two, Chung Ling High School C beat Penang Chinese Girls High Schol 4-0, while their D team won 3-1 against Union High School. Penang Free School C beat the MSSPP Girls 3-1 and Bank Bumiputra beat Hewlett-Packard 2.5-1.5. DCI beat Mara Taiping 3-0.

The current standings after eight rounds:

Division One - CLHS A 23 points, PFS A 20.5 points, OFA 18 points, PACL 17.5 points, Pessca 17 points, USM 16.5 points, CLHS B 15.5 points, MSSPP Jrs and PFS B 9.5 points, PDC 8 points, and Hitachi 5 points.

Division Two - CLHS C 24.5 points, CLHS D 23.5 points, PFS C 16.5 points, MSSPP Girls, HP and BBMB 16 points, Union 13.5 points, DCI 12.5 points, NS 8 points, Mara Taiping 5.5 points and PCGHS 5 points.

The Penang Bayview Chess League is annually sponsored by The City Bayview Hotel. The ninth round will be played this Sunday morning at the hotel's Revolving Restaurant.

TWO TOTAL TOURNAMENTS

Total Chess, a commercially-run chess club in Petaling Jaya, will stage two local rating tournaments on Aug 6 and 13.

On Aug 6, an open category tournament will be played at the Total Chess premises in the New Town Centre, Petaling Jaya; 10 cash prizes totalling RM300 will be at stake. There are also prizes for the best under-10, under- 12, under-14 and under-16 players.

On Aug 13, a special tournament for under-12 players will be held.

Both tournaments are six-round events using a time control of 25 minutes per player for each game. The entry fees are RM15 for Total Chess members and RM20 for non-members in the open category event, and RM10 and RM15 respectively for the under-12 event. For further enquiries or registration, call Joseph Toh (tel: 03-757-4606).

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Here are two games from the local chess circuit this week. The first was played at the Terengganu Sutra Beach Resort championship in Kuala Terengganu and features Nguyen Anh Dung's loss to Ghalam Sani, while the second game is from the Penang Bayview Chess League.

White: Ghalam Sani

Black: Nguyen Anh Dung

----------------------

1. e4 c5, 2. Nc3 Nc6, 3. g3 g6, 4. Bg2 Bg7, 5. d3 e6, 6. f4 Nge7, 7. Nf3 d5, 8. 0-0 0-0, 9. h3 Rb8, 10. a4 dxe4, 11. dxe4 b6, 12. Qe2 Nd4, 13. Nxd4 cxd4, 14. Rd1 Qc7, 15. Nb5 Ba6, 16. Nxc7 Bxe2, 17. Rd2 Bc4, 18. e5 Nf5, 19. g4 Ne3, 20. Be4 f5, 21. Rxd4 Rbc8, 22. Bxe3 Rxc7, 23. gxf5 gxf5, 24. Bf3 Ba6, 25. c3 Bb7, 26. Bxb7 Rxb7, 27. Rad1 Rff7, 28.Rd6 Rfe7, 29. c4 Bf8, 30. Rd8 Kf7, 31. Kf2 Rec7, 32. b3 Be7, 33. R8d3 Ke8, 34. Rg1 Kf7, 35. Ke2 Rc8, 36. Bd2 a6, 37. Be1 b5, 38. axb5 axb5, 39. cxb5 Rxb5, 40. Bd2 Rc2, 41. Rc1 Rbc5, 42. Rxc2 Rxc2, 43. Kd1 Ra2, 44. Kc1 Ba3+, 45. Kb1 Rb2+, 46. Ka1 Rc2, 47. b4 Bc1, 48. Bxc1 Rxc1+, 49. Kb2 Rc4, 50. Kb3 Rxf4, 51. b5 Rf1, 52. Kc4 Re1, 53. b6 Rxe5, 54.Rb3 1-0

White: Tan Eng Seong

Black: Ooi Chern Ee

--------------------

1. e4 c5, 2. Nc3 Nc6, 3. d3 g6, 4. Be3 d6, 5. f4 Bg7, 6. Nf3 Nd4, 7. Be2 b5, 8. Qd2 b4, 9.Nd1 Nxe2, 10. Qxe2 Nf6, 11. h3 a5, 12. 0-0 0-0, 13. c4 bxc3, 14. bxc3 Ba6, 15. Qc2 Qd7, 16. Rb1 Bb5, 17. c4 Ba4, 18. Qd2 Qc6, 19. Nc3 Rfb8, 20. e5 Ne8, 21. Nd5 Rb7, 22. exd6 exd6, 23. f5 Nf6, 24. Bh6 Bh8, 25. Qg5 Nxd5, 26. fxg6 fxg6, 27. cxd5 Qd7, 28. Rxb7 Qxb7, 29. Qf4 Qb4, 30. Qxd6 Re8, 31. Kh1 Bb5, 32. Ng5 c4, 33.Rf8+ 1-0

 

Change of venue

 

Utut wins the day

Indonesian grandmaster Utut Adianto played to form and justified his seeding when he won the men's East Asian/Oceanic zonal championship at the Genting Highlands last month.

He finished the tournament with nine points, ahead of grandmaster Rogelio Antonio from the Philippines who obtained 7.5 points.

In joint third-fifth places were Vietnamese international master Nguyen Anh Dung, Indonesian international master Nasib Ginting and untitled Filipino player Fernie Donguines. The three players scored seven points each.

Edhi Handoko, another Indonesian grandmaster, was a disappointment as the second seed could only manage to score 6.5 points and tie for the sixth to ninth placings with Indonesian Irwanto, Filipino Barlo Nadera and Hiroyuki Nishimura from Japan.

Four Malaysians were among the field of 28 players. Mas Hafizulhelmi, the current national champion, was the best local player with a score of 5.5 points which automatically qualified him for a FIDE Master title. Darren Yong and Mohd Saprin Sabri obtained 4.5 points each, while Mohd Kamal Abdullah scored 3.5 points.

The other players who also automatically qualified as FIDE Masters were Aung Thant Zin (Myanmar), Donguines, Chito Garma (Philippines), Irwanto, Nadera, Nishimura and Terry Toh (Singapore). Nishimura, Garma and FM Anthony Ker (New Zealand) obtained international master norms.

The women's zonal championship was held at the same time. Australian international master Irina Berezina-Feldman won the event with a score of 8.5 points. Half a point behind her was Vietnamese international master Hoang Thanh Trang.

Third was another Vietnamese player, unheralded Nguyen Thi Tuong Van, who obtained 7.5 points. Three players - Tamin Upi Darmayana (Indonesia), Ngan Phan-Koshnitsky (Australia) and Mai Thi Thanh Houng (Vietnam) - tied for the fourth-sixth places with seven points each.

The three Malaysian players fared poorly. The best resistance was put up by Ong Hwa Lu who scored four points, while Eliza Hanum Ibrahim and Samantha Lee each obtained 2.5 points.

Nguyen Thi Tuong Van was automatically conferred the international master title by virtue of her 66.7 per cent score in the tournament, while Veronica Klimenko (Australia), Mai Thi Thanh Houng and Ngan Phan-Koshnitsky were made FIDE Masters.

The zonal tournaments were hosted by the Malaysian Chess Federation and played at the Genting Highlands. Adianto, Berezina-Feldman and Hoang qualified for the Interzonal which is the next stage of the World Chess Federation's current world chess championship cycle.

BAYVIEW CHESS UPDATE

Two rounds were played at the fifth Penang Bayview Chess League last Sunday after the tournament was opened officially by State Executive Councillor Dr Sak Cheng Lum.

In the morning, Penang Free School A whitewashed Penang Development Corporation 4-0 while Persatuan Alumni Chung Ling beat MSSPP Juniors by a narrow 2.5-1.5 score.

Old Frees Association fell to a shock 1-3 defeat at the hands of Chung Ling High School A, while the other results in Division One were Penang Free School B beating Hitachi Semiconductor 3-1, and Chung Ling High School B winning 3-1 against Universiti Sains Malaysia.

In Division Two, National Semiconductor beat Hewlett-Packard 3-1, while Chung Ling High School D beat DCI 2.5-1.5. Penang Free School C scored their first points by beating Mara Taiping 2.5-1.5, Union High School beat Penang Chinese Girls High School 2.5-1.5, and Bank Bumiputra beat MSSPP Girls 2.5-1.5.

In the afternoon session, Chung Ling High School A beat Penang Free School B 3-1, Persatuan Alumni Chung Ling beat Chung Ling High School B 3-1, and Penang Free School A beat Pessca 3-1. Two other matches were drawn 2-2: Universiti Sains Malaysia against Hitachi Semiconductor, and Penang Development Corporation against MSSPP Juniors.

Among the Division Two teams, Penang Free School C continued their winning streak by beating National Semiconductor 4-0, while MSSPP Girls beat Union High School 3-1 and Chung Ling High School D beat Penang Chinese Girls High School 3-1. DCI beat Hewlett-Packard 3-1, and Chung Ling High School beat Mara Taiping by a similar score.

The current standings after five rounds: Division One - PFS A 15 points, CLHSA 13.5 points, CLOBA 11.5 points, OFA and USM 10 points, CLHS B 8.5 points,Pessca, MSSPP Jrs and PFS B 8 points, PDC 4 points, and Hitachi 3.5 points.

Division Two - CLHS D 15 points, CLHS C 12.5 points, MSSPP Girls 11.5 points, Union and BBMB 10 points, HP and DCI 9.5 points, PFS C 6.5 points, NS 6 points, Mara Taiping 5.5 points, and PCGHS 4 points.

The Penang Bayview Chess League is annually sponsored by The City Bayview Hotel. The sixth and seventh rounds will be played tomorrow at the hotel's Sri Mas Room.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

In New York last month where the American leg of the Intel Rapidplay Grand Prix was held under the auspices of the Professional Chess Association, Gary Kasparov took the first prize with a 2-0 score over Vassily Ivanchuk in the final.

Earlier during the semi-finals, Ivanchuk had eliminated Alexander Morozevich (Russia) with a 2-0 result, while Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) played to a 1.5-1.5 draw. The blitz tie-break game was also drawn but Kasparov advanced to the final by invoking the draw odds rule.

[Event "Intel Rapidplay Grand Prix"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date ""]
[Round ""]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Kasparov, Gary"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4 O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. Bb3 Nc6 11. Bg5 Na5 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Nd5 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bg5 15. Qd3 Bh6 16. Rad1 Rc8 17. Nd2 b5 18. c3 Kh8 19. b4 Ra8 20. Nb3 f5 21. Na5 Rc8 22. Qh3 Rf7 23. Rfe1 Qe8 24. Qh4 Qf8 25. exf5 Bxf5 26. f3 Bc2 27. Ra1 Bf5 28. h3 Qe8 29. Qf2 Qe6 30. Rad1 Qg6 31. Kh1 Rcf8 32. h4 Bc2 33. Rd2 Bxd2 34. Qxd2 Qg3 35. Nb7 Rxb7 0-1

[Event "Intel Rapidplay Grand Prix"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date ""]
[Round ""]
[White "Kasparov, Gary"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. e3 e5 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. bxc3 Qd6 8. Bd3 Nf6 9. f3 O-O 10. Ne2 Be6 11. O-O Rad8 12. Qc1 Nd7 13. Be1 Qe7 14. Qb1 Nb6 15. Bxh7+ Kh8 16. Bd3 Na5 17. e4 Nac4 18. f4 f6 19. f5 Bf7 20. Rf3 Kg8 21. Rh3 exd4 22. cxd4 c5 23. d5 Ne5 24. Bc2 Nbc4 25. Nf4 b5 26. Qb3 Ng4 27. Qg3 Nce5 28. Bd1 1-0

[Event "Intel Rapidplay Grand Prix"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date ""]
[Round ""]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Morozevich, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. d5 Ne5 5. f4 Nd7 6. e4 Nb6 7. a4 a5 8. Be3 e6 9. Bxb6 cxb6 10. Bxc4 Bb4 11. Nf3 Nf6 12. O-O O-O 13. dxe6 Bxe6 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. Qb3 Kh8 16. Ng5 Ng4 17. Nxe6 Qh4 18. h3 Rae8 19. Ne2 Rxe6 20. Qxe6 Bc5+ 21. Kh1 h5 22. Rad1 Rd8, 23. Rxd8+ Qxd8 24. Qd5 Qh4 25. Qg5 Nf2+ 26. Rxf2 Qxg5 27. fxg5 Bxf2 28. g6 Kg8 29. g4 hxg4 30. hxg4 Kf8 31. Kg2 Bc5 32. e5 Ke7 33. Kf3 Kd7 34. Ke4 Kc6 35. Nd4+ Bxd4 36. Kxd4 Kd7 37. Kd5 Ke7 38. e6 Ke8 39. Kd6 Kd8 40. b3 Ke8 41. e7 1-0

 

Kasparov holds on tight