Mas Hafizul local closed chess champ

Mas Hafizulhilmi Rahman from Kelantan successfully defended his title at this year's national closed chess championship which ended in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday.

He was undefeated in the five-day tournament at the KL Parkroyal which saw 54 players taking part in the men's section and 14 in the women's section.

Mas Hafizul was tied with Penang's Ooi Chern Ee going into the final round but while Mas Hafizul managed to overcome stiff resistance from Lim Chuin Hoong, Ooi could obtain no better than a draw.

These results put the Kelantanese on top of the championship standings with eight points from nine rounds while Ooi was in second place with 7 1/2 points. The two players received RM500 and RM400 respectively for their efforts. In addition, Mas Hafizul was awarded the Piala Dato Hussein Onn.

In joint third and fourth places were Tan Wei Sin and Lim Yee Weng (both Selangor) who each scored 6 1/2 points.

These four players have automatically qualified for the national men's team that will be taking part in the Asian team chess championship which starts in Singapore next Thursday.

The Malaysian Chess Federation and the federation's president, Dato Sabbaruddin Chik, will be picking one more player each to complete the six-man team.

At the national closed championship, five players - Thomas Lam (MCF), Mohd Fairin Zakaria (PCMM), Julian Navaratnam (KLCA), Azahari Mohd Noor (Kelantan) and Abdul Haq Mohamed (Kelantan) - scored six points each.

In the women's section of the championship, Khairunissa Wahiduddin (Pahang) is the new national women's champion, winning the Piala Dato Sabbaruddin Chik and RM300 with a score of six points from seven games.

A far distance behind were three players - Eliza Hanum Ibrahim (PCMM), Fadlilah Wahiduddin (Pahang) and Roslina Marmono (MCF) - who each scored 4 1/2 points.

Both Khairunissa and Eliza Hanum have qualified for the national women's team that will be playing in the inaugural Asian women's team chess championship in Singapore next week. Again, the MCF and its president shall pick two other players to complete the team.

The trophies for the best under-18 players, awarded by the KL Parkroyal, went to Mas Hafizul and Eliza Hanum.

This was the third year running that the KL Parkroyal has sponsored the national closed championships. In an earlier ceremony, the hotel's general manager, David Travers, presented Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Dato Sabbaruddin a cheque for RM10,000 towards this event.

JOHOR BARU OPEN

Readers in the south of the country wishing for some chess action should keep this Sunday in mind because that's when a one-day tournament will be held at the Bangunan Komtar in Johor Baru.

This is a six-round event played according to Rapid-30 rules. The Johor State Economic Development Corporation and the Johor Baru District Chess Club are the co-organisers.

According to them, this event will have three categories. The open section has a total cash prize of RM1,950 and the winner shall receive RM800.

The other prizes include RM500 for second and RM300 for third placing. There are seven other minor prizes, ranging from RM100 for the fourth-placed winner to two RM20 prizes for the ninth and 10th-placed winners.

Both the under-16 and under-12 sections are offering 10 cash prizes each, but these are not as attractive as those offered in the open section. For the under-16 section, the winner stands to collect RM100 and the runners-up RM80. In the under-12 section, the winner will receive RM80.

Although yesterday was supposed to be the closing date, those who still wish to take part can try to contact Narayanan Krishnan (07-331-7604/07-333-8215) today or tomorrow to see if there are still any available places. Only a maximum of 200 players will be allowed to take part.

Entry fees are RM20 for the open section, RM6 for the under-16 section and RM5 for the under-12 event.

MALAY MASTERS COMING UP

The Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia will organise this year's Malay Masters chess championship which shall be held at the Bank Pertanian Malaysia in Bangi from Dec 15-17.

Participation in the three-day event, sponsored by Bank Pertanian, is limited to only 22 players who qualified through the open section of the Malaysian Malays tournament previously.

Six players who took part in the novices section, two players each from the women's open and veteran's sections, and three junior players have also been selected for the Malay Masters championship.

Joining them will be the defending champion, Mohd Fairin Zakaria, and the previous champion, Mohd Kamal Abdullah.

Two rounds will be played on Dec 15, three on Dec 16 and the remaining two rounds on the final day of the competition. For more details, contact Mohd Zaini Hamid (03-789-3710 office/03-617-5031 residence).

GAMES OF THE WEEK: KRAMNIK LEADS THE WAY

Belgrade was the venue of the Investabank tournament last month. This was a 12-player Category 16 tournament where some of the best players in the world took part.

Although Boris Gelfand (Byelorus) and Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) shared centre stage by finishing joint champions, Kramnik was the more inspiring of the two players.

Final standings: Gelfand and Kramnik 8 points each; Alexei Shirov (Spain) 6 1/2 points; Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) 6 points; Michael Adams (England), Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) and Jan Timman (Netherlands) 5 1/2 points each; Peter Leko (Hungary) 5 points; Ljubomir Ljubojevic (Yugoslavia) 4 1/2 points; Alexander Beliavsky (Ukraine) and Joel Lautier (France) 4 points each; and Igor Miladinovic (Yugoslavia) 3 1/2 points.

Adams - Kramnik

1. e4 c5, 2. Nc3 Nc6, 3. Nf3 d6, 4. d4 cxd4, 5. Nxd4 Nf6, 6. Be3 Ng4, 7. Bg5 h6, 8. Bh4 g5, 9. Bg3 Bg7, 10. Nb3 Be6, 11. Be2 h5, 12. h4 gxh4, 13. Bxh4 Rc8, 14. O-O Bf6, 15. Bg3 Rg8, 16. Nd5 h4, 17. Nxf6+ Nxf6, 18. Bxh4 Nxe4, 19. Bf3 Ng5, 20. Bxg5 Rxg5, 21. Qd2 Rg8, 22. Nd4 Ne5, 23. Be4 Qb6, 24. Rfe1 d5, 25. Bxd5 Bxd5, 26. Rxe5 Rxg2+, 27. Kf1 Qg6, 28. Qb4 Bc4+, 29. Ke1 Qf6 0-1

Topalov - Kramnik

1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 d6, 6. Bc4 Qb6, 7. Ndb5 a6, 8. Be3 Qa5, 9. Nd4 Ne5, 10. Bd3 Neg4, 11. Bc1 g6, 12. Nb3 Qb6, 13. Qe2 Bg7, 14. f4 Nh5, 15. Nd5 Qd8, 16. Bd2 e6, 17. Ba5 Qh4+, 18. g3 Nxg3, 19. Nc7+ Ke7, 20. hxg3 Qxg3+, 21. Kd1 Nf2+, 22. Kd2 Nxh1, 23. Nxa8 Qxf4+, 24. Qe3 Qh2+, 25. Qe2 Qf4+, 26. Qe3 Qh2+, 27. Qe2 Bh6+, 28. Kc3 Qe5+, 29. Kb4 Ng3, 30. Qe1 Bg7, 31. Nb6 d5, 32. Ka4 Bd7+, 33. Nxd7 b5+, 34. Kb4 Kxd7, 35. Bb6 Qxb2, 36. exd5 Rc8, 37. dxe6+ Ke8, 38. Bc5 Bc3+, 39. Qxc3 a5+, 40. Kxb5 Qxc3 0-1

Kramnik - Beliavsky

1. Nf3 d5, 2. g3 c6, 3. Bg2 Bg4, 4. O-O Nd7, 5. d4 e6, 6. Nbd2 f5, 7. c4 Bd6, 8. Qb3 Rb8, 9. Re1 Nh6, 10. cxd5 cxd5, 11. h3 Bh5, 12. e4 fxe4, 13. Ng5 Bf7, 14. Ndxe4 dxe4, 15. Nxe6 Bxe6, 16. Qxe6+ Qe7, 17. Rxe4 Kd8, 18. Qd5, 1-0

Adams - Gelfand

1. d4 d5, 2. Bg5 c6, 3. e3 h6, 4. Bh4 Qb6, 5. b3 e5, 6. Nf3 e4, 7. Nfd2 Ne7, 8. c4 Nf5, 9. Bg3 Nxg3, 10. hxg3 Be6, 11. Be2 Nd7, 12. a3 Be7, 13. Nc3 Nf6, 14. b4 O-O, 15. Rc1 Qd8, 16. Nb3 b6, 17. c5 a5, 18. bxa5 bxc5, 19. dxc5 Nd7, 20. Nd4 Qc7, 21. a6 Nxc5, 22. O-O Rfc8, 23. Na2 Bd7, 24. Nb4 Qd6, 25. Qc2 Bf8, 26. Rfd1 g6, 27. Rd2 h5, 28. Nb3 Nxb3, 29. Qxb3 Qe6, 30. Qd1 Be7, 31. Nc2 Qf6, 32. Rb1 Ra7, 33. Nb4 Rca8, 34. Qc1 Qd6, 35. Rb3 Rc8, 36. Rc3 Rcc7, 37. Bd1 Bf6, 38. Rc4 Be6, 39. Be2 c5, 40. Nxd5 Bxd5, 41. Qd1 Rd7, 42. Rxe4 Qc6, 43. Re8+ Kg7, 44. Rb8 c4, 45. Rb7 c3, 46. Bb5 Qxb5, 47. Rxb5 cxd2, 48. Qxd2 Bc4, 49. Qb4 Bxb5, 50. Qxb5 Rd6, 51. e4 Re6, 52. Qd3 Rexa6, 53. Kh2 Rxa3, 54. Qd6 R3a6, 55. Qd3 Ra1, 56. f4 Rc1, 57. g4 hxg4, 58. Qe2 Raa1, 59. Kg3 Ra3+ 0-1

Gelfand - Shirov

1. c4 Nf6, 2. Nc3 d5, 3. cxd5 Nxd5, 4. g3 g6, 5. Bg2 Nxc3, 6. bxc3 Bg7, 7. Rb1 Nd7, 8. Nf3 O-O, 9. O-O Rb8, 10. d4 b6, 11. d5 Bb7, 12. Nd4 Nc5, 13. c4 e6, 14. e4 c6, 15. Nxc6 Bxc6, 16. dxc6 Qc7, 17. e5 Rbd8, 18. Qc2 Bxe5, 19. Bg5 f6, 20. Bh6 Rfe8, 21. Rbd1 Bd4, 22. Bf4 e5, 23. Bd5+ Kg7, 24. Rxd4 exf4, 25. Rxf4 Re5, 26. Rd4 Rde8, 27. Bf3 Rf5, 28. Qc3 Re7, 29. Rfd1 h5, 30. h4 Qe5, 31. Qa3 Qe6, 32. Rd6 Qxc4, 33. Rd7 Rfe5, 34. Rxa7 Kh6, 35. Rxe7 Rxe7, 36. Qb2 Ne4, 37. Bxe4 Qxe4, 38. Qxf6, 1-0

Ivanchuk - Topalov

1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 d6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 g6, 6. Be3 Bg7, 7. f3 Nc6, 8. Qd2 O-O, 9. Bc4 Bd7, 10. h4 Rc8, 11. Bb3 h5, 12. O-O-O Ne5, 13. Bg5 Rc5, 14. g4 hxg4, 15. f4 Nc4, 16. Qe2 Qc8, 17. Bxf6 Bxf6, 18. Nd5 Rxd5, 19. exd5 b5, 20. h5 g5, 21. fxg5 Bxg5+, 22. Kb1 f5, 23. Rd3 f4, 24. Bxc4 Qxc4 0-1

 

Near mutiny in chess federation

Nothing has been more exciting during the past week than news from Paris where the annual Congress meeting of the World Chess Federation was taking place.

On Nov 19, the Central Committee of the World Chess Federation passed an historical vote of no confidence in the FIDE president, Florencio Campomanes.

The outcome of the motion, proposed by Phil Haley of Canada and strongly backed by Fanueil Adams of the United States and Egon Ditt of Germany, was 14-12 against Campomanes.

A later effort by Campomanes to take the "no confidence" vote to the General Assembly, in the hope of a reversal of the motion, came to naught.

He found himself in a no-win position when delegates from more than 63 countries presented a statement that if full democracy was not restored to FIDE, they were prepared to set up a rival world chess body.

Faced with this massive revolt and the urgings of many of his longtime friends, Campomanes was finally forced to tender his resignation as the president of the World Chess Federation.

Then in the early hours of Nov 24, 33-year-old Krisan Iljumzhinov, president of the small Russian Kalmyk Republic and a member of the Russian parliament, was elected as the new president of FIDE until the end of 1996 when there will be new elections.

He was introduced to the General Assembly by the FIDE world champion, Anatoly Karpov, for whom Campomanes' ouster must have given him much personal satisfaction.

Initially, the Russian Chess Federation spoke against Iljumzhinov's candidacy but was forced to withdraw its objections when Iljumzhinov's supporters introduced an endorsement letter signed by Russian president Boris Yeltsin.

According to an observer at the General Assembly, "everyone was laughing when the Russian Federation, represented by Gary Kasparov and Andrei Makarov, staged a sudden vanishing act during the actual vote."

Campomanes will remain in FIDE for one year, serving in a newly created post of honorary chairman with no constitutional power and which carries neither stipend nor expenses.

Developments seem positive for FIDE when it was revealed that the match between Karpov and his challenger, Gata Kamsky, finally has a sponsor and it will take place in Montreal next year.

A Unity Commission has also been formed and its purpose is to arrange a unification match in 1996 between the eventual winner of the Karpov-Kamsky match, and Kasparov.

Earlier, the Central Committee had recommended to the General Assembly that it should reject the agreement between FIDE and the Professional Chess Association on the grounds that the draft regulations for the unification of their rival world championship titles, submitted by the PCA, were unsatisfactory.

The General Assembly upheld this recommendation, agreeing that the proposed match regulations were not equal for the two players and in essence meant that FIDE would be renouncing their sovereignty over the World Championship.

In the United States, several policy board members of the United States Chess Federation lauded the decision of the General Assembly.

A longer-range implication of this decision is now becoming clearer. With a Kamsky-Karpov match now certain to be held, the PCA probably will have to agree to demands that the FIDE world champion be treated as a co-champion.

This means that the PCA world champion, Kasparov, cannot declare himself the absolute champion should this unification match ends in a draw.

In the United States, a United States Chess Federation policy board member believed that should Kamsky become the FIDE champion by defeating Karpov and the United States recognising him as such, this would force the PCA to relinquish control over a unification match.

The PCA would not want Intel Corporation, the main sponsor of the Kasparov-Anand PCA world championship match in New York last October, to ask too many questions about why its champion was suddenly playing second fiddle in its own backyard.

A USCF policy board member added: "The computer giant will never tolerate a situation in which the United States itself fails to recognise Kasparov as the absolute champion.

"The PCA will have to deal, and the good news for the PCA is that its opponents will demand nothing more than absolutely equal treatment for both players in the unification match.

"It may be better than what Kasparov deserves, but we have to start somewhere in reestablishing a rule of law in the chess world."

GOINGS ON

On Dec 10, the Johor Bahru District Chess Club will organise a one-day Rapid-30 tournament at Bangunan Komtar in Johor Bahru.

This event will be played in three categories. The open section features a very attractive first prize of RM800 and a second prize of RM500. There are eight other cash prizes in this section, ranging from RM300 for the third prize to two RM20 prizes for the ninth and 10th-placed winners.

Both the under-16 and under-12 sections offer 10 cash prizes each. For the under-16 section, the winner stands to collect RM100 and the runners-up RM80. In the under-12 section, the winner will receive RM80.

Intending participants should register with the organisers before Dec 7. Only 200 places is available. Entry fees are RM20 for the open section, RM6 for the under-16 section and RM5 for the under-12 event.

Details: Narayanan Krishnan (07-331-7604/07-333-8215) or write to him at 52 Jalan Landak Batu, Taman Century, 80250 Johor Bahru.

In Penang, Gerakan Youth will organise a two-day chess competition at the Hotel Agora in MacAlister Road. This event features an open international chess tournament as well as a Chinese chess tournament, to be held concurrently. Three rounds will be played on Jan 6 and four rounds on the following day.

The international chess section will involve the Penang Chess Association as the co-organiser while the Penang Chinese Chess Association will organise the Chinese chess section.

Eight prizes each are offered in both sections and the winner will receive RM500 and a challenge trophy. The second prize is RM400, third prize RM300 and fourth prize RM200. The fifth to eighth placed winners will get RM50 each. Entry fee is RM5 and closing date is Dec 22.

Entry forms are available at Times Bookshop in Burmah Road, Penang. Details: Goh Yoon Wah (04-644-5687).

Also in Penang, the second Universiti Sains Malaysia national open chess tournament begins today and will continue until Sunday. This event, with ElectCom as main sponsor, is run jointly by the university's Bridge & Chess Club and the Penang Chess Association.

This three-day event is held over eight rounds using a time control of one hour per player for each game. Ten prizes totalling RM3,250 are lined up with the winner set to get RM1,000 cash.

Finally in Kuala Lumpur, the national men's and women's closed championship is already in full swing at the Kuala Lumpur Parkroyal.

Three more rounds remain, with two to be played tomorrow and one on Sunday. Today is a rest day for the participants.

KASPAROV HEADS THE PACK

Last month's Paris Grand Prix, sponsored by Intel Corporation, was won by Gary Kasparov. He lost the first game of the final to Vladimir Kramnik but managed to equalise the score when he won the second game. In the play-off which was played at blitz rate, Kasparov beat Kramnik 1 1/2-1/2.

In the semi-finals, Viswanathan Anand was due to play Kasparov but he arrived late for the first game and had to forfeit it. Apparently, there was some miscommunication over the start of the game.

Viktor Korchnoi, Kiril Georgiev, Alexander Chernin, Valentin Arbakov, Konstantin Aseev and Predrag Nikolic qualified through a preliminary event to join Michael Adams, Joel Lautier, Ettienne Bacrot, Vladimir Kramnik, Anatoli Vaisser, Vassily Ivanchuk, Anand, Jon Speelman, Kasparov and Alexander Morozevich in the finals.

Kasparov - Kramnik, finals game 1

1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bb5 e6, 4. O-O Nge7, 5. c3 a6, 6. Be2 d5, 7. exd5 Nxd5, 8. d4 Be7, 9. c4 Nf6, 10. dxc5 Bxc5, 11. Qxd8+ Kxd8, 12. Nc3 Ke7, 13. Rd1 Rd8, 14. Rxd8 Nxd8, 15. a3 Bd7, 16. b4 Bd6, 17. Be3 h6, 18. Rd1 Rc8, 19. h3 Be8, 20. Nd4 Nd7, 21. f4 Bc7, 22. Nb3 f6, 23. c5 Nc6, 24. Bf3 Rd8, 25. h4 Ndb8, 26. Rxd8 Nxd8, 27. Kf2 Nbc6, 28. g3 Bf7, 29. Nd2 Bg6, 30. h5 Bd3, 31. Be2 Bh7, 32. Nc4 Bg8, 33. Bf3 Kd7, 34. Ke2 Ne7, 35. Kd3 Ndc6, 36. Bf2 e5, 37. Nb6+ Kd8, 38. Ncd5 Bxd5, 39. Nxd5 Nxd5, 40. Bxd5 exf4, 41. gxf4 Bxf4, 42. Ke4 Bc1, 43. a4 Nxb4, 44. Bxb7 Kc7, 45. Ba8 Kb8, 46. Bd5 f5+, 47. Kxf5 Nxd5, 48. Bd4 Nf6, 49. Kg6 Kc7, 50. Be5+ Kc6, 51. Kxg7 Nd7, 52. Bd4 Nxc5, 53. Kg6 Ne6, 54. Bf6 Kc5, 55. Be7+ Kc4, 56. Kf5 Nf4, 57. Kg4 Kb3, 58. a5 Ka4, 59. Bd8 Ne6, 60. Bb6 Bg5, 61. Kf5 Nf4, 62. Kg4 Nd5, 63. Kf5 Kb5 0-1

Kramnik - Kasparov, finals game 2

1. c4 g6, 2. Nf3 Nf6, 3. Nc3 Bg7, 4. e4 d6, 5. d4 O-O, 6. Be2 e5, 7. d5 a5, 8. Bg5 h6, 9. Bh4 Na6, 10. O-O Qe8, 11. Nd2 Nh7, 12. a3 f5, 13. f3 Bd7, 14. b4 axb4, 15. axb4 Nxb4, 16. Qb3 c5, 17. dxc6 Nxc6, 18. c5+ Kh8, 19. cxd6 Nd4, 20. Qxb7 Rb8, 21. Qa6 Rc8, 22. Bc4 Rc6, 23. Qa2 Rxd6, 24. Bd5 g5, 25. Bf2 g4, 26. exf5 gxf3, 27. Nxf3 Bxf5, 28. Ne4 Bxe4, 29. Bxe4 Nf6, 30. Bb7 Ng4, 31. Rae1 Qh5, 32. Bg3 Nf5, 33. Nxe5 Nxg3, 34. Rxf8+ Bxf8, 35. Nxg4 Rd1, 36. Rxd1 Bc5+, 37. Qf2 Bxf2+, 38. Nxf2 Ne2+, 39. Kh1 Nc3, 40. Rd8+ Kg7, 41. Bf3 Qb5, 42. Rd3 Qb1+, 43. Bd1 Qb2, 44. Kg1 Qc1, 45. h3 h5, 46. Kh2 h4, 47. Bf3 Qc2, 48. Rd7+ Kf8, 49. Ng4 Qc1, 50. Rd4 Nb5, 51. Rd5 Qf4+, 52. Kh1 Nd4, 53. Ne5 Qc1+, 54. Kh2 Qc7, 55. Rc5 Nxf3+, 56. gxf3 Qb8, 57. Kg1 Qb4, 58. Nd3 Qd4+, 59. Kg2 Qxd3, 60. Rc8+ Kf7, 61. Kf2 Qd7, 62. Rc2 Qxh3, 63. Ke3 Qg3, 64. Rc4 h3, 65. Rf4+ Qxf4+ 0-1

Anand - Kasparov, semi-finals game 2

1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 d6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 Nf6, 5. Nc3 Nc6, 6. Bg5 e6, 7. Qd2 Be7, 8. O-O-O O-O, 9. f4 h6, 10. h4 Nxd4, 11. Qxd4 hxg5, 12. hxg5 Ng4, 13. Be2 e5, 14. Qg1 exf4, 15. Bxg4 Bxg4, 16. Qh2 f5, 17. Qh7+ Kf7, 18. Rh6 Bxg5, 9. Rhxd6 f3+, 20. Kb1 Qxd6, 21. Rxd6 fxg2, 22. Qh2 Bf3, 23. Qg3 Rh8, 24. Qxg5 Rh1+, 25. Nd1 g1=Q, 26. Rd7+ Kf8, 27. Qxf5+ Kg8, 28. Qxf3 Rf8, 29. Qb3+ Kh7 0-1

Lautier - Kramnik, semi-finals game 1

1. d4 d5, 2. c4 c6, 3. Nc3 Nf6, 4. Nf3 e6, 5. Bg5 h6, 6. Bxf6 Qxf6, 7. e4 dxe4, 8. Nxe4 Bb4+, 9. Ke2 Qf4, 10. Qc2 Be7, 11. Ne5 f5, 12. Nd2 Qxd4, 13. Ndf3 Qc5, 14. Ng6 Rg8, 15. Nxe7 Qxe7, 16. g3 e5, 17. Bh3 e4, 18. Rhe1 Na6, 19. Kf1 Bd7, 20. Nd4 g6, 21. a3 O-O-O, 22. b4 Nc7, 23. Kg1 h5, 24. c5 h4, 25. a4 hxg3, 26. hxg3 Rh8, 27. Bg2 Ne6, 28. Rad1 Nxd4, 29. Rxd4 Be6, 30. Rxd8+ Rxd8, 31. b5 Qd7, 32. bxc6 Qxc6, 33. Bf1 Qd5, 34. Re3 Qd2, 35. Qb1 Qd1, 36. Qb5 Bd7, 37. Qb2 Bxa4, 38. Ra3 a6, 39. Ra1 Qd4, 40. Qa3 Bc6, 41. Rb1 e3, 42. Qxe3 Qxe3, 43. fxe3 Rd2, 44. Rb4 a5, 45. Rd4 Rxd4, 46. exd4 Bd5, 47. Bb5 Bb3 0-1

 

The trouble with Kasparov

It is common knowledge that there is great tension both on and off the board between the two big Ks of chess, namely Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. Although they can be civil to one another in public, there is no denying that they have a mutual dislike for each other.

In the past two or three years, another player with a surname beginning with K has entered the picture to complicate matters: Gata Kamsky.

Now, Karpov and Kamsky are supposed to play in the World Chess Federation's version of the world chess championship match this year, and the winner will then meet Kasparov, the Professional Chess Association's world champion, in a match to unify the two titles.

Unfortunately, the FIDE world championship match has hit some snags - the difficulty in raising funds is one - and the date has been pushed forward to next year.

Karpov has charged that there were three Russian cities willing to host the FIDE match but their interests were torpedoed by the Russian Chess Federation president who is a known Kasparov supporter.

Karpov thus has reasons to believe that there is a conspiracy to prevent this match from ever taking place. But this conspiracy theory does not seem to be reasonable if the PCA has reportedly forwarded to FIDE a proposal for the unification match.

For this unification match, the winner of the FIDE world title match would have to agree to play with the PCA champion but according to Kasparov, both Karpov and Kamsky have refused to sign the proposal.

So far, the quarrel has been limited to within FIDE and to a lesser extent, the PCA. More recently, however, other parties have been dragged into the dispute.

Linares is a small Spanish town where hardly anything exciting ever happens. It boasts only one hotel, and that is the extent of its tourist industry. But at least once a year, a local businessman named Luis Rentero pours in money to hold a tournament and the town wakes up to an influx of top-class players.

The annual Linares super-grandmaster tournament is now acknowledged as one of the world's most prestigeous chess events. Players feel privileged to be invited, and Kasparov has even said that whoever wins at Linares can consider himself to be the world's tournament chess champion for the year.

The first inkling of trouble surfaced when Kamsky faxed a letter to Rentero last month in which he declared his intention not to play in next year's Linares tournament.

He claimed that the majority of the players at Linares next year were Kasparov's followers and he accused them of not hesitating to give Kasparov "some free points to let him become first."

He suggested that Artur Yusupov and Alexander Beliavsky be replaced by players like Valery Salov, Judit Polgar, Joel Lautier and Jeroen Piket who would fight honestly with Kasparov.

"I cannot shake (Kasparov's) hand and sit with him at one table. I cannot forgive him all the dirt and intrigues in blocking my match with Karpov for the world championship title. I do not even accept him as the champion of the PCA," said Kamsky.

Karpov entered the fray a few days later. Addressing Rentero in another fax message, Karpov reminded the Spanish businessman of Kasparov's behaviour on previous occasions such as signing a contract to play in this year's Linares tournament but then boycotting it later.

Karpov charged that Kasparov used his influence as the PCA president to arrange the Anand-Kamsky PCA Candidates final match to coincide with the Linares event this year, and this prevented them from taking part in the tournament.

And in case Rentero was still willing to forget what Kasparov had done, Karpov reminded him about Kasparov's breach of chess etiquette in 1994 in the latter's game with Judit Polgar.

In that incident, Kasparov had retracted his move after releasing his fingers from a piece. Kasparov claimed his hand was still touching his knight but a video replay showed clearly that his fingers had left the piece for perhaps a quarter of a second. Kasparov refused to apologise even when confronted by this evidence.

Karpov said Kasparov's dirty politics at the 1994 Moscow Olympiad and Congress had led to the current situation between FIDE and the PCA, and until this was resolved, for him to play in the same tournament as Kasparov would be to approve of his actions of the last 18 months.

The tone of these two messages, especially the one from Kamsky, indicate that they have withdrawn from next year's Linares tournament which is a pity since the best way to keep Kasparov in check is to play him at tournaments and make sure he has a hard time in his games.

 

The players' choice

Though choices confront chess players these days as various organisers do their best to woo them to take part in their tournaments. In Penang for instance, readers are reminded that the Universiti Sains Malaysia's Bridge & Chess Club will hold its second USM national open tournament from Dec 1 to 3.

This three-day event will be held over eight rounds using a one-hour time control for each player every game. Ten attractive cash prizes totalling RM3,250 are lined up for the participants and the winner will receive RM1,000.

Entry fees are RM20 for students and RM30 for the public. To register, contact Ms Chew Siew Imm (04-657-7253) after 8pm. Closing date for entries is Nov 25.

Nov 25 is also the closing date for entries to the Malaysian Chess Federation's national men and women closed championship, which will be played from Nov 28 to Dec 3 at the Kuala Lumpur Parkroyal.

This will be a nine-round event with the winner of the men's section awarded the Datuk Hussein Onn challenge trophy and the winner of the women's section receiving the Dato Sabbaruddin Chik trophy.

In addition, Kuala Lumpur Parkroyal is giving trophies for the most promising under-18 male and female players.

Readers should consult their own MCF-affiliated chess associations if they wish to represent their association in the championship. Otherwise, they can enter the competition independently on their own.

For more information, contact Abdul Hamid Majid (tel: 03-421-9576), Ibrahim Abu Bakar (03-5595442) or Ibrahim Yaacob (03-636-3082) after 6pm.

The results of the men's section are traditionally used as a criterion for choosing players for various international chess tournaments. The main event that comes to mind is the biennial Chess Olympiad which is scheduled for next year.

JOHOR CLOSE BEGINS TODAY

The Johor closed tournament begins this afternoon in Johor Bahru.

Organised by the Johor Chess Club, the top winners from this tournament will represent the state at this year's national closed championship in Kuala Lumpur later in the month.

The Johor tournament is played over six rounds using Rapid-90 chess rules. The first round starts at 7pm this evening, and two rounds will be played tomorrow at 2.30pm and 7pm. On Sunday, the games will begin at 8.30am, 1.30pm and 6pm.

Entry fees are RM10 for adults and RM5 for women and players who are under the age of 18. There will be eight prizes for the men's section, six prizes for the best under-18 players, and two prizes offered for the women's section.

The club will also organise an open tournament but this will be held on Dec 31 and Jan 1 to usher in the new year.

For more details into these events, especially today's Johor closed tournament, contact KL Cheong (07-333-9636) or Sumati (07-332-4366) immediately.

Another Johor Chess Club activity is a chess carnival which ends this Sunday at the Pelangi Leisure Mall along Jalan Serampang in Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru.

Daily activities include free chess lessons for beginners and children, a simultaneous chess display by Singaporean international master Giam Choo Kwee, daily blitz tournaments and weekend Rapid-30 events, and an exhibition of chess books and equipment.

KASPAROV DETHRONED

Ukrainian grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk and Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik were jointly placed first in the final leg of this year's Professional Chess Association Classics tournament which was played in Horgen, Switzerland, earlier this month.

This was a Category 17 tournament and Ivanchuk started with a loss to England's Nigel Short in the very first round; but then he followed up with four consecutive wins which included a humiliation of Gary Kasparov in the sixth round.

Kasparov seemed badly prepared for this tournament or he had yet to recover fully from the successful defence of his PCA world championship title last month. His only win in the event was against veteran Viktor Korchnoi and with a 50 per cent score, he had to be satisfied with fifth place.

This was without doubt Kasparov's worst performance since becoming the world champion 10 years ago, and some preliminary calculations suggested that he might have lost his top World Chess Federation ranking to Anatoly Karpov after this event.

Holland's Jan Timman again showed fluctuating form by finishing last in the 11-player field.

Final standings: Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) and Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) 7 points each; Jaan Ehlvest (Estonia) and Nigel Short (England) 6 points each; Gary Kasparov 5 points; Boris Gulko (USA), Viktor Korchnoi (Switzerland) and Artur Yusupov (Germany) 4 1/2 points each; Joel Lautier (France) 4 points; Rafael Vaganian (Armenia) 3 1/2 points; and Jan Timman (Netherlands) 3 points.

Nigel Short - Vassily Ivanchuk

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Nf3 Qc7 8. h4 Bd7 9. h5 h6 10. Bd3 Ba4 11. dxc5 Nd7 12. Rh4 Qa5 13. Be3 Rc8 14. Rb1 Bc6 15. Qd2 Qxa3 16. Rg4 Kf8 17. Rbb4 Nf5 18. Bxf5 exf5 19. Rgf4 Qa1+ 20. Qd1 Qxd1+ 21. Kxd1 Re8 22. Rxf5 Kg8 23. Rg4 Re7 24. Rg3 Kh7 25. Bd4 Rhe8 26. Rf4 Nf8 27. Rfg4 g5 28. hxg6+ Nxg6 29. Rh3 Bd7 30. Ng5+ Kg8 31. e6 Bxe6 32. Nxe6 Rxe6 33. Rxh6 Re1+ 34. Kd2 R8e2+ 35. Kd3 Kf8 36. Rh5 Re4 37. Rxe4 dxe4+ 38. Kd2 Rb1 39. c6 bxc6 40. Bxa7 Ke7 41. Bd4 Rb5 42. Rxb5 cxb5 43. c4 bxc4 44. Kc3 Nf4 45. g3 Ne6 46. Kxc4 Kd6 47. Bf6 Kc6 48. g4 Kd6 49. c3 Kc6 50. Be5 Nc5 51. Kd4 Nd3 52. Bg3 Nc5 53. Bf4 1-0

Gary Kasparov - Vassily Ivanchuk

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 5. a3 Bf8 6. Nf3 Ne7 7. h4 h6 8. h5 a5 9. Bb5+ c6 10. Ba4 Nd7 11. Ne2 b5 12. Bb3 c5 13. c3 Nc6 14. O-O Qc7 15. Re1 c4 16. Bc2 Nb6 17. Bf4 Be7 18. Bg3 Rb8 19. Nh2 Qd8 20. Ng4 b4 21. axb4 axb4 22. cxb4 Nxb4 23. Bb1 Bd7 24. b3 Ra8 25. Rxa8 Qxa8 26. bxc4 Nxc4 27. Nc1 Ba4 28. Qe2 Qa7 29. Ne3 Qxd4 30. Nxc4 dxc4 31. Qf1 O-O 0-1

Vladimir Kramnik - Boris Gulko

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bf4 Re8 10. Nb5 Na6 11. Rc1 c6 12. Nbd4 Bc5 13. a3 Nh5 14. Bd2 Qd7 15. e3 Nf6 16. Bc3 Nc7 17. b4 Bd6 18. Qc2 Rac8 19. Qb2 Re7 20. Nh4 c5 21. Ndf5 Re6 22. Nxd6 Rxd6 23. bxc5 Rc6 24. Nf3 Rxc5 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Rxc5 1-0

Vladimir Kramnik - Nigel Short

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Bf5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bg3 O-O 9. Be2 Bb4 10. Qc1 Bd6 11. O-O Bxg3 12. hxg3 Qd6 13. Nd2 Bg6 14. Bf3 Nce7 15. Rd1 c6 16. Nc4 Qc7 17. e4 Nb6 18. Ne5 Rac8 19. Qe3 Rfd8 20. Rac1 Qb8 21. Be2 Nd7 22. f4 b5 23. b4 a5 24. a3 axb4 25. axb4 f6 26. Nxg6 hxg6 27. d5 exd5 28. exd5 Nf5 29. Qf2 c5 30. Nxb5 Nd6 31. bxc5 Nxb5 32. c6 Nd6 33. cxd7 Rxc1 34. Rxc1 Rxd7 35. Bd3 Kf7 36. Rc6 Qb3 37. Qf3 Qb7 38. Qe3 Re7 39. Qb6 Qxb6+ 40. Rxb6 Rd7 41. Kf2 Nc8 42. Rb8 Nd6 43. Rb6 Nc8 44. Rc6 Ne7 45. Bc4 Kf8 46. Rc5 Rd8 47. Ra5 Nf5 48. Bd3 Ne7 49. Be4 Kf7 50. Ke3 Rd7 51. Rc5 Nf5+ 52. Kf2 Ra7 53. g4 Nd6 54. Bc2 f5 55. Rc6 Ke7 56. gxf5 gxf5 57. Ke3 Ra3+ 58. Bd3 Kd7 59. Kd4 Ra1 60. Bc2 Rf1 61. Ra6 Rf2 62. Ra7+ Ke8 63. Ba4+ Kf8 64. g3 Rf3 65. Rd7 Nf7 66. Rc7 Rxg3 67. Rc8+ 1-0

Nigel Short - Viktor Korchnoi

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 Bd7 7. Bb3 g6 8. h3 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Bg7 10. O-O O-O 11. Qd3 b5 12. a3 a5 13. Bg5 Rb8 14. Rfe1 a4 15. Ba2 b4 16. axb4 Rxb4 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Nd5 Rxb2 19. Nxf6+ exf6 20. Qxd6 Bb5 21. Qxd8 Rxd8 22. Reb1 Rxb1+ 23. Rxb1 Bc6 24. f3 Kf8 25. Rb6 Rc8 26. Ra6 Be8 27. Rxf6 Rxc2 28. Bd5 g5 29. Ra6 h5 30. Ra7 h4 31. Kh2 Rb2 32. Kg1 Rb6 33. Kf2 f6 34. f4 Rb2+ 35. Kf3 gxf4 36. Rh7 a3 37. Ra7 Bh5+ 38. Kxf4 Rf2+ 39. Ke3 Rxg2 40. Kd4 Rg3 41. Rh7 Bg6 42. Rxh4 Kg7 43. Bc4 Rg5 44. Rf4 Ra5 45. Rf2 Ra4 46. Kc3 Bxe4 47. Kb3 Ra8 48. Ra2 Rh8 49. Rxa3 Rxh3+ 50. Kb4 Rh4 51. Rg3+ Kh6 52. Kc3 f5 53. Rg8 f4 54. Rh8+ Kg5 55. Rxh4 Kxh4 56. Be2 Kg3 57. Kd2 Bf3 58. Bc4 Bg4 59. Bd5 Bh3 60. Be4 Bg2 61. Bd3 f3 62. Ke3 f2 63. Bc4 Bd5 64. Bf1 Bc6 0-1

Gary Kasparov - Viktor Korchnoi

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 Bb4 8. Bxc4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. O-O Nxe4 11. Ne5 Nd7 12. Qg4 g5 13. Qxe4 Nxe5 14. dxe5 gxh4 15. Rab1 h3 16. Rfd1 Rg8 17. g3 Rg5 18. f4 Rg8 19. Bf1 Qxc3 20. Bxh3 f5 21. Qe2 Kf8 22. Qh5 Qc5+ 23. Kh1 Qe7 24. Rd6 Kg7 25. Bxf5 Qf7 26. Qxf7+ Kxf7 27. Bxe6+ 1-0

Boris Gulko - Viktor Korchnoi

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Re8 7. d3 Bxc3 8. bxc3 e4 9. Nd4 d6 10. Bg5 exd3 11. exd3 Nxd4 12. cxd4 h6 13. Be3 Bg4 14. Qb3 Rb8 15. h3 Bf5 16. Rae1 b5 17. cxb5 Bd7 18. a4 a6 19. d5 axb5 20. a5 Qc8 21. Kh2 Qa6 22. Ra1 b4 23. Rfc1 Rec8 24. Rc4 c5 25. dxc6 Be6 26. Bb6 Bxc4 27. dxc4 Rxb6 28. axb6 Qxb6 29. Qe3 Qxe3 30. fxe3 Rb8 31. c7 1-0

 

Spotlight on FIDE

It has been almost a year since the infamous Moscow Chess Congress. That meeting in Russia, coinciding with the hosting of the bienniAl Chess Olympiad, was in many ways a watershed for chess.

It surprised nobody that the Florencio Campomanes, the incumbent president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), had wanted to be reelected for another term, but were outraged over the way he went about to achieve it.

He succeeded in interpreting and altering the federation's constitutional rules to his favour, and he had helpers bully many delegates from member countries into voting for him.

Come next week on Nov 18, FIDE is set to hold its annual congress meeting in Paris. However, this meeting comes at a time when FIDE is living under the shadow of its rival organisation, the Professional Chess Association.

The PCA is enjoying unprecedented success in the wake of the immensely huge publicity and coverage of its recently concluded world title match between Gary Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand. Intel Corporation, the maker of the microchip which powers about 90 per cent of computers worldwide, sponsored the prize money to the tune of US$1.5 million (about RM3.8 million).

On the other hand, FIDE had been unable to find sponsors for its own world title match between Anatoly Karpov and Gata Kamsky. Even the women's world championship match between Xie Jun and Zsuzsa Polgar is suffering the same lack of sponsorship support.

Moreover, the Interzonal tournament, an integral part of any world championship cycle which qualifies people to the Candidates level, has been postponed to next year.

Another piece of bad news for FIDE is that its assets have been whittled down considerably. While not exactly living on a hand-to-mouth existence, FIDE is actually looking to the PCA to honour its pledge to make a financial contribution to FIDE as part of the FIDE-PCA deal to reunite the two titles.

These, then, are some of the major issues which the delegates attending the 66th Congress in Paris next week are expecting solutions from the FIDE president.

But these issues themselves actually pale when compared with the controversy of how Paris itself was chosen as the venue of this Congress.

In 1993, at the Curitiba Congress in South America, FIDE gave the option of hosting the 66th Congress jointly to the chess federations of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with the French Chess Federation given the second option should the Czech and Slovak chess federations withdraw.

At the Moscow Congress last year, it was confirmed that the 66th Congress would be jointly hosted in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but the option given to France was not mentioned.

Then, earlier this year when it became clear that the Czech and Slovak chess federations had withdrawn from organising the event, FIDE suddenly awarded the 66th Congress to the Qatar Chess Federation.

This decision did not go down well with the member national chess federations, least of all the French. They felt something was greatly amiss with FIDE for not abiding by its decision to give the option to France.

The French Chess Federation began a world-wide campaign to garner support from the other national chess federations and at the beginning of September, the French had obtained letters from at least 60 countries - more than a third of the FIDE membership - urging FIDE to convene an Extraordinary General Assembly in France on Nov 8 to discuss the question of the 66th Congress.

Initially, FIDE was quite adamant that the Congress would proceed in Doha, Qatar's capital. Campomanes said last year's Moscow Congress had not mentioned nor granted the option to France and in the absence of this option, he was exercising his prerogative to determine that Qatar would host the Congress.

Nevertheless, France declared to the chess world that it was ready to organise the Extraordinary General Assembly in Paris on Nov 8 whether FIDE agreed to it or not.

Then, in early October, FIDE issued a statement saying that the French had withdrawn its request for the extraordinary general assembly. At the same time too, Qatar withdrew its confirmed bid for the 66th Congress "in the principle of keeping FIDE united."

The statement said Campomanes had consulted with members of the FIDE presidential board on the next course of action and the board had decided on a new bidding process for the Congress which would be from Nov 18 to 25.

And finally, on receipt of the payment of the bidding fee from the French Chess Federation, FIDE awarded the organising of the Congress to France and it would be held in Paris.

NATIONAL CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIP

It's official! The Malaysian Chess Federation has announced that this year's national closed championship will be played from Nov 28 to Dec 3 at the Kuala Lumpur Parkroyal.

This will be a nine-round event with the men's champion receiving the Datuk Hussein Onn challenge trophy and the women's champion receiving the Dato Sabbaruddin Chik trophy.

In addition, KL Parkroyal - the sponsor - will give trophies for the most promising under-18 male and female players.

As before, each of the MCF-affiliated chess associations will be eligible to select a maximum of four official representatives for the men's section and two players for the women's section.

The national champions of the past 11 years, the current national schoolboy and schoolgirl champions as well as local players who are listed in the FIDE rating list are given direct entry into the competition.

Readers interested in this competition and who would like to be selected to play should contact their respective chess associations immediately since the MCF have fixed Nov 25 as the closing date of entries.

For more information, contact Abdul Hamid Majid (03-421-9576), Ibrahim Abu Bakar (03-5595442) or Ibrahim Yaacob (03-636-3082) after 6pm.

The results of the men's section are traditionally used as a criterion for choosing players for various international chess tournaments. The main event that comes to mind is the biennial Chess Olympiad which is scheduled for next year.

UKM TOURNAMENT

In conjunction with the 25th anniversary celebration of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, a three-day tournament will be held on campus from Nov 24.

The tournament will be separated into four categories: open, under-16, under-12 and veterans. Each section shall be played over seven rounds and each player shall use a one-hour time control per game.

Prizes for the open section are RM1,200 and a trophy for the winner, RM700 and a souvenir for the second-placed, and RM400 and a souvenir for the third-placed. There are altogether 10 prizes.

The two youth sections will also have 10 prizes each. For the under-16 section, the winner will receive RM400 and a trophy, second shall get RM250, and third RM200. The winner of the under-12 section will get RM350 and a trophy, second RM200 and third RM150.

For the veteran's open section, only players above the age of 40 can participate. The prizes range from RM200 for the winner to RM70 for the fifth-placed.

Entry fees are RM30 for the open and veteran's sections, and RM10 for the under-16 and under-12 sections. Outstation players can arrange for accommodation within the UKM campus at RM5 per day for a dormitory stay, or RM40 and RM70 for the single and double air-conditioned rooms.

For further details or registration, contact UKM's Rosli Mohd Ali or Hj Idris Fakih Mokhtar (03-829-2422, 03-829-2423) or Ibrahim Yaacob (03-636-3082).

FOUR-DAY CHESS FEST

A four-day chess fest will be held at the Tapak ASPO 95, Universiti Malaya from next Thursday. On the first day, a six-round Rapid-30 tournament shall be held for players under the age of 20. Twenty prizes are on offer: 10 for under-20 players and the remainder for those under 12 years old. The first prize for the two age-groups are RM150 and RM100 respectively. Entry fee is RM5 per person.

There is no event on Friday but on the following day, an open tournament will be arranged. This is again over six rounds with the best player set to receive RM250. There are nine other cash prizes and in addition, prizes will be given to the best under-16 and under-12 girl players. Entry fees are RM5 for under-16 participants and RM10 for all others. A similar tournament will be held on Nov 18.

 

Results of Selayang open

Last month's Selayang juniors open tournament at the Selayang Mall in Kepong attracted an unexpected good response from chess players in the Klang Valley.

There were more than 160 participants, but many more were turned away by the organisers when the walk-in players tried to sign up for the tournament at the last minute.

It is an old habit among the local chessplayers and it seems to be a habit that young players are picking up, but somehow Malaysian chessplayers need to learn that organisers do not like last-minute entries.

For one thing, it completely disrupts the smooth running of a tournament. No organiser can ever hope to have an unlimited source of chess equipment to accommodate all late entries and moreover, it is impossible to arrange for a bigger playing hall or more tables and chairs.

In the Selayang tournament, the under-10 section was won by Gerald Soh Han Loong who was undefeated over six rounds. Gerald Soh scored 5 1/2 points to win a computer dictionary worth about RM900.

Hoo Chin Khang also obtained 5 1/2 points but on tie-break, had to be satisfied with the second prize which was also a computer dictionary worth about RM800.

In joint third to sixth places were Jonathan Chuah Jin Hai, Effazuan Mohd Farid, Mohd Asri Kamsah and Nor Syafawati Ishak who each scored five points. Jonathan was leading the 64-player field after five rounds but fell victim to second-placed Chin Khang in the final round.

In the 56-player under-12 section, Kamarul Ariffin Mansoor picked up the RM900 computer dictionary with a score of 5 1/2 points while the RM800 computer dictionary was won by Eric Chua Chee Kiong who had five points. The other players who also finished with five points were Low Kok Wai and Low Chung King.

The under-16 section only attracted 46 players but it was this section which attracted many strong junior players. The winner of the RM900 computer dictionary was Ng Ee Vern who scored 5 1/2 points.

This event was organised by Selayang Mall Sdn Bhd with technical assistance from Total Chess. Whiz Kid Sdn Bhd were the sponsors for the main prizes which included computer games software.

MAS' WINNING STREAK

FIDE Master and national master Mas Hafizul Hilmi chalked up another impressive result in local tournaments when he won the first prize of RM750 in the Primula Beach Resort Terengganu open tournament last month.

He was undefeated in the seven-round event which attracted 48 participants. Among Mas' victims in the first five rounds were 1994 Terengganu open champion Julian Navaratnam, Kamal Ariffin Wahiduddin and Agus Salim.

Mas survived a concerted attack by Ghalam Sani Abdul Rashid to force a draw in the sixth round, and a second draw in the final round of the tournament was enough to bag him his first Terengganu open title.

Joint second to fifth in the open section were Agus Salim, Ghalam Sani, Nor Azmi Mohd Nor and Julian Navaratnam who each obtained 5 1/2 points, while in joint sixth to ninth places with five points each were Suhaimi Asmuni, Mohd Saprin Sabri, Adnan Salleh and Abdul Kadir Othman.

The novice section of the tournament attracted 68 participants. Ahmad Fakruden Mamat won the first prize of RM150 on tie-break ahead of Heng Aik Jiunn. Both players had scored five points each.

The players with four points were Zefri Abdul Kadir, Nazrul Hisham, Mohd Zamri Azali, Abdul Hanan Abdul Aziz, Ahmad Rizal Othman, Zainun Awang, Mohd Hafez Hilmi Harun and Ghani Kadir.

Finally, the winner of the under-12 section was Mohd Salami Ibrahim who scored six points. Second was Azan Abu Bakar with 5 1/2 points and third was Ahmad Fasidi Mamat with five points.

SIGN UP FOR USM OPEN

Readers are reminded that the Universiti Sains Malaysia's Bridge & Chess Club will organise their second USM national open tournament in Penang from Dec 1-3.

This three-day event will be held over eight rounds using a time control of 1 1/2 hours each per player for each game. Ten prizes totalling RM3,250 are lined up for the participants and the winner will receive a RM1,000 cash prize.

Entry fees are RM20 for students and RM30 for the public. To register, contact Ms Chew Siew Imm (04-657-7253) after 8pm. Closing date for entries is Nov 25.

TIMMAN STILL TOPS

Who, do you think, is currently the top player in the Netherlands? Jan Timman? Well, for many years, Timman was undisputedly the strongest Dutch player around. Among his many achievements were playing in the 1991 Candidates finals match. In 1993 when Gary Kasparov and Nigel Short refused to contest their world championship match under the auspices of the World Chess Federation, Timman was picked to play Anatoly Karpov in a replacement world championship match.

Since then, however, his tournament results have been rather indifferent and this included a rather ignominous last place in the Biel grandmaster tournament this year. But then he bounced back by winning a strong event in Amsterdam a few months later.

On the other hand, there is Jeroen Piket who is one of the Netherlands' up-and-coming young grandmasters. His star shone brightly last year when he won the Dutch national championship. Furthermore, he also won a very prestigeous tournament in Dortmund.

Little wonder then that a match between these players was eventually arranged to settle the question of who is the best player in the Netherlands. This match was played in Amsterdam last month and despite Piket being the higher rated of the two players,he could not match Timman's vast match experience and succumbed to a 4-6 loss.

Jan Timman - Jeroen Piket, Game 2

1. e4 e5, 2. Nf3 Nc6, 3. Bb5 a6, 4. Ba4 Nf6, 5. O-O Be7, 6. Re1 b5, 7. Bb3 d6, 8. c3 O-O, 9. h3 Bb7, 10. d4 Re8, 11. Nbd2 Bf8, 12. a4 h6, 13. Bc2 exd4, 14. cxd4 Nb4, 15. Bb1 c5, 16. d5 Nd7, 17. Ra3 f5, 18. Nh2 c4, 19. Rf3 Re5, 20. Rg3 Nf6, 21. b3 c3, 22. Rxc3 fxe4, 23. Nxe4 Nxe4, 24. Bxe4 Rxe4, 25. Rxe4 Nxd5, 26. Rg3 Nc3, 27. Rxc3 Bxe4, 28. Ng4 h5, 29. Nh6+ gxh6, 30. Rg3+ Kf7, 31. Qxh5+ Ke6, 32. Qg4+ Kd5, 33. Re3 Qe7, 34. f3 Bg7, 35. Rxe4 Be5, 36. Re1 Qh7, 37. Rd1+ Kc6, 38. f4 1-0

Jan Timman - Jeroen Piket, Game 4

1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 e6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 a6, 5. Nc3 Qc7, 6. g3 Bb4, 7. Ne2 Nf6, 8. Bg2 Be7, 9. O-O Nc6, 10. Nf4 O-O, 11. g4 d6, 12. g5 Nd7, 13. Nd3 b5, 14. f4 b4, 15. Ne2 Bb7, 16. Kh1 Rfc8, 17. Be3 Na5, 18. Rc1 Nc5, 19. Nxc5 dxc5, 20. c4 Rd8, 21. Qc2 Nc6, 22. e5 Rd7, 23. Rcd1 Rad8, 24. Kg1 a5, 25. Kf2 Kh8, 26. Be4 Rxd1, 27. Rxd1 Rxd1, 28. Qxd1 Nxe5, 29. Bxb7 Ng4+, 30. Kf3 Nxe3, 31. Kxe3 Qxb7, 32. Qa4 Qc8, 33. Qxa5 e5, 34. Qa7 exf4+, 35. Nxf4 Qe8, 36. Kf3 Kg8, 37. h4 Bf8, 38. a4 bxa3, 39. bxa3 Qe1, 40. a4 Qf1 1-0

Jeroen Piket - Jan Timman, Game 5

1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nf3 d5, 4. Nc3 Nbd7, 5. cxd5 exd5, 6. Bg5 c6, 7. e3 Be7, 8. Bd3 Nh5, 9. Nd2 Bxg5, 10. Qxh5 Be7, 11. h3 g6, 12. Qe2 Nb6, 13. a3 Be6, 14. g4 Bd6, 15. f4 Qe7, 16. Nf3 f6, 17. O-O-O O-O-O, 18. Kb1 Kb8, 19. Qg2 Nc4, 20. Bxc4 dxc4, 21. Rhe1 Bc7, 22. Qc2 Bf7, 23. Ka1 g5, 24. fxg5 fxg5, 25. e4 Bg6, 26. d5 Rhf8, 27. Nd4 cxd5, 28. Nf5 Bxf5, 29. exf5 Qc5, 30. Re6 Bf4, 31. b4 cxb3, 32. Qxb3 Rd7, 33. Ne2 d4, 34. Rd3 Rc8, 35. h4 Be3, 36. exe3 dxe3, 37. Rxd7 Qc6, 38. Rd3 gxh4, 39. Rxe3 Qg2, 40. Qd3 Qxg4, 41. f6 a6, 42. Rf3 h3, 43. Rxh3 Qe6, 44. Rf3 Rf8, 45. Nc3 Qe5 1-0

Jan Timman - Jeroen Piket, Game 6

1. e4 c5, 2. Nf3 e6, 3. d4 cxd4, 4. Nxd4 a6, 5. Bd3 Bc5, 6. c3 d6, 7. Nd2 Nf6, 8. N2b3 Ba7, 9. Bg5 h6, 10. Bh4 e5, 11. Nc2 Be6, 12. Qe2 Nbd7, 13. Bc4 Qc7, 14. Bxe6 fxe6, 15. O-O-O O-O, 16. Kb1 b5, 17. f3 Nb6, 18. Bf2 Rfc8, 19. g4 Nc4, 20. Bxa7 Rxa7, 21. g5 hxg5, 22. h4 gxh4, 23. Rxh4 a5, 24. Rdh1 Kf7, 25. Rg1 Qb6, 26. Qg2 Rg8, 27. Rh8 Kf8, 28. Rhh1 b4, 29. cxb4 axb4, 30. Qf1 Qb5, 31. Qe1 Qa4, 32. Nc1 Kf7, 33. b3 Na3+, 34. Nxa3 Qxa3, 35. Rh2 Rc7, 36. Qd2 Qa7, 37. Rhg2 Qd4, 38. Qg5 Rc3, 39. Rd2 Qb6, 40. Nd3 Ke7, 41. R. Qe1 Qa4, 32. Nc1 Kf7, 33. b3 Na3+, 34. Nxa3 Qxa3, 35. Rh2 Rc7, 36. Qd2 Qa7, 37. Rhg2 Qd4, 38. Qg5 Rc3, 39. Rd2 Qb6, 40. Nd3 Ke7, 41. Rgd1 Qb7, 42. Nb2 Rxf3, 43. Rxd6 Qxe4+, 44. Ka1 Qb7, 45. Qxe5 Re8, 46. Rxe6+ Kf8, 47. Rxe8+ Nxe8, 48. Rh1 Qc6, 49. Qd4 Kg8, 50. Qxb4 Nd6, 51. Qh4 Nf7, 52. Qh2 g5, 53. Nc4 g4, 54. Qh5 Qe4, 55. Rd1 g3, 56. Qh3 Qf4, 57. Qe6 g2, 58. Qg6+ Kf8, 59. Qxg2 Rf2, 60. Qa8+ Kg7, 61. Qd5 Qh2, 62. Rd2 Rxd2, 63. Qxd2 Qg1+, 64. Kb2 Ng5, 65. a4 Ne6, 6! 6. Qe3 Qh2+, 67. Ka3 Kf6, 68. a5 h1, 69. Qc3+ Ke7, 70. Nb6 Qf1, 71. b4 Qd1, 72. Qe3 Kf7, 73. Qb3 Qa1+, 74. Qa2 Qf1, 75. Qc4 Qa1+, 76. Qa2 Qf1, 77. Ka4 Ke7, 78. Qc4 Qg1, 79. Kb5 Qg5+, 80. Ka6 Qe5, 81. Qc6 Qb8, 82. Nd5+ 1-0

 

High hopes

Now that the dust has settled in the Professional Chess Association's world championship match between Gary Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand, a big question remains over the proposed reunification match between the champions of the PCA and the World Chess Federation (FIDE): will it take place?

When this question was posed to Kasparov at the World Trade Center in New York where the PCA match was played, he replied:

"I can't add anything concrete now but we shall stick with our word to make a financial contribution to help FIDE survive during this very difficult time."

But he claimed that the reunification match was being hindered by Anatoly Karpov and Gata Kamsky who would not sign an agreement to have this match. Karpov and Kamsky are due to play for the FIDE world championship title but the dates have not been finalised due to a lack of bids for the match.

Kasparov said the PCA had proven that it was the only organisation capable of staging a proper world championship match.

"This is the first privately-organised world championship event. We had huge media coverage and great success with the public. Today we can announce that the era of professional chess has started. This is the first time a match was really open to the public. It was also without any political agenda.

"In essence, it was a pure chess event."

At about the same time that Kasparov was speaking in New York, the British Broadcasting Corporation aired a panel discussion on the PCA match. The panelists included Karpov, FIDE president Florencio Campomanes and grandmaster Daniel King who was linked to the BBC studio via satellite from the States.

When Campomanes was asked how he was going to bring FIDE and the PCA together, the FIDE president claimed: "But we have already! In Moscow, the Congress had signed a declaration of unity with the PCA and we are now working out the agreement that will make possible the play between the winner of this match and the winner of the Karpov-Kamsky match. The two winners will get to play next year when we get to sign a reasonable agreement with the PCA."

But when Campomanes was pressed into indicating when the FIDE match itself could take place, he was unable to give a firm commitment. His replies were general to the point of being evasive.

Pronouncements like "if you ask me when it will be, only the event will tell us" or "we never have anything sure until the final moment when you have everything put down on paper" or "no amount of statements and announcements on your part or my part will make any difference to when the match actually takes place" do not convey the feeling that Campomanes is in full control of the situation at FIDE.

Indeed, despite the FIDE president saying that he had taken every possible measure to have a Karpov-Kamsky match, Karpov himself interjected that there were good chances to play the match in three Russian cities - St Petersburg being one of them - but these were blocked by Russian Chess Federation president Andrei Makarov who was also a member of the FIDE presidential board.

At this point, King said that the PCA had formulated a contract and sent it to Campomanes for FIDE and the two potential challengers - Kamsky and Karpov - to sign that they were in agreement with the PCA proposals.

He added that the PCA was prepared to organise the match next year, sponsors were already lined up, and the PCA is ready with a very generous offer to support FIDE financially.

In effect, this would mean the PCA buying off the world championship rights from FIDE and will be giving FIDE a very decent financial settlement in return.

However, Campomanes was very insistent that there would be a Karpov-Kamsky match. When pressed further by John Snow, the BBC presenter, Campomanes said curtly:

"Mr Snow, you have never been in FIDE. You don't know that things materialise only when they do materialise. The fact is, why should you be privy to what we do? The fact is that we will have the match and I have assured Mr Karpov and Mr Kamsky that we will have the match."

TURBULENT PAST

It was 10 years ago that controversy erupted over the stopping of the first world championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Gary Kasparov by the FIDE president, Florencio Campomanes, after the match had dragged on for four months.

For a very long time after that infamous incident, Kasparov remained very critical of Campomanes's decision and this was despite him having wrested the crown from Karpov in another match in 1986.

However by 1992, Campomanes and Kasparov seemed to have become the best of pals. At the closing ceremony of the Manila Chess Olympiad that year, Kasparov was almost singing the praises of FIDE and Campomanes.

But from behind that happy mask emerged Kasparov's true colours. The storm broke again when Kasparov and Nigel Short led a move to play their 1993 title match outside FIDE's jurisdiction. The two players formed the Professional Chess Association to organise the match in London for US$1.7 million (RM4.2 million.

Not to be outdone, FIDE announced their replacement world championship match between Karpov and Jan Timman in Holland and Oman, with an even bigger prize money. But Holland later could not raise their share of the money while Oman withdrew their sponsorship at the final minute.

It was left to Jakarta to save Campomanes' face by staging the FIDE world championship match but FIDE had to fork out the prize monies from its own coffer.

Then last year, FIDE was left in a quandry when the Greek Chess Federation aborted their attempt to hold the biennial Chess Olympiad. Then Andrei Makarov, president of the Russian Chess Federation, offered to host the Chess Olympiad in Moscow, an offer FIDE could not resist. However, Makarov was a Kasparov supporter and it became clear that the money for the Olympiad came from the PCA. In return, FIDE had to agree to allow Kasparov and Short, then under a FIDE blacklist, to play for their respective teams.

At the Chess Olympiad and Congress, Kasparov and Campomanes were suddenly the thickest of friends again. Kasparov campaigned vigorously for Campomanes' reelection when it became clear that the latter was facing a concerted effort to have him removed.

Procedures and rules for the FIDE elections were changed or interpreted at the Congress to Campomanes' favour and Makarov himself was seen to intimidate the delegates from the central Asian countries (the republics making up the former Soviet Union) to ensure they voted to Makarov's orders.

In return for this support, Makarov was elected as one of FIDE's deputy presidents. A declaration was then made at the Congress to reunify the FIDE and PCA world championship titles into one. It was a triumph for Kasparov and his supporters.

And where did this leave Karpov? Out in the cold. He could not even book himself into the Cosmos Hotel where the Chess Olympiad was being held and where all the players stayed. In short, he was persona non grata at the Olympiad.

According to the PCA-FIDE joint declaration to reunify the two chess titles, both organisations would play to complete their own championship cycles this year and the winners would then play a reunification match next year.

The PCA world championship match has now concluded but not the FIDE version. The problem was in finding a sponsor for the Karpov-Kamsky match which until today, no sponsor has been found.

But the latest heard from the grapevine was that Kamsky has been talking to some Argentine sponsors.

 

Young warriors

It is common knowledge that schools are the breeding ground for budding chess players, where chess receives the greatest support. Take for example, the SRK Sri Aman in Kampung Melayu, Penang. A visitor to the school would soon learn that chess playing is a very popular pastime among the school children.

Where else would you meet children who, before lessons begin in the morning, gather around chess boards in the school canteen? At the ring of the bell, they exchange their chess sets for their text books but invariably, the sets reappear during recess.

Thanks to this obsession with the game, Sri Aman has produced chess players successfully for the MSSPP chess team every year.

The school has also produced state champions in the boys' and girls' under-12 sections. Players like Kelvin Khoo, Eoh Thean Keat, Linda Low, Rubaizah Basir and Ching Ai Hooi have all gone on to encourage chess during their secondary school years.

According to the Sri Aman chess teacher, Eoh Hook Kim, chess playing is encouraged for the main reason that chess instills discipline of the mind. This, he said, is a quality which is worth emulating everywhere.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

October and November are two of the quietest months for local chess players. Organisers are quite loathe to hold any tournament during this period because of the end-of-year school examinations.

Action will resume, so to speak, only at the end of next month.

National Closed

For seven days beginning Nov 27, the Malaysian Chess Federation will stage its annual national closed championships for men and women.

Like in previous years, the Kuala Lumpur Parkroyal is expected to be the sponsor for this event which shall be a nine-round Swiss. The various chess associations which are affiliates of the MCF will be eligible to send six players - four men and two women - each for the championship.

Previous national champions and certain selected players like the MSSM winners are likely to be granted automatic entry into the championship and if past precedences are anything to go by, the MCF will even allow wild card entries by players who directly write to the federation.

Although the monetary rewards for this event are modest, the intangible rewards such as the national master title and the chance for the top players to be selected for international events have been alluring.

USM Open

This year, however, at almost the same time as the national closed championship, the Universiti Sains Malaysia's Bridge and Chess Club will be organising its second USM national open tournament in Penang from Dec 1.

This is a three-day event. Ten prizes totalling RM3,250 are lined up for the participants and the winner will receive RM1,000. Second prize is RM750, third is RM500, fourth RM300 and fifth RM200. The sixth to 10th prizes will be RM100 each.

Entry fees are RM20 for students and RM30 for the public. To register, contact Ms Chew Siew Imm (04-657-7253) after 8pm. Closing date for entries has been extended to Nov 25 so readers interested in playing in this event can still register with the organisers without having to pay any late fees.

Asian team meet

From Dec 12 to 23, the Asian team championship will be played in Singapore.

As usual, selection of players to international events is the sole prerogative of the Malaysian Chess Federation and it is expected that the selection will be announced at the end of the national closed championship.

The last Asian team championship was held at Universiti Malaya two years ago and at that time, the entry of teams from the central Asian countries into the championship gave the event a new perspective.

It remains to be seen whether countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will still dominate this time or whether the East Asian countries like China, Philippines and Indonesia can regain their past grandeur.

Malaysia-Singapore

Finally, one other event planned for this year is the second leg of the annual Malaysia-Singapore match.

The first leg was played in Kuala Lumpur in July and the second leg will be in Singapore. The dates are Dec 29 and 30.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

The final two games of the Professional Chess Association World Championship match between Gary Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand in New York.

Anand - Kasparov, Game 17

1.e4 c5, 2.Nf3 d6, 3.d4 cxd4, 4.Nxd4 Nf6, 5.Nc3 g6, 6.Be3 Bg7, 7.f3 0-0, 8.Qd2 Nc6, 9.Bc4 Bd7, 10.h4 h5, 11.Bb3 Rc8, 12.0-0-0 Ne5, 13.Bg5 (This is the most aggressive plan in this line of the Sicilian Dragon) 13...Rc5, 14.Kb1 Re8, 15.Rhe1! Qa5, 16.a3 (More usually played at this point is 16 f4) 16...b5, 17.Bxf6 exf6, 18.Nde2 Rc6, 19.Nd5 Qxd2, 20.Rxd2 Nc4, 21.Bxc4 bxc4, 22.Red1 f5 23.exf5 (Black has no worries after 23 Nb4 Rb6 24 Rxd6 Rxd6 25 Rxd6 fxe4 26 fxe4 Bg4, etc) 23...Bxf5, 24.Nd4 Bxd4, 25.Rxd4 Re2, 26.R4d2 Rxd2, 27.Rxd2 Kf8, 28.Kc1? (28 Nb4! Rb6 29 Rd5 Bc8 30 Ra5 a6 31 Kc1 Rb5 32 Rxb5 axb5 33 Kd2 Ke7 34 Ke3 Ke6 35 Kd4 would have given White some winning chances) 28...Be6, 29.Rd4 Bxd5, 30.Rxd5 Ke7, 31.Rb5 Ke6, 32.Rb7 Rc5? (Instead of this move, Black should have played 32...a6 33 Kd2 c3+ 34.bxc3 Rd5+ followed by ...Rc5-a5 when the position is about equal) 33.Rxa7 g5, 34.Ra8 gxh4, 35.Re8+ Kd7, 36.Re4! (From this square, the rook is well placed to go to either side of the ! board) 36...c3 (The only move whi h allows Black to trade off a weakness. White will win after 36...Rg5 37 Rxc4 Rxg2 38 Rxh4, etc) 37.Rxh4? (Winning is 37 b4 Rg5 38 Rxh4 Rxg2 39 Kb1 when the connected passed pawns decide) 37...cxb2+, 38.Kxb2 Rg5, 39.a4 f5, 40.a5 (Preferred is 40 Kb3) 40...f4!,41.a6 Kc7,42.Rxf4 Rxg2,43.Rf7+ Kb8!, 44.Kc3 h4,45.Kd3 Rf2,46.c4 (This move was widely criticised by the grandmasters watching the match. Better was 46.c3 or 46.Ke4) 46...Ra2 47.Ke4 Rxa6 (The removal of this pawn means that the Black НКking can crawl back along the eighth rank to stop the f3-pawn.) 48.Rh7 Ra5, 49.f4 Kc8, 50.f5 Kd8, 51.Kf4 Rc5, 52.Kg5 Rxc4, 53.Kg6 Rg4+, 54.Kf7 d5, 55.f6 Kd7, 56.Kf8+ Ke6, 57.f7 Rf4, 58.Kg8 d4, 59.f8=Q Rxf8+, 60.Kxf8 Ke5, 61.Rxh4 d3, 62.Rh3 Ke4, 63.Rxd3 1/2-1/2 (This was a tough game for Kasparov. It was the longest game in the match and the draw did not come easy. But when it came, it enabled Kasparov to reach 10 points and retain his title.)

Kasparov - Anand, Game 18

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.Bf3 1/2\1/2 (A very anti-climatic end to an engrossing match. For Kasparov, it meant winning the lion's share of the prize money, US$1 million (RM2.5 million), and for Anand, US$500,000 (RM1.25 million) has made him a very rich man in India.)