AGM yields no surprises

THE Malaysian Chess Federation's annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur last week did not produce any great surprises. As expected, Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Sabbaruddin Chik was the unanimous choice as the president, a post he has held since 1988.

Also as expected, Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim did not seek re-election as the deputy president. Replacing him was Datuk Mohd Rosli Abdul Aziz, a vice-president in the old committee. Jackie Wong, Nasir Hussin and Ibrahim Abu Bakar were elected as the three vice-presidents.

What possibly raised an eye-brow or two during the AGM was the decision by Hamid Majid to decline the post of honorary secretary. Six years in the job was long enough, was Hamid's contention.

Under the MCF constitution, the president appoints the secretary and treasurer and Abdul Latif Mohamad got the secretary's post and Theresa Shee, the treasurer's job.

Chan Kwai Keong, Collin Madhaven, Ghazali Che Cob, Mohd Kamal Abdullah and Sabar Md Hashim were elected as council members. Also appointed to the council were Hamid and Laurence How.

Tight finish

I mentioned a fortnight ago that schoolboy Lim Yee Weng had a terrific chance to make local chess history. If Lim Yee Weng, the national champion in 1996 and 1997, were to win the national closed championship this year, he would score an unprecedented hattrick in Malaysian chess.

Alas for Malaysian chess, however, this was not to be. Yee Weng opted to play in the East Asian zonal tournament which is now on in Yangon, Myanmar. He is there together with Mas Hafizulhelmi and Wong Zijing.

In the absence of Hafizulhelmi and Yee Weng, the tournament narrowed to a very tight race among Ng Ee Vern, Lim Chuin Hoong and Jonathan Chuah. All games among the three of them were drawn. Ng Tze Han was also in the running.

So who won this year's tournament? I believe the player with the steadiest nerves won. Going into the final round, Ee Vern led the quartet with a slim half-point margin. Chuin Hoong and Chuah duly won their games against Mustafa Kamal Zamhuri and Ismail Ahmad respectively. Ee Vern staved off Tze Han who was desperate to win, thereby ensuring himself first place in the championship.

Top standings (open): Ng Ee Vern, 7 1/2 points; Lim Chuin Hoong and Chuah, 7 points each; Agus Salim, 6 1/2 points; Ng Tze Han, Mustafa, Azahari Md Nor, Lim Yew San and Nor Ilhamuddin Shaikh Ali, 6 points each; Ismail Ahmad, Wong Chee Chung, Mohd Kamal Abdullah, Nor Azmi Mohd Nor, Julian Navaratnam and Law Zhe Kang, 5 1/2 points each; and Tan Hong Ghee, Ghazali Che Cob, Abang Mohammad Reduan, Kamal Syed Laebu, Pang Siew Chong, Aaron Yee, Tang Ghim Sheng, Eddy Kwan, Mohd Ezmi Mahmood and Ooi Chong Hean, 5 points each.

Top standings (women): Eliza Hanum Ibrahim, 5 1/2 points; Lim Jean Nie and Lee Su Ann, 5 points each; Samantha Lee, 4 1/2 points; Nor Fatitah Saranon and Marina Soh, 4 points each; Chai Hwei Meen and Effalini Farid, 3 1/2 points each; Effaliana Farid and Nisaah Renganathan, 3 points each; Haslindah Ruslan, 2 1/2 points; Lim Han Ying and Thaw Yee Leng, 2 points each; and Nor Idani Saranon, 1 1/2 points.

Passing of an old guard

Effim Petrovich Geller, one of Soviet Union's old-guard players, died last month at the age of 73. Geller, born in 1925, was among the top 10 players in the world between 1953 and 1971. At his peak, he was regarded as one of the greatest opening theoreticians and a fine tactical player. Geller was awarded the International Master title in 1951 and made a grandmaster in 1952.

Geller played six times in the world championship candidates tournaments. His first was in 1953 and his last was in 1971. Geller also played for the Soviet Union in seven Chess Olympiads.

As a leading theoretical expert, he was a second for Boris Spassky during the latter's match with Bobby Fischer in 1972. He then went on to become a second for Anatoly Karpov.

Geller's analytical abilities were not restricted to the openings. He found some of the key analyses that allowed Mikhail Botvinnik to draw his famous game against Fischer during the Varna Olympiad of 1962. Many had thought that the adjourned position was lost for Botvinnik.

Geller's lifetime achievement against the world champions was excellent: he was +4-1 against Botvinnik, +10-7 against Vassily Smyslov, +4-2 against Tigran Petrosian, +5-3 against Fischer, +1-1 against Max Euwe, +6-6 against Mikhail Tal, +6-9 against Spassky, -2-1 against Karpov and -1-3 against Gary Kasparov.

Penang Grand Prix enters third leg

THE Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organise the third leg of the Penang Grand Prix chess circuit on Dec 27 at the Residents' Association of Bayan Baru clubhouse in Jalan Nibong, Bandar Bayan Baru. Only PCA members can take part in this circuit.

The circuit is divided into four preliminary legs and a final. Each of the preliminary legs will be a six-round event using a 30-minute time control. The first leg was run on June 28 and the second on Oct 10.

Readers interested in playing in the third leg should contact Goh Yoon Wah ( 04-644 5687 in the evening) or Ooi Kiem Boo ( 04-657 4596, office hours).

Prizes include RM200 for the winner, RM120 for the runners-up and RM80 for the third-placed. There are five other smaller cash prizes, and also prizes for the best junior and woman players. Entry fee is RM10 per player.

Besides cash prizes, top players from each leg will be awarded GP points. The selection of 10 finalists will depend on the total GP points accumulated by the players from their best three legs.

For details of this circuit, visit the PCA homepage at (http://surf.to/pgchess).

Ipoh games

THE Perak International Chess Association (Pica) will hold a tournament at Taman D.R. Seenivasagam in Ipoh on Dec 27 beginning 9am. The senior category is a five-round, 45-minute event for Perak players with a rating above 1,700. The second category is a 25-minute event and caters to players without Perak ratings or whose ratings are below 1,700.

Winners will get trophies, cash prizes and book vouchers. Entry fees for the senior category are RM10 for Pica members and RM15 for others.

For the second category, the entry fees are RM5 and RM8 for members and non-members respectively. Those interested can call W.K. Wong at 05-366 1692.

USM events

READERS are reminded that the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) will organise two tournaments in Penang during the first two weekends of the new year.

On Jan 2 and 3, the USM Bridge and Chess Club will organise its seven-round USM open tournament. There will be four rounds on the first day of the event and three rounds on the second day.

The first prize is RM450 and the second prize RM300. There are five other cash prizes as well as prizes for the best under-12, under-15 and women players.

Entry fees are RM15 for schoolchildren and RM25 for the public.

On Jan 9 and 10, the six-round USM team tournament will be held. Three rounds will be completed on each day. Each team can have a maximum of eight players but only four will play in any one round. There are four prizes for the team event. The winning team will get RM500, runners-up RM300, third winner RM200 and fourth winner RM100. Board prizes will also be awarded.

Entry fees are RM50 for schools, colleges and universities and RM80 for others.

For more information, contact Wong Kam Loong ( 04-659 5370, e-mail: csi44949@putra.cs.usm.my), Chee Hooi Ping ( 04-829 9273, e-mail: ping119@pc.jaring.my) or Ooi Kiem Boo ( 04-657 4596, office hours).

Temerloh tourney

THE three-day Temerloh open chess tournament, organised by the Youth and Sports Bureau of the Temerloh Umno Youth and the Malaysian Chess Federation last month, attracted more than 70 players and was won by Ghalam Sani who scored 6 1/2 points from the seven-round event.

Ghalam narrowly pipped Fikrul Saifuddin for the top prize of RM1,500. Fikrul, who was in joint second and third places with Lim Chuin Hoong with six points each, collected RM1,000 while Lim Chuin Hoong received RM700. Jimmy Liew and Noor Azmi Md Nor each scored 5 1/2 points. Liew won RM500 and Noor Azmi RM300.

Among those prize winners who scored five points were Jonathan Chuah, Azhari Md Nor, Darren Yong, Mohd Saprin Sabri and Agus Salim. Chuah, who was adjudged the best under-18 player in the tournament, won RM300. Khor Shihong, who also scored five points, received RM200. Aaron Yee's 4 1/2 points won him RM100 in the under-18 section.

Rosli Mohd Nor was the best Temerloh Umno player, scoring 4 1/2 points to win RM400. Scoring four points each were Kamarul Ariffin (winning RM250), Zakaria Salleh (RM50), Zainal Azli (RM100) and Amiruddin Abdullah (RM100).

The ladies and under-12 events were run separately. In the ladies' section, the three prize winners were Lim Jean Nie (who collected RM300), Haslindah Ruslan (RM200) and Effalini Farid (RM100), while the three winners of the under-12 section were Effazuwan Farid (RM300), Mulya Robil (RM200) and Ahmad Fafiz (RM100).

Who'll be national champ?

WHO do you think will win the next national closed chess championship which starts Tuesday at the Parkroyal in Kuala Lumpur?

Someone new or one of the former champions? Or will the defending champion maintain his title?

So far, I have not come across anyone winning the national championship three times in a row. Mas Hafizulhelmi won the title in 1994 and 1995, but he has not featured in this event since then. Lim Yee Weng is also another two-time winner, in 1996 and 1997, so if he plays again this year and is successful, he will score an unprecedented hattrick in Malaysian chess!

At this point of writing however, it is uncertain whether Lim would play in the national championship. According to the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF), the East Asian zonal championship is starting in Yangon on Tuesday and Lim has an option to play there. If he decides on going to Myanmar, he will accompany Mas Hafizul who is Malaysia's other official representative in the zonal event.

(By the way, this year's zonal championship is an open event and theoretically, anyone can take part for a chance to qualify for the world championship knock-out event next month. But those planning to go to Yangon will have to submit their applications through the MCF and foot their own bill.)

If Lim and Mas Hafizul are absent from the national championship this year, it will effectively make the field wide open. In this circumstance, Ng Tze Han, who is another up-and-coming junior player in the country, can perhaps make his presence felt this time. After having finished as second fiddle to Lim in the two preceding years, perhaps this will be the chance for Ng to come into his own.

The national championship will be held over six days starting from Dec 8. The men's section will be played over nine rounds and the winner will receive the Datuk Hussein Onn challenge trophy. The winner of the women's section will get the Datuk Sabbaruddin Chik trophy.

In addition, the Kuala Lumpur Parkroyal, sponsor for the sixth year, will award trophies for the most promising under-18 male and female players.

Meanwhile, the MCF will also hold its annual general meeting at the Kuala Lumpur Parkroyal at 3.30pm on Tuesday. Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Sabbaruddin Chik is expected to be the unanimous choice again for the post of the MCF president, but it is uncertain whether Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim is standing again as MCF deputy president. There will also be elections for the other MCF posts.

UP NEXT

USM Penang

UNIVERSITI Sains Malaysia (USM) will organise two tournaments in Penang during the first two weekends of the new year.

On Jan 2 and 3, the USM Bridge and Chess Club will organise their USM open tournament. This will be a seven-round event, played using a one-hour time control. There will be four rounds on the first day of the event and three rounds on the second day.

First prize is RM450; second, RM300. There are five other cash prizes from RM150 for the third place winner to RM50 for the seventh place. The best under-12, under-15 and women players will also be rewarded.

Entry fees are RM15 for school children and RM25 for the public.

On Jan 9 and 10, the USM team tournament will be organised. This is a six-round event, three rounds per day, using the same one-hour time control. Each team can have a maximum of eight players but only four will play in any one round.

There will only be four prizes for the team event. The winning team will get RM500, runners-up RM300, third RM200 and fourth RM100. Board prizes will also be awarded.

Entry fees are RM50 for schools, colleges and universities and RM80 for others.

For more information, contact Wong Kam Loong ( 04-659 5370, e-mail csi44949@putra.cs.usm.my, Chee Hooi Ping ( 04-829 9273, e-mail: ping119@pc.jaring.my) or Ooi Kiem Boo (04-657 4596 office hours). For both events, entries will close on Dec 15.

Singapore

VISITORS to Singapore this month can look forward to taking part in two events organised by the Cairnhill and Queenstown Community Centres.

From Dec 19 to 24, the Cairnhill open chess championship will be played at the Cairhill Community Centre. This is a seven-round Fide-rateable event with a two-hour time control for the entire game. The first prize is S$1,600 (about RM3,700), second prize S$1,200 (about RM2,750) and third prize S$800 (about RM1,800). There are 12 other minor cash prizes. Entry fees are S$25.75 (about RM60) for members of the club and S$51.50 (about RM118) for non members.

If playing in a Fide-rateable event is not your cup of tea but you have a Singapore Chess Federation local rating of below 1,800, you may want to consider taking part in the weaker Cairnhill section B tournament. Here, the time control is 45 minutes per game, and the seven rounds will be split between Dec 19 and 20.

There are 10 cash prizes and the winner shall receive S$100 (about RM230). There are also category prizes of S$25 each to the best under-1700, under-1600 and unrated players. Entry fees are S$10.30 (about RM24) for Cairnhill members and S$20.60 (about RM48) for non-members.

For more details, contact the Cairnhill Community Centre Chess Club ( 02-737 9537, fax: 02-252 2576 / 02-352 9691, e-mail: d-castle@pacific.net.sg or singchess@pacific.net.sg).

From Dec 25 to 27, the Asia inter-club goodwill chess tournament shall be played at the Queenstown Community Centre. This event, which is managed by Intchess Asia, is limited to only 36 non-Singaporean clubs. This is a 25-minute tournament played over nine rounds.

Entry fees are US$300 per team if a country participates with only one club, US$400 per team if a country plays with two clubs, and US$500 per team if there are more than two clubs from the same country. Accommodation, including breakfast, will be provided free to each club.

Enquiries can be made directly to Intchess Asia (fax: 02-227 0582, e-mail: intchess@pacific.net.sg).

 

Get ready for the biggie

IT IS that time of the year again for the most important annual event in the Malaysian chess calendar: the national closed championships for men and women.

The Malaysian Chess Federation has announced that this year's championships will be held from Dec 8 to 13 at the Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur.

This will be a nine-round Fide-rateable 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 Datuk Sabbaruddin Chik trophy.

In addition, the Kuala Lumpur Parkroyal, sponsor for the sixth year, will award trophies to the most promising under-18 male and female players.

As before, each of the MCF-affiliated chess associations can send a maximum of four official representatives for the men's section and two players for the women's section.

Anyone interested in this competition and who would like to be selected should contact their respective chess associations immediately since the MCF has fixed Nov 30 as the closing date for entries.

Some of the contacts are Mrs Jackie Wong of the Chess Association of Selangor (03-703 8237, evenings); Ooi Kiem Boo of the Penang Chess Association (04-657 4596, office hours); Dr Yee of the Perak International Chess Association (05-546 4530, evenings); Stephen Cheong of the Johor Chess Association (07-333 9636, evenings), and Muhammad Arshad of the Terengganu Chess Association (018-849 0497).

The national champions of the past 14 years and local players who are on the FIDE rating list are given direct entry into the competition. However, their participation must still be confirmed through their respective chess associations.

Among them are last year's national champion Lim Yee Weng, Mas Hafizulhelmi Rahman who was champion 1995 and 1994, Yeoh Chin Seng (1993), Mok Tze Meng (1992), Kamal Ariffin Wahiduddin (1991), Ng Ek Leong (1990), Mohd Kamal Abdullah (1989/88), Christi Hon and Lee Soi Hock (1987), Peter Long and Francis Chin (1986-85), and Jimmy Liew (1984).

The eligible former women champions include Eliza Hanim Ibrahim (1997), Eliza Hanum Ibrahim (1996 and 1993), Khairunnisa Wahiduddin (1995), Roslina Marmono (1994), Nurul Huda Wahiduddin (1991 and 1992) and Audrey Wong (1990).

Also in the MCF list are Ooi Chern Ee, Mohd Saprin Sabri, Fadli Zakaria, Mohd Irman Ibrahim, Ng Ee Vern, Lim Chuin Hoong, Mohd Hussein Jamil, Mohd Fairin Zakaria, Goh Yoon Wah, Tan Hong Ghee, Julian Navaratnam, Azahari Mohd Nor, Wong Zi Jing, Lim Chin Lee, Lim Kian Hwa, Tan Wei Sin, Lim Tze Pin, Pang Siew Chong, Ismail Ahmad, Soh Zee Wee, Mohan Raj, Eric Cheah, Ng Ek Teong and Sabar Mohd Hashim, who are all Fide-rated players.

The MCF is also expected to hold its annual general meeting at the Kuala Lumpur Parkroyal at 4pm on Dec 8.

For more information, contact Hamid Majid (03-421-9576 / fax: 03-424 4337 / e-mail: aham@pc.jaring.my).

Fancy some e-mail chess?

I CAME across a very quaint word last week, courtesy of the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) which sent me a message about their first e-mail chess world championship which will start on April 1 next year and expected to last until the year 2005.

According to Nol van't Riet, the ICCF deputy president for development, the decision to introduce this championship was made at the ICCF Congress in Riga, Latvia, recently. He said the championship would be played in three stages: semi-finals, final and -- here is the quaint word -- three-quarter finals which is, to quote him, "the stage between the semi-finals and the final."

Why in the world would the ICCF call it the three-quarter finals is beyond me. I would have expected them to call their three stages simply as the quarter-final, semi-final and final. Anyway, it is a term the ICCF has introduced and no doubt, it shall be a term which will stick with them a long time. To be consistent with the ICCF, I shall use it here too, yes?

The semifinals will be played in about 15 groups of 11 players each. The first two players of each group shall qualify for the three-quarter finals which will most likely be played in three or four groups of 13 players each. The top three players in each three-quarter final group will then qualify for the final which will also be played with 13 players.

The first stage of the championship will begin on April 1 and the date for entries is Feb 28. The three-quarter finals and the final will start when there are enough qualifiers wishing to play at the next level. As an e-mail chess tournament averages two years to complete, it is expected that the first e-mail world chess champion can be crowned in 2005.

The ICCF is now inviting entries from qualified chess players for the semi-finals. In countries where there is no national correspondence chess federation, such as Malaysia, players can contact the ICCF by e-mailing Eckhard Luers (ELueers<ž@>t-online.de) who is the ICCF deputy president for tournaments. Entries should reach him not later than Feb 28. To find out whether you qualify as a semi-finalist or even about the regulations for playing in e-mail tournaments, visit the ICCF website at www.iccf.com

The ICCF will start the semi-finals of the e-mail world chess championships every two years. Based upon an agreement between ICCF and the World Chess Federation (for over the board chess), the ICCF world championship titles are also recognised by FIDE.

Since 1946 the ICCF has organised 22 world championships, all of which have been played by post. So far, the winners of these championships have been Cecil Purdy (Australia), Vjatzeslav Ragozin (USSR), Alberic O'Kelly de Galway (Belgium), Vladimir Zagorowskij (USSR), Hans Berliner (USA), Horst Rittner (GDR), Jacob Estrin (USSR), Jorn Sloth (Danmark), Timo Oim (USSR), Victor Palciauskas (USA), Fritz Baumbach (Germany), Grigorij Sanakoev (Russia) and Michael Umanskij (Russia).

Lately, several FIDE grandmasters have begun playing in strong ICCF title tournaments. Recently, Ulf Andersson (Sweden) won the Norwegian NPSF 50 Years tournament ahead of leading ICCF grandmasters like Gert Timmerman and Joop van Oosterom (both from the Netherlands). Andersson is now playing for Sweden on Board One of the final of the 12th ICCF Olympiad.

The Danish Peter Korning Memorial tournament features FIDE grandmasters Curt Hansen (Denmark) and Johnny Hector (Sweden). On the top two boards of the first ICCF open e-mail team tournament, the Hungarian grandmasters Peter Leko and Zoltan Gyimesi are participating.

As e-mail chess is played through the Internet, the ICCF expects that many more strong FIDE grandmasters will be playing in the first e-mail world chess championship.

Up Next

Attractive cash prizes are in store for winners of the three-day Temerloh open tournament in Pahang which will be played at the Dewan Umno Bahagian Temerloh from Nov 27 to 29. This event is organised by the Youth and Sports Bureau of the Temerloh Umno Youth with assistance from the Malaysian Chess Federation.

There are 10 main cash prizes. The winner gets RM1,500 and custody of the President's Trophy. Second prize is RM1,000, third prize RM700 and fourth, RM500. The six remaining prizes range from RM300 to RM100. In addition, separate cash prizes will be given to the five best members of the Temerloh Umno, the three best women players, and the top three under-18 and under-12 players.

Entry fees are RM30 per player, except that if you are under 18 or a member of the Temerloh Umno, you only need to pay RM15. Entries close on Nov 27 at 2.30pm and the first round will start at 3.45pm. There are two rounds on the first day of competition, three rounds on the second day and the two remaining rounds on the third day.

For more details, call Rosli Mohd Nor (09-297 2251, 296 1231), Zamri Mohamed (012-987 0660) or Manjawatie (09-296 1014).

Local rating

FCLChess will organise their second rating tournament at the Holiday Villa Subang in Subang Jaya, Selangor, on Nov 29 beginning at 9am. The tournament will have four categories: under-8, under-10, under-12 and under-15. A separate event for parents will be organised if there are more than six players.

Entry fee for the junior categories is RM20 per player while the parents are required to pay RM30 each to play. The entries will close on Nov 28 and anyone registering after this date will be charged an extra RM5 as late fee. For more information, contact Foong Chee Leng (013-332 3380).

Chess corners

Readers in Penang are reminded that the Penang Chess Association holds two playing sessions for chess players every Sunday. The first session is from 10am to 12.30am at the lounge of the Berjaya Georgetown Hotel in Pulau Tikus and the second session is from 3pm to 5.30pm at the clubhouse of the Residents Association of Bayan Baru.

For more information, contact Goh Yoon Wah (04-644 5687) in the evenings.

 

Rooting for young players

A NUMBER of interesting events, in which Malaysians took part, were held both locally and overseas during the past fortnight. I shall take you straight to the University of Malaya where the third Grand Asian Chess Challenge ended just last week.

The Chess Challenge was originally conceived as a regional tournament involving universities in the Asean region. But this year the ambitious students of the University of Malaya's Second Residential College decided to open the event to university teams from the Asian continent.

However, due to the worldwide economic slowdown, only three foreign universities responded to the invitation but with nine local university teams also entering the fray, the organisers were assured of a reasonable game on their hands.

The tournament, run as a seven-round Swiss event, was won by the University of Khorassan, Iran, which scored 22 1/2 points. In second place was the University Telekom "A" with 17 1/2 points. Next on the list were the University Teknologi Malaysia "1" and University of Malaya (Asasi) which obtained 17 points each to finish in joint third and fourth places.

University Teknologi Malaysia "2" was placed fifth with 16 points, University Telekom "B", sixth with 15 1/2 points, and the International Islamic University came out seventh with 15 points.

Eighth was the University of Malaya with 13 1/2 points, ninth was the University Putra Malaysia with 13 points and 10th was the University of Qatar with 10 1/2 points. The University Utara Malaysia finished in 11th spot with 8 1/2 points, while in 12th position with only two points was the University Brunei Darussalam.

The six-board prizes were won by Ian Lee Wen Chun (University Telekom "A"), Teng Wei Hong (University Teknologi Malaysia "1"), Mohamad Reza Ghorbanian (University of Khorassan), Erie Kashmina Yusof (University of Malaya Asasi), Peyman Sheikholharam (University of Khorassan) and Mohd Salahuddin Mohd Salleh (University of Malaya Asasi).

Late last week, I received a flattering e-mail from Mrs Ng Seong Nam who wrote: "Please refer to The Star of Oct 23, 1998. I would like to compliment you on your article. You had so many good words for the Malaysian team and each individual member, even though the final standing of the team was only 74 out of 110. You were so encouraging and positive throughout your article. Keep up your good work!"

Well, Mrs Ng, thank you for your kind comments. Actually, it was easy to compliment the players for their hard work. The real credit belonged to our four players -- Wong Ji Zing, Ismail Ahmad, Ng Tze Han and Azahari Md Nor -- who had played so well collectively despite the odds they faced at the Elista Chess Olympiad in Russia.

Speaking of Ng Tze Han, I hear he is presently in Spain taking part in the World Youth Chess Championships together with other Malaysian boys and girls. This annual event brings together youth from around the world, all seeking to score reasonably well in the 10 age-group categories.

Ng is playing in the boys under-18 section but he is far from having a good time. After seven rounds, he has only garnered 2 1/2 points. The competition in this section is tremendous.

Among the 91 participants are 12 international masters and 16 Fide masters. Cuba's Fide master and the highest rated player in this category, Leinier Dominguez Perez, is leading the field with six points, a mere half-point ahead of his closest rivals, Fide masters Sergey Fedorchuk of Ukraine and Alin Berescu of Romania.

But with 13 other players with five points each, theoretically within striking distance of the tournament leaders, it remains to be seen whether Perez can maintain his lead or lose it to one of the title-hungry competitors.

Lim Yee Weng, the current national champion, is having a better time in Spain. So far, he has obtained four points from the seven games that he has played in the boys' under-16 section.

There is an interesting tussle at the top of the standings. Leading with six points each are China's Kang Chuanqi, Greece's Dimitrios Mastrovasilis and Uzbekistan's Ibraghim Khamrakulov. Half a point below them are Ukraine's Alexander Kovchan, Russia's Alexander Grischuk, Spain's Francisco Vallejo Pons and Bulgaria's Sergei Azarov. The next few rounds will be crucial to their fortunes.

Malaysia is represented in the boys' under-14 section by Deon Moh and Khor Shihong. After seven rounds, Moh picked up 3 1/2 points while Khor scored three. The joint leaders in this section are David Navara of the Czech Republic and Bu Xiangzhi of China, both with six points each.

Playing for Malaysia in the boys' under-12 section is Jonathan Chuah. Presently, he has collected four points. However, this is nowhere near the tournament leaders who have put up a scorching pace.

Azerbaijan's Teimour Radjabov, who is already a Fide master at this tender age, has a clean score of seven points from seven games. A point behind him is Ukraine's Andrei Volokitin, while on 5 1/2 points each are Australia's Zhao Zong Yuan and India's P. Harikrishna.

The Malaysian representative in the boys' under-10 section is Ooi Ching Chung. So far, he has collected two points. Even the competition in this age-group is very tight. Georgia's Davit Jojua and Vietnam's Son Nguyen Troung are sharing the lead with six points each. Six other players collected 5 1/2 points each. How intense the rivalry was can be gauged from the position of the section's only titled player, Fide master Alexander Fier of Brazil, who has scored only five points.

There are also five corresponding age-group sections for the girls but Malaysia is only represented in the under-16 and under-12 sections. Marina Soh is playing in the girls' under-16 section and she has three points presently. China's woman Fide master Wang Yu seems to be running away with the tournament as she has not dropped even a point since the championship began on Oct 25.

Our representative in the girls' under-12 section is Nishaah Renganathan who has three points. Leading her group is Tatiana Kosintseva of Russia with 6 1/2 points, and half a point behind her are India's Humpy Koneru and Sachdev Tania.

The World Youth Chess Championship will finish tomorrow. Readers with Internet access can get further results from http://www.chesstv.com/chess-net64-es/supertorneo/marinador98/entrada.htm but be forewarned that this homepage is totally in Spanish and will require some patient navigation.

In the meantime, if you want to know how the Malaysians fared at the Elista Olympiad, you can download all their games from my homepage at http://www5.mol.com.my/qss/Library/Library.html .

Kepong junior event

THE Parent-Teacher Association of the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (China) Kepong Dua in Kuala Lumpur will hold the Kepong juniors chess open tournament on Nov 15 in the school hall.

This annual event is divided into four age-group categories: The under-8, under-10, under-12 and under-16. Winners will get challenge trophies and cash prizes. Each of the group also stands to win nine consolation prizes.

Entry fees are RM7 for pupils of the SJK(C) Kepong Dua and RM10 for other players. Anyone registering after this Sunday will be required to pay an extra RM5 as late fees.

For entry forms and enquiries, contact F.L. Wong ( 03-6364197 after 7pm) or Total Chess ( 03-633 6306 or 016-221 8296).

Johor Baru open

THE fifth Johor Baru open chess tournament, jointly organised by the Johor Baru District Chess Club and Johor Land Bhd, will be played on Nov 22 at the Dewan Menara Komtar in Johor Baru.

The open section features 10 cash prizes totalling RM1,710 with a first prize of RM500. The winner will also receive the Piala Menteri Besar Johor. The under-16 and the under-12 sections also stand to win 10 cash prizes each. The top prize for the two sections are RM100 and RM80 respectively.

Entry fees are RM20 for the open section, RM7 for the under-16 section and RM5 for the under-12 section. Entries will close on Nov 20, and only the first 300 entries will be accepted. For more details, contact Narayanan Krishnan (07-333 8215).

Star chess challenge

THE Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Ipoh will organise a tournament on Nov 15 in its school hall. There will be three categories: boys' under-16, girls' under-16 and an open. These three events are restricted to players residing, working or studying in Perak.

Entry fees are RM5 for the two under-16 sections, and RM8 for the open section. Registration of players will start from 8.15am on Nov 15. For further details, contact Mohd Harmain ( 05-545 7733, office; 05-546 4044, house) or W.K. Wong ( 05-366 1692).

 

Fighting spirit in Russia

I MUST admit that the Malaysians who went to the Elista Olympiad in Russia three weeks ago played remarkably well as a team.

I mentioned two weeks ago that this team was one of the weakest that the Malaysian Chess Federation had sent for an overseas assignment. But then, I had also said that the players did not lack courage and fought hard in all their matches.

Let me recapitulate their first six rounds.

In the first round, the Malaysians lost 0-4 to the Russia "3" team. They lost 1-3 to Faroe Islands in the second round, but scored 4-0 against San Marino in the third round and 2 1/2-1 1/2 against Luxembourg in the fourth. A 2-2 draw with Mongolia ensued in the fifth round, and in the sixth round, they lost 1/2-3 1/2 to Portugal.

In the seventh round, the Malaysian team suffered its second 0-4 loss in the Olympiad and this time, it was at the hands of the International Braille Chess Association. A big measure of respect must be given to their visually handicapped opponents, especially if they could score by such a huge margin.

The loss ensured that the Malaysians would meet with a weak team in the eighth round, and our players duly won by their second 4-0 result against Afghanistan. In the ninth round, they played the Russian "4" team and lost by a 1-3 score. Wong Zi Jing and Ng Tze Han excelled by drawing with their opponents, though Ng did miss a chance to win his game.

Although the 2-2 result against Singapore in the 10th round would suggest that the match was a routine draw, in reality it was a fight all the way. Wong and Ng scored their wins but unfortunately, Ismail Ahmad and Azahari Md Nor lost theirs.

In the 11th round, the Malaysian team won 3 1/2-1/2 against Libya, with Ismail being the only player to drop half a point. This big win lined them up to meet New Zealand in the 12th round. It was a tough fight with the Kiwis scoring a narrow 2 1/2-1 1/2 win. Malaysia's results came from Ismail's draw and Ng's win.

The final round was against the United Arab Emirates and for the first time in the Olympiad, both Wong and Ng came unstuck in their games. But luckily, Ismail and Azahari rose to the occasion by winning their games, resulting in a draw.

The 24 points earned by the team enabled them to finish in 74th position, about 20 places above their pre-Olympiad ranking. The most remarkable performances came from Ng and Wong.

Ng, playing on the third board, scored 8 1/2 points from 13 games. This should be enough to give him an international rating when the World Chess Federation issues its lates rating list in two months' time. By my estimate, his rating should be about 2280.

Wong had a good score of 6 1/2 points, a very creditable result since he was playing on the top board which was not easy.

Both Ismail and Azahari were a bit of a disappointment, but they made up for their poor results in the first 12 matches when they pulled off two essential wins against the UAE in the 13th round. They scored when it really mattered to the team.

Ismail's final points were four out of 13 games, while Azahari obtained five points.

It may seem surprising that only a four-man team was sent to the Olympiad. But after Lim Yee Weng pulled out and Ghalam Sani failed to turn up at the airport, the MCF had no time to contact anyone to fill the two reserve places in the team.

This meant the players had to play in every round. Nobody could afford to fall sick during the event. But here is a little secret: Malaysia did have a fifth player, though he preferred not to play unless the team was faced with an emergency.

When the Malaysians arrived in Elista, Hamid Majid, the MCF secretary, had the option of being appointed an arbiter in the Olympiad but instead, he chose to stick with the team as a standby player.

Among the top teams chasing the gold medal, there were both heartache and jubilation. It was heartache for the United States who went into the final round holding a slim half-point lead over the Russia "1" team. Considering that the Americans had led the event most of the way, the disappointment must have been terrible.

In the last round, the United States were paired with China and they needed to win by a large margin to take the gold. However, the Chinese proved to be a tough nut to crack.

On the first board, Alex Yermolinsky could find no way to pierce the armour of Peng Xiaomin and the game was drawn. On the second board, Yasser Seirawan pulled off a win against Ye Jiangchuan but almost immediately, Wu Wenjin beat Gregory Kaidanov on the fourth board to level the score. The third board game between Nick de Firmian and Zhang Zhong was drawn.

In the meantime, Russia "1" had been paired with the Netherlands. The Dutch team was quite formidable and the Americans had expected the Dutch players to put up a big resistance against the Russians.

But the Americans were also wary of the Dutch who had shown in their mutual fifth-round match that they were susceptible to pressure. The Americans' worst fears were confirmed when the Netherlands went down in flames against the Russians.

The first board was a big disaster for Jan Timman when, in a drawn game, he blundered his bishop by moving it to a square where it could be taken immediately by Peter Svidler. A distressed Timman was reported to be trying to take back his move but the damage was already done.

Alexander Morozevich, the newly-crowned Russian champion, got the better of Loek van Wely in a complicated game on the second board, while Vadim Zvjaginsev beat Jeroen Piket on the third board. By the time the fourth board game between Friso Nijboer and Konstantin Sakaev was drawn, the Russians were already jubilant with the gold medal in their corner.

At the end of the Olympiad, Russia "1" had amassed 35 1/2 points while the United States fell back to second place with 34 1/2 points. Ukraine and Israel both had 32 1/2 points each, but Ukraine won the bronze medal with a better tie-break.

In joint fifth to seventh places were China, Germany and Georgia with 31 1/2 points each. Russia "2" and Hungary finished with 31 points each to complete the top nine places among the 110 men's teams.

China cruised comfortably to the gold in the women's event with 29 points. After taking over in the middle rounds they just kept building onto their lead. Russia "1" won the silver medal ahead of the Georgian team. Both teams had scored 27 points each but the tie-break favoured the Russians.

Kepong junior event

For the fifth year running, the Parent-Teacher Association of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (China) Kepong Dua in Kuala Lumpur will be organising the Kepong junior chess open tournament. This annual event, which is divided into four age-group categories, will be played on Nov 15 in the school hall.

Children born in 1990 or later will be eligible to take part in the under-8 section, and the winner will receive the SJK(C) Kepong 2 PIBG trophy. The winner of the under-10 section will get the Cheah Lim Choy trophy, the under-12 winner will win the Kong Foo Leong trophy and the under-16 winner, the Datuk Tan Kim Hor trophy. The respective winners will also get cash prizes. Apart from these winners, there are nine other consolation prizes for each of the four age-groups.

Entry fees are RM7 for pupils of the SJK(C) Kepong Dua and RM10 for other players. Anyone registering after Nov 8 will be required to pay an extra RM5 as late fee.

For entry forms and enquiries, contact Mrs F.L. Wong (Tel: 03-636-4197 after 7pm) or Total Chess (Tel: 03-633-6306 or 016-221-8296).

JB Open

The fifth Johor Baru open chess tournament, jointly organised by the Johor Baru District Chess Club and Johor Land Bhd, will be played on Nov 22 at the Dewan Menara Komtar in Johor Baru.

There are three sections in this event: the open, under-16 and under-12. The open section features 10 cash prizes totalling RM1,710 with a first prize of RM500. The winner will also receive the Piala Mentri Besar Johor. The under-16 and the under-12 sections also have 10 cash prizes each. The top prize for the two sections are RM100 and RM80 respectively.

Entry fees are RM20 for the open section, RM7 for the under-16 section and RM5 for the under-12 section. Entries will close on Nov 20; only the first 300 entries will be accepted.

For details, contact Narayanan Krishnan (Tel: 07-333-8215).

 

A little snag, but players cooperated

IT WAS not exactly an ideal start the World Chess Federation (Fide) had hoped for, but the situation in Elista, where the 33rd Chess Olympiad is being played, was probably out of Fide's control.

The Chess Olympiad was supposed to have started on Sept 27 but because the hall, which was under construction, was not ready in time, Fide had no choice but to delay the start of the competition by two days. This meant the number of rounds were reduced from 14 to 13, and the rest days reduced to two.

Surprisingly, if reports from Elista were true, participants received this news with understanding.

The chief arbiter of the Olympiad, Geurt Gijssen, said: "I was amazed how the team captains wanted to cooperate and I consider it a positive meeting. Everybody understood the situation."

The former Fide president, Florencio Campomanes, commented that it was the best example of the Fide spirit he had seen.

But I believe the Fide Players Council chairman, Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman, probably summed up the true feelings of the players when he said that they went to play chess and had to accept the conditions since there were few alternatives.

Still, the players seemed satisfied with the living conditions in Elista. The Americans, usually the most vocal of critics, observed that no matter how bad the situation, there were very little complaints. Perhaps this was because they did not expect much either. But the delayed start of the Elista Olympiad was not Fide's only embarrassment. When the event began, the Fide home page at http://www.fide.com/elista98/olympiad.htm boasted of a daily update of the results. There were also a lot of photographs taken of the players, officials, the chess village and general places of interest in Elista.

Then, last Saturday, the home page was hacked. Anyone who logged onto the web site was greeted with a black screen and a message reading "hacked to Kasparov". There were no clues as to the origin of the hacker. Since this episode, the Olympiad news is officially released by Chess Planet at http://www.chessplanet.com.

At the last count, there are 110 men's and 72 women's teams at the Olympiad. Malaysia is represented, of course, but with only Wong Ji Zing, Ismail Ahmad, Ng Tze Han and Azahari Mohd Nor in the men's team. A women's team was not sent because of lack of funds.

By all considerations, the Malaysian team must rank as one of the weakest sent overseas in recent years. Jimmy Liew and Mok Tze Meng were not in the team due to work commitments. Mas Hafizulhelmi and Lim Chuin Hoong did not participate because of their coming examinations. And Lim Yee Weng, just back from a tournament in Dubai, thought that he had been away from his studies too long. Moreover, he was too tired to travel again.

The first round was a real baptism of fire for our players. There was no time for warm-ups, no practice games. In the first round, they met the Russia "3" team and was demolished 0-4. Let's face facts. The Russians are strong. I think even if we had played their fourth, fifth or whatever team, we would still have lost to them. That is a measure of the depth of players they have.

But our boys did not lack courage. Looking at the results so far, I know they have fought hard in all their matches. In the second round, they met Faroe Islands but were unfortunate to go down 1-3 to them. Wong and Ng drew their games.

In the third round, luck finally smiled on the Malaysians. This time, they were at the giving end of a 4-0 score to San Marino.

And in the fourth round, the Malaysians edged Luxembourg by a 2 1/2-1 1/2 score. The fifth round saw our boys go into their toughest match to date. Against the Mongolians, our boys acquitted themselves very well with a 2-2 draw. Wong and Ng won their games.

In the sixth round, the Malaysians came unstuck against Portugal, losing by 1/2-3 1/2. The draw was salvaged by Ng.

Meanwhile, among the top teams in the event, the most startling result came in the fifth round when the United States completed a 4-0 rout of the Netherlands. It was quite an unexpected result as very little separated the Americans from the Dutch.

On the first board, Timman met Alex Yermolinsky and lost a hard-fought game. Seirawan, Kaidanov, and DeFirmian contributed to the slaughter by beating Van Wely, Nijboer and Piket respectively.

At the end of the sixth round, the United States held a slim half-point margin over its nearest rival, Russia "1". The Americans had 18 points and the Russians 17 1/2.

The two teams had met in the preceding round and the match had gone to the Russians by a 2 1/2-1 1/2 result. Ukraine and Bulgaria were a further point behind in the standings with 16 1/2 points each, while Armenia, China and Estonia all had 16 points each.

Most of the top players in the world are playing here, but there are absentees too. Missing from the line-up are the Russian trio Gary Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Vladimir Kramnik, while Viswanathan Anand is not in the Indian team.

There was excitement in the women's Olympiad as well. The most unexpected result came in the third round when the favourite, Georgia, fell 0-3 to a completely unheralded Vietnam team.

The Chinese team's play was very steady and they now lead with 14 1/2 points. Ukraine has only 13 points, while Romania, Estonia and Georgia have scored 12 1/2 points so far.

Johor Baru event

PLAYERS in the south can take part in the Jotic open chess tournament which is jointly organised by the Johor Baru District Chess Club and the Johor Tourism Corporation. This event will be played this Sunday at the third floor of the Bangunan Jotic in Johor Baru.

Entry fee is RM15 per player. For more details, contact Narayanan Krishnan ( 07-3338215).

New chess corner in Penang

THERE is good news for players in the north. Beginning this Sunday, chess players have an additional place to meet at the Berjaya Georgetown Hotel which is next to the Midland One-Stop Centre.

The hotel is providing a corner in their lounge on the first floor for the Penang Chess Association (PCA) to hold their chess activities every Sunday from 10am to 12.30pm. Starting in November, the PCA will organise weekly quiz contests and winners will receive prizes sponsored by Berjaya Georgetown.

Other activities such as exhibitions, lectures and category tournaments will be planned later.

The Berjaya Georgetown-Penang Chess Association joint project will provide Penang chess players a much-needed focal point in the city to meet and play chess. Besides this place, the PCA also maintains another meeting place at the RABB clubhouse in Bandar Bayan Baru on Sunday afternoons.

 

Olympiad begins amid troubles

THE 33rd Chess Olympiad is set to open tomorrow in Elista, the capital of the autonomous Russian republic Kalmyk. According to a statement from the World Chess Federation (Fide), about 120 men's and 80 women's teams will be housed in the new City Chess complex which is also the venue for the three week long competition.

It is a wonder that the Chess Olympiad gets off the ground at all. For several months now, construction workers have struggled to get the City Chess complex ready in time for the event. Also there were serious doubts about whether Elista airport could be upgraded in time to receive charter flights from Moscow. To add to Kalmykia problems, Russia is in the midst of an economic crisis with its rouble suffering a drastic devaluation in recent weeks.

Such a scenario has led to claims that the Kalmyk Government has diverted funds to the Chess Olympiad at the expense of the common folk. Thus, recently human rights groups in Russia stepped up calls for international chess players to boycott the event.

Sergei Kovalev, a Russian dissident and a member of Russia's Parliament, alleged that Kalmyk president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has disregarded fundamental human rights. Ilyumzhinov is also the president of Fide.

People were going hungry and Kovalev was charged because City Chess was built with funds from Moscow's central government, which were originally earmarked for development and easing poverty in the republic.

First elected as Kalmyk president in 1993, Ilyumzhinov originally promised to bring prosperity to the republic, set on the parched steppes north of the Caucasus mountains. It is the only Buddhist nation in Europe.

Five years on, the Kalmykians are still among the poorest in Russia, and human rights campaigners accuse Ilyumzhinov, a multi-millionaire businessman, of restoring some of the worst excesses of Soviet rule.

Kovalev added: "I don't understand how someone like Ilyumzhinov can be in charge of an international sporting body. It shows how undemanding the rest of the world is in such matters."

But perhaps Kovalev should not be so disappointed. History, after all, has shown that it is on the side of the sports organisations and chess is not that different from most other sports and games.

In 1980, athletes from all over the world, except for the Americans, had ignored human rights activists and participated in the Moscow Olympics. This was after the Soviets had invaded Afghanistan and the KGB had rounded up dissidents in the old Soviet Union.

Nevertheless, I contacted the Malaysian Chess Federation secretary, Hamid Majid, earlier this week to find out whether the MCF is sending a team to Elista.

I reminded him of the horror stories that I had heard when the Chess Olympiad was last held in Moscow four years ago. At that time, chess players were warned not to wander far from their hotel in case they were mugged or extorted. Several chess players were robbed at gunpoint inside a Moscow bank.

Hamid said as long as the Malaysians were not in Moscow, he was not scared for their safety. Elista should be quite safe as all the players and officials would remain within the City Chess complex.

When the Malaysian contingent arrives at the Moscow international airport, they would be escorted immediately to the domestic airport for the connecting flight to Elista. The Malaysians would also travel with other foreign chess teams, including our counterparts from across the Causeway.

But early this week no decision had yet been made on sending a contingent to the Chess Olympiad.

With Petronas contributing only RM10,000 towards the expenses for the team, MCF would have to come up with some funds. The players too might have to fork out the balance of the costs incurred.

Because of this, Hamid said the MCF would not send a women's team to Elista. As for the men, they have been told to be prepared for the trip.

If the trip materialises, the team chosen could comprise of: Lim Yee Weng, Ng Tze Han, Ismail Ahmad, Ghalam Sani, Azahari Mohd Nor, Wong Ji Zing, Tan Wei Sin and Ng Ee Vern. Of these eight players, Lim Yee Weng, Ng Tze Han and Ismail Ahmad will certainly be in the team as they were the top three in last year's national closed championship.

Four notable names not in the list are Mas Hafizulhelmi, Jimmy Liew, Mok Tze Meng and Lim Chuin Hoong. Mas and Lim have declined to participate because they are preparing for their Form Five and Form Three examinations respectively while Liew and Mok cited work commitments.

Penang Grand Prix circuit

The Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organise the second leg of the Penang Grand Prix chess circuit on Oct 4 at the Bukit Mertajam Country Club. Only PCA members are allowed to take part in this circuit.

The circuit is divided into four preliminary legs and a final. Each of the preliminary legs will be a six-round event using a 30-minute time control. The first leg was run on June 28.

Readers interested in playing in the second leg are requested to contact Goh Yoon Wah (04-644 5687 in the evening) or Ooi Kiem Boo (04-657 4596, office hours).

Prizes for these legs include RM200 for the winner, RM120 for the runners-up and RM80 for the third-placed. There are five other smaller cash prizes, and also prizes for the best junior and woman players.

The entry fee is RM10 per player.

Besides cash prizes, top players from each leg will be awarded GP points. For example, the winner will get 1,000 GP points; the second-placed, 900 GP points; and so on until the 10th-placed winner who will receive 100 GP points.

The selection of 10 finalists will depend on the total GP points accumulated by the players from three of their best legs.

Entry to the final will be by qualification only. The final will be a round-robin tournament with a one-hour time control.

The winner will receive RM400 and a challenge trophy. The second prize is RM200; third, RM100; and fourth and fifth RM50 each.

For details of this circuit, see the PCA homepage at www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Stadium/2379/ .

This column will appear fortnightly from next month.

 

The grand match is off

DO YOU remember the formation of the World Chess Council (WCC) earlier this year, and especially the joint announcement by Gary Kasparov and his Spanish friend Luis Rentero? No? Then let me take you back to the start of the Linares super-grandmaster tournament in February.

On Feb 27, I mentioned that Kasparov had an important announcement to make before the start of Linares. I wrote:

Yes, he did make an announcement but I could not help laughing when I learnt what it was all about. Do you know what Kasparov did? He announced the formation of yet another chess organisation: the World Chess Council!

I suppose I should not have been surprised, but I was caught unaware. Clearly, I am amazed by this man's gall. How many so-called organisations has he created or helped to create in the last 12 years to promote his own ends, and how many chess professionals will fall for it again just like the way they fell for his past endeavours?

There was the Professional Chess Association and before it, the Grandmaster Association. All had the Kasparov touch in their formation, and all suffered the same Kasparov touch when they went into oblivion.

At the opening ceremony of the Linares tournament, he announced that the main purpose of this new body, with Rentero as president, would be to organise a match in Seville and Linares sometime not later than next month, when Kasparov would defend his unilaterally declared version of the world chess championship title.

I said in February that there was every reason to be skeptical about Kasparov's World Chess Council. Would it last or suffer the same fate as its two predecessors?

From the very beginning, the intention of the WCC was to find a suitable person to play a match with Kasparov. In Linares, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand -- owing to their numbers two and three positions in the world at that time -- were identified as the ones who would play an elimination match to decide the challenger to Kasparov.

But Anand refused to be a part of this arrangement, saying he would honorably stand by an agreement he had earlier signed with the World Chess Federation (FIDE) that he would not take part in any similar world championship series organised by a rival chess body.

Rentero then announced that Linares winner Alexei Shirov would fill Anand's shoes. The elimination match was played in June and an inspired Shirov confounded his critics by destroying Kramnik in a nine-game match.

Since the end of that match, nothing more was heard about the WCC in public. But things were brewing in the background. Earlier this month, Kasparov admitted to the world that his WCC match with Shirov was off. The reason? Funding for the match could not be found.

A long statement issued by Kasparov gave background details of the formation of the WCC and of how Rentero had initially promised to raise a US$2.1mil (RM8mil) prize fund, a promise which was short-circuited due to some political problems in Seville, capital of the Spanish region of Andalucia. At first, Rentero refused to acknowledge that he was having problems but later, when pressed by Kasparov, Rentero said his attempts to find alternative funding for the match had failed.

I really do not know who is the most disappointed about the way the events have unfolded: Kasparov, Rentero or Shirov. Rentero has been deathly quiet about the whole affair and Kasparov has called on him to explain his side of the story and also decide on the future of the WCC. The WCC, for all its worth, has been successful only in holding the Kramnik-Shirov match in its six months of existence.

As for Shirov, I hear that he has already completely written off the WCC from his mind. In the latest issue of New In Chess magazine, grandmaster Valery Salov claimed that Shirov has not been paid his winnings although Kramnik had received half of his loser's purse. In the meantime, the clearest indication that the WCC has failed miserably came from Shirov himself who has decided to play for the Spanish team in FIDE's Chess Olympiad which shall be starting in Elista, Russia, in eight days' time.

Let me end this item on the World Chess Council by quoting from New In Chess again. It is a joke: What does WCC stand for? Salov does not claim authorship for it, but he says it stands for World Chess Cancelled. Come to think about it, he is not wrong.

Still on world chess, FIDE announced recently that it has signed a contract with the American firm, Fishman Associates and Co, to organise the next world chess championship at the new Belaggio hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, from Nov 29 to Dec 27.

The championship will use the same knock-out system employed last year in Groningen and Lausanne. There will be six rounds with two games and a tie-break, followed by six games and a tie-break for the final. These regulations will be finalised at FIDE's general assembly meeting in Elista.

The prize fund will be US$3mil (RM11.4mil), with the eventual world champion getting US$660,000 (RM2.5mil). This championship will see 100 players taking part. The majority will be from Europe but all the continents will be represented by the winners of the various FIDE zonal championships.

(As a matter of interest, Malaysia is one of the countries in FIDE's Zone 3.2 but until today, the zonal championship has not been held to select the qualifiers to the world chess championship.

Between the end of the Elista Chess Olympiad and the start of the Las Vegas world championship, there will be only about 1 1/2 months for Zone 3.2 to get its house in order.)

The Penang Chess Association will stage the second leg of the Penang Grand Prix chess circuit at the Bukit Mertajam Country Club on Oct 4. More details next week.

Games of the week

SINCE last week, Gary Kasparov and Jan Timman have been engaged in a friendly six-game match in Prague in the Czech Republic. This was originally meant to be a training match for Kasparov in preparation for his now-defunct WCC match with Alexei Shirov.

The total prize fund for the match was US$100,000 (RM380,000) with the winner receiving US$65,000 (RM245,000) and the EuroTel trophy. The match was sponsored by EuroTel, Siemens and several other commercial organisations.

Kasparov won the match 4-2. The second and third games were won by him, while the remaining games were drawn. Here are Kasparov's winning games:

Timman vs Kasparov (Game 2)

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e3 b5 6. a4 b4 7. Nb1 Ba6 8. Qc2 b3 9. Qd1 e6 10. Be2 c5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Ne5 Rc8 13. Na3 cxd4 14. Naxc4 Qd5 15. Bf3 Ne4 16. Nxc6 Rxc6 17. Nd2 f5 18. Re1 d3 19. Nxb3 e5 20. Bd2 Rb6 21. Bxe4 fxe4 22. Nc1 Rxb2 23. Bc3 d2 24. Rf1 Bxf1 25. Bxb2 Bc4 26. Ne2 Bb3 27. Nc3 Bxd1 28. Nxd5 Bb3 29. Nc3 Bb4 30. Nd1 O-O (0-1)

Kasparov vs Timman (Game 3)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7. Bg5 c5 8. e3 d6 9. Bd3 cxd4 10. exd4 d5 11. cxd5 Qxd5 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Ne2 Rd8 14. Ng3 Qxd4 15. Be4 Qxc3+ 16. bxc3 Rd5 17. Rd1 Bb7 18. Bxd5 Bxd5 19. Nh5 Nd7 20. c4 Bc6 21. Rxd7 Bxd7 22. Nxf6+ Kg7 23. Nxd7 f6 24. Ke2 Rc8 25. Rc1 Rc7 26. Nb8 (1-0)

 

Appealing a flag fall

I HAD just walked into my room at the Dynasty, the official hotel of the 17th Merdeka team chess championship in Kuala Lumpur last month, when I received an urgent call to return quickly to the Putra World Trade Centre.

The Penang team captain was in a bit of a fluster. He wanted my opinion whether the team should appeal against a decision by the tournament arbiter to declare a loss to his player in one of the games against Terengganu.

Apparently, on the first board game between Penang and Terengganu, both players were reaching the end of the time control and they were blitzing away their remaining moves.

The flag on the chess clock of the Penang player fell. As the arbiter was moving in to stop the clock, the Terengganu player also noticed the fall of the flag.

However, before he could claim the win, his flag also fell. The arbiter intervened and gave the win to the Terengganu player. All these happened rather instantaneously.

The consternation of the Penang team was well-founded. It was a very crucial game and for it to end this way, seemed very unsatisfactory. After all, both the flags had fallen almost together and a draw looked to be a fair result.

I advised against making an appeal as I felt strongly that the arbiter was correct and well within his authority to declare a win for the Terengganu player in that game. A quick check of the Chess Laws suggested I was not wrong in my assessment.

However, seeing the mood of the players in the Penang team, I told them that if the general consensus was to appeal, I would submit it to the Appeals Committee.

So it was about two hours later that the Appeals Committee met, heard submissions from the two affected players, deliberated on the matter and then decided 6-1 to uphold the arbiter's decision.

Although the decision went against the Penang team, the initial decision to appeal should not reflect adversely on them.

After all, the new Chess Laws had taken effect only from July last year and many of our local players are still quite ambivalent about them. Through this process of interpreting them, many people who are unsure of the rules can also learn something useful.

The Appeals Committee's decision was based mainly on Article 6.8 of the Chess Laws which says: "A flag is considered to have fallen when the arbiter observes the fact or when a valid claim to that effect has been made by either player."

The arbiter had been watching the game and he observed that the flag of the Penang player had fallen first. This observation was enough reason for him to award the point to Terengganu.

However, in the first place, was the arbiter correct in attempting to stop the chess clock and hence the game?

In Appendix B of the Chess Laws, dealing with Rapidplay (or rapid chess), there are three often-quoted rules governing the flag fall.

In Clause B6, "the flag is considered to have fallen when a valid claim to that effect has been made by a player. The arbiter shall refrain from signalling a flag fall."

In Clause B7, "to claim a win on time, the claimant must stop both clocks and notify the arbiter. For the claim to be successful, the claimant's flag must remain up and his opponent's flag down after the clocks have been stopped."

Finally, Clause B8 says, "if both flags have fallen, the game is drawn."

However, these rules must also be read together with Clause B1 which says that "a Rapidplay game is one where all the moves must be made in a fixed time between 15 to 60 minutes."

If the time control is longer than 60 minutes, the game does not qualify as a Rapidplay, meaning that Clauses B6 to B8 clearly cannot apply.

In games such as those played at the Merdeka team chess championship where the time control was 90 minutes per player for each game, it becomes obvious that Rapidplay rules are not applicable and the arbiter, if he is observing a game, is empowered to stop the game whenever he notices a flag fall.

Perhaps I should also add here that in the absence of an arbiter, if both flags have fallen and it is impossible to establish which flag fell first, the game is drawn (Article 10.4).

As a postscript to this incident, when I returned home from the Merdeka championship, I went to The Chess Cafe homepage on the Internet (http://www.chesscafe.com) to check whether Geurt Gijssen, a well-respected senior international arbiter and the chairman of the World Chess Federation's Rules Commission, had anything to say about similar incidents.

In one of his articles, Gijssen said that someone once asked him this:

"In a local tournament, players A and B were playing a chess game with one hour per player for the whole game. At the time control, player B (with black) lost on time. At that particular moment, player A had only three seconds on his clock. When player A noticed that player B had lost on time, he claimed the game but he was unable to stop the clocks at the time of the claim. (They were playing with a FIDE electronic chess clock).

"Player A didn't know how to stop the clocks. So, time ran off and player A overstepped the time limit as well. At that moment, both clocks showed 00:00. Player B then claimed a draw. The arbiter accepted the claim and gave to both players half a point. The arbiter said that he had no choice, as FIDE rules did not allow the arbiter to announce that a player had lost on time in rapid chess.

"Was this decision correct? The arbiter and other people saw that player A had claimed the game with three seconds on his clock."

Gijssen's answer was that according to article B6 of the rapid play rules, the arbiter should refrain from signalling a flag fall.

Article B8 says, if both flags have fallen, the game is drawn. In the situation described, both the flags had fallen and it meant the game was drawn.

He understood that in the enquirer's opinion, this is not a reasonable decision. He said that when playing with a digital clock, it was absolutely clear which flag had fallen first.

"So, I can imagine that people will say: Why not give the point to the player whose flag fell later? If all games are played with digital clocks, I will completely agree. But as long as this is not the case, it is impossible to make different rules for mechanical and digital clocks."

Gijssen ended by noting that in normal games, the rule was different. If it was completely clear that the flag of one player fell before the flag of his opponent without having completed the required number of moves, he would lose the game.

Sympo '98 Challenge

HERE is a reminder to readers that Mas Hafizulhelmi will be at Sympo '98's "The Challenge" pavilion tomorrow and on Sunday to give two simultaneous chess displays. It will be Mok Tze Meng's turn on Sept 19 while Jimmy Liew is scheduled to appear on Sept 20.

These three players have each agreed to play against 50 opponents at the same time. On these four days, the simultaneous chess displays will begin at 2pm and the whole playing session is expected to last about five hours.

Visitors to Sympo '98 on these days will be eligible to play against Mas, Mok or Liew, subject to the availability of places. No fee will be charged for their participation, except for the entrance fee to Sympo '98 itself which is RM10 for adults and RM5 for children.

Anyone winning against the MCF players will receive a prize from the organisers.