The numbers game

TWICE a year, chess players around the world await the release of the World Chess Federation's international rating list with some impatience. For them, this list indicates whether the form of a chess player has improved or deteriorated over the past six months.

However this is an exclusive list because only those who play in Fide-recognised tournaments can hope to get listed. Even then, they must have played against a minimum number of Fide-rated players and performed reasonably well against them.

Since the start of last month, I had been impatiently waiting for Fide to announce its January 1999 rating list. After an exciting 1998, I wanted to see how the Malaysian players had fared. I was particularly curious to know how Mas Hafizulhelmi, Ng Tze Han and Wong Zi Jing stood in this list.

But for several weeks, Fide kept everyone in suspense. In early January, only an initial list of the top 100 players was released. But shortly after it was published on the Internet, something seemed to be amiss. For instance, Vesselin Topalov (Bulgaria) had played 22 games during the rating period but he was credited with having played 33 games; he believed that the Tilburg Fontys tournament might have been rated twice.

Within a week, Fide released two more versions of the January 1999 rating list. And a fourth revision came out a fortnight ago. This embarrassing state of affairs, of course, spoke volumes for Fide's accuracy and efficiency.

But in all these lists and revisions, Gary Kasparov (Russia) remained entrenched at the top with 2,812 points. Despite having played only six games in the previous six months, the former world champion was virtually invincible.

(Regular readers of this column are already aware of my stance with regards to Kasparov and the world chess title. By refusing to defend his world champion's title under the World Chess Federation's auspices in 1993, Kasparov had effectively relinquished any legitimate claim to this title.)

Viswanathan Anand (India) had been more active with 20 games but he did not gain from Kasparov's relative inactivity. In fact, Viswanathan's rating dropped a few points to 2,784.

Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) saw an even more drastic drop of 30 points to 2,751. Meanwhile, Alexei Shirov (Spain) rose several points to 2,726, which kept him clear of a vastly improving Alexander Morozevich (Russia) who added a hefty 98 points to 2,723.

Also in the world's top 10 list are Michael Adams (England, 2,716), Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2,714) and Peter Svidler (Russia, 2,713).

Anatoly Karpov (Russia) is now an embarrassment. His standing in the list and his rating of 2,710 does not speak well for his continuing position as the world champion. He lost 15 points on one poor performance in a tournament in Poland and is in danger of dropping out of the top 10 in the future.

Topalov's rating remains unchanged at 2,700 with a bad Tilburg being compensated by a good Olympiad result.

Nigel Short (England), Peter Leko (Hungary) and Boris Gelfand (Byelorus) all gained points and are on the verge of cracking into the top 10. Judit Polgar (Hungary) is still the world's top woman player with a rating of 2,677, far ahead of her sister Zsuzsa Polgar (with a rating of 2,565) who is the women's world champion.

Among players from the Asia-Pacific region, Ian Rogers (Australia) is rated at 2,618 while Alexander Nenashev (Uzbekistan) is at 2,625 and Utut Adianto (Indonesia) at 2,607. Vladislav Tkachiev, originally a Kazakhstan player but now staying in France, is rated at 2,634.

It was not until about three weeks ago that Fide finally released its full January rating list on the Internet. However, it was no longer available at the Chess Planet homepage (http://www.chessweb.com.) but instead was posted at the Hellas Chess Club homepage (http://www.chess.gr/ratings/default.asp).

I do not know why Fide had terminated its arrangement with Chess Planet. Neither did Fide explain why it chose this Greek site instead of its own homepage (http://www.fide.com). I can only surmise that after a hacking incident during last year's Chess Olympiad, Fide no longer has faith in the security of its own site.

There were a few surprises when I extracted information on the Malaysian players. For one, Fide relisted almost all the inactive players who had not lifted a single chess piece internationally for umpteen years. These players are: Chia Soon Keat (2,235), Francis Chin (2,275), Choong Yit Chuan (2,205), Paul Foo (2,210), V. Gregory (2,235), Christi Hon (2,235), Thomas Lam (2,105), Peter Long (2,350), Collin Madhavan (2,220), Ahmad Muzzafar (2,185), Ng Ek Teong (2,200), Phuah Eng Chye (2,205), Sabar Md Hashim (2,195), Seto Wai Ling (2,020), Ignatius Si (2,205), K. Vimalavathy (2,005), Audrey Wong (2,070) and Yeoh Chin Seng (2,195).

Some names are missing from this list. When Eric Cheah was taken off the active list several years ago, his rating was 2,255. Now, his name does not even appear in this list!

This is true also of Wahid Karim who was last listed with a rating of 2,210. And I noted, too, that among the inactive members, Fide had again overlooked acknowledging Audrey Wong as Malaysia's international woman master. She was given this title when she became a joint winner of the 1985 Asian women's junior championship.

So what about those players that Fide still consider as active? As of January this year, 38 names are listed, with 13 having played in tournaments during the rated period. But here, too, there are inaccuracies, and the fault is not Fide's alone.

You see, when players get onto the Fide list, they are automatically given identification numbers. By right, chess players should disclose their ID numbers to organisers whenever they play so that when the tournament results are sent to Fide, there is no ambiguity about the players' identities.

Unfortunately, most of the time, players do not know their identification numbers. And the result is that a player can sometimes find himself having more than one identification number. I found two such cases among the list of Malaysian players.

The first was Wong Zi Jing whose two identification tags gave different readings. As Wong, Zi-Jing, he was credited with a rating of 2,220 but as Zi-Jing, Wong, his rating was 2,304. The second anomaly was with Ng Tze Han. As Ng, Tze-Han, he was given a 2,140 rating but as Han, Ng Tze, he was rated 2,284.

Obviously, this is a matter which must be taken up by the Malaysian Chess Federation. Anyway, using Fide's own formula for calculating ratings, I would safely adjust Wong's and Ng's ratings to 2,283 and 2,208 respectively.

Let's take a look at the players who were active in the last six months or so. Mas Hafizulhelmi, as expected, tops the list with a 2,401 rating but this is an increase of only one point from the July 1998 list! Although he gained points from an international tournament in Singapore, he lost them in the Asian junior championship in Rasht, Iran, and the zonal tournament in Yangon.

Jimmy Liew was rated 2,325, losing five points in the PWTC-Dynasty rating tournament in Kuala Lumpur. Wong Zi Jing improved the most over the past six months. His rating shot up a hefty 163 points to 2,283. He had good results in four international tournaments--the Asian open in Shenyang (China), the PWTC-Dynasty rating tournament, the zonal tournament and the Chess Olympiad in Elista (Russia).

Azahari Md Nor was rated 2,121, down 19 points from the previous list. Ismail Ahmad's rating increased 32 points to 2,072, and Lim Yee Weng increased his rating from 2,140 to 2,149.

Finally, there are five new players in the rating list: Ng Tze Han (2,208), Jonathan Chuah (2,337), Aaron Yee (2,337), Lim Jean Nie (2,227) and Deon Moh (2,205).

National Allegro circuit

THE second leg of the chess circuit will be played in Terengganu on March 6 at the Dewan Jabatan Laut Wilayah Timur in Kuala Terengganu. To register, call Jefri at 010-984 3648.

For details of the third leg which is to be held in Kuching on March 7, call the Malaysian Chess Federation secretary Abdul Latif Mohamed at 03-282 6341 or 013-301 0204.

Twelve other legs will be held in various cities and towns around the country before the Grand Final in October. Each leg consists of six rounds and has a total cash prize of RM1,500. The bulk of this prize fund will go to the main winners while RM500 is set aside for the minor winners. The winner of each leg will qualify for the Grand Final.

Entry fees are RM10 for members of the state chess associations organising their respective legs, Bank Pertanian employees, girls under-12, and veteran players, and RM15 for all other participants.

 

From the chess board to the courts

ONE of the most significant developments in the country during the past two weeks must be the appointment of an independent four-member commission to look into the injuries of former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim while in police custody.

Heading the commission is the former Chief Judge of Malaya, Tan Sri Anuar Zainal Abidin.

Now, I know many readers will be wondering what this has got to do with chess. A fortnight ago I was writing about horses and now I am telling you a story about a retired judge.

But Anuar is no ordinary judge. He holds a special pride of place among many chess players who were active in the game during the 70s. The retired judge even had a television show and that is something which I believe no other local chess enthusiast can boast about.

The epic match of 1972 between American Bobby Fischer and the then Soviet Union's Boris Spassky had created an unprecedented interest in the game in almost all four corners of the world, including here in Malaysia, too. Riding on this interest, Radio Television Malaysia introduced a short series of weekly chess programmes to teach the game to beginners. Anuar was at the helm in every programme.

Soon afterwards, I learnt that he had become the president of the Chess Association of Perak. During his tenure in Ipoh, Anuar led a team of Perak chess players to play the Chess Association of Selangor in a friendly inter-state chess match in 1976.

Upon his transfer to Kuala Lumpur one year later, Anuar was made the president of the Chess Association of Selangor, a position which he held until 1980. During this time, he was also elected to the Malaysian Chess Federation as one of the vice-presidents. I hear that much later Anuar was also with the Johor Chess Association for a short while.

Of course, the pressures of being one of the High Court judges meant that in the 80s and onwards he had less time for the game. But during those 10 years or so Malaysian chess really benefited from a man who had one of the keenest legal minds in the country. Dare I say that he had honed his mind on the logical thinking process which chess accorded him?

National allegro circuit

A LONG time ago it was quite normal for chess organisers to decree that cash prizes must be shared among players with the same points. Nobody thought that this policy was wrong; in fact, this policy was wholeheartedly adopted by all and sundry as an equitable way of distributing the rewards to the winners of chess competitions.

Thus, at the very top of the winners' list, you may find two or three players with the same points and each receiving the same amount of cash prize. But as you go down the list of winners, this policy gives rise to very peculiar situations which are aggravated by the Swiss tournament rules.

You see, the Swiss tournament rules allow for many players to participate in a competition with a limited number of rounds. Usually, you can determine an outright winner but occasionally too, you can have more than one player tying at the top. If you already have a situation where there can be two or more players at the top, imagine how it is like lower down in the list when, say, 10 people have the same points ... and they are all sharing one of the minor prizes!

I have played in tournaments where eight people eventually shared the final advertised prize of RM20, and each of them were given RM2.50 as their prize money. Pretty meaningless, I should think, and in the long run, the organisers thought so too!

Very much later, the organisers began to get cleverer and they decided that prize monies should no longer be shared. The winners' positions would be decided by a series of tie-breaking systems and the prizes would be awarded accordingly. Therefore, the last person on the prize winners' list is now assured of a more respectable prize.

This brings me to another related topic. Should a player be given more than one prize? This situation can arise when a player qualifies for one of the main prizes and also one or more minor prizes. I think common sense dictates that a player should win only one prize and he should be given the prize with the highest intrinsic or monetary value. Moreover, as an encouragement to the field, organisers owe it to the competitors that the prizes be given to as many people as possible.

Thus, if a player is eligible for an under-16 prize, an under-14 prize and so on, he should be given the prize with the highest value and in this case, the under-16 prize. It does not mean that the other prizes are his too.

The reason why I am bringing this up is because I am not particularly agreeable with the way the organisers had dispensed with the prizes at the close of the first leg of the Bank Pertanian Malaysia-sponsored national allegro Grand Prix chess circuit in Kuala Lumpur 12 days ago.

I have no qualms with Ng Ee Vern being given the top prize. As the player with the most points--six points--at the end of the competition, he deserved the top prize of RM300.

The second prize of RM200 went to Ghazali Che Cob but because he was also the BPM employee with the best score in the 130-player field, he was given the allotted RM50 prize. Furthermore, Ghazali qualified as a veteran and he was given the RM40 prize accordingly. All in, Ghazali won almost as much as the tournament winner. With a little bit more patience, perhaps one day we shall see a second-prize winner walking away with more prizes than the winner!

The third prize of RM150 went to Fikrul Saifuddin who, together with Ghazali, scored 5 1/2 points each. Among the four players with five points, Agus Salim was fourth, Khairul Aziz Abdullah was fifth, Mohd Saprin Sabri was sixth and Ismail Ahmad, seventh.

Fourteen players obtained 4 1/2 points each, but the eighth, ninth and 10th prizes went to Loo Fah Kuan, Mohd Zambri Shariff and Gregory Lau respectively.

Eleven-year-old Siti Zulaikha Faudzi also had 4 1/2 points but as she was the best performing women's player, under-12 player, under-14 player and under-16 player in this tournament, the organisers decided to give her the four prizes totalling RM120. Oh, by the way, her earnings were more than what Agus Salim received as the fourth-placed winner.

Meanwhile, the second leg of the chess circuit will be played in Kuala Terengganu on March 6, and this will be followed by the third leg in Kuching on March 7. There will be 12 other legs in various cities and towns around the country before the Grand Final in October.

Each leg consists of six rounds and have a total cash prize of RM1,500. The bulk of this prize fund will go to the main winners while RM500 is set aside for minor winners. The winner of each leg will qualify for the Grand Final.

Entry fees are RM10 for members of the state chess associations organising their respective legs, Bank Pertanian employees, women, under-12 and veteran players, and RM15 for all other participants.

Grand Prix results

TENG Wei Ping put up a spirited display to win RM200 at the fourth leg of the Penang Grand Prix circuit held two weeks ago at the Berjaya Georgetown Hotel in Pulau Tikus, Penang. Lim Chuin Hoong was second, winning RM120. The third prize of RM80 went to Ng Tze Han.

Fourth was Lim Cheng Teik; fifth, Chuah Heng Meng; sixth, Teng Wei Khoon; seventh, Khor Shihong and eighth, Lim Jean Nie. The best junior in the competition that was sponsored by the hotel was Jonathan Chuah while Oh Hui Ling took the best lady's prize.

The hotel also presented special prizes of meal vouchers which were won by Ooi Chuen Chieh, Evelyn Chang and Oh Seong Hor.

Fischer in the news again

I WAS looking through back copies of The Star before consigning them to the kacang putih man when I came across an article in the racing pages heaping accolades on the horse which won the Lion City Cup in Singapore last Sunday. No, I haven't become a racing correspondent, neither am I a particular fan of horse racing. But this horse caught my eye--Fischer was its name. Surely it had been named after American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer.

Who has not heard of the legendary Fischer, the only man to have spooked the Soviet chess machinery when he beat Boris Spassky in a world chess championship match in Reykjavik, Iceland, back in 1972 and then failed to defend his title three years later or play another competitive chess game for the next 20 years?

Fischer reappeared on the chess scene in 1992 when he played Spassky again in another match that took place in Yugoslavia. But this time, Fischer was no longer a hero in the Americans' eyes. By playing in Yugoslavia which was in the midst of a civil war that was breaking it up into four or five pieces, Fischer brought the fury of the American government down on his head.

The US Government claimed that by playing the match, Fischer was contravening a United Nations resolution on sanctions against Yugoslavia. He was warned of "dire consequences" upon his return to the United States. As a result, after the match ended Fischer chose to remain behind in Europe rather than face the music at home.

So what has he been doing since then? I don't really know, but two weeks ago, Fischer resurfaced when he consented to be interviewed by grandmaster Eugene Torre over a Filipino radio station. During the interview, a really upset Fischer complained about the way that the "Jewish-controlled" US Government had seized his personal belongings and auctioned them off.

He claimed that a safe and cabinets in his home were broken into and memorabilia like books and photographs taken away and sold for a few hundred dollars. Throughout the 10-minute interview, he ranted and raved about a Jewish conspiracy against him.

If you are interested in this interview, you can retrieve it from the Internet. It can be downloaded from (http://www.philchess.com.ph) but you will need a software program like RealPlayer or MediaPlayer to listen to the soundclip.

Fischer the man may be down on his luck with the US Government, but Fischer the horse is currently basking in glory here in Malaysia and Singapore.

Reading about its exploits brought another chess-horse racing connection to mind. Datuk Tan Chin Nam, the honorary life president of the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF), has a penchant for naming his horses after chess players and chess terms. I have heard his horses have been named Gufeld and Bishop's Opening, among others; though it turns out that Fischer doesn't belong to him.

There's an even closer connection between racing and chess, thanks again to Tan. A horse of his called Saintly (not all his horses have chess names) won the prestigious Melbourne Cup in Australia two years ago so Tan has allowed this name to be used in conjunction with an international chess tournament in Sydney.

The QVB Saintly Cup tournament, touted as Australia's strongest chess event, will end on Sunday; there are 10 grandmasters and international masters taking part. Malaysia's Mas Hafizulhelmi is one of the players while the others are GM (grandmaster) Ian Rogers, GM Darryl Johansen, IM (international master) Alex Wohl, IM Stephen Solomon, IM Guy West (all Australians), GM Joel Benjamin (United States), GM Zhang Zhong (China), IM Tomas Oral (Czech Republic) and IM Mathias Roeder (Germany). You can follow the tournament at its website at (http://www.eagles.bbs.net.au/).

Mas Hafizul seems to be holding his own against the other top-notch players. Many are becoming admirers of this local lad. Certainly, he is now Malaysia's top chess player. If you are interested in seeing how he plays, you can download some of his games from my web page at (http://come.to/my.library).

The site also has games from several international events where Malaysian players have taken part: events such as the 1996 and 1998 Chess Olympiads in Erevan (Georgia) and Elista (Russia) respectively, the 1998 World Youth Chess Festival in Spain, the recent Cairnhill open tournament in Singapore and the Yangon zonal tournament late last year.

I would like to expand this collection of Malaysians' games as much as possible, so if any reader has anything to contribute by way of a chess database of games, you can send them to me at (ssquah@schach.pc.my).

National allegro circuit

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the national allegro Grand Prix chess circuit which is being re-introduced by the Malaysian Chess Federation after a lapse of several years. This 15-leg event, sponsored by Bank Pertanian Malaysia, will kick off with the first leg at the Bank Pertanian building in Jalan Lebuh Pasar, Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday.

Following are dates for the other legs which will be played in various parts of the country:

Second leg--Kuala Terengganu, Feb 25

Third leg--Kuching, March 7

Fourth leg--Johor Baru, March 21

Fifth leg--Kota Kinabalu, April 4

Sixth leg--Penang, April 25

Seventh leg--Petaling Jaya, May 9

Eighth leg--Kuantan, June 13

Ninth leg--Alor Star, July 1

10th leg--Kangar, July 4

11th leg--Seremban, July 27

12th leg--Kota Baru, Aug 5

13th leg--Ipoh, Sep 26

14th leg--Malacca, Oct 10

The Grand Prix final will be staged in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 23 and 24.

Each leg consists of six rounds with a total cash prize of RM1,500. The bulk of this prize money will go to the main winners while RM500 is set aside for the minor winners. The winner of each leg will qualify for the Grand Prix final.

Entry fees are RM10 for members of the state chess associations organising their respective legs, Bank Pertanian employees, women, under-12 and veteran players, and RM15 for all other participants.

The closing date for entries for the first leg this Sunday is tomorrow. However, the MCF is prepared to receive last-minute entries provided such players pay an additional RM10 as a late penalty.

Entry forms are available from the Bank Pertanian building foyer, and also from MCF secretary Abdul Latif Mohamad ( 03-282 6341) or Ibrahim Yaacob ( 03-636 3082).

UP NEXT

THE Perak International Chess Association (PICA) is organising its own state-level Grand Prix chess circuit beginning with its first leg next weekend at the Sekolah TAR library in Ipoh.

Category A is a six-round event with a time control of 60 minutes per player for each game; it will be played on Feb 6 and 7. It's open to all players who have a Fide (the international chess governing body), MCF, Perak or Penang rating of 1,700 or better. Entry fees are RM10 for PICA members and RM15 for non-members.

Category B is a one-day event on Feb 7, open to players without a rating or rated below 1,700. Entry fees are RM5 for PICA members and RM8 for non-members.

Registration will start at 2pm on Feb 6 for the Category A event, and 8.30am on Feb 7 for the Category B play-off. For details, call W.K. Wong at 05-366 1692.

Further north in Penang, the fourth preliminary leg of the Penang Grand Prix will be played this Sunday at the Berjaya Georgetown Hotel in Pulau Tikus.

Only members of the Penang Chess Association can take part.

Qualified readers interested in playing in this event should contact Goh Yoon Wah ( 04-644 5687 in the evening) or Ooi Kiem Boo ( 04-657 4596, office hours).

For details of this tournament, visit (http://come.to/the.pca.homepage).

On Monday (Feb 1), the FCLCHESS club will hold its third local rating tournament at the Holiday Villa hotel in Subang Jaya, Selangor, beginning 9am. The event will have four categories: the under-15, under-12, under-9 and beginners.

The entry fee is RM20 if you register before Sunday, and RM25 if you register on the day of the competition, though these entries will only be accepted if there are vacant places. The total prize fund is RM900 but the organisers may reduce the prizes if there are fewer than 30 players in each of the categories.

For more information, contact Foong Chee Leng ( 013-332 3380).

Also in the same area, the SMK Subang Jaya will hold its open tournament in its school hall on Feb 11 and 12.

On the first day, the boys' under-17 and girls' under-17 individual events will be held; this will be followed by the boys' and girls' team events on the next day.

Entry fees are RM10 per player for the individual events and RM45 per team for the team events. The prizes for the boys' individual and team events will be RM150 for the winner, RM100 for second position and RM50 for third. For the girls' individual and team events, the three winners will receive RM120, RM80 and RM40 respectively.

For details, contact Chan Wei Wei ( 03-747 1822), Lee Su Ann ( 03-733 7526) or Edward Teoh ( 03-733 0875) in the evenings.

National allegro grand prix returns

AFTER a lapse of several years, the national allegro Grand Prix circuit is back. This 15-leg event, initiated by the Malaysian Chess Federation and sponsored by Bank Pertanian Malaysia, will be launched on Jan 31.

On this date, the MCF will hold the first leg of the Grand Prix at the Bank Pertanian building in Jalan Lebuh Pasar, Kuala Lumpur. The remaining legs will be held in various parts of the country after the Chinese New Year celebrations and will be organised by the respective state chess associations.

In states without a recognised chess body, the MCF will run the legs. The MCF will release the dates for the various legs later.

Each leg consists of six rounds and offer a total cash prize of RM1,500. The bulk of the prize will go to the main winners while RM500 is set aside for other winners such as the best women, under-16 or under-12 players.

The winner of each leg will qualify for the final of the Grand Prix which will be held in Kuala Lumpur in October.

Entry fees are RM15 for adults and RM6 for junior players in each of the legs run directly by the MCF. State chess associations that organise their legs can charge members a lower fee of RM10 and RM5 respectively.

For the initial event at the end of the month, the closing date for entries is Jan 30. However, the MCF will receive last-minute entries provided players pay the late penalty which is an additional RM10.

Entry forms are available in the foyer of Bank Pertanian and also from MCF secretary Abdul Latif Mohamad ( 03-282 6341).

Meanwhile, Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia, which had postponed holding the PCMM Malay Open during the Christmas period, will now hold it during the two-day Chinese New Year break.

This event is also sponsored by Bank Pertanian and will likely be held in the Bank Pertanian building. There will only be one main category, but special prizes will go to the best women, under-16 and under-12 players.

Hectic month for Penang

THERE has been a spurt of chess activities in Penang during the past three weekends, and I hear from the Penang Chess Association that one more tournament is scheduled in the state at the end of the month.

The first of the weekend events in Penang was held on Dec 27 at the clubhouse of the Bayan Baru Residents' Association in Bandar Bayan Baru, Penang. Lim Chuin Hoong won this tournament, the third leg of the Penang Grand Prix, scoring 5 1/2 points to emerge top among the 39 players.

Teng Wei Peng and Jonathan Chuah tied for the second place, each scoring five points. Ng Tze Han, Eoh Thean Keat, Ooi Chuen Chieh and Colin Chong, had 4 1/2 points each while Khor Shihong, Lim Jean Nie and Chuah Heng Meng scored four points each.

A week later, Universiti Sains Malaysia's Bridge and Chess Club organised its two-weekend chess festival.

On the first weekend, Jan 2-3, USM ran its individual event. With 112 players taking part, rivalry among the top-seeded players was very intense but they were all overshadowed by UKM student Fikrul Saifuddin who managed to capture the top prize.

Fikrul, together with Chuin Hoong, Jonathan, Khor and Teng, had finished the tournament with six points, but he had just a slightly better tie-break which was sufficient for him to claim the first prize of RM450.

Ng and Heng Meng, both with 5 1/2 points, were the other two prize winners. Lim Yew San and Teng Wei Khoon, who also had 5 1/2 points each, and Lim Ming Teng, with five points, missed out on the main prizes but bagged the consolation prizes as the best under-15 players.

Three prizes were given to the best players from a tertiary institution and these went to Samsul Ariffin, Tang Chi Yan and Lim Cheng Teik. Jean Nie, Oh Hui Ling and Bong Mee Tin won the under-15 girls' prizes while the three under-12 prizes went to Nicholas Chan, Tan Yik Ping and Lee Heng Wei.

A week later, USM held its team tournament. The response was also good with 30 teams playing in the event. The winner was Chung Ling High School "A" which just managed to pip Penang Free School "A" by a mere half point. The Chung Ling boys scored 20 points to the Penang Free School's 19 1/2 points.

As expected, these two teams were way ahead of the other 28 teams. Their closest rivals were the Chung Ling Old Boys Association (CLOBA) and another team which called itself www.losers.com. Both CLOBA and www.losers.com tied with 15 points each.

CLOBA was unfortunate to meet the CLHS "A" in the final round and the former showed their older counterparts no favour at all. Losers.com had a comparatively easier time in disposing of Penang Free School "C" in the final round.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Pessca, USM "A", USM99, Penang Chess Association and St Xavier's Institution "A" finished with 14 1/2 points each but they were all out of the running for a main prize. UTM, however, won the best tertiary institution prize while the MSSPP Girls took the best ladies' prize.

The next tournament in Penang, the fourth and last preliminary leg of the Penang Grand Prix, will be played on Jan 31 at the Berjaya Georgetown Hotel, which is next to the Midland One-Stop Centre in Pulau Tikus. Only Penang Chess Association (PCA) members can take part in this event.

Readers interested in playing in this event 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 runner-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 that the players accumulated from their best three legs.

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

Want to play in Iran?

The Iranian authorities, I was told, are organising an international open tournament in Teheran from Feb 6 to 11. This nine-round event, known as the second Fajar open, offers players a chance to grab US$3,000 (RM11,400) in prizes.

Entry fees are structured according to Fide ratings. Grandmasters, international masters and those with ratings above 2400 get to play free of charge, players whose ratings are between 2300 and 2395 will be charged US$20 (RM76), players rated between 2200 and 2295, US$30 (RM114), and those rated between 2000 and 2195, US$40 (RM152). Unrated players are required to pay US$50 (RM190) as entry fee.

Anyone interested in this tournament should contact MCF secretary Abdul Latif Mohamad ( 03-282 6341) before the end of this month as the closing date for entries is Feb 1. But remember, all expenses will be borne by the players themselves. The MCF's role is just to register the players with the Iranian organisers.

UP NEXT

Chess Association of Selangor's first event for the year is the Nanang International juniors (under-12) open tournament which is scheduled for Jan 24. The event will be played at the Nanang International premises at Jalan Datuk Sulaiman in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

This is a six-round event which offers 10 cash prizes for the winners. The champion will receive RM120 and the runner-up, RM70. The top three winners will also receive a volume of Ruicao Ginseng.

Entry fees are RM10 for members of the CAS and RM12 for non-members. Due to space constraint at the tournament venue, CAS will only accept entries on a first-come-first-served basis. For details on the tournament and registration of players, call CAS secretary Jackie Wong at 03-703 8237.

Tough matches in Myanmar

ONE of the cruellest things that can happen to a chess player is for his winning streak to turn into a losing streak. Suddenly, instead of being able to hold his own against other players, the stricken chess player can find himself losing game after game.

It is a great morale-sapping moment and when this happens in an individual tournament especially, when there is no one who can offer a steadying hand to the player, it can seem as if his whole world has collapsed on him.

I don't know what exactly Lim Yee Weng thought when he found himself in such a situation last month. He was in Yangon, Myanmar, together with Mas Hafizulhelmi and Wong Zi Jing, to play in the Zone 3.2a zonal tournament and his performance here frankly ranked as the worst in his playing career.

He struggled through five losses in a row before landing a win in the sixth round against a Myanmar player. Another loss followed in the seventh round before Lim wrapped up the tournament with two draws against a Filipino and a Singaporean. However, the damage had been irreparable and Lim found himself propping up the field of 30 players with only two points to his credit.

Admittedly, this was a very strong tournament. There were no holds barred from the players. After all, with Zone 3.2a allotted only two qualifying places to the next stage of the current world championship series in Las Vegas, scheduled for the middle of this year, most of the participants were in no mood to compromise.

Take, for example, Indonesia's Utut Adianto. As the highest-rated player, he was expected to breeze through the tournament. Yet he stumbled with two losses, including one that came in the very critical eighth round against the Philippines' Rogelio Antonio. Utut had to haul himself back into reckoning with a last-round win against Myanmar's Zaw Oo.

Even then, Utut had to wait for three other games to finish before he could know whether he qualified or not. Antonio joined him with a win over Vietnam's top player, Dao Thien Hai. Later, Mongolia's Dashzeveg Sharavdorj was to stake a claim with a win over Barlo Nadera of the Philippines.

The player who had the most to lose was China's Liu Dede. Going into the final round, he led the field by a half-point. But he could make no headway against Bong Villamayor, another Filipino player, and the game was drawn.

If Liu had won this crucial game, he would have qualified for Las Vegas. Instead, he found himself in a four-way tie at the top, where regulations had demanded that a double-round play-off in 25-minute games be held to decide the two qualifiers.

Liu fell apart in the play-off, losing four games and drawing two. Antonio's nerves proved the steadiest of the quartet, coming through with two wins and four draws. In the meantime, Utut and Sharavdorj both ended tied again, thereby forcing the two players into yet a second play-off consisting of a four-game match. In five-minute games, however, Sharavdorj proved to be no match for Utut, thereby conceding the second qualifying spot to the Indonesian grandmaster.

Both Hafizulhelmi and Wong Zi Jing had a good run in the zonal tournament, finishing with five points each. Hafizulhelmi drew his first game, then lost his second game to Sharavdorj. He won his third game, drew the fourth and won again in the fifth round. He then completed the tournament by drawing his remaining four games, including a remarkable effort against Antonio.

Wong had two early draws, then settled into a rhythm by losing, winning, losing and winning his next four games. From his last three games, Wong scored two draws and a win. One of his draws was with grandmaster Edhi Handoko of Indonesia.

Final standings from the zonal tournament: Utut, Sharavdorj, Antonio and Liu, 6 1/2 points each; Villamayor, 6 points; Dao and Akira Watanabe, 5 1/2 points each; Edhi, Nadera, Zaw Oo, Hafizulhelmi, Wong and Myo Naing, 5 points each; Petronio Rcao, Zaw Win Lay, Htun Htun Than, Nyee Nyee Zaw, Myint Han and Kyaw Kyaw Soe, 4 1/2 points each; Dang Tat Thang, 4 points; Ricardo de Guzman, Aung Aung, Nay Oo Kyaw Tun, Mark Chan and Tomohiko Matsuo, 3 1/2 points; Myo Thant Khine, Naing Lin Aung and Nelson Mariano, 3 points; Navin Sawalani, 2 1/2 points; and Lim, 2 points.

Terengganu open

The Terengganu Chess Association held its 11th Terengganu open chess tournament last month at the ITM campus in Dungun. There were 42 players who took part in the two-day event.

Mohd Kamal Abdullah was declared the winner of the tournament after he finished with the best tie-breaking score among three players who had scored 5 1/2 points from seven games. In second place was Nor Azmi Md Nor, while third was Md Nizam Hamzah.

There were six players with five points, and the fourth prize went to Abdul Rahim Ramli. Fifth was Md Johan Jamil, sixth was Ghalam Sani, seventh Ali Akhbar, eighth Zahanudin Zainal and ninth Ruzenan Abu Bakar. The 10th prize was given to Wan Abdul Fatah Ali who scored 4 1/2 points.

Cairnhill tournament

Just before Christmas in Singapore last month, the Cairnhill Community Centre held a fairly successful open tournament which attracted several top players from the region. The biggest star of the tournament was the Australian grandmaster, Ian Rogers, who confirmed his standing as the tournament's favourite by winning the top prize of S$1,600 (about RM3,600).

There were five players who scored 5 1/2 points and leading this pack was the Vietnamese international master, Tu Hoang Thong. China's Wu Shaobin, Fikrul Saifuddin, Ben Flores Jr and Wong Meng Leong were the other players with 5 1/2 points.

Two players who took part in the Yangon zonal tournament managed to participate in the Singapore event. Mark Chan returned home in time to play, and he ended up with five points together with Kenneth Tan and Koh Kum Hong.

China's Liu followed up on his disappointment in Myanmar by scoring only 4 1/2 points in the Cairnhill event. He shared the 10th to 14th places with Malaysia's Lim Chuin Hoong, Chia Chee Seng, Goh Weiming and Chue Kah Loong.

The players with four points were Vietnamese Tu Hoang Thai, Uzbekistan's Angela Khegai, Malaysia's Wong Chee Chung, Aurel Molnar, Malcolm Tan, Chris Morrison, Ignatius Leong, Mark Tan, Junior Tay, Foo Hsiang Ming and Bagas Prama Ananta. Singapore's former Fide secretary-general Dr Lim Kok Ann finished with three points. Altogether there were 62 players.

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).