Deep end

 

Up in smoke

 

Merdeka damper

 

Merdeka excitement

 

Killer solutions

 

New champion

 

How good are your moves?

 

Profile of champions

 

National events

 

Face-lift for Penang chess league

 

Siti's first WIM norm

 

Spot that move

 

How not to cheat at chess

 

King of the game

 

Don't confuse us, please!

 

Intelligent machine

 

Kasparov wins the first game

As the continuation page of the newspaper is missing from my collection, I shall supplement the remaining portion of the article in text form below:

But Deep Junior saw more with 32…Nxd4. After 33.Ng6+ Kg8 34.Ne7+, it looked to Kasparov that Deep Junior would have to accept a repetition but he had missed 34...Kf8 35.Rxh7 Nb3+ with checkmate to follow: 36.Kc2 (if 36.axb3, then 36…Qd1 is checkmate) 36...Na1+ 37.Kc3 Qd2+ 38.Kc4 b5+ 39.Kc5 Qd6 checkmate)

Gary Kasparov – Deep Junior, Game Three 

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 Be7 9. Bd2 O-O 10. g4 Nxg4 11. Rg1 Ndf6 12. h3 Nh6 13. e4 dxe4 14. Bxh6 exd3 15. Rxg7+ Kh8 16. Qxd3 Rg8 17. Rxg8+ Nxg8 18. Bf4 f6 19. O-O-O Bd6 20. Qe3 Bxf4 21. Qxf4 Bxh3 22. Rg1 Qb8 23. Qe3 Qd6 24. Nh4 Be6 25. Rh1 Rd8 26. Ng6+ Kg7 27. Nf4 Bf5 28. Nce2 Ne7 29. Ng3 Kh8 30. Nxf5 Nxf5 31. Qe4 Qd7 32. Rh5 Nxd4 33. Ng6+ Kg8 34. Ne7+ Kf8 35. Nd5 Qg7 36. Qxd4 Rxd5 0-1

The fourth game was probably one of the most difficult to understand. There was none of the tactical cut-and-thrust complications that we had seen in the first half of the match and instead, we were treated to a game full of strategical manouevrings.

The gist of this game was Deep Junior’s plan to get its pawn to b6 where the computer program had hoped that it would cut a wedge into Kasparov’s position. But Kasparov always had his defensive resources available to keep the game on an even keel.

Deep Junior’s 32nd and 34th moves were so typical of computer programs. Knowing that the position was going nowhere, it resorted to abide its time by moving its king to h1 and then back to g1. Of course, in this particular game, the time wastage was not a very important factor.

Kasparov was obviously not going to trying anything adventurous and he would be contented with a draw. And once the queens went off the board on the 48th move, the draw was already inevitable.

The problem, however, was with Deep Junior. Being a pawn up, it assessed the position as being better for itself but there was absolutely no way that Kasparov was going to commit the biggest blunder of his life. Deep Junior’s operator soon got the hint and agreed to a draw with Kasparov.

Deep Junior – Gary Kasparov, Game Four 

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Nf6 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 Nd7 9.Nc2 Be7 10.Be2 b6 11.0-0 Bb7 12.h3 0-0 13.Be3 Rc8 14.Qd2 Nce5 15.b3 Nf6 16.f3 Qc7 17.Rac1 Rfe8 18.a3 Ned7 19.Rfd1 Qb8 20.Bf2 Rcd8 21.b4 Ba8 22.a4 Rc8 23.Rb1 Qc7 24.a5 bxa5 25.b5 Bb7 26.b6 Qb8 27.Ne3 Nc5 28.Qa2 29.Na4 Ne5 30.Nc2 Ncd7 31.Nd4 Red8 32.Kh1 Nc6 33.Nxc6 Rxc6 34.Kg1 h6 35. Qa3 Rdc8 36.Bg3 Bf8 37.Qc3 Ne5 38.c5 Nd7 39.Qxa5 Nxc5 40.Nxc5 Rxc5 41. Qa4 R5c6 42.Bf2 d5 43.Bxa6 Bc5 44.Bxc5 Rxc5 45.Bxb7 Qxb7 46. exd5 exd5 47.Qa7 R5c7 48.Qxb7 Rxb7 49.Rxd5 Rc6 50.Rdb5 h5 51.Kf2 Re6 52.f4 g6 53.Kg3 Kg7 54.Kh4 Kh6 55.R1b4 Rd6 56.g3 f6 57.g4 hxg4 58.hxg4 Kg7 59.Rb3 Rc6 60.g5 f5 61.Rb1 ½-½

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Royal Selangor grand prix 

The Chess Association of Selangor kicks off the Royal Selangor Grand Prix - a tournament created to improve the chess-playing skill of Malaysian junior players - on Feb 15-16 at the Sunway College, Bandar Sunway.

All Under-18 players with CAS ratings of 1600 or less, including those without a rating, are eligible to take part. There will be 12 prizes in each of the four preliminary legs, and every player who takes part in them will accumulate grand prix points. The top 40 players with the highest GP points will qualify for the Grand Final, and the top 10 players will be eligible for the year-end chess camp.

For more information, contact Lim Tse Pin (tel: 012-2984922, email: tsepin@maxis.net.my)

SouthernCity chess tournament 

The Johor Bahru District Chess Association will hold the third SouthernCity open chess tournament at the XTRA Hypermarket in Taman Suria, Johor Bahru on Feb 23 beginning 8am.

Entry fees are RM30 for the open section (first prize is RM300), RM7 for the under-16 section (first prize is RM100) and RM5 for the under-12 section (first prize RM80).

Closing date is Feb 21. For more information, contact Narayanan Krishnan (tel: 07-3338215, email: naraa@tm.net.my)

Man vs machine

 

Painful loss for us

 

Clash of the old Titans

 

Lords of the Ring

 

Ratings to rise

 

Better than expected

 

Deep whimper

 

Deep Fritz: as exciting as Deep Blue?

HOW I miss Deep Blue. When this machine played Gary Kasparov way back in 1997, many people went on the Internet to watch the proceedings. There was tension and excitement, and silently I was willing the silicon beast to win. The match became a drama and at the end of each game, there was the inevitable exhiliration and I kept asking for more.

Sadly, after Kasparov lost to Deep Blue and after his public insults of IBM, Deep Blue was decommissioned and no more was heard about it. In the years since then, computer chess programmes are getting stronger.

Deep Fritz is today reputed to be the strongest computer chess programme that is available commercially. It will run in computers with between one and eight processors. On a dual system the increase in speed is around 85% compared to a single processor of equivalent speed. 

And, Deep Fritz is playing against Vladimir Kramnik today in a well-publicised eight-game match in Manama, Bahrain. Kramnik is touted as the new defender of the human race in this match. In the silicon corner, his opponent is running on eight processors in a Compaq machine.

Strangely, however, I cannot find myself overly excited about this match. I know that I should be but I cannot find the enthusiasm to say: "Yes, yes, yes, I want Deep Fritz to win." I look at the games so far and at most, they are fairly interesting. Maybe, it is because Deep Blue was mysterious, a one-of-its-kind creation.  If you have RM350 to spare, you too can have a copy of Deep Fritz.

Certainly, Kramnik would have practised with his copy of Deep Fritz before the match. Certainly too, Kramnik would already have his strategies mapped out. He was well rewarded in the first four games -- two draws and two wins in games where his strategy was to exchange off the queens, simplify and go for a technical endgame.

Game Five was different. In this game, Kramnik kept the queens on the board. All the other pieces, except for a knight each, were exchanged off. In such positions where only the queen and knight remains on the board, it can be very dangerous. The best moves may not be easy to find and with the knight jumping everywhere, mistakes are bound to happen. True enough, a tired Kramnik overlooked a threat and he resigned immediately once it became clear that Deep Fritz would win his knight.

Then came the sixth game. I call it the turning point in this match. Kramnik went for blood and after a very promising start to this game, he sacrificed a knight to lure Deep Fritz's king to the centre of the board. Was it a moment of inspiration or a moment of madness? Who knows, but the ensuing complications could only be favourable to Deep Fritz. True enough, Deep Fritz then went on to out-calculate its human opponent, pocket the point and level the match.

So, in a matter of only two games, the mood of the match has completely changed. Kramnik is the one that's affected by the changing fortunes of the match. But that is only natural, because whereas Kramnik is only human and susceptible to making wrong decisions, his opponent is, after all, a tireless collection of computer chips.

Here are the first four games of the match. The remaining will be published in two weeks' time.

Deep Fritz- Kramnik, Game 1

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 h6 10.b3 Ke8 11.Bb2 Be7 12.Rad1 a5 13.a4 h5 14.Ne2 Be6 15.c4 Rd8 16.h3 b6 17.Nfd4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 c5 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Rxd8+ Kxd8 21.Bc1 Kc8 22.Rd1 Rd8 23.Rxd8+ Kxd8 24.g4 g6 25.h4 hxg4 26.Bg5 Bxg5 27.hxg5 Ke8 28.Kg2 1/2-1/2

Kramnik - Deep Fritz, Game 2

Game 2 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bxc5 9.Kf1 b5 10.Be2 Bb7 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 12.Nb3 Bf8 13.a4 b4 14.Nfd2 Bd5 15.f3 Bd6 16.g3 e5 17.e4 Be6 18.Nc4 Bc7 19.Be3 a5 20.Nc5 Nxc5 21.Bxc5 Nd7 22.Nd6+ Kf8 23.Bf2 Bxd6 24.Rxd6 Ke7 25.Rad1 Rhc8 26.Bb5 Nc5 27.Bc6 Bc4+ 28.Ke1 Nd3+ 29.R1xd3 Bxd3 30.Bc5 Bc4 31.Rd4+ Kf6 32.Rxc4 Rxc6 33.Be7+ Kxe7 34.Rxc6 Kd7 35.Rc5 f6 36.Kd2 Kd6 37.Rd5+ Kc6 38.Kd3 g6 39.Kc4 g5 40.h3 h6 41.h4 gxh4 42.gxh4 Ra7 43.h5 Ra8 44.Rc5+ Kb6 45.Rb5+ Kc6 46.Rd5 Kc7 47.Kb5 b3 48.Rd3 Ra7 49.Rxb3 Rb7+ 50.Kc4 Ra7 51.Rb5 Ra8 52.Kd5 Ra6 53.Rc5+ Kd7 54.b3 Rd6+ 55.Kc4 Rd4+ 56.Kc3 Rd1 57.Rd5+ 1-0

Deep Fritz - Kramnik, Game 3

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qd2 dxc6 7.Nc3 Ne7 8.Qf4 Be6 9.Qxf6 gxf6 10.Na4 Bb4+ 11.c3 Bd6 12.Be3 b6 13.f4 0-0-0 14.Kf2 c5 15.c4 Nc6 16.Nc3 f5 17.e5 Bf8 18.b3 Nb4 19.a3 Nc2 20.Rc1 Nxe3 21.Kxe3 Bg7 22.Nd5 c6 23.Nf6 Bxf6 24.exf6 Rhe8 25.Kf3 Rd2 26.h3 Bd7 27.g3 Re6 28.Rb1 Rxf6 29.Be2 Re6 30.Rhe1 Kc7 31.Bf1 b5 32.Rec1 Kb6 33.b4 cxb4 34.axb4 Re4 35.Rd1 Rxd1 36.Rxd1 Be6 37.Bd3 Rd4 38.Be2 Rxd1 39.c5+ Kb7 40.Bxd1 a5 41.bxa5 Ka6 42.Ke3 Kxa5 43.Kd4 b4 44.g4 fxg4 45.hxg4 b3 46.Kc3 Ka4 47.Kb2 f6 48.Bf3 Kb5 49.g5 f5 50.Kc3 Kxc5 0-1

Kramnik - Deep Fritz, Game 4

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Bg5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 h6 11. Bf4 Bg4 12. h3 Be6 13. Rc1 Re8 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. e4 d4 16. e5 dxc3 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. bxc3 Qxd1 19. Rfxd1 Rad8 20. Be3 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Bxc3 22. Rd7 Rb8 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Rxa7 Rb2 25. Ra6 Bd2 26. Rxc6 Bxe3 27. fxe3 Kf7 28. a4 Ra2 29. Rc4 Kf6 30. Kf1 g5 31. h4 h5 32. hxg5+ Kxg5 33. Ke1 e5 34. Kf1 Kf5 35. Rh4 Kg6 36. Re4 Kf5 37. Rh4 Kg5 38. Kg1 Kg6 39. g4 hxg4 40.Rxg4+ Kf5 41. Rc4 1/2-1/2

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Selangor allegro

The Chess Association of Selangor will hold their fourth quarter allegro tournament at The Chess Network, Kompleks Wilayah in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 20. Entry fees are RM10 for CAS members, ladies, FIDE-rated and under-12 players and RM20 for others. Places are limited to 80 players only. To register, contact Lim Tse Pin (tel: 012-2984922) or email chessmate@cas.com.kg with your name and I/c number. 

Johor open

The Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru and the Johor Bahru District Chess Association will organise the fifth Bandaraya ChessMaster Johor open tournament on Oct 27 at the Perpustakaan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Datin Halimah in Johor Bahru.

Entry fees are RM25 for the open section, RM8 for the under-16 event and RM5 for the unde-12 section. Closing date is Oct 25. Entries are limited to the first 250 registrants. For more information, contact Marayanan Krishnan (tel: 07-333-8215, email: naraa@tm.net.my).

Perak closed

The Perak International Chess Associatin will organise the Perak closed tournament at the Ipoh Parade in Ipoh over three days beginning Nov 1. There will be cash prizes totalling RM1,000 and the winner will be declared the state champion. There will also be trophies for the best under-12, under-16, ladies and veteran players. Entry fees are RM15 for PICA members, ladies and under-12 players and RM20 for others. To play, contact Yunus Sharif (tel: 05-545-8453 or 016-532-3594).         

RSC Kiara chess festival

The Royal Selangor Club will host the RSC Kiara Chess Festival on Nov 3 at its Bukit Kiara club house. The event will comprise chess simultaneous matches, a chess lecture, a chess shop and a seven-round open tournament which features prizes for the best under-8, under-10, under-12, under-14 and under-16 players, as well as cash prizes for the open winners.

Entry fee is RM20 inclusive of lunch. All age group participants will be given certificates. For more details, contact Wahid (tel: 016-253-7443), Jax Tham (tel: 013-323-2280) or Gregory Lau (tel: 016-355-8648), or e-mail royselchess@hotmail.com. Final registration will be on Oct 27 from 3pm to 6 pm at Bukit Kiara (1st floor).

Part of the objective of this festival is to launch a chess book library. Chess players who wish to contribute their chess books or sell them in this festival should contact the organisers. 

PKNS tournament

The Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor will hold an open tournament at the Dewan Cempaka, Kompleks PKNS in Bandar Baru Bangi on Nov 3. Entry fee is RM20 per person if you register before Oct 28, and an additional RM5 for late entries. For more information, contact Engku Mohd Suhaimi (tel: 03-8925-0216 or 019-264-1909, fax: 03-8922-1198, email: suhaimi@pop.jaring.my), Ku Faezah (tel: 03-8925-0216), Mok Tze Meng (tel: 016-2233536, email: moktm@tm.net.my) or Zuraini Jailani (tel: 012-3036559).

Russian's art of chess

 

Top spot not guaranteed

 

In fighting spirit

 

Election challenge

 

Playing host to juniors

 

Grandmaster, olive farmer

 

Short showdown

 

Times of change

 

One for the kids

 

No takers

 

Fragile unity

 

Glory for chess and country

 

A memorable achievement

 

Moment of truth

 

An impressive showing

THE 18-year-old Ruslan Ponomariov emerged relatively unscathed from his first test as the world chess champion at the annual Linares grandmaster tournament in Spain earlier this month. 

This tournament, which was watched with an uncharacteristically higher interest by the chess world, was won expectedly by Gary Kasparov but Ponomariov's chess ability made the strongest statement by far.

In a way, Ponomariov's second placing was a clear indication to the world chess elite that his triumph in Moscow in January was not a fluke. There, he had beaten Vassily Ivanchuk quite comprehensively to claim the chess crown but in Linares, he more than held his own against people like Michael Adams, Alexei Shirov, Ivanchuk and another former world champion, his predecessor, Viswanathan Anand. 

Ponomariov began the tournament by again getting the better of Ivanchuk. His satisfaction was, however, shortlived as in the second round, Adams rudely brought him back to earth with a carefully grounded out win. A series of draws then followed, during which time Ponomariov was careful to bide his time.

In the ninth round, Ponomariov struck back at Adams and won a crafty game. He scored another win against Vallejo Pons, the tournament's tail-ender, in the 13th round but was himself at the receiving end against Kasparov in the 14th round. Nevertheless, Ponomariov's 6.5 points were enough to let him finish second in Linares, and a vindication for him.

When Ponomariov has firstly won the world chess crown in Moscow, his success was met with an incredulous "Who's Ponomariov?" among many chess players.

Kasparov, in particular, had been vicious in his comments about the new world champion, remarking on his web site that if he were to meet Ponomariov, he would not know who Ponomariov was. It was a stinging remark, belittling his effort in Moscow and meant to mean that Ponomariov was certainly not in his league and could not be taken seriously.

But Ponomariov had his sense of humour. During the opening ceremony of the Linares tournament, he made it a point to sit beside Kasparov. Well, Kasparov simply ignored him during the whole proceedings and it was clear that the atmosphere between the two of them was thick enough to cut with a knife.

But the course of the tournament must have changed Kasparov's opinion of the younger man, for at the closing ceremony, Kasparov had loosened enough to be seen laughing and talking to Ponomariov. Maybe, he felt magnaminous enough after having won the tournament. Who knows? But from this alone, it is clear that Kasparov has already taken his measure of Ponomariov.

Here's a game from Linares' ninth round. Adams played the Marshall Attack as Black, hoping to score a quick win against Ponomariov, but he failed to reckon with Ponomariov's own aggressive play in the centre of the board. An interesting game.

Ponomariov - Adams: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Re4 g5 16. Qe2 Nf6 17. Nd2 Bf5 18. f3 c5 19. Qf2 c4 20. Bc2 h6 21. b3 cxb3 22. axb3 Rfc8 23. Bb2 Bb4 24. Re5 Bxc2 25. cxb4 Bg6 26. Rc5 Re8 27. Nf1 Rad8 28. d5 Nd7 29. Ne3 h5 30. f4 h4 31. f5 hxg3 32. hxg3 Bh5 33. d6 Re4 34. Rac1 Nxc5 35. bxc5 Kh7 36. Bf6 Rg8 37. d7 Rh4 38. Qg2 Bf3 39. Qxh3 Rxh3 40. Kf2 g4 41. Nf1 Rh5 42. d8=Q Rxd8 43. Bxd8 Rxf5 44. Ne3 Rh5 45. Bh4 1-0

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Kuittho Chess Challenge

The two-day Kuittho Chess Challenge starts tomorrow at the College University Technology Tun Hussein Onn campus in Batu Pahat. This is a tournament for undergraduates of local universities and colleges, school children and other Malaysians.

Entry fees are RM40 per person except for primary schoolchildren who are charged RM20 each. For enquiries, call Ho Kok Hoe (tel: 017-758-1200), Norrsallawati Md Said (tel: 012-764-4372) or Muhammad Suhaib Mohd Azmi (tel: 012-451-9476).

PFS Open

The Penang Free School Open, incorporating the first leg of this year's Penang Grand Prix, will be held this Sunday in the school hall. The tournament will be played over eight rounds with a time control of 20 minutes per player for the first and second rounds, and 25 minutes for the remaining rounds. 

Entry fee is RM10 per player. To register, contact Chin Chee Boon (04-8275910) or Pak Cheng Yeong (04-3906855). Closing date is Mar 30.

TCN Rapidchess

The Chess Network will hold a Rapidchess tournament for the under-12 and under-16 age groups at the Wilayah Complex in Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Kuala Lumpur this Sunday. Registration will begin at 9am.

There are 10 prizes each for the two categories, and the total prize fund is RM500. There are also membership prizes to join the World Chess Network where players can compete online with other chess players around the world, and hampers for the best girl players. For more details, contact Abdul Hamid Majid (019-3158098).

Royal Selangor Juniors

The Chess Association of Selangor will organise the 16th Royal Selangor junior tournament for the under-10 and under-16 categories on Saturday and Sunday at the Sunway College in Bandar Sunway. On Apr 6 and 7, it will be the under-12 and under-18 events.

There are 40 prizes worth more than RM4,800 and the champion of each category will receive RM200 and a pewter trophy each. Time control for the seven-round tournament is 60 minutes per player. 

Those wishing to play in the under-12 and under-18 events have until Apr 5 to register by email with CAS secretary Lim Tse Pin <tsepin@maxis.net.my>. Please state your name, identity card number and category of event in your email. Entries are limited to 60 players per category on a first-come basis. Entry fees are RM10 for CAS members and RM 20 fornon-members. 

BPM Allegro

The Bank Pertanian Malaysia-sponsored national allegro chess circuit continues with:

-- the Kelantan leg in Kota Bharu on Mar 30. To register, contact Cikgu Rahman (tel: 09-7878079).

-- the Johor leg at the Menara Landmark in Johor Bahru on Apr 7. To register, contact Aaron Chua (012-7599319) or John Ang (012-7515314) or email aaronchua8@hotmail.com before Apr 5. Email entries must state the players' names. All participants must report at the playing venue by 8am on the day of the tournament. 

The other legs of the chess circuit will be held in Malacca on Apr 14, Kuantan on May 5, Alor Setar on Jun 29, Kangar on Jun 30, George Town on Jul 14, Ipoh on Jul 21, Seremban and Kota Kinabalu on Aug 11, Kuching on Aug 18, and Labuan on Sep 29. 

Kellie's Castle Open

The Perak International Chess Association will organise the third Kellie's Castle open tournament in Batu Gajah on Apr 21. This is a seven-round event with a total prize fund of RM3,840. The winner will receive RM800 and a trophy. There are altogether 10 main prizes and six other prizes for the best veterans, ladies and PICA members. Entry fees are RM20 for PICA members, ladies and under-12 players, and RM25 for all others.

On Apr 20, PICA will organise the Kellie's Castle youth tournament at the same venue. The prize fund is RM970 and apart from the 10 main prizes, the best under-10, under-12, under-15 and under-18 boys and girls will receive prizes too. Entry fees are RM12 for under-12 players and RM15 for others.

For enquiries and entry forms, contact Steven Ng (05-3668198), WK Wong (05-3661692) or Yunus Sharif (05-5458453). Closing date for both events is Apr 6.

A new hangout

 

Hail the new champ

 

Tireless servant

FLORENCIO CAMPOMANES is a remarkable man. If you have not met him before, I think you are missing out on the one person who has contributed significantly to shape the direction of modern chess not only in Asia but the world.

Campomanes has been deeply involved in chess for more than half a century. In the 1950s he was already captaining the Philippines national chess team at events such as the Chess Olympiads, in the 1970s he was a deputy president of the World Chess Federation, in the 1980s he assumed the executive presidency of the world body itself, and since 1995 he has been the federation's honorary life president.

I first got to know Campo -- everybody calls him that -- in 1974 when Malaysia was trying to climb out of its chess shell and in the past 28 years of so, I have had a few opportunities to renew our acquaintance.

For a busy man like him who travels often around the world in the cause of chess -- he claimed to have criss-crossed the globe five times in 2001 -- meeting high-level decision-makers like company bureaucrats and people in government, he still remembers the names of many people who are mere chess-players or, in my case, a chess writer.

I bumped into Campo again last Christmas. He will be 75 years old this month, but his heart is not even 57. He is still as energetic as ever, with a penchant to regale people with stories of his past achievements.

Like, for example, he said that he had not planned to stand for the presidency of the World Chess Federation in 1982. At that time, the Icelandic grandmaster, Fridrik Olafsson, was the Fide president and Campo was still the deputy president. 

The seed for his climb to the presidency was sown in 1972 when a young American upstart player became the world chess champion. There is no prize for guessing correctly who this American player was, but after Bobby Fischer refused to defend his world chess crown in 1975, effectively withdrawing from competitive chess altogether, Campo spent the next six years trying to coax Fischer back to the chess board.

Campo recollected that in October of 1981, while in transit in San Francisco, he had telephoned Fischer and arranged to meet him. Campo told Fischer that he had a big contract with him, worth US$500,000 which was a rather significant sum for chess in those days, and just waiting for Fischer to put pen to paper. Anatoly Karpov was supposed to be his opponent to decide once and for all who would be the chess king.

Unfortunately, Fischer held out after scrutinising the contract. It was not enough. He hesitated because he wanted the money up front, before the match, and not after the TV rights. Campo spent the whole session trying to get Fischer to sign.

When Fischer left without signing, a frustrated Campo realised that he had already wasted enough of his time with Fischer. Six years was long enough. Perhaps, Campo thought, what he could achieve as Fide's deputy president, he could get better results as the Fide president himself.

Thus began an election campaign that was to last the next one year. Campo spent this time laying the ground work on his bid for the Fide presidency.  At one stage, he was traversing the globe, visiting 23 countries in 35 days, and meeting presidents and ministers for these countries.

Curiously enough, Olafsson did not know what hit him. Maybe, he had underestimated Campo, for when the D-Day came on that historic day in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1982, Campomanes swept everything before him and won the Fide presidency by a big margin.

Asia and Africa were solidly behind Campo, as were most of the Americas. Europe had unestimated Campo and supported Olafsson but the votes there were never a threat. This single humiliation has never been forgotten by the European members of Fide and until today, Europe remains largely critical of Fide's achievements under Campo and his successor, Kirsan Iljumzhinov.

What, I asked Campo, would he consider to be his greatest personal achievements?

"Organising the world championship match (between Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Baguio) in 1976," he answered after a moment's reflection. 

"Then, of course, we had the women's world championship match in Manila in 1989. This was between Xie Jun and Chiburdanidze and I was very proud that an Asian player had finally won the world crown," he said.

"Xie Jun's triumph was only the beginning of the realisation of our efforts to put Asia on the chess map. We were proving to the world that Asians are just as capable, that chess is no longer their monopoly. We were starting to gain the respect of the Europeans, so that is an achievement not only for me but more for Asian chess," Campo added.

Apart from organising the Manila interzonal championship in 1991, one of his other big achievements came one year later when Manila was the venue of the Chess Olympiad. It was the first time that an Asian country was organising the biennial event and Manila put up a brilliant job as hosts.

Today, with control of Fide in the hands of Iljumzhinov, does Campo miss the days when he had executive control over the world body? 

"I am Fide's honorary life president," he reminded me. "Kirsan calls the shots in Fide now. As for me, I travel the world to promote chess and I am happy just to do my part to support all of (Kirsan's) efforts."

Yes, indeed. Whether Campo is retired or not, he still has a significant role in world chess. And, I think, he still relishes the challenges before him.

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The next three legs of the fourth Bank Pertanian Malaysia national allegro grand prix will be played in Kuala Terengganu on Mar 2, Petaling Jaya on Mar 10 and Kota Baru on Mar 30. 

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

Games galore

IT IS the start of the new year and as usual, the Malaysian Chess Federation has attempted to come out with their preliminary calendar of local chess events. Unfortunately, the calendar is a bit empty because most of the state chess associations have yet to inform the MCF of their chess activities for this year.

Nevertheless, chess players around the country will be glad to learn that Bank Pertanian Malaysia will again be sponsoring this year's national allegro chess circuit. 

Like in previous years, this circuit will be played in all the states in the country. Spanning the whole year, there will be one tournament in every state, including the two federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan.

The first leg kicks off with the Kuala Lumpur leg on Feb 2. This event will be run by the Wilayah Persekutuan Chess Association at the Wilayah Complex. For more details on this event, contact Hamid Majid (03-4021-9576) or email aham@pc.jaring.my

The other legs of the chess circuit will be held in Kuala Terengganu on Mar 2, Petaling Jaya on Mar 10, Kota Baru on Mar 30, Johor Bharu on Apr 7, Malacca on Apr 14, Ipoh on Apr 21, Kuantan on May 5, Alor Setar on Jun 29, Kangar on Jun 30, George Town on Jul 14, Seremban and Kota Kinabalu on Aug 11, Kuching on Aug 18, and Labuan on Sep 29. 

Capping off the chess circuit will be the Final tournament which is scheduled for Dec 28 and 29 in Kuala Lumpur. At the present moment, all these dates are still tentative and may be subjected to changes at the last minute.

Other local events for enthusiasts to look forward to include the PCMM open tournament which the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia will hold at the Bank Pertanian Malaysia headquarters building in Kuala Lumpur from Feb 11 to 13. The PCMM annual general meeting is also scheduled during this time.

The MCF will organise the annual national age-group chess championships at the Putra World Trade Centre from Apr 26 to 28. This event is sponsored jointly by Bank Rakyat Malaysia and the PWTC. Also on Apr 28, the long-awaited annual general meeting of the MCF will be held.

The MCF will celebrate Labour Day with the annual allegro tournament at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur on May 1. Later in the month, the MCF will organise the national closed chess championship from May 25 to 29, and the national women's closed championship from May 25 to 27. Both events will be held in Kuala Lumpur.

Also on the calendar will be the Royal Selangor open tournament. This long-running event will be organised in Kuala Lumpur by the Chess Association of Selangor from May 30 to Jun 3. From Jun 21 to 23, the MCF will be playing hosts to the Singapore Chess Federation at the annual Malaysia-Singapore match. 

The Dell Penang Chess League is scheduled from June to mid-August, and this will be followed by the Merdeka team championship which will be played at the PWTC from Aug 30 to Sep 2.

In the final quarter of this year, the Universiti Malaya's Grand Asean chess challenge is scheduled from Oct 18 to 25, and the Persatuan Catur Melayu Malaysia's Malay Masters tournament will be played from Nov 1 to 4.

One other event that the MCF has listed in their calendar, which is bound to stir a lot of interest especially among the parents, is the Children's Olympiad, which is an under-16 event. This is a World Chess Federation event which will be held in Kuala Lumpur in July, August or September. However, the details are still very sketchy and the exact date for this event has not been fixed.

On the international front, the MCF has identified several events where there may be a likelihood of participation by a team or individuals from Malaysia: the Asian Cities chess championship in Aden (Yemen) from Feb 6 to 14, the Asian under-16 championship and the fifth Asian youth championship for under-10, under-12 and under-14 players in Iran from Mar 28 to Apr 4, the third Asean age-group championship in Singapore from Jun 8 to 14, the Asian junior chess championship in Sri Lanka in June, the men's and women's zonal championship and the first Asean chess championship in Vung Tau (Vietnam) in September, the second Asean international open in Bangkok also in September, the Chess Olympiad in Bled (Slovenia) from Oct 27 to Nov 13, the world youth championship in Greece, and the fourth Asian men's chess championship and the 10th Asian women’s chess championship in the United Arab Emirates.

Unfortunately, except for possibly the Chess Olympiad, anyone wishing to play in the other international events will have to bear all the costs of their trips themselves. Although the MCF will assist in the registration of the players, the federation is in no position to provide any subsidy for them.

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Beginners' classes

The Royal Selangor Club will hold classes for beginners on Sundays (10am to noon) and Saturdays (4pm to 6 pm) at its club premises in Bukit Kiara. These classes are suitable for children between 6 and 10 years old. 

Fees are RM50 per month, payable three months in advance and certificates of completion will be given to attendees at the end of the programme. Anyone interested can email royselchess@hotmail.com for more information or call the Sports Office (03-253-2277).

Perak events

The Pergerakan Pemuda Malaysia (PPM) Perak will hold their first allegro tournament this Sunday at their premises in Jalan CM Yusuff, Ipoh. There will be four prizes for the Open Category & consolation prizes for the best boys and girls (under-12, under-14 and under-16), women, veterans and PPM members. Entry fees are RM5 for PPM members, all under-16 players, women and veterans, and RM8 for others. To register, contact KP Chan (012-2150729) or email chess2k2@hotmail.com

This Monday, the Xin Yi Dai allegro tournament will be held at the association's premises in Jalan Theatre, Ipoh. There are also four prizes in the open category with consolation prizes for best boys and girls (under-12, under-14 and under-16), women, veterans and XYD members. Entry fees are RM5 for XYD members, all under-16 players, women and veterans, and RM8 for others. To register, contact Low Lee See (05-255-7208 or 013-513-0874).

CAS Quarter Allegro

The Chess Association of Selangor will hold their first CAS quarter allegro tournament for the year at the Menara Tan&Tan in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 3. There will be seven prizes for the Open category and consolation prizes for the best under-12, under-16, ladies and veteran players.

Entry fees are RM10 for CAS members and under-12 players, and RM20 for other players. To register, contact Lim Tse Pin (012-298-4922), Mrs Jackie Wong (012-261-3688) or email chessmate@cas.com.kg before Feb 1. The tournament is limited to the first 70 participants.