Quah Seng Sun on CHESS

19 December 2003

03 December 2003

21 November 2003

07 November 2003

17 October 2003

03 October 2003

Collapse from a strong position

19 September 2003

05 September 2003

22 August 2003

08 August 2003

25 July 2003

11 July 2003

27 June 2003

13 June 2003

30 May 2003

16 May 2003

Face-lift for Penang chess league

02 May 2003

18 April 2003

04 April 2003

21 March 2003

07 March 2003

21 February 2003

07 February 2003

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)

24 January 2003

10 January 2003

27 December 2002

13 December 2002

29 November 2002

15 November 2002

01 November 2002

18 October 2002

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).