KL open announced

WILL WE ever get to see Hou Yifan, the women’s world chess champion from China, grace any of our local tournaments this year or ever again? I wonder.

The first and last time that she played in this country was in April last year when she participated – and won rather convincingly – the third Kuala Lumpur open chess tournament. 

A lot has happened since then. When she was playing here last year, she was still not the women’s chess champion. That crown was earned much later, at the women’s world chess championship in Turkey last December when she beat Ruan Lufei.

But personally, I shall doubt that she will play in this year’s fourth Kuala Lumpur open chess tournament. Come this November or December, Hou will be defending her world champion’s title against Koneru Humpy.

Of course, Hou may still want to come here and use the tournament as a training event to build up towards her title defence but really, there’s no real reason to do so. She might as well stay back in Beijing to train with the best of the Chinese coaches.

But coming back to the Kuala Lumpur open, it’s been confirmed by the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association that they will organize this competition at the Swiss Garden Hotel and Residences on Sep 4-10. The Masterskill Education Group is coming in again as the main sponsor.

The total prize fund for this year has been increased from RM30,000 to RM45,000, although the winner’s purse remains unchanged at RM10,000. However, there are now additional prizes for both women and junior chess players as recognition of the huge support from them in previous years. In addition, the final day blitz tournament has been reinstated. 

In the meantime, here is a game from the Candidates tournament which just ended in Kazan, the capital city of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic. 

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is quite a tactician. In this game, he planned on a direct attack on Boris Gelfand’s king. However, his attack fizzled out after his opponent made a thematic exchange sacrifice on the c3 square. Regardless, Mamedyarov tried to soldier on in a position that was fast turning against him. But at the end, faced with three black pawns threatening to roll down the centre of the board, he had to accept his fate. This was one of the very few decisive games in the quarter-finals. 

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Boris Gelfand

Candidates quarter-finals, Kazan, Russia

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 b5 8. O-O Be7 9. Qf3 Qc7 10. Qg3 O-O 11. Bh6 Ne8 12. Rad1 Bd7 13. f4 Nc6 14. f5 Nxd4 15. Rxd4 Kh8 16. Be3 Nf6 17. Qh3 d5 18. e5 Qxe5 19. Rh4 Rfc8 20. Kh1 Rxc3 (This is the thematic sacrifice. See the diagram. Actually, for a player of Mamedyarov’s stature, he should have seen it coming. Maybe he did, but he underestimated its effect. In any case, after the exchange, his attack was stalled and it allowed Gelfand to take full control of the centre and hence, ultimately the game.) 21. bxc3 Qxc3 22. Rd4 a5 23. Rd3 Qc6 24. c3 a4 25. Bc2 e5 26. Bg5 b4 27. Qh4 bxc3 28. Rh3 Kg8 29. Re1 e4 30. g4 Kf8 31. Be3 Qc4 32. g5 Bxf5 33. gxf6 Bxf6 34. Qh5 Bg6 35. Qg4 Qxa2 36. Bb1 Qc4 37. Qg2 a3 38. Ba2 Qc6 39. Rg3 Rb8 0-1

UP NEXT

Giant Tampoi youth open

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, Rakan Muda Johor Bahru and the Giant Hypermarket Tampoi are jointly organizing the Giant Tampoi youth tournament at the hypermarket in Tampoi on Sunday. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM15 (players under 16 years old) and RM12 (players under 12 years old). Closing date for entries is May 25. More details available from Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@jyahoo.com). 

Chess camp

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess champ at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 6-7. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association will organize the fourth leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Grand Kampar Hotel on Jun 19. Like the three previous tournaments, this leg in Kampar will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The grand final will be played in Ipoh on July 10. Other than cash prizes, points are awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

Entry fees for the Kampar tournament: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). Closing date for entries is Jun 16. To register, call Yunus (013.3908129). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

MBSSKL open

The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School (MBSSKL) in Kuala Lumpur will hold the sixth MBSSKL open tounament at their school on July 23. Six rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM5 (MBSSKL students) and RM15 (others). Closing date for entries is July 9. For more details, visit http://mbsskl.edu.my or contact Sanusi or Madam Yong LY (03.20782293).

All eyes on Candidates

Chesswise, this has been a rather eventful fortnight. The field, which started out with eight players, has by now been whittled down to only two.

In case you do not know what I’m talking about, it’s about the world championship Candidates tournament. Ever since it was announced at the end of last year that Kazan would be the venue of this series of elimination tournament, I have been, well, eagerly awaiting it.

Before anyone asks, “Kazan, where?” let me just add as a preamble that this is the capital city of the Tatarstan Republic in Russia. It is supposed to be the eighth largest city in Russia. And it is also supposed to have a sport-mad culture. Come 2018, Kazan will be a venue for the FIFA World Cup.

But before then, it is the Candidates tournament that takes centrestage in Kazan and the rest of the chess world. The tournament actually consists of three stages: the quarter-finals on May 5-9, followed by the semi-finals on May 12-16 and the final which kicked off yesterday. The event ends next Thursday and that is when the official Challenger to the world champion will be known.

The Norwegian grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen, was supposed to be participating in this Candidates cycle but last November, he announced his withdrawal. He was replaced by Alexander Grischuk.

I think nobody misses Carlsen’s absence too much. Regretting his absence, maybe, but not to the extent of missing him. After all, this Candidates cycle still happen to feature, let me see, two former world chess champions, one former Challenger and five others who happen to be in the current list of top 15 chess players in the world. Yes, Carlsen isn’t missed much.

So back to the quarter-finals and the first two players to qualify through were Gata Kamsky and Boris Gelfand. Both were born in Russia but Kamsky is now an American citizen while Gelfand has become an Israeli. 

In his quarter-final tournament match-up, Gelfand had beaten the Bulgarian grandmaster, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, by a 2½-1½ score over four games. Similarly, Kamsky had shocked the Bulgarian former world champion Veselin Topalov by the same score line. 

Topalov’s defeat was easily the biggest upset result among the four quarter-final tournaments. Kamsky simply absorbed all the pressure from Topalov, even subjecting himself to defending difficult positions and falling into great time pressure. 

The other two quarter-final tournaments went into the play-offs. 

The first to qualify from these play-offs was Grischuk who beat the world number three player, Levon Aronian. All their four normal time control games were drawn but in the rapidchess play-off, Grischuk struck Aronian a big blow by winning two games.

Vladimir Kramnik, also a former world champion, scraped through the other play-off match which went into extra time. After having achieved four drawn games against the Azerbaijani grandmaster, Teimour Radjabov, in the normal regulation time control games, the two players again split the points in the four rapidchess play-off games. 

Progress to the second round or semi-final matches thus depended on a mini-series of blitz games. Radjabov won the first blitz game and was set to qualify when a draw hovered above the second blitz game.

However, Radjabov came undone by the chess clock. Quite inexplicably, the clock suddenly reset by itself in the midst of the game. By the time the game resumed, Radjabov’s concentration was gone and he lost tamely to allow Kramnik to level the score. 

It was now on to the second blitz mini-series. This time, it was Kramnik that won the first blitz game to take the lead in the match. There was to be no repeat of the same clock problem in the second blitz game which ended drawn. So at the end of a thrilling set of play-off games, Kramnik was the last player to advance to the semi-finals.

After two days of rest and recovery, the semi-final stage began on May 12. Kramnik found himself paired against Grischuk while Gelfand was drawn to play Kamsky. Needless to say, the tension that was so evident in the quarter-finals spilled over to the semi-finals. The four games in each match, played with normal regulation time control, were drawn and so, the players went into the rapidchess play-offs.

Here, Kamsky was the first to draw blood when he won the third game after a horrible blunder by Gelfand. Normally in such short matches, losing a game could prove fatal since there would not be enough games to recover sufficiently. 

But it wasn’t the case with Gelfand. With nothing left to lose, he threw everything against Kamsky in their last rapidchess game. And it was Kamsky that could not handle the psychological pressure. Almost immediately, he succumbed to Gelfand’s attack. The match was tied again and it would now go on to the blitz games. 

In the other match, Grischuk and Kramnik headed to their own blitz showdown after all their four rapidchess games ended drawn. 

It was here, in the blitz play-offs, that Grischuk and Gelfand finally prevailed in their respective matches to advance to the Final.

Tonight at seven o’clock, the second game of the Final between Grischuk and Gelfand will start. There are altogether six games at normal regulation time control. Who will be the eventual winner of this Candidates tournament, then? It’s going to be a thrilling finale which all of us can watch live on the Internet.

Various websites and blogs are carrying the games live and some of the best I can recommend are ChessDom (http://www.chessdom.com) and PlayChess (http://www.playchess.com). Alternatively, the Internet chess servers are all buzzing with activity as their members log in to watch. 

Up next

Warrior weekend

The Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre (DATCC) will organize the Warrior rapid chess weekend tournament at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur this Sunday. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Closing date for entries is today. Entry fees: RM20 (players below 12 years old) and RM30 (others). To register, contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com). 

Giant Tampoi youth open

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, Rakan Muda Johor Bahru and the Giant Hypermarket Tampoi are jointly organizing the Giant Tampoi youth tournament at the hypermarket in Tampoi on May 29. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM15 (players under 16 years old) and RM12 (players under 12 years old). Closing date for entries is May 25. More details available from Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@jyahoo.com). 

Chess camp

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess champ at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 6-7. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

MBSSKL open

The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School (MBSSKL) in Kuala Lumpur will hold the sixth MBSSKL open tounament at their school on July 23. Six rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM5 (MBSSKL students) and RM15 (others). Closing date for entries is July 9. For more details, visit http://mbsskl.edu.my or contact Sanusi or Madam Yong LY (03.20782293).

 

Down to the wire

Last weekend, the national selection trials for the SEA Games continued from where it had left off two weeks earlier. 

When the men’s trials took a break in mid-event, international masters Mas Hafizulhelmi and Jimmy Liew were in the joint lead with four points from their first five games. One point behind them were international master Lim Yee Weng, current national champion Lim Zhuo Ren and Sumant Subramaniam. Further back were international master Mok Tze Meng, former national champion Kamalariffin Wahiduddin, Fong Yit San, Fong Yit Ho and Tan Jun Feng.

The race in the women’s selection trials was equally tight. At the midway stage, former national women’s champion Fong Mi Yen and Camilia Johari were both in the lead with four points and right behind them were the current national women’s champion, Nur Nabila Azman Hisham, and her sister, Nur Najiha Azman Hisham. Further back were Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar, Tan Li Ting, Sarika Subramaniam, former national women’s champion Nurul Huda Wahiduddin, Tang Kar Khei and Puteri Munajjah Az-zahra Azhar.

Normally, half-way standings can give a pretty good guide on how tournaments will turn out at the end but at the same time, they can be pretty misleading too.

The only non-surprise in the men’s selection trials was the consistency of Mas Hafizul in demonstrating that he was, perhaps, still the top player in the country. By the end of the tournament on Sunday, Lim Yee Weng had climbed up above Jimmy Liew in the standings although technically, both of them were tied in joint second place. 

There was a dead heat tie for the fourth and fifth places by Sumant and Kamalariffin, which even the tie-break systems were unable to resolve, but more about that later. And further down the list, Lim Zhuo Ren was in sixth place above his coach and mentor, Mok Tze Meng, who was in seventh position. Finishing below them were Fong Yit San, Tan Jun Feng and Fong Yit Ho.

And in the women’s selection trials, Fong Mi Yen had a rude awakening when she was bumped off the perch and could only finish joint fifth with Puteri Rifqah. Nur Najiha came triumphant to top the table while sandwiched in between the three of them were Tan Li Ting, Camilia Johari and Nur Nabila. In the second half of the table were Puteri Munajjah, Nurul Huda, Sarika and Tang Kar Khei.

Fong Mi Yen would be deeply disappointed with her play over the weekend because finishing in fifth place meant that effectively, she had missed qualifying for the four places in the women’s chess team that would be going to this year’s SEA Games in Jakarta. 

There would also be four places in the men’s chess team and three of these places are filled by Mas Haifzul, Lim Yee Weng and Jimmy Liew. Determining the last qualifier was more problematic and both Sumant and Kamalariffin had equal points and equal tie-breaks. Moreover, they had also drawn with one another in this tournament.

In order to break this tie, the Malaysian Chess Federation organized a play-off mini-match of two rapidchess games. Sumant won the first game but then, Kamalariffin struck back to win the second game. 

It was a tie again. According to the regulations, the two players now had to play two blitz chess games. Blitz games are normally played with five minutes on the chess clock so you can imagine tension running high in the two games. But then, there were still no decisive results when the two blitz games ended. Sumant and Kamalariffin were still tied.

The final resolution was to play Armegeddon blitz chess. Here, one player would be allotted five minutes on his chess clock while the other was given four minutes. The player with five minutes would be required to win his game, no if’s and no buts. If the game ends drawn, the player with four minutes would be adjudged the winner.

So this was going to be the decisive moment. There would be no more second chance for either player. In this game, Kamalariffin cracked and lost, thereby sending Sumant to the SEA Games. 

 

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association will organize the third leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Slim River in Slim River on Sunday. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). To register, call Yunus (013.3908129), Abu Bakar (014.2510852) or Uztaz Ismail (019.5520391). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

Ampang chess master

The Ampang Jaya Chess Club and the Office of the Member of Parliament for Ampang are jointly organizing the Ampang chessmaster open tournament at the Medan Selera Ampang Waterfront on Sunday. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM10 (school children) and RM25 (others). For more information, contact Abdul Hakim Nordin (019.3925828). To register, contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com). 

Warrior weekend

The Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre (DATCC) will organize the Warrior rapid chess weekend tournament at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur on May 22. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Closing date for entries is May 20. Entry fees: RM20 (players below 12 years old) and RM30 (others). To register, contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com). 

Giant Tampoi youth open

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, Rakan Muda Johor Bahru and the Giant Hypermarket Tampoi are jointly organizing the Giant Tampoi youth tournament at the hypermarket in Tampoi on May 29. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM15 (players under 16 years old) and RM12 (players under 12 years old). Closing date for entries is May 25. More details available from Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@jyahoo.com). 

Chess camp

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess champ at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 6-7. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Discount of RM20 applies to anyone registering before May 15. Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

MBSSKL open

The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School (MBSSKL) in Kuala Lumpur will hold the sixth MBSSKL open tounament at their school on July 23. Six rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees: RM5 (MBSSKL students) and RM15 (others). Closing date for entries is July 9. For more details, visit http://mbsskl.edu.my or contact Sanusi or Madam Yong LY (03.20782293).

 

Three times a winner

Now, don’t start me off. I’m not going to launch myself with superlatives to describe Dr Nicholas Chan’s feat in winning the annual Selangor open chess tournament for the third year in succession.

All that I’m going to say to him is, congratulations. Short and simple.

Really, there are no big words to describe Chan’s hat-trick of Selangor open achievements. He was the champion in 2009, he made a great defence of this title last year and then, earlier this week, he overcame some mid-tournament jitters to become the Selangor open champion again. 

Add in his tournament victory in 2004 and Chan has won this event four times in the past eight years. 

It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. He led until the sixth round and even reeled off five wins in a row which included a win over international master Jimmy Liew. Then Chan hiccupped in the seventh round, losing to Indian international master Srinath Narayanan. Suddenly, he found Liew, Srinath and familiar Filipino player Ian Udani leap-frogging half a point over him.

With two rounds remaining, the tournament now became alive. There were four contenders who could easily be winner of the tournament. However, some of them had still to play one another and so, there would be no easy gallop towards the finish line. The event was wide open. 

In the eighth round, two of the leaders met. Udani and Srinath were paired together, but their game was drawn. Then, Chan beat Mohd Irman Ibrahim to draw level with the Indian and the Filipino. In the meantime, Liew took advantage of their lapse by disposing off his opponent, Abdul Rahim Ramli, to take the sole lead for the first time in the tournament. 

So by the end of the eighth round, the standings were: Liew in front with seven points and followed by Udani, Srinath and Chan just half a point behind. The ninth and final round would be crucial.

To end up as the champion, Liew would need to win his final game. A draw might have been enough too but he could possibly be subjecting himself to a tie-break with two other players. It wasn’t a completely appealing situation but maybe, it would be better than nothing. In any case, his final-round opponent, Udani, refused to follow the same script and in a tensely fought game, the Filipino prevailed over Liew.

Srinath was also in a good position to join Udani at the top of the standings if he could beat his opponent, the newly minted national closed champion Lim Zhuo Ren. But Lim proved to be a tougher nut than expected and he put paid to any idea that the Indian player could have.

These unexpected results presented Chan with a precious lifeline which he seized gladly. Among the top contenders, he had possibly the most comfortable pairing of all. Sitting across from Mark Siew, Chan outplayed his opponent to win the game and thus finish on equal points with Udani. 

But this is not the end of the story. Two players stood at the top of the standings with equal points. Who would be the champion? For Chan, his spurt of five wins in his first five games would now ensure him a much superior tie-break than Udani. And with this better tie-break came the coveted winner’s purse at the conclusion of this 38th Selangor open chess tournament.  

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association will organize the third leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Slim River on May 15. Like the two previous tournaments in Taiping and Bagan Serai, this leg in Slim River will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The two remaining legs will be played in Kampar on Jun 19 and the grand final in Ipoh on July 10. Other than cash prizes, points are awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

Entry fees for the Slim River tournament: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). Closing date for entries is May 12. To register, call Yunus (013.3908129), Abu Bakar (014.2510852) or Uztaz Ismail (019.5520391). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

Ampang chess master

The Ampang Jaya Chess Club and the Office of the Member of Parliament for Ampang are jointly organizing the Ampang chessmaster open tournament at the Medan Selera Ampang Waterfront on May 15. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees are RM10 (school children) and RM25 (others). For more information, contact Abdul Hakim Nordin (019.3925828). To register, contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com). 

Warrior weekend

The Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre (DATCC) will organize the Warrior rapid chess weekend tournament at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur on May 22. Seven rounds, 25 minutes per game. Closing date for entries is May 20. Entry fees are RM20 (players below 12 years old) and RM30 (others). To register, contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com). 

Chess camp

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess champ at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 6-7. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Discount of RM20 applies to anyone registering before May 15. Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

MBSSKL open

The Methodist Boys’ Secondary School (MBSSKL) in Kuala Lumpur will hold the sixth MBSSKL open tounament at their school on July 23. Six rounds, 25 minutes per game. Entry fees are RM5 (MBSSKL students) and RM15 (others). Closing date for entries is July 9. For more details, visit http://mbsskl.edu.my or contact Sanusi or Madam Yong LY (03.20782293).

 

Selection trials

Every year, the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) faces the same old dilemma of selecting players to represent the country at official overseas chess tournaments. It’s a problem that the federation has been unable to uncover a satisfactory solution even after almost 40 years.

So many selection methods have been employed in the past. Initially, it was thought that selecting a team based solely on the results of the national closed championships would be good enough but as we all know, how accurate can that be when a chess competition is run according to the Swiss pairing rules with a limited number of rounds? 

At worst, only the champion can really be considered as worthy of selection. All other standings become less accurate as we go down the final prize-winners’ list and that is why organizers use all sorts of tie-breaking systems to justify the players’ standings. Still, it is not quite sufficient.

There were also occasions when the best one or two players in the country were given automatic entry into the national teams and the rest of the players were selected from either the Fide rating list or the results of the national closed championships or a combination of both.

Then it was decided that the MCF president should have the prerogative to select a player of his choice into the national team, based on a short-list provided by the council. Sort of a wild card entry just in case a really worthy case needed to be considered at the last moment.

But any reasonable person will realize that all these alternatives are not really fool-proof. Every method may have its good points but each also has its own different short-comings. So every time a major chess event comes along, there are always new suggestions and new tweaking made to find an appropriate solution to suit that occasion.

Let me say here about Malaysian chess that we do compete regularly at world and regional chess events. At the heart of our activities is the biennial Chess Olympiads but lately, there’s also the Asian Games and the SEA Games. 

Well, with the SEA Games in Jakarta just around the corner – in about six months’ time – the MCF is now in the midst of selecting the players to fill spots in the national men’s and women’s teams.

This year, without any great surprise, we learn that the federation has decided yet again to adopt yet another selection format. This time, there would be round-robin selection trials with the bulk of eligible players to come from this year’s national men’s and women’s closed championships that had concluded recently.

I’m sure that this decision will please several people who feel that the national closed results are now being given more recognition by the same body that organized it. But on the other hand, this decision could also have distressed other people who had expected it their right to compete in the selection. To be fair, the MCF had announced the national selection trials way ahead of the national closed championships so that any of the top players who find themselves now missing from the selection trials have only themselves to kick, isn’t it?

The main basis for a player to be eligible for the selection trials was to finish within the top eight positions in last month’s national men’s and women’s closed championships. If any of the players were to decline participation, their places would be taken up by players from either the FIDE rating list or by going down further through the results of the two national closed events. There are two remaining two slots that would be filled by the participants in last year’s Asian Games.

So last weekend, the selection process for the men’s and women’s teams began in earnest in Kuala Lumpur but it had to break for two weeks in order to accommodate the running of the week-long 38th Selangor open chess tournament, at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur, which overlaps into this weekend. The resumption of the selection trials will be on May 7 and 8 when the sixth to ninth rounds are played. 

In any case, based on these eligibility criteria, the players who started the men’s selection tournament were international masters Mas Hafizulhelmi and Mok Tze Meng (the two had participated in last year’s Asian Games), international master Jimmy Liew, current national champion Lim Zhuo Ren, Sumant Subramaniam, Fong Yit Ho and Fong Yit San (qualifiers from the national closed championship) and international master Lim Yee Weng, former national champion Kamalariffin Wahiduddin and Tan Jun Feng (whom MCF had chosen to replace three players that had declined to take part).

Meanwhile for the women’s selection tournament, the players were Nur Nabila Azman Hashim (qualified from last year’s Asian Games but she is also the current national women’s champion), Nur Najiha Azman Hisham, Fong Mi Yen, Tan Li Ting, Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar, Camilia Johari, Sarika Subramaniam and Puteri Munajjah Az-zahra Azhar (qualifiers from the national women’s closed championship) and Nurul Huda Wahiduddin and Tang Kar Khei (as replacements for two other qualifiers).

I shall leave you this week with a game from the very first round of the selection trials. Sumant Subramaniam is a very promising junior player but he came a cropper in his game with Jimmy Liew. Here it is:

Sumant Subramaniam (rated 2065) – Jimmy Liew (rated 2302)

National selection tournament, 2011

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Be2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bg5 a6 8.Qd2 b5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Qe3 c6 12.Qg3 Nd7 13.Bh6 Bf6 14.Rad1 Qe7 15.Rd2 Nc5 16.Be3 Ne6 17.Rfd1 Nd4 18.Bg4 Bxg4 19.Qxg4 Ne6 20.Ne2 Rad8 21.Ng3 Rxd2 22.Rxd2 Rd8 23.Nf5 Qb4 24.c3 Qc4 25.Rxd8+ Nxd8 (The game had been on a rather even keel with Black having equalized comfortably. Now, White thought that his worthy opponent had missed something. See the diagram: was there a small brilliant combination here in this position that could net him a winning advantage?) 

26.Nxg7? (But this sacrifice turned out to be delusional. Black saw deeper into this move and had a rejoinder ready.) 26…Bxg7 27.Bh6 Ne6 28.Bxg7 h5 (And this is the move that wrecked White’s plans. Black would keep his knight although he loses two pawns. White was actually banking on 28…Nxg7 29.Qc8+ Ne8 30.Qxe8+ Kg7 31.Qxe5+ and Black would be in trouble.) 29.Qxh5 Nxg7 30.Qxe5 Qxa2 31.h4 Qxb2 32.h5 Qc1+ 33.Kh2 Ne6 34.Qb8+ Kh7 35.Qe8 Qf4+ 36.Kg1 c5 37.Qe7 Kg7 38.Qe8 Qc1+ 39.Kh2 Qg5 40.g4 Qh4+ 0-1

Up next

Perlis events

In conjunction with the 68th birthday of the Raja of Perlis, there will be two tournaments in Perlis this weekend. Tomorrow, the Perlis Chess Academy will organize the Perlis open tournament with cash prizes totalling RM1,610. Entry fees: RM10 (players under 18 years old), RM15 (Perlis residents) and RM20 (non-Perlis participants). 

Then on Sunday, Kilang Gula Felda Perlis will organize the Gula Perlis open chess challenge. The cash prizes for the Gula Perlis event amount to RM5,555. Four DGT digital chess clocks are also given as lucky draw prizes. Entry fees: RM15 (players under 18 years old) and RM20 (adults). 

Both events are played at the Dewan Belia in Kangar, Perlis. More details available from Syaifulzamani (013.3939838), Darwis (012.4128207), Abdul Aziz (019.5700828), Azrul Sani (019.4651122).

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association will organize the third leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Slim River on May 15. Like the two previous tournaments in Taiping and Bagan Serai, this leg in Slim River will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The two remaining legs will be played in Kampar on Jun 19 and the grand final in Ipoh on July 10. Other than cash prizes, points are awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

Entry fees for the Slim River tournament: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). Closing date for entries is May 12. To register, call Yunus (013.3908129), Abu Bakar (014.2510852) or Uztaz Ismail (019.5520391). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

Chess camp

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess champ at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 6-7. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Discount of RM20 applies to anyone registering before May 15. Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

 

Wild draw

It’s just not the same any more. Not since the growing popularity of computer chess programs, anyway. 

Way back in the past when we talked about blindfold chess, it would mean just that: two players who were literally blindfolded. It was great publicity. I remember that in the early 1990s, this newspaper even once published a colour picture of two blindfolded players on the front page. 

It’s not so dramatic nowadays. Players in blindfold games are now more inclined to sit at a laptop computer. Some people say that the players stare blankly at an image of an empty chessboard on the computer’s monitor but there is much more going on than that. You see, their brains are whirring along – thinking, calculating and assessing – and the chessboard, though empty, helps them in the visualization process. And they are still required to record their every move.

So to the experienced chess players, an empty chessboard is not a hindrance at all; not when there are still the visible game scores to follow. These reminders are more than sufficient in allowing them to play normally. 

How normal or accurate could their games be, you may ask? Well, very normal indeed. For example, at the Amber tournament in Monaco last month, half of the games were played in this so-called blindfold fashion and I tell you, there were games of sheer accuracy and brilliancy. 

This week, I would like to show you one rather remarkable game from this event. 

Vladimir Kramnik (rated 2785) – Vassily Ivanchuk (rated 2779)

20th Amber Blindfold, Monaco, 2011

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.d4 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 c6 7.Qc2 0-0 8.0-0 b6 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.Bf4 Bb7 11.Ne5 Rc8 12.Nc3 Nh5 13.Bc1 f5 14.Qa4 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Qc7 (Something new from Ivanchuk which left Kramnik wondering how to refute.) 16.cxd5 (Later, Kramnik commented that he should have played the immediate 16.Bf3.) 16…cxd5 17.Qxa7 (And finally, White decides to take the offered a-pawn. So the queen is offside but it’s not so simple for Black to trap it with 17…Ra8 immediately. There is bigger game on the kingside.) 17…Bc5 (To support the b-pawn just in case the black queen needs to move away but more importantly, the bishop occupies the diagonal and gets aimed at White’s king.) 18.Bf3 f4 19.g4 (If 19.Bxh5, then 19…fxg3 rips into the white kingside. White sidesteps this but now comes a stunning move.) 19…Ng3! 

(See diagram) 20.b4 Ra8 21.Nxd5 Nxe2+ 22.Kf1 Rxa7 23.Nxc7 Bxf3 24.Nxe6 Nc3 (Possibly, 24…Bxb4 could have won the game. After Ivanchuk misses that, Kramnik steers the game into safe waters.) 25.bxc5 Nxd1 26.cxb6 Ra4 27.Nxf8 Kxf8 28.Rb1 Rxa2 29.b7 Rxf2+ 30.Ke1 Re2+ 31.Kf1 (Of course, not 31.Kxd1 Rb2+ 32.Ke1 Rxb1 and the white b-pawn falls.) 31…Rf2+ 32.Ke1 ½-½

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association informs me that the first leg of this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix tournament in Taiping a fortnight ago was a remarkable success with 217 participants. There could have been more players but the last-minute entries were turned away due to space constraints of the venue.

The second leg of the grand prix will be held at the Sekolah Menengah Teknik Kerian, Jalan Siakap, Bagan Serai this Sunday. Like the Taiping leg, this second leg will be contested over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. The other three legs will be played in Slim River on May 15, Kampar on Jun 19 and the grand final in Ipoh on July 10. Other than cash prizes, points are awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

Entry fees for the Bagan Serai tournament: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). To register, call Yunus (013.3908129), Kamaruddin (019.4316793) or Mas’ud Hamzah (012.4681665). Alternatively, visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for details. 

Percawi Labour Day team

The Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Chess Association (Percawi) will organize a Labour Day team tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur this Sunday. Six rounds, 30-minute games, four players per team. Entry fee: RM160 (companies and government departments), RM80 (schools, colleges and universities). Details available from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578) and Bob Yap (012.2878378).

Selangor open

The Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) will organize their 38th Selangor open chess tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur from Apr 28 to May 2.

This nine-round, Fide-rated tournament will have 10 main cash prizes totaling RM7,000 with the winner receiving RM2,500. There are also various minor category prizes. Entry fees: RM70 (CAS members with Fide ratings), RM80 (CAS members without Fide ratings), RM90 (non-CAS members with Fide ratings) and RM100 (non-CAS members without Fide ratings). Grandmasters and international masters play for free. Universities, colleges and schools that submit four players or more will receive a 20 percent discount. Entries received after Apr 21 will be charged an extra RM20.

For enquiries, contact Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922, selangorchess@gmail.com), Mat Zaki Yeop (017.2032051) or Yeoh Chin Seng (012.6199816). More information available from http://selangorchess.blogspot.com 

Perlis events

In conjunction with the 68th birthday of the Raja of Perlis, there will be two tournaments in Perlis on Apr 30 and May 1. On Apr 30, the Perlis Chess Academy will organize the Perlis open tournament with cash prizes totalling RM1,610. Entry fees: RM10 (players under 18 years old), RM15 (Perlis residents) and RM20 (non-Perlis participants). 

Then on May 1, Kilang Gula Felda Perlis will organize the Gula Perlis open chess challenge. The cash prizes for the Gula Perlis event amount to RM5,555. Four DGT digital chess clocks are also given as lucky draw prizes. Entry fees: RM15 (players under 18 years old) and RM20 (adults). 

Venue for both events will be the Dewan Belia in Kangar, Perlis. More details available from Syaifulzamani (013.3939838), Darwis (012.4128207), Abdul Aziz (019.5700828), Azrul Sani (019.4651122).

Chess camp

The Creative Chess Enterprise will hold a two-day chess champ at the Sekolah Sri Bestari in Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on Jun 6-7. Entry fees: RM140 (elementary level), RM160 (players with national chess ratings below 1200 points) and RM180 (players with national rating above 1200 points). Discount of RM20 applies to anyone registering before May 15. Closing date: May 22. For inquiries, call Balendran (012.3547011) or Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922).

 

Wild attack

Would you give an arm and a leg to even play half as well as the winner of this game? I would. From the Chinese chess championship in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province, China earlier this month comes this fantastic game. 

Xiu Deshun is not to be scoffed at. Although he is still without any international chess title, not even that of an international master, Xiu’s rating of 2508 points ranks him in China’s current list of their top 20 players. Besides, he had won the Thailand open chess championship two years ago.

However, Xiu came undone while playing against Zhao Jun who is one of China’s chess grandmasters. This game is the stuff which gets shown again and again anywhere in the world as an example of brilliancy. Just bring out your chess set and enjoy it.

Zhao Jun (rated 2580) - Xiu Deshun (rated 2508)

Chinese chess championship, Xinghua, China, 2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Ne2 Ba6 9.e4 0-0 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bg3 d6 13.f4 Na5 14.fxg5 hxg5 15.0-0 Nh5 (From this point onwards, the game gets interesting. But first, before we continue with the game, it is to be noted that two of Black’s minor pieces are basically out of play on the queenside and his kingside pawns have been irreversibly weakened.)

16.Bxd6!! (See Diagram One. This piece sacrifice comes right out of the blue. It works not because of White’s bravado but because of great inspiration. His instinct tells him to go completely for broke in this game.)  (Diagram One)

16...Qxd6 17.e5 Qe7 18.Ng3 (This move would be a bit more difficult to see. Usually, a player would be quite loathe to exchange off pieces during an attack. Piece exchanges can only help the defender. And yet, here is White offering to swap knights.)

18...Nxg3 19.Rf6!! (See Diagram Two. This position deserves a diagram. Now we know why White was willing to exchange the knights: he wanted to remove Black’s last defending piece, especially its defence of the f6 square. Once the knight was gone, this rook move drives a wedge into Black’s position. The black king is stranded. Since it’s almost impossible to find safety, there is no escape route.)  (Diagram Two)

19...Kg7 (Black tries to create a flight square for the king after he moves away the rook from the f8 square. However, as the game shows, this plan doesn’t work. Another alternative for Black is to exchange off more pieces and hope to relieve the pressure with 19...Bxc4 20.hxg3 Bxd3 21.Qxd3 but unfortunately, it doesn’t work too.)

20.Qg4 (The rest of the game basically plays by itself. Again, do note that Black’s bishop and knight on the queenside are still offside and incapable of doing anything much. Black’s priority is to protect his king but his rook is a poor defender. White simply needs to throw all his remaining big pieces – the queen and the other rook – into the attack.)

20...Rg8 21.hxg3 Nb7 (Black’s next few moves see him trying to defend the f7 pawn and simultaneously open an escape route for the king to the queenside. However, White ignores everything that Black does and continues with his game plan to build up the pressure. Double the rooks on the f-file, totally seize the d3-h7 diagonal. White doesn’t even need to capture the g5 pawn yet.)

22.Raf1 Nd8 23.Qe4 Qb7 24.d5 (Great move, in my opinion.) 24…Rh8 25.Qg6+! fxg6  (25...Kf8 26.dxe6 and 27.Rxf7+ follows next. No escape for Black.) 26.Rxg6+ Kh7 27.Rxg5+ Kh6 28.Rg6+ Kh7 (28…Kh5 29.g4+ Kh4 30.Rf3 and it’s checkmate next.) 29.Rg4+ Kh6 30.Rf6+ Kh5 31.Rh4+ 1-0 (The net is complete: 31…Kg5 32.Rg6 mate.)

Up next

YAB chess open

The Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) will organize the YAB chess open at their campus in Kedah later this month. There will be two events: a Chinese chess tournament on Apr 22 and a chess tournament one day later on Apr 23. Each event, limited to 100 participants, shall consist of four categories: open, under-18, under-12 and UUM students. Entry fee: RM18. Accommodation is available at RM7 per person per night. Closing date: Apr 17. Registration forms available from Neoh Shi Ling (017.4762906, shil_neoh@hotmail.com), Yoong Kah Eng (017.6204688, kahengyoong@yahoo.com) or Yen Yee Kiat (012.5998347).

 

Larry Parr's passing

In the week that I want to share with you a few games from the recent national closed and national women’s closed championships, I received word that a familiar face in our chess circle had passed away in one of our local hospitals.

Larry Parr was a rather enigmatic person. He guarded his privacy jealously and only a privy few were let in to meet his close-knit family of wife, daughter and son. Yet, Parr’s public facade had quite a notorious streak about him. 

Many chess players worldwide would associate Parr with that well-known American institutional chess magazine, Chess Life, of which he was the editor from 1985 till 1988. He was also the author of a few books on the chess game. Plus, he surprised many with his fluency in the Russian language.

However, many people locally, and not only those in the chess circle, would probably recognize him better as the co-author of “Never Say I Assume!” which was the memoir of Datuk Tan Chin Nam, one of the pioneers of property development in Malaysia who also happened to be the honorary life president of the Malaysian Chess Federation.

To have been able to do the extensive research for that book, Parr would have stayed in Kuala Lumpur for at least the past 10 years to piece everything together but to people like me who have been involved in the game for quite a while, we will remember that he had been seen on and off in this country as long ago as the mid-1970s.

I do remember bumping into him in 1975 or 1976 and always, he would be deeply engrossed in discussing a chess game with this or that chess player who cared to sit down with him.

The more you know him, the more you’d learn that he had an elephantine memory and could be very talkative. He had stories to tell and he’d tell them in so dramatic a fashion that you’d think there’d be scandals behind them but there weren’t. He wove fascinating tales around the chess personalities. His favourite subject was Bobby Fischer and he loved to talk and write about him. 

Parr never considered himself to be a chess historian but clearly, he had a deep running interest in this subject. Once when I visited him at his old Tan & Tan office in Kuala Lumpur, he kept probing into the developments of Malayan chess in the 1950s and early 1960s but which, of course, I had no answer. That period was too long ago; it was way before my time.

But one other thing I do know about him is that he was very immersed in American and world chess politics. He had very strong views and was never afraid to speak his mind on various topics. He challenged people online and was challenged in return. Those were the early days of the Internet where instead of the World Wide Web, people were into the Usenet. 

Anyone who had joined the rec.games.chess main and sub-newsgroups could have hardly missed the no-holds-barred exchanges that Parr had with other opinionated contributors. Usually, they were a pack of more or less the same people that dominated the newsgroups to voice their opinions. But he could give as good as he received, that much I have to say about him. 

Even in the last years of his life, he was an active campaigner in other chess forums that had sprung up on the Internet. He continued sparring verbally with new people about perceived wrongs in the chess world. In his own unique way, he contributed much to the chess game.

All this will be missed. Parr’s death means that the chess world has become a little less noisy. His detractors may miss his online presence or they may not. But I do know that his friends in Malaysia will certainly miss him.

I shall end this week with two games from the recent national closed and national women’s closed championships. They were critical games for the winners of the two events. 

Lim Zhuo Ren found himself paired against a formidable opponent in the final round of his event. Though leading the pack of front-runners, he needed only a draw. However, Jimmy Liew took the game to him, and it was only with consistency and an alert mind that he weathered the storm.

Lim Zhuo Ren – Jimmy Liew

National closed championship, Round 9

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. g3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 g6 6. Bg2 Bg7 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. O-O Qc7 10. Qd2 a5 11. Na4 Rb8 12. Qc2 d6 13. Rd1 Bg4 14. h3 Bf5 15. e4 Be6 16. Bd2 Nd7 17. Rac1 f5 18. b3 Rf7 19. Be3 c5 20. Kh2 Rbf8 21. Qd2 fxe4 22. Bxe4 Bd4 23. f4 Bxe3 24. Qxe3 g5 25. Bg2 Bf5 26. fxg5 Ne5 27. Nc3 Bg4 28. Rd5 Bf3 29. Rd2 Qd7 30. Nd5 Bxd5 31. Bxd5 e6 32. Bg2 Nf3+ 33. Bxf3 Rxf3 34. Qxc5 Qb7 35. Qd4 a4 36. Rb1 Rf1 37. Rxf1 Rxf1 38. Rg2 axb3 39. axb3 Qxb3 40. Rb2 ½-½ 

Nur Nabila’s path to the women’s title also took here through several obstacles. She had to negotiate carefully through the likes of the former champions, Fong Mi Yen and Tan Li Ting. Though her game with Tan ended drawn, it had its interesting moments. For one, there was Nur Nabila’s determination to win in a largely drawn game and the other, Tan’s dogged defence to keep her half point. 

Tan Li Ting – Nur Nabila bt Azman Hisham

National women’s closed championship, Round 6

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 Bd6 5. Bg3 O-O 6. Nbd2 b6 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. O-O Bxg3 9. hxg3 Nbd7 10. Re1 c5 11. c3 Qc7 12. Qc2 h6 13. Rad1 Rac8 14. Qb1 Rfd8 15. Bc2 b5 16. Rc1 Qb6 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 Nf6 21. Qe2 cxd4 22. cxd4 Qb7 23. Rc5 Rxc5 24. dxc5 Rc8 25. b4 Nd5 26. Qb2 a5 27. a3 axb4 28. axb4 Ra8 29. Nd4 Ra4 30. Nc2 Qa8 31. Ra1 Rxa1+ 32. Nxa1 Nxb4 33. Qxb4 Qxa1+ 34. Kh2 Qa6 35. Qd4 g6 36. Qd8+ Kg7 37. Qb6 Qa1 38. Qd6 b4 39. c6 Qc3 40. c7 b3 41. Qd8 b2 42. c8=Q Qxc8 43. Qxc8 b1=Q 44. Qc3+ Kh7 45. Qf6 Qf5 46. Qb2 g5 47. Kg1 h5 48. Qe2 Kg6 49. Qc4 Qe5 50. Qc2+ Kg7 51. Qd1 Kh6 52. Qd2 Qd5 53. Qb2 e5 54. Qb6+ Kg7 55. Qe3 Kg6 56. Qb6+ Qe6 57. Qd8 f6 58. Kh2 e4 59. Kg1 f5 60. Qd2 Qf6 61. Qd5 h4 62. gxh4 gxh4 63. Qg8+ Kh6 64. Qd5 Kg5 65. Qg8+ Kh6 66. Qd5 Kh7 67. Qd7+ Kh6 68. Qd5 ½-½ 

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) kicks off this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix with the first leg at the Chinese Recreation Club in Taiping this Sunday. This is the second season of the local grand prix which will see five legs held in Taiping, Kerian, Slim River, Kampar and Ipoh until July. 

Each leg of the grand prix will be played over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. Other than the cash prizes, points will be awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

While entries have closed for the Taiping tournament, the next one for Kerian looms ahead. Entry fees for all the legs are: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). For updates, call Yunus (013.3908129) or visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com. 

Selangor open

The nation’s longest-running chess tournament is back. The Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) will organize their 38th Selangor open chess tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur from Apr 28 to May 2.

This nine-round, Fide-rated tournament will have 10 main cash prizes totaling RM7,000 with the winner receiving RM2,500. There are also various minor category prizes. Entry fees: RM70 (CAS members with Fide ratings), RM80 (CAS members without Fide ratings), RM90 (non-CAS members with Fide ratings) and RM100 (non-CAS members without Fide ratings). Grandmasters and international masters play for free. Universities, colleges and schools that submit four players or more will receive a 20 percent discount. Entries received after Apr 21 will be charged an extra RM20.

For enquiries, contact Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922, selangorchess@gmail.com), Mat Zaki Yeop (017.2032051) or Yeoh Chin Seng (012.6199816). More information available from http://selangorchess.blogspot.com 

Percawi Labour Day team

The Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Chess Association (Percawi) will organize a Labour Day team tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur on Apr 24. Six rounds, 30-minute games, four players per team. Entry fee: RM160 (companies and government departments), RM80 (schools, colleges and universities). Details available from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578) and Bob Yap (012.2878378).

 

Narrow win

In addition to Lim Zhuo Ren winning the national closed championship two weeks ago, there is also a new national women’s champion in Nur Nabila Azman Hashim. 

The national women’s closed championship, which was also being held at the same time, was an equally gripping affair. Not much actually separated the eventual champion, Nur Nabila, from her sister, Nur Najiha, who finished as the runners-up.

For much of the distance, both of them were going neck-to-neck in the tournament. Both started off the tournament on a winning note, winning their first two games, and in the third round they met one another and drew their game.

At that point, Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar had jumped into the early lead with three full points from her first three games. But that was about as far as she got with her impressive 100 percent score because immediately, she lost to Nur Najiha in the fourth round. In the meanwhile, Nur Nabila overcame the defending champion, Fong Mi Yen.

These two wins set the two sisters firmly in the lead and on a canter towards the finish line. It was only a matter of knowing whom they would be paired against in the subsequent rounds and how they would score in these games.

Nur Najiha made the first breakthrough in the sixth round as she overcame Camila Johari while Nur Nabila could only score a draw with Tan Li Ting, another former national women’s champion.

However, Nur Najiha’s sole lead in the championship was short-lived. In the seventh round, she could only draw with Li Ting while Nur Nabila easily overcame a challenge from Amira Syahmina Zulkafli. 

Now, both players were tied again. More importantly, though, they had opened up a one-point gap between themselves and their nearest rivals. That one of them would become the next national women’s champion was never a doubt; the only question was who would it be?

This far in the tournament, Nur Najiha had managed to avoid Fong Mi Yen. The defending champion had already played with Nur Nabila but not with Nur Najiha yet. In the eighth round, they met. If ever there was an occasion that Nur Najiha needed all the luck to win, this would be it. 

Unfortunately, Mi Yen was equally determined to win the game. A loss would have seen her spiral out of contention for a decent finish to this event and she wanted to avoid that. In any case, Mi Yen won the game to put a real dent into Nur Najiha’s chances. On the other hand, Nur Nabila had no problem disposing of Anis Fariha Saleh. 

With only a single round remaining in the championship, Nur Nabila suddenly found herself propelled into the sole lead for the very first time, and she still retained a one-point lead over her nearest rivals. Would she falter in the final round? It was still possible that the championship could end up tied if she lost and her nearest rivals won.

But Nur Nabila knew what to do. Paired against Camila Johari, she quickly extracted a half point from this game. This half-a-point meant that her lead would be unassailable no matter what happened on the other boards and it was enough for her to become the new national women’s champion.

Of her two closest rivals who were now fighting more for honour than the title, Nur Najiha won against Amira Syahmina Zulkafli to take the second prize while Mi Yen agreed to a draw with Li Ting. This result gave Mi Yen the third place and Li Ting the undisputed fourth place. 

Up next

Perak grand prix

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) will kick off this year’s Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng chess grand prix with the first leg at the Chinese Recreation Club in Taiping on Apr 10. 

This is the second series of the local grand prix which will see five legs held in Taiping, Kerian, Slim River, Kampar and Ipoh until July. Last year’s inaugural series attracted more than 900 players from around the country and were held at seven different districts in the state. PICA is confident that this year’s series would attract even greater response. 

Each leg of the grand prix will be played over seven rounds with a 25-minute time control. Other than the cash prizes, points will be awarded to the top 10 winners of each leg and these would accumulate till the final leg. 

Entry fees for the first leg in Taiping: RM25 (open section), RM15 (under 16 years old), RM10 (under 12 years old). For PICA members and Perak residents: RM20 (open section), RM10 (players under 16 years old). Closing date: Apr 7. For more information, call Yunus (013.3908129) or visit the PICA blog at http://perakchess.blogspot.com for updates. 

Selangor open

The nation’s longest-running chess tournament is back. The Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) will organize their 38th Selangor open chess tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur from Apr 28 to May 2.

This nine-round, Fide-rated tournament will have 10 main cash prizes totaling RM7,000 with the winner receiving RM2,500. There are also various minor category prizes. Entry fees: RM70 (CAS members with Fide ratings), RM80 (CAS members without Fide ratings), RM90 (non-CAS members with Fide ratings) and RM100 (non-CAS members without Fide ratings). Grandmasters and international masters play for free. Universities, colleges and schools that submit four players or more will receive a 20 percent discount. Entries received after Apr 21 will be charged an extra RM20.

For enquiries, contact Lim Tse Pin (012.2984922, selangorchess@gmail.com), Mat Zaki Yeop (017.2032051) or Yeoh Chin Seng (012.6199816). More information available from http://selangorchess.blogspot.com 

Percawi Labour Day team

The Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Chess Association (Percawi) will organize a Labour Day team tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur on Apr 24. Six rounds, 30-minute games, four players per team. Entry fee: RM160 (companies and government departments), RM80 (schools, colleges and universities). Details available from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578) and Bob Yap (012.2878378)

 

Champ at last

Two years ago, Lim Zhuo Ren met with the greatest of his heartaches. At the national closed chess championship of that year, 2009, he was leading a close pack of players going into the final round of the tournament. A draw was all he needed to clinch the title but he played over-cautiously to lose the game.

Because of that result, three other players caught up with him at the top of that year's championship. All four had finished with equal points and it forced the Malaysian Chess Federation to arrange a quick play-off tournament to determine a winner. 

Lim never recovered totally from that last-round loss. The disappointment showed. In the play-off, he was outplayed and could only finish third among the four players.

It has been two years since that great experience. Or maybe, I should call it his great inexperience. Last year, he again played in the national closed championship but it was as though he was still reliving the past. A lukewarm 14th position was about all he could achieve.

By the end of the year though, his confidence was starting to creep back into his games. At the national junior chess championship in December, Lim played well enough to force a five-way tie at the top. In the play-off tournament that followed, Lim won.

Fast forwarding three months to March this year, it was now time for the national closed championship. Again, Lim – now 19 years old – decided to throw his hat into the ring but this time, he had a new status as the national junior champion.

Maybe Lim did not have great expectations of himself but suddenly, like two years earlier, he found himself in a similar position: sole leader after seven rounds, and people already talking of him like the new national champion. 

In those first seven rounds, he had played and defeated players like Yeap Eng Chiam, Loo Swee Leong and even former champion Edward Lee. However, there were still further challenges facing him. 

In the eighth round, he met and navigated safely through a test with Yeoh Li Tian. He retained his lead but in the meantime, two other players – international master Jimmy Liew and fast improving youngster Sumant Subramaniam - had successfully climbed up the tournament to stand just one point below the leader. Lim would have to face either one of them in the final round.

As providence would have it, he was paired against Liew. Surely this would be his sternest test, a make or break attempt to land the national closed championship title. All that Lim required was half a point in his final game but would Liew hand it to him easily?

There were now questions asked of Lim. Would the demons from his past come to haunt him? Would he have learnt his lesson well from two years earlier? Cautious play had cost him the title then; would he repeat the same mistake? In short, people wanted to know whether or not he has matured as a player. The tension was indeed high.

At the same time, Liew understood that he had to win his game at all cost. With the black pieces, it would be an uphill task but not an impossible one. If he were to win, there was a chance that he could even be the champion. But there was now a new complication. Sumant had already beaten Edward Lee in their final game. 

Even if Liew were to win his game and tie on equal points with both Lim and Sumant, all he would achieve was to force another play-off in the national closed championship. Whether he could win the play-off was a different matter but right at that moment, he knew that honour was also at stake too. It was no longer possible for him not to give Lim a fight for his money. So in a way, this was also a make or break game for Liew.

To both players’ credit, their game turned out to be the highlight of the championship. Both players had chances with Liew taking the greater risk and Lim defending well. Theirs was about one of the last games to finish, a fitting end to one of the great local chess debates. At the end, from a superior position, Lim propositioned a draw which was then accepted by Liew.

That precious half-a-point meant that Lim is the new king of our local chess game. He is the latest player to become a national master but I believe significantly, he has succeeded in exorcising the last of the chess demons from his mind. I shall look forward to him playing in more tournaments.

Up next

Lim Chong memorial

The Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre will organize the Lim Chong memorial tournament at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur this Sunday. Seven rounds, 25-minute time control games. Entry fees are RM15 (players under 16 years old) and RM25 (all other players). More information from Hamid Majid (019.3158098 or aham@pc.jaring.my), Jan Lim (012.2678738) or Najib Wahab (016.3382542). 

JB youth chess

The Johor Bahru Chess Association and the Rakan Muda Johor Bahru are jointly organizing the sixth Johor Bahru youth chess tournament on Sunday. Venue is the concourse area of the SouthernCity Giant Hypermarket in Taman Suria, Johor Bahru. Seven rounds, 25-minute games. Entry fees are RM15 (players under 16 years old) and RM12 (players under 12 years old). Closing date for entries is Mar 25. More details available from Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@jyahoo.com). 

PICA/YMCA chess

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) and the YMCA Perak are jointly holding the PICA/YMCA chess tournament in conjunction with PICA’s annual general meeting on Sunday. Venue is the YMCA Hall in Jalan Raja Muda Aziz, Ipoh. Entry fees are RM15 (PICA or YMCA members and players under 15 years old) and RM15 (others). Closing date for entries is Mar 25. Contact  Yunus (013.3908129) to register or visit http://perakchess.blogspot.com for the details.

Percawi Labour Day team

The Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Chess Association (Percawi) will organize a Labour Day team tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur on Apr 24. Six rounds, 30-minute games, four players per team. Entry fee: RM160 (companies and government departments), RM80 (schools, colleges and universities). Details available from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578) and Bob Yap (012.2878378).

 

Age group focus

One of the most encouraging signs in local chess is the continuing willingness of the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) to allow their state chess affiliates to play active roles in organizing some of the national-level chess competitions. 

Take the annual national age group chess championships as an example. 

Last year, the Penang Chess Association was given the go-ahead to plan for this competition in George Town on behalf of the federation. This year, the challenge was offered to the Perak International Chess Association (PICA).

 

PICA did so in Tronoh, Perak, in a joint effort which involved the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. By all accounts, this year’s edition of the national age group championships was a great success for the organizers. A total of 380 players took part in the three-day competition which, I was told, proceeded without any hitches. 

As was to be expected, the most closely watched contest was the boys’ under-18 event. There were a few junior heavyweight players in the field, the most notable among them being the top-seeded Evan Timothy Capel who was a former national closed champion and last year’s winner of the boys’ under-16 event. This year, though, the 17-year-old would be playing in the under-18 section, no longer eligible for the younger age group event. In fact, many of his rivals who played with him in Penang last year had also been elevated to the under-18 section.

Past successes, however, do not guarantee future gains, and Capel found this out pretty quickly. By the third round, he had already dropped a point to the second-seeded Sumant Subramaniam. By the tournament’s end, he had dropped two more points to Patrick Lim Kong Hui and the new winner of the boys’ under-18 event, Muhd Nabil Azman Hisham.

This was also a sobering experience for Sumant. After his heady win against Capel, he was brought down to earth with two consecutive losses to Muhd Nabil and Low Jun Jian. A further loss to Chong Shao Hong also ended his hopes in this tournament.

For Muhd Nabil, though, everything fell into place for him perfectly. He had lost to Capel in the boys’ under-16 event last year but this year, he exacted revenge on the top seed. By also defeating the second seed, there could only be one description for Muhd Nabil: worthy winner. His draws were with Low Jun Jian and Mark Siew Kit Tze, but he won all the other six games.

Here are the top winners of the various age group sections:

Boys’ under-18: Muhd Nabil 7 points; Mark Siew and Low Jun Jian 5½ points; Sumant, Capel, Patrick Lim, Fong Yit Ho, Keok Kai En and Chong Shao Hong 5 points; (field of 22 players). Girls’ under-18: Latifah Kaiyisah Mohd Latib 5 points; Adele Lau Chuey Theng, Fatin Nur Nadirah Mat Rahim and Winnie Hong Wee Ni 4 points; (field of seven players).

Boys’ under-16: Wong Jian Wen 8 points; Yeap Eng Chiam 6½ points; Elgin Lee Kah Meng and Jeff Tan Jun Feng 6 points; (field of 49 players). Girls’ under-16: Pavitraneyagi Jayamurthey 6½ points; Sarika Subramaniam and Hoh Tjin Li 6 points; Amira Syahmina Zulkafli 5½ points; (field of 21 players).

Boys’ under-14: Roshan Ajeet Singh and Aron Teh Eu Wen 6½ points; Tan Wei Hao, Muhd Irfan Haqqim Azhar, Subramaniam Sivanesan 6 points; William Lee Kah Howe, Muhd Nuriman Yahaya, Shreyes Subramaniam, Harleiff Haniff and Ang Zhen Yuan 5½ points; (field of 58 players). Girls’ under-14: Tan Li Ting and Nur Nabila Azman Hisham 7 points; Camilia Johari and Hoh Tjin Hui 6 points; Fatih Nor Sahariah Abdul Jalil 5 points; (field of 22 players).

Boys’ under-12: Ooi Zhi Yang 7 points; Mohd Noor Azam Mohd Noor and Tan Yong Zhao 6½ points; Tang Wei Kit and Teoh Ern Sheng 6 points; (field of 52 players). Girls’ under-12: WFM Nur Najiha Azman Hisham 7 points; Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar 6½ points; Nithiyalakshmi Sivanesan 6 points; (field of 35 players).

Boys’ under-10: Teh De Juan 7½ points; Wong Yinn Long and Benjamin Lee Kah Teng 6½ points; Kong Dak Nam and Max Wong Zi Quan 6 points; (field of 52 players). Girls’ under-10: Teh De Zen 8 points; Puteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa 6½ points; Teh Ming Min 6 points; (field of 25 players).

Boys’ under-8: Tan Jun Ying 7 points; Lye Lik Zang 6½ points; Muhd Faqih Aminuddin, Ng Shi Yang and Teh De Yong 5½ points; (field of 22 players). Girls’ under-8: Goh Jie Yi 8 points; Chua Jia Tien 7 points; Zainoor Ikmal Munirah 6 points; (field of 14 players).

Now with the national age group championships over, the focus this week is on the national closed and national women’s closed championships that are taking place at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur.

Today is already the third day of play and there are only five more rounds to go before the two competitions end on Sunday. So if you are not competing but have time on your hands, why not go and speculate who will emerge as the 2011 national champions?

The organizers tell me that as of the beginning of this week, there hasn’t been any change to the number of entries: still 89 players for the national closed and 34 players for the national women’s closed. At press time it is impossible to say whether there were any dropouts from the players’ lists or additions to it.   

Anyway, I have to set the record right in a slip of the finger that appeared in last week’s story. In my excitement to see our international master Jimmy Liew enter the fray as one of the competitors, I have inadvertently described him as a grandmaster. 

I’ve received a lot of ribbing privately from friends and chess players in the past week. Really, I’m a bit embarrassed. However, I hope that my personal embarrassment is contained and has not spilled over to Liew. I really don’t want this episode to distract him in this national event where he is clearly the top seeded player.  

So I shall wish “best of luck” to Jimmy Liew, as well as wishing the same to last year’s winners Tan Khai Boon (national closed defending champion) and Fong Mi Yen (national women’s closed defending champion) and all the hopefuls this year.

Both events are being played at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur until Sunday. The games start at 9am and 3pm daily. For more information, contact Najib Wahab (016.3382542 or najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com.)

Melody Amber

This year’s Melody Amber blindfold and rapid chess tournament in Monaco promises to be a nostalgic event that goes down memory lane. After a 20-year run, there is closure coming to this fantastic event. This year’s final edition will end next Thursday. For old times’ sake, anyone who has Internet access should visit http://www.amberchess20.com/ to watch the live games. Some of the world’s best players are competing: Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Vladimir Kramnik, Vassily Ivanchuk and Veselin Topalov among them. 

Up next

Klang Parade open

The Klang Parade shopping mall, Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre and Cerdik Chess Enterprise are jointly organising the 10th Klang Parade open chess tournament at the shopping mall in Jalan Meru, Klang tomorrow and on Sunday. Tomorrow’s tournament is for players under the age of 18, while Sunday’s event is an open competition. Entry fees for the age group tournament are RM10 (players under 12 years old) and RM15 (players under 18 years old). For the open event, the entry fees are RM10 (players under 12 years old) and RM15 (all other players). Contact Siti Nor Faiza (03.33437889 office hours) or Mohd Fadli Zakaria (014.2312370 or cerdikcatur@yahoo.com) for details.

Lim Chong memorial

The Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre will organize the Lim Chong memorial tournament at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur on Mar 27. Seven rounds, 25-minute time control games. Entry fees are RM15 (players under 16 years old) and RM25 (all other players). More information from Hamid Majid (019.3158098 or aham@pc.jaring.my), Jan Lim (012.2678738) or Najib Wahab (016.3382542). 

JB youth chess

The Johor Bahru Chess Association and the Rakan Muda Johor Bahru are jointly organizing the sixth Johor Bahru youth chess tournament on Mar 27. Venue is the concourse area of the SouthernCity Giant Hypermarket in Taman Suria, Johor Bahru. Seven rounds, 25-minute games. Entry fees are RM15 (players under 16 years old) and RM12 (players under 12 years old). Closing date for entries is Mar 25. More details available from Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@jyahoo.com). 

PICA/YMCA chess

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) and the YMCA Perak are jointly holding the PICA/YMCA chess tournament in conjunction with PICA’s annual general meeting on Mar 27. Venue is the YMCA Hall in Jalan Raja Muda Aziz, Ipoh. Entry fees are RM15 (PICA or YMCA members and players under 15 years old) and RM15 (others). Closing date for entries is Mar 25. Contact  Yunus (013.3908129) to register or visit http://perakchess.blogspot.com for the details.

Percawi Labour Day team

The Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory Chess Association (Percawi) will organize a Labour Day team tournament at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur on Apr 24. Six rounds, 30-minute games, four players per team. Entry fee: RM160 (companies and government departments), RM80 (schools, colleges and universities). Details available from Collin Madhaven (016.2123578) and Bob Yap (012.2878378).