Tale of two players

This year-end may be a fitting time to pay some tribute to two chess players who have placed Asia on the world chess map. It’s fitting that they should be the representatives from two of the oldest civilisations in the world, China and India.

The two players are the current holders of the men's and women's world chess championship crowns: India's Viswanathan Anand and China's Hou Yifan.

Hou's exploits on the chess board are still fresh in our minds. Only last month, she had defended her world champion’s title successfully against Humpy Koneru who was rated so much higher than her. And incidentally, Koneru is also from India. 

Moreover just three days ago, Hou had helped the China team to win the women's world team chess championship in Turkey.

Hou is the dominant woman chess player in the world today and her rivals have good reason to be afraid of her. After all, can you imagine that a girl who is not quite 18 years old can already have so much experience on the chess board and is presently the women's world champion? There are still countless years for her to improve further. I would reckon that she will continue to have a good grip on the title for a long time to come.

But unlike Hou, Anand is already 42 years old. He is at an age where he is finding it increasingly challenging to play against other top chess grandmasters in the world.

The past four months especially have been a very trying period for Anand. All of a sudden he has found his form dipping. No longer is his game as feared as before. For a world chess champion, he has discovered to his dismay that it is getting harder to win.

It all started in September with the Chess Grand Slam Masters Final tournament. This six-player top-scale event was arranged as a double round-robin tournament with the first leg in Sao Paolo, Brazil and the second leg in Bilbao, Spain. The event had featured some of the best grandmasters in the world – players like Magnus Carlson, Lev Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura and Vasily Ivanchuk.

Anand finished the event with a 50 percent score. In the process, six draws peppered his results. He also lost two games which he made up with two wins against the tail-ender. A world champion scoring 50 percent in tournament play isn’t quite inspiring.

Anand’s woes continued after a break of about a month. At the sixth Tal memorial tournament in Moscow in November, he achieved the dubious distinction of drawing all his games. 

Till today, the former late world champion Mikhail Tal is admired foremost for his attacking style of play. Some say Tal’s style was reckless and unsound. Maybe it is true. However, his play did create the imbalance in his games and Tal thrived on the knife’s edge. 

However in this tournament, the players did not do much justice to the memory of the man that they had come to celebrate. An astounding 77.8 percent of the games – or 35 games out of the 45 played – were drawn. Anand’s own nine games was a significant contribution to this statistic. 

Finally in December, there was the London Chess Classic. Again, Anand’s result was lack lustre. It was his third 50 percent result in a top-notch tournament. He drew six of the eight games, lost one and won one.

All these indifferent results suggested that Anand the world champion was slipping down the top rankings. 

Long before these three events, he had already been displaced by Carlsen as the number one ranked player in the world. Now after these three events, he is down to number four in the world ranking list. Even Aronian and Kramnik have climbed above him.

More alarmingly, Anand’s rating has suffered in the process. When the World Chess Federation comes out with their January 2012 rating list this weekend, Anand’s rating will fall below the 2800-point level again. The last time he was below this level was in the May 2010 rating list.

It may be interesting to speculate why Anand’s form has suffered so much in the past four months. Perhaps it is because he is holding back his chess strength. 

Next May in Moscow, he shall be due to defend his world chess champion’s title against Boris Gelfand. 

Anand claimed that he hasn’t started his preparations yet. He would do so, he said recently, after the New Year. But even if he hasn’t started on his new preparations, he has certainly started to stop revealing his old preparations and ideas.

It makes sense to hold back your discoveries and only reveal them when the proper time comes. The Grand Slam Masters Final in Sao Paolo/Bilbao, the Tal Memorial in Moscow and the London Chess Classic were not the proper time nor the proper place, not when the title defence is just five months away.

Some people tend to dismiss Gelfand as a serious challenger to Anand because of his lower profile but in my opinion, all these people do not know the real Boris Gelfand. He has the necessary experience to cause Anand pain if the Indian is not careful. In the early 1990s, Gelfand was already a top grandmaster from the old Soviet Union. After the turbulence of the Soviet Union’s disintegration, Gelfand eventually migrated to Israel which he now calls home.

 

Surprise meltdown

Across the South China Sea from the peninsula, the one big event that occupies the minds of the local chess players is the Sarawak open which is organised annually by the Sarawak Chess Association.

This year, the FIDE-rated event received an added boost when a small number of foreign participants decided to cross over to Kuching from the Penang heritage city open event that had finished two days earlier.

Thus, it was of interest this time to see a few players from India, the Philippines, Singapore, Germany and Japan in the largely Malaysian field.

The Indian international master, Lahiri Atanu, had looked set to run away with the first prize but instead, his form suffered from a late meltdown.

His misfortune started in the seventh round of the competition when he found himself at the losing end of his game with a Singaporean player, Andre Jerome Eng. From a position of strength – he was leading the rest of the field by half a point – two players had leapfrogged him as the new tournament leaders and suddenly, he was half a point behind them. 

At this stage of the tournament, there were only two rounds left to play: the eighth and the ninth rounds. For Lahiri, the eighth round would have to be a do-or-die effort. He would have to win this vital game if there was to be any chance of reclaiming his lead in the event. 

However his opponent, Wong Jianwen, had other ideas. Wong, who was as our first board junior player at the recent world youth under-16 Olympiad in Turkey, refused to buckle and continued to cause problems to the Indian international master in a delicate queen and pawn endgame. Wong had his chance when all of a sudden, Lahiri blundered into a checkmate in one move. 

If Lahiri’s loss in the seventh round came as a surprise to all the participants, his unexpected loss in the eighth round was equivalent to a shock. It was quite unreal for an experienced tournament leader to suffer two losses in consecutive rounds. 

Although the main beneficiary of Lahiri’s bad luck was Eng, there were now seven other players who had climbed above the Indian in the standings with only one final round to play. 

Definitely, Lahiri was out of contention not only for the first and second prizes but perhaps the third and fourth prizes too. The event was wide open and anyone from among the top eight players could now win it.

Eng decided to play it safe and he took a draw with Wong in the final round. In other key games that finished soon afterwards, Benjamin Foo, another player from Singapore, beat Thomas Bueder from Germany while Kamaluddin Yusof had an inspired game to overcome Efren Bagamasbad from the Philippines.

These results meant that Eng and Foo would finish with equal points at the top of the standings. However, there was another surprise in the tournament as the tie-break system awarded the first prize to Foo and the second prize to Eng. Wong was third and Kamaluddin fourth. Lahiri won his ninth round game to take the fifth prize. 

I should also be mentioning here that over the last three months, the Persatuan Catur Negeri Kelantan had successfully organised its first Fide-rated tournament. 

Twelve players participated in this round-robin event which was won by Abdul Haq Mohamed with Nik Ahmad Farouqi finishing second. 

What I liked about their format was that the organisers managed to hold the games over two venues in Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan. Mainly, this was meant to overcome the logistics of getting enough Fide-rated players to play in Kelantan. 

   

Up next

National junior

The fourth national junior chess championships for boys and girls are now taking place at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre in the Wilayah Complex, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Kuala Lumpur. The event started on Monday and today is actually the final day of competition. Altogether, there are 54 boys and 22 girls playing in the two events.

 

Disputes and decisions

Getting appointed to an Appeals Committee at a big chess tournament may seem like an important recognition for a chess player but in reality, it is a thankless job. You may think, “wow, I'm being recognised by my peers” but really, it is not that big a deal.

Why? Because in the first instance, you are put on call for the whole duration of the tournament. It is well and good if there are no disputes to handle but when there is one, you will be called back to attend to the problem. So you have to let the organisers know where to find you.

Secondly, it eats into your time whenever there is an appeal. Your time becomes the organiser's time. Just as you want some peace and quiet between rounds or have your meal, you have to postpone all that to sit in the committee and hear out some other chess players' problems. 

Thirdly, being asked to judge your peers can be uncomfortable for many people. It's just like a people's court: a group of people having to come together to decide on the fate of their neighbours. One has to win the appeal and one has to lose it. Although the decision is collective, many people still don't feel good about it. 

Fourthly, there is always a danger that the committee may decide wrongly. 

Thankfully, disputes seldom occur in chess tournaments. Not that they don't happen but chances are very good that the chief arbiters are able to decide upon the matters firmly and the Appeals Committee are never called upon to meet at all. 

And if the tournament regulations require the appealing party to put up an appeal fee – which can be quite substantial to prevent players from making frivolous appeals – this will reduce even more any idea of filing the appeal. 

Just last week, I had the occasion to see the working of an appeals committee to consider the appeal from one young chess player in the challengers section of the Penang heritage open chess tournament. 

I won't go into the nitty gritty details of the appeal but what happened was that in a winning position, the player had blurted out the word “draw” to his opponent. Of course, his opponent accepted the offer. 

The chief arbiter was then called to intervene, he listened to both young players and decided that the draw should stand. Both players wrote “½-½” on their score sheets and signed them. Everyone thought that would be the end of the matter.

But a short while later, a notice of appeal was submitted by the winning player's parent who asked for the decision of the chief arbiter to be reviewed and that the game should continue. So the Appeals Committee was called in.

I chose to watch the proceedings from afar. As a visitor to the tournament, I was not even a parent to any of the players. Certainly, I wasn't going to mess about even as an observer. It wouldn't be fair to the tournament organisers.

So I simply watched from the back of the tournament hall. A lot of discussions went on, a lot of animated arm-waving and ultimately a decision was reached. Somehow to my surprise, the Appeals Committee had overturned the decision of the chief arbiter and allowed the game to continue from where the players left off.

Yes, sometimes it does happen that the chief arbiter's decision is overturned but it is rare. More often than not, the arbiter's decision would stand. And in this particular case, I thought that the arbiter's decision was rock-solid correct and should indeed stand. Hence, my little surprise.

More than that, while the Appeals Committee was meeting, the two affected players had in all probability analysed the position with their friends and coaches, and come to a conclusion how to play out the win. Asking the players to continue with the game would be, in my opinion, grossly unfair to the losing player.

Ah, but who am I as an outsider to tell the Appeals Committee that they were wrong, right? Therefore, I kept my elegant silence.

The game continued from where the two players left off under the watchful eyes of not one but several arbiters, plus many curious spectators, the parents among them, and true enough, the winning position quickly became a won position. All that was left was the mopping up exercise. A satisfied parent on the one hand and a dissatisfied parent on the other hand. But what to do? That was the decision of the Appeals Committee.

As a postscript to this story, I noticed that in subsequent rounds, this young player had scrawled across the top of his own score sheets a short warning to himself that he should “not say the word Draw if you are winning!” Obviously, he himself had learnt the lesson. There would not be another second chance.

By the way, I should also mention that Filipino international master Oliver Dimakiling successfully defended his Penang heritage open title. He had also won the tournament last year. 

Second was another Filipino player, Edgar Reggie Olay, while third and fourth were Vietnamese international master Nguyen Van Huy and Indian international master Atanu Lahiri.

The best Malaysian players were Yeoh Li Tian and Tan Khai Boon who were among the players in joint fourth positions. Altogether there were seven international masters and three Fide masters in the 73-player open event.

The challengers event attracted an unprecedented 135 players, including a sizable contingent of young players from Singapore. 

The winner here was Malaysia's Geeneish Sivalingam who edged out Ethan Soh of Singapore. Teh De Juan finished joint third in the standings together with Mohd Faizal Roslan, Tin Ruiqi and Marcus Chee.

Up next

Perak closed

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) and the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Putera will jointly organise the Perak close chess tournament at the Dewan SMK Seri Putera in Jalan Sri Kepayang, Ipoh tomorrow and on Sunday. Only players who reside, work or born in Perak are permitted to participate in this two-day event. Nine rounds, 30-minute time control.

Entry fees: RM15 (PICA members, players below 16-years-old), RM20 (others). For more information, contact Yunus (013.3908129).

National junior

The Malaysian Chess Federation will hold the fourth national junior chess championship for boys and girls at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre in the Wilayah Complex, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Kuala Lumpur on Dec 19 to 23. Nine rounds, time control of 90 minutes with 30-second increment each move. Entry fees: RM60 (Fide-rated) and RM100 (unrated).

The winners of the boys' and girls' tournaments will be awarded the National Junior Master title. The results of these events will be a main criteria used for selection of players for international events next year. For more information, contact Gregory Lau (012.2577123, msianchess2010@gmail.com), Zuraihah Wazir (017.2837808) or Haslindah Ruslan (019.2069605). 

 

Chess etiquette

I wanted to call this week’s story The Art of Resigning but then I realised that the resignation process in a chess game is just a part of chess etiquette.

So what is chess etiquette? More than anything else, it means how to behave at the chess board, especially when you are taking part in a competition. Chess etiquette does not mean much when you are playing a social game with your chess friends but when it comes to competitions, be it a local event or an international-level tournament, misbehaviour just reflects badly on the offending chess player.

Let me bring up just this very simple example: the start of a game during a chess competition. It is good manners when both players shake hands before the first move of every game is played. After all, it is common courtesy that the players acknowledge the very existence of their opponents before the start of the game.

If you want to go one step further, you may even want to wait until your opponent finishes filling in the initial details on his score sheet before you start the game. Of course, this is assuming that you are playing in a local tournament where it is left to the players to start their chess clocks. In international events though, this is not possible at all as the arbiters will insist that all the games in each round start together and at the same time.

What else can be considered as chess etiquette? Recently, I was told by a friend that he became quite irritated once when his opponent suddenly picked up a piece from the chess board.

Now, the chess laws dictate that a piece once touched must be moved or captured, if it can be moved or captured. This offending player realised that he must move that piece but where should he move it to?

Normally, any player would just place the piece back on the board and consider his move. But not this fellow. What he did was to start chewing on the head of the piece as he thought and thought. Any player would be upset if his opponent would suddenly do that. I know that I would be. Now, that's bad chess etiquette.

Many years ago, I came across a player that brought a novel to the playing hall. It wasn't that he was reading his book between rounds when the pairings were being prepared; no, he would read the book during the game itself.

That act by itself showed a complete disrespect for his opponents. Initially, nobody complained because everyone could see that it was just a story book and not a chess book. But unfortunately, he kept winning game after game, and people were starting to get uncomfortable. Right after the lunch break, the arbiter put a stop to it and told him to put the book away. Whatever you do, you must show respect to your opponent no matter how good you think you are.

So now, back to my original peeve which is the art of resigning a chess game. When would you actually resign a lost game? 

Do you resign when your opponent is carrying out a decisive attack on your position and is having a big advantage in the game and you know that he wouldn't blunder his way out of winning it? Would you give up when you are down by one piece, two pieces or more, and you are certain that you are going to lose? Or would you play till the bitter end and await your opponent to bring down the axe with the checkmate?

It brings to mind the difference between a sadist and a masochist. The sadist of a chess player would love to make his opponent squirm and suffer long in the game while the masochist chess player would love to suffer through his own misfortune. Which one are you?

Anyway, I was placed in an unfortunate position last weekend when I was playing in the Penang Chess League – one of the very rare occasions that I can get to play in a local chess competition. There I was, seated across from this young player who refused to resign the game even though I had two rooks and a king, while he had only his king left on the board. A simple technical checkmate that any beginner would know. But we played on almost till the end. Admittedly, I was pretty irritated.

But I know that it may not be the kid that was totally at fault. The young chess players nowadays would have learnt their chess from parents or the local chess coaches. I would suppose that the coaches would also have taught their young charges how not to give up the struggle early and how the game is not won until the opponent gives up. 

To play till the end of a game shows good fighting spirit. That's a "never say die" attitude. But for goodness' sake, teach the kids that they must also respect their opponents. The senior players are not novices in the game; they are not the kids' fellow school mates with whom their chess games would be played till checkmate. They don't realise it so they must be taught how to resign their games properly. And that’s where the parents and coaches must come in to teach them to adopt the good habits and discard the bad. That's what good chess etiquette is about.

There are more that I can say about this subject matter but I think that I shall have to leave that to another time. In the mean time, happy playing!  

Up next

Penang heritage open

The Penang heritage city open chess championship started on Tuesday and will conclude tomorrow. There are two separate events: the open and challenger sections, and both are internationally rated. Nine rounds are being played with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

If you hurry down to the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel, you will still be able to watch the final three rounds of the competition. Round seven is at nine o'clock this morning while the eighth round begins at 3p.m. Tomorrow, the final round will start at 9a.m.

Sarawak open

The five-day Sarawak open chess tournament kicks off from Monday at the Ultimate Professional Centre, opposite the Pullman Hotel, in Jalan Bukit Mata Kuching, Kuching.  This is an internationally-rated event played over nine rounds, 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

Entry fees: Free for grandmasters and international masters (men and women), RM25 (ladies and all players below 16 years old) and RM50 (all other participants). Details available from Morsin Ahmad (012.8949415, morsinab@sarawaknet.gov.my), Abang Mohd Reduan (019.8887786, reduan_sahari@bsn.com.my) and Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, limkhwa@gmail.com). 

Perak closed

The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) and the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Seri Putera will jointly organise the Perak close chess tournament at the Dewan SMK Seri Putera in Jalan Sri Kepayang, Ipoh on Dec 17 and 18. Only players who reside, work or born in Perak are permitted to participate. Nine rounds, 30-minute time control.

Entry fees: RM15 (PICA members, players below 16-years-old), RM20 (others). Closing date is Dec 14. For more information, contact Yunus (013.3908129).

 

Hou retains title

WELL DONE!

The picture shows our woman Fide master Nur Najiha bt Azman Hashim (left) and international master Lim Yee Weng proudly showing off their bronze medals that they won in the mixed pair chess competition at the recent SEA Games in Indonesia. 

These were the only medals won by the Malaysian contingent at the biennial games and they came at the expense of the Indonesian mixed pair, only because the regulations favoured determining results by match points instead of game points. 

The Malaysian pair had lost badly to Vietnam and the Philippines, gold and silver winners respectively, but had chalked up good victories against Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand, thus collecting six match points.

By comparison, the Indonesian mixed team had beaten Myanmar and Thailand, drawn with Vietnam and lost to the Philippines and Malaysia, to give them only five match points.

If game points had instead been used in this competition, the situation would have been reversed and the Indonesia team would have ended up ahead of Malaysia. So for once, the regulations were in our favour. My congratulations to the two bronze medallists. 

HOU RETAINS CROWN

At the end, it was a Humpy Koneru collapse of form that effectively ended her challenge in the women’s world chess championship match in Tirana, Albania.

When I was writing last week’s column, Humpy had just fallen behind by two games, having lost the third game and then the sixth game. 

And then, before I could even steel myself for her comeback in this match, the Indian grandmaster lost the seventh game as well. At the end of the game, she admitted that she was suffering from a loss of form.

But to my mind, it was more than a loss of form that did her in. Her nerves failed her as well. Humpy got herself into severe time pressure and she couldn’t cope with it. She made some pretty weak moves at critical stages in her games and her opponent, the defending women’s world champion, 17-year-old Hou Yifan  (pictured), punished her with some powerful play.

According to Hou, her opponent could have been under some great psychological pressure to perform too, especially since the Chinese grandmaster was already leading in the match.

The moment that Hou won the seventh game, Humpy knew that the end was near. Theoretically, she could still tie the match but it would mean having to win the last three games in a row. Practically, it was an impossible task and she knew it.

So in the eighth game, as soon as it became clear that there was no advantage to gain in the position, Humpy agreed to draw it. And with it, Hou had defended her women’s crown successfully.

Up next

Penang chess league

Teams participating in this weekend’s Penang Chess League are reminded of the change in venue to the SJKC Kheng Tean in Van Praagh Road, Penang. The two-day event is open to teams from four broad categories: public sector, factories, institutions of learning and others. 

Each team shall comprise four players and an optional reserve. Average rating per team during play should not be more than 2100 points. Seven rounds, time control of one hour play-to-finish for each game. Entry fees are RM150 (open category), RM90 (under-18 teams), RM60 (under-12 teams).  

More details available from Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Penang heritage open

The Penang heritage city open chess championship kicks off on Tuesday at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel, Penang on Dec 6-10. There are two separate events: the open and challenger sections, and both are internationally rated. There will be nine rounds played with a time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees for the open event: free for Malaysian national masters and all players with FIDE ratings of above 2300 points, RM100 (PCA members) and RM150 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 2000 and 2299 points, RM150 (members) and RM200 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1800 and 1999 points, RM200 (members) and RM300 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1600 and 1799 points, and RM250 (members) and RM350 (non-members) for players without any FIDE rating.

Entry fees for the challenger event: RM50 (PCA members) and RM100 (non-members) for players with a FIDE rating, and RM100 (members) and RM150 (non-members) for unrated players. 

Although the closing date was yesterday, the organisers, the Penang Chess Association, will still accept late entries but the participants are charged double. Direct all inquiries to Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com). More information also at http://penangchess.com

Sarawak open

The Sarawak Chess Association will hold the Sarawak open chess tournament at the Ultimate Professional Centre, opposite the Pullman Hotel, in Jalan Bukit Mata Kuching, Kuching on Dec 12-16. Internationally-rated event played over nine rounds, 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

Entry fees: Free for grandmasters and international masters (men and women), RM25 (ladies and all players below 16 years old) and RM50 (all other participants). The closing date for entries is Dec 5.

Details available from Morsin Ahmad (012.8949415, morsinab@sarawaknet.gov.my), Abang Mohd Reduan (019.8887786, reduan_sahari@bsn.com.my) and Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, limkhwa@gmail.com). 

 

Suspense all the way

The last two weeks have meant late nights for me again, no thanks to the women's world chess championship match being played in Tirana, Albania. We are seven hours ahead of Albania which means that when China's Hou Yifan and India's Humpy Koneru sit down to play, their games start at 10 o'clock at night over here.

Still, this is women's chess at the top-most level and it is well worth spending the effort to watch them play. It could be a momentous occasion. The match itself is carried live on the official website, http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com, but there are other sources providing better live coverage, such as on Susan Polgar's blog, http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com. 

The 17-year-old Hou is defending her women's world champion's title against Humpy, 24 years old, who became the challenger from the women's chess world cup series.

At the halfway stage of this 10-game match, Hou was holding a slim one-point lead over her rival, but she won again in the sixth game to increase her lead to two points. 

When I see the two ladies battle it out on the chess board, I couldn't but help think how well prepared they have been for this match. So far, each game has been a very intense struggle. 

To me, it seemed that Humpy, yearning to win the women's world championship title for the first time, was the one that kept asking for more in each game, probing for that little weakness in the position where she could press home that miniscule advantage but Hou the defending champion seemed equal to the task. Her defence has been superb.

What can you expect when one kept pressing on and the other kept putting up a solid defence? Why, the pressure would be neutralised till a draw ensued. And that has been what's happened in the first, second, fourth and fifth games.

In the third game, however, Humpy perhaps tried a bit too hard and overlooked a resource by her opponent. The result? The only decisive result in the first five games. 

As I wrote this week's story, the sixth game was being played. Before the game started, it was disclosed that Hou had spent several hours the day earlier in hospital for some severe stomach ailment, and the diagnosis was psychological pressure. 

However during the game itself, she showed no sign of the discomfort. There was a bit of early excitement as the Indian grandmaster went in for a pawn sacrifice in exchange for an enduring pressure against Hou's king. The Chinese player was forced later to give back the pawn. 

But despite holding on to the pair of bishops – theoretically better than a bishop and a knight – there was little that Humpy could do right after that. And once Hou forced the queens off the board and took command of the centre with her pair of rooks, Humpy's game began to become difficult.

By this time, both players were terribly short of time. With only two or three minutes left before reaching the time control, Humpy's game crumbled and Hou launched a final assault on the Indian player's king. Faced with the inevitable checkmate, Humpy threw in the towel and Hou claimed a 4-2 lead in the match.

I would believe that the lead of two points would be enough for the Chinese lass to retain her title. Already, Humpy is faced with the unenviable task of winning back the two lost games and she is fast running out of time and games. Between Tuesday and today, I would presume that nothing much would have changed after two more games.

If by a super-human effort Humpy does manage to catch up on her deficit and equalise the match (the ninth game is tomorrow and the 10th game is on Monday), the two women will go into a series of tie-break games on Nov 30 to determine the title.

Up next

Asian amateur open

The second Asian amateur open and women chess championship starts today at the Crowne Plaza Mutiara in Kuala Lumpur. According to the Malaysian Chess Federation which is organising this continental event on behalf of the Asian Chess Federation, about 100 players have registered for this FIDE-registered tournament which shall run until Dec 1. 

Predictably most of the participants will be Malaysians but there are many foreign players as well, making this event a very interesting mix. The organisers said most of the registered foreigners were from Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, India, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and even Nepal. 

Top prizes for the open section are USD1,500 (about RM4,500) for first, USD1,000 (about RM3,000) for second and USD800 (about RM2,400) for third. There are six other minor prizes that go down to USD200 (about RM600). For the women, there are four prizes with the best of them set to win USD400 (about RM1,200). There are also identical prizes for the four best unrated players.

Penang chess league

This year’s Penang Chess League will be held at the SJKC Kheng Tean in Van Praagh Road, Penang, on Dec 3 and 4. The two-day team event is open to teams from four broad categories: public sector, factories, institutions of learning and others. 

Each team shall comprise four players and an optional reserve. Average rating per team during play should not be more than 2100 points. Seven rounds, time control of one hour play-to-finish for each game. Entry fees are RM150 (open category), RM90 (under-18 teams), RM60 (under-12 teams). Closing date is Nov 29. 

More details available from Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Penang heritage open

The Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organise the Penang heritage city open chess championship at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel, Penang on Dec 6-10. Two separate events: open and challenger sections, both internationally rated. Nine rounds, 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees for the open event: free for Malaysian national masters and all players with FIDE ratings of above 2300 points, RM100 (PCA members) and RM150 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 2000 and 2299 points, RM150 (members) and RM200 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1800 and 1999 points, RM200 (members) and RM300 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1600 and 1799 points, and RM250 (members) and RM350 (non-members) for players without any FIDE rating.

Entry fees for the challenger event: RM50 (PCA members) and RM100 (non-members) for players with a FIDE rating, and RM100 (members) and RM150 (non-members) for unrated players. 

Closing date for all entries is Dec 1 and thereafter, all late entries will be charged double. Direct all inquiries to Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com). More information also at http://penangchess.com

Sarawak open

The Sarawak Chess Association will hold the Sarawak open chess tournament at the Ultimate Professional Centre, opposite the Pullman Hotel, in Jalan Bukit Mata Kuching, Kuching on Dec 12-16. Internationally-rated event played over nine rounds, 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

Entry fees: Free for grandmasters and international masters (men and women), RM25 (ladies and all players below 16 years old) and RM50 (all other participants). The closing date for entries is Dec 5.

Details available from Morsin Ahmad (012.8949415, morsinab@sarawaknet.gov.my), Abang Mohd Reduan (019.8887786, reduan_sahari@bsn.com.my) and Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, limkhwa@gmail.com). 

 

Imagine that

As expected, there’s no live coverage at all of the nine chess competitions at the SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia. The only details that are available from the official website are the round-by-round results.

Fortunately, the people running the chess competitions are all experienced international chess arbiters and they have taken a lot of trouble to ensure all the results can be viewed on the Chess-Results.com website. This is the only consolation so far.

The SEA Games are actually already winding down both in Jakarta and Palembang, and accordingly so too are the chess competitions. The men’s and women’s standard chess events and the rapid chess events started yesterday and will end on Monday. A blitz chess competition also on Monday will bring the proceedings to a close.

Earlier this week, the mixed pair standard chess team, the ASEAN chess individual and the blindfold chess individual events have been completed.

Like I mentioned last week, our blindfold chess players – I mentioned only Mok Tze Meng but have discovered subsequently that Jimmy Liew was also playing in the blindfold event – arrived in Indonesia not knowing what to expect from the organisers, only to find out later that during the blindfold games, a player and his opponent would be seated at an empty chess board.

There would be no dramatic blindfolds to cover their eyes. Instead, they were allowed to stare and concentrate on the empty squares of the chess board while their pieces danced and jiggled around in their minds. 

When they decided on a move to make, they would write down that move in long form algebraic notation on a piece of paper that they would pass on to the game controllers who then verified the moves on a normal chess board (with chess pieces) that would be out of the players’ sight. 

And the most newsworthy part was that infractions of the tournament rules, such as making an illegal move or not writing down the moves properly, would lead to the arbiters rendering YELLOW cards to the players after giving them an initial verbal warning. 

After two yellow cards, the third infraction during a game would lead to a RED card, which meant the automatic loss of the game. Very interesting regulation, indeed.

Let’s have a look at one of the games from the third round of the blindfold event. Perhaps by playing through this game, you can appreciate how much the players can compute even without sight of the chess board. Le Quang Liem is Vietnam’s top grandmaster but still, he managed to lose a blindfold game one round later to a Pinoy player.

Zaw Win Lay (Myanmar) – Le Quang Liem (Vietnam) 

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nd2 e6 5.Nb3 c5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.Nxc5 Qa5+ 8.c3 Qxc5 9.Be3 Qc7 10.Nf3 Nc6 11.Bb5 Nge7 12.Bc5 Bg4 13.0–0 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 Qxe5 15.Rfe1 Qc7 16.c4 0–0–0 17.cxd5 Rxd5 18.Rac1 Nf5 19.a4 Kb8 20.b4 Rhd8 21.Bf1 b6 22.Be3 Nxe3 23.Qxe3 Re5 24.Qc3 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Nd4 26.Qh3 h6 27.Qg4 Nf5 28.a5 Rd4 29.Re4 Rxe4 30.Qxe4 bxa5 31.bxa5 Qxa5 32.g4 Nh4 33.Qf4+ Qc7 34.Qb4+ Ka8 35.Qf8+ Kb7 36.Qxg7 Qf4 37.h3 Nf3+ 38.Kg2 Ne5 39.Kg1 a5 40.Bg2+ Kc7 41.Qf8 a4 42.Qc5+ Kd7 43.Bf1 Nf3+ 44.Kg2 Nd4 45.Kg1 Ke8 46.Bg2 Kd8 47.Qf8+ Kd7 48.Qc5 Ne2+ 49.Kf1 Qc1+ 0–1

I had also mentioned last week about the start of the women’s world chess championship match between 17-year-old Hou Yifan of China and 24-year-old Humpy Koneru of India in Tirana, Albania.

They are already playing the fourth game of the match today. If the match goes the full distance, it will end on Nov 30 with the tie-break games. You can follow the match live from the official website, http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com. The games start at 10pm Malaysia time.

Up next

Penang age group

The Penang Chess Association is holding this year’s Penang age group chess championship for boys and girls over five Sundays. The final two events, for players under 15 and 17 years old, will be played this Sunday. Venue is the clubhouse of the Residents’ Association of Bayan Baru in Bandar Bayan Baru, Penang. Entry fees: RM15 (PCA members) and RM30 (non-members). For inquiries, contact Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

National scholastics

The Malaysian Chess Federation will organise this year’s national scholastics age group chess championships for boys and girls over two weekends. The under-13 and under-15 group events will be played tomorrow. Seven rounds for each event, time control of 60 minutes per game. Venue is the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre at the Wilayah Complex, Jalan Munshi Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur. Entry fees: RM40 (under-13 and under-15 events). 

The respective age group champions will be selected as the country representatives at the Asian schools chess championships in New Delhi, India on Dec 16-23. For inquiries, contact Zuraihah Wazir (017.2837808) or Najib Wahab (016.3382542).

Asian amateur open

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) will organise the second Asian amateur open and women chess championship in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 25 to Dec 1. The tournament is open to only Asian players who are either unrated or with an international rating of not more than 2100 points. Nine rounds with time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees are USD125 for players with international ratings and USD150 for non-rated players. Malaysians wishing to play will be charged at RM412 and RM495 respectively. Closing date for entries is extended to Nov 14. 

Top prizes for the open section are USD1,500 (about RM4,500) for first, USD1,000 (about RM3,000) for second and USD800 (about RM2,400) for third. There are six other minor prizes that go down to USD200 (about RM600). For the women, there are four prizes with the best of them set to win USD400 (about RM1,200). There are also identical prizes for the four best unrated players.

All inquiries and requests for entry forms to the event secretariat (najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com).

Penang chess league

This year’s Penang Chess League will be held on Dec 3 and 4. Pending confirmation from the Penang Chess Association, there may be a change in the playing venue. The two-day team event is open to teams from four broad categories: public sector, factories, institutions of learning and others. 

Each team shall comprise four players and an optional reserve. Average rating per team during play should not be more than 2100 points. Seven rounds, time control of one hour play-to-finish for each game. Entry fees are RM150 (open category), RM90 (under-18 teams), RM60 (under-12 teams). Closing date is Nov 29. 

More details available from Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Penang heritage open

The Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organise the Penang heritage city open chess championship at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel, Penang on Dec 6-10. Two separate events: open and challenger sections, both internationally rated. Nine rounds, 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees for the open event: free for Malaysian national masters and all players with FIDE ratings of above 2300 points, RM100 (PCA members) and RM150 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 2000 and 2299 points, RM150 (members) and RM200 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1800 and 1999 points, RM200 (members) and RM300 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1600 and 1799 points, and RM250 (members) and RM350 (non-members) for players without any FIDE rating.

Entry fees for the challenger event: RM50 (PCA members) and RM100 (non-members) for players with a FIDE rating, and RM100 (members) and RM150 (non-members) for unrated players. 

Closing date for all entries is Dec 1 and thereafter, all late entries will be charged double. Direct all inquiries to Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com). More information also at http://penangchess.com

Sarawak open

The Sarawak Chess Association will hold the Sarawak open chess tournament at the Ultimate Professional Centre, opposite the Pullman Hotel, in Jalan Bukit Mata Kuching, Kuching on Dec 12-16. Internationally-rated event played over nine rounds, 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

Entry fees: Free for grandmasters and international masters (men and women), RM25 (ladies and all players below 16 years old) and RM50 (all other participants). The closing date for entries is Dec 5.

Details available from Morsin Ahmad (012.8949415, morsinab@sarawaknet.gov.my), Abang Mohd Reduan (019.8887786, reduan_sahari@bsn.com.my) and Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, limkhwa@gmail.com). 

 

SEA Games chess starts

By the time you read this, our chess contingent of five men and four women should have arrived in Indonesia for the SEA Games. 

Altogether, there are nine separate competitions and consequently, nine gold medals at stake. First off for our players will be the mixed pair standard chess, the men’s individual ASEAN chess and the men’s individual blindfold tournaments from tomorrow until Wednesday.

Then on Nov 17 to 20, the women’s and men’s individual rapid chess tournaments will be played. Almost concurrently on Nov 17 to 21, there will also be the women’s and men’s individual standard chess tournaments. And finally, wrapping up the chess events will be the women’s and men’s individual blitz chess tournaments on Nov 17.

Our players donning the Malaysian colours at the SEA Games chess competitions are international masters Mas Hafizulhelmi, Lim Yee Weng, Jimmy Liew and Mok Tze Meng, Sumant Subramaniam, woman candidate master Nur Nabila Azman, woman Fide master Nur Najiha Azman, Tan Li Ting and Camilia Johari.

I was rather intrigued by the inclusion of a blindfold chess competition as one of the events. When I asked Malaysian Chess Federation secretary Gregory Lau about this, he professed bafflement as there was very little information how the organizers would be going about with it. 

Would the players actually be blindfolded or would they be staring at a computer screen with a blank chess board or would they be passing their moves on little bits of paper through the arbiters or …?  

Lau could not say but he did confirm with me that Mok would be our representative in this event. “It is already challenging enough to compete in normal games. What more playing without sight of the board or the pieces? Nevertheless, Mok could be our best bet to play blindfold chess,” he told me. 

I would want to wish our national players the best of luck because they will certainly need to play at their best. In South-East Asia, the two formidable chess power houses are Vietnam and the Philippines. And of course, the host country, Indonesia, is not far behind. Traditionally, their players are very strong too.

It will be great if we are able to follow the progress of the SEA Games chess through the Internet but don’t be surprised if we are unable to do so. I’ve seen nothing from the official SEA Games website that would suggest any real-time coverage. If at all, we may have to be satisfied with the final results only.

Apart from the SEA Games, one other international chess event looming next week is the start of the women’s world chess championship match between 17-year-old Hou Yifan of China and 24-year-old Humpy Koneru of India in Tirana, Albania, from Nov 14 until Nov 30.

Hou is the reigning women’s world champion, having won the title last year in a 64-player knock-out event. The regulations of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) required her to defend the title this year against the winner of the FIDE women’s grand prix cycle 2009-2011 but since Hou herself had won the chess grand prix, runner-up Humpy Koneru became the challenger instead.

According to the world standings, Humpy Koneru is rated higher than Hou and as such, hopes are running high in India that their player may be able to wrest the title from the Chinese girl. If this does happen, India will be in a unique position to boast of two world chess champions – both the men’s and the women’s chess titles – at the same time. 

However, having a higher ranking does not automatically mean that winning the match is a certainty for the Indian. Neither does past success guarantee new success in the future. This is something that the Chinese player is fully aware of. In previous head-to-head encounters at classical time control, Hou holds a six-game margin over Humpy Koneru, having beaten her in eight games while losing only two games and drawing six others. However, chess fortunes can easily change in this match which is contested over 10 games.

Unlike the SEA Games chess, it will be possible for us to follow the games of the women’s world chess championship match live from the official website, http://www.wwcc2011tirana.com

Last week, I showed one Malaysian game from the world youth under-16 chess Olympiad. Here is another interesting game from the last round of the event. It has a nice display of tactics and Black was probably lost by the 17th move.

Roshan Singh (Malaysia) – Egor Procop (Moldova)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 d6 4. Nc3 g6 5. e4 Bg7 6. f4 O-O 7. Nf3 a6 8. a4 e6 9. Bd3 exd5 10. cxd5 Re8 11. O-O Nbd7 12. Nd2 Rb8 13. Nc4 Nb6 14. e5 dxe5 15. fxe5 Nfxd5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Nd6 Rf8 18. Bc4 Bxe5 (see diagram) 19. Nxf7 Bxh2+ 20. Kxh2 Qh4+ 21. Kg1 Qxc4 22. Nh6+ Kg7 23. Rxf8 Kxf8 24. Qf3+ Ke7 25. Bg5+ Kd7 26. Rd1 Kc6 27. Nf7 Kb6 28. a5+ Ka7 29. Rxd5 Be6 30. Rxc5 Qb4 31. Qe3 Ka8 32. Nd8 Bf5 33. Rc7 h6 34. Nc6 1-0

Up next

Penang age group

The Penang Chess Association is holding this year’s Penang age group chess championship for boys and girls over five Sundays. Six rounds, time control of 15 to 40 minutes per game, depending on the age group. The fourth of the six events, for players under 13 years old, will be played this Sunday. On Nov 20, the under-15 and under-17 events will wrap up the championship.

All the events are played at the clubhouse of the Residents’ Association of Bayan Baru in Bandar Bayan Baru, Penang. Entry fees: RM15 (PCA members) and RM30 (non-members). For inquiries, contact Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

National scholastics

The Malaysian Chess Federation will organize this year’s national scholastics age group chess championships for boys and girls over two weekends. The under-seven, under-nine and under-11 age group events will be played tomorrow and on Sunday, while the under-13 and under-15 events are scheduled for Nov 19-20. Seven rounds for each event, time control of 60 minutes per game. 

Venue will be the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre at the Wilayah Complex, Jalan Munshi Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur. Entry fees: RM35 (under-seven, under-nine and under-11 events) and RM40 (under-13 and under-15 events). Closing date is Nov 6 after which, entry fees will double. 

The respective age group champions will be selected as the country representative at the Asian schools chess championships in New Delhi, India on Dec 16-23. For inquiries, contact Gregory Lau (012.2577123, msianchess2010@gmail.com), Zuraihah Wazir (017.2837808) or Najib Wahab (016.3382542).

Giant Tampoi chess

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, The Giant Hypermarket Tampoi and the Rakan Muda Johor Bahru are jointly organizing their second Giant Tampoi junior chess tournament for under-16 and under-12 category players this Sunday. 

Venue is the Giant Hypermarket at Tampoi, Johor. Seven rounds, 25 minutes time control. Entry fees are RM15 (under-16 players) and RM12 (under-12 players). Closing date is Nov 11. Call Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@yahoo.com) for more details.

 

Asian amateur open

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) will organize the second Asian amateur open and women chess championship in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 25 to Dec 1. The tournament is open to only Asian players who are either unrated or with an international rating of not more than 2100 points. Nine rounds with time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees are USD125 for players with international ratings and USD150 for non-rated players. Malaysians wishing to play will be charged at RM412 and RM495 respectively. Closing date for entries is extended to Nov 14. 

Top prizes for the open section are USD1,500 (about RM4,500) for first, USD1,000 (about RM3,000) for second and USD800 (about RM2,400) for third. There are six other minor prizes that go down to USD200 (about RM600). For the women, there are four prizes with the best of them set to win USD400 (about RM1,200). There are also identical prizes for the four best unrated players.

All inquiries and requests for entry forms to the event secretariat (najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com) or the Malaysian Chess Federation (msianchess2010@gmail.com).

Penang chess league

This year’s Penang Chess League will be held on Dec 3 and 4. Pending confirmation from the Penang Chess Association, there may be a change in the playing venue. The two-day team event is open to teams from four broad categories: public sector, factories, institutions of learning and others. 

Each team shall comprise four players and an optional reserve. Average rating per team during play should not be more than 2100 points. Seven rounds, time control of one hour play-to-finish for each game. Entry fees are RM150 (open category), RM90 (under-18 teams), RM60 (under-12 teams). Closing date is Nov 29. 

More details available from Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

 

Our boys in Turkey

I spent the better part of last fortnight watching the live games from the world youth under-16 chess Olympiad that was taking place in Izmit, Turkey. Malaysia had entered a team in this competition which attracted 26 participating teams from 20 countries.

That’s not too many countries participating, unfortunately, but many nations with a long chess-playing tradition were there. As expected, the teams from Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and India were seeded above the Malaysian team but the greater surprise was to find England, Georgia and Slovakia seeded below our team. 

As the rounds progressed, I could see our team of five players – Wong Jianwen, Yeoh Li Tian, Elgin Lee, Yeap Eng Chiam and Roshan Singh – were settling down well into their games. There were fortunate victories but there were also unfortunate losses. But overall, I could sense the boys’ confidence level rising with every round.

The highlight for them was the ninth round. The team was paired against top-seeded Russia. It was a good fight but tellingly, the Russian players’ techniques were better. Still, our boys avoided a whitewash and came away with a precious draw in one of the games.

Everything now depended on their results in the 10th and final round of the competition. A strong result was required against the Moldova team, just in case some of the other competing teams happened to catapult above the Malaysians.

Our boys won but unfortunately, the win was very narrow. So despite the satisfaction of winning the match, the frustration was in seeing England, Switzerland and Slovakia putting away their weak opponents and eventually ending ahead of Malaysia in the standings. 

Nevertheless, I really believe that the Malaysian boys can hold their heads up high. Imagine scoring a 2-2 draw against Syria, losing only narrowly by 1½-2½ to Kazakhstan, drawing 2-2 with Switzerland, and beating both Georgia and Moldova by similar 2½-1½ results. Very respectable performances, I should say so.

Finally this week, I would like to share with you one of the Malaysian games. This was played in the eighth round against Georgia.

Guga Burduli (Georgia) – Yeap Eng Chiam (Malaysia), Round 8

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c4 Qc7 4. Nc3 e6 5. d4 d6 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Bg5 Nbd7 9. h3 h6 10. Be3 e5 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. exd5 f5 14. Ne1 O-O 15. f4 Bd6 16. fxe5 Nxe5 17. Nf3 Bd7 18. Bd2 Rae8 19. Bc3 Ng6 20. Bd3 Re3 21. Qd2 Bf4 22. Qc2 Bg3 23. Bd2 Re7 24. Kh1 Nf4 25. Bxf4 Qxf4 26. Ng1 Qg5 27. Ne2 Bd6 28. Rf3 Rfe8 29. Raf1 Re3 30. Qd1 g6 31. Rxe3 Rxe3 32. Rf3 Rxf3 33. gxf3 Kf7 34. Qc1 Qh4 35. Qf1 Qe7 36. Qc1 g5 37. b3 Qe5 38. Qg1 Qb2 39. Qb1 Qd2 40. Kg2 Kf6 41. Qc2 Qe3 42. Qd1 h5 43. Ng3 Qe5 44. Nf1 Qd4 45. Bc2 Qe5 46. Qc1 Qe2+ 47. Kg1 Qxf3 48. Qe3 Qxe3+ 49. Nxe3 f4 50. Nd1 Bxh3 51. Nf2 Bf5 52. Bd1 g4 53. Kg2 Kg5 54. a3 f3+ 55. Bxf3 gxf3+ 56. Kxf3 a5 57. Ke3 h4 58. Kd2 h3 0-1

Up next

Penang age group

The Penang Chess Association is holding this year’s Penang age group chess championship for boys and girls over five Sundays. Six rounds, time control of 15 to 40 minutes per game, depending on the age group. 

The third of the five events, for players under 11 years old, will be played this Sunday. On Nov 13, the under-13 event will be played; and on Nov 20, the under-15 and under-17 events will wrap up the championship.

All the events are played at the clubhouse of the Residents’ Association of Bayan Baru in Bandar Bayan Baru, Penang. Entry fees: RM15 (PCA members) and RM30 (non-members). For inquiries, contact Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

National scholastics

The Malaysian Chess Federation will organize this year’s national scholastics age group chess championships for boys and girls over two weekends. The under-seven, under-nine and under-11 age group events will be played on Nov 12-13 while the under-13 and under-15 events are scheduled for Nov 19-20. Seven rounds for each event, time control of 60 minutes per game. 

All the events will be held at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre at the Wilayah Complex, Jalan Munshi Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur. Entry fees: RM35 (under-seven, under-nine and under-11 events) and RM40 (under-13 and under-15 events). Closing date is Nov 6 after which, entry fees will double. 

The respective age group champions will be selected as the country representative at the Asian schools chess championships in New Delhi, India on Dec 16-23. For inquiries, contact Gregory Lau (012.2577123, msianchess2010@gmail.com), Zuraihah Wazir (017.2837808) or Najib Wahab (016.3382542).

Giant Tampoi chess

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, The Giant Hypermarket Tampoi and the Rakan Muda Johor Bahru are jointly organizing their second Giant Tampoi junior chess tournament for under-16 and under-12 category players on Nov 13. 

Venue is the Giant Hypermarket at Tampoi, Johor. Seven rounds, 25 minutes time control. Entry fees are RM15 (under-16 players) and RM12 (under-12 players). Closing date is Nov 11. Call Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@yahoo.com) for more details.

 

Asian amateur open

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) will organize the second Asian amateur open and women chess championship in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 25 to Dec 1. The tournament is open to only Asian players who are either unrated or with an international rating of not more than 2100 points. Nine rounds with time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees are USD125 for players with international ratings and USD150 for non-rated players. Malaysians wishing to play will be charged at RM412 and RM495 respectively. Entries will close on Nov 4. 

Top prizes for the open section are USD1,500 (about RM4,500) for first, USD1,000 (about RM3,000) for second and USD800 (about RM2,400) for third. There are six other minor prizes that go down to USD200 (about RM600). For the women, there are four prizes with the best of them set to win USD400 (about RM1,200). There are also identical prizes for the four best unrated players.

All inquiries and requests for entry forms to the event secretariat (najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com) or the Malaysian Chess Federation (msianchess2010@gmail.com).

Penang chess league

This year’s Penang Chess League will be held at the Dewan Sri Pinang in George Town, Penang on Dec 3 and 4. The two-day team event is open to teams from four broad categories: public sector, factories, institutions of learning and others. 

Each team shall comprise four players and an optional reserve. Average rating per team during play should not be more than 2100 points. Seven rounds, time control of one hour play-to-finish for each game. Entry fees are RM150 (open category), RM90 (under-18 teams), RM60 (under-12 teams). Closing date is Nov 29. 

More details available from Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Penang heritage open

The Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organize the Penang heritage city open chess championship at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel, Penang on Dec 6-10. Two separate events: open and challenger sections, both internationally rated. Nine rounds with time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees for the open event: free for Malaysian national masters and all players with FIDE ratings of above 2300 points, RM100 (PCA members) and RM150 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 2000 and 2299 points, RM150 (members) and RM200 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1800 and 1999 points, RM200 (members) and RM300 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1600 and 1799 points, and RM250 (members) and RM350 (non-members) for players without any FIDE rating.

Entry fees for the challenger event: RM50 (PCA members) and RM100 (non-members) for players with a FIDE rating, and RM100 (members) and RM150 (non-members) for unrated players. 

Closing date for all entries is Dec 1 and thereafter, all late entries will be charged double. Direct all inquiries to Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com). More information also at http://penangchess.com

Sarawak open

The Sarawak Chess Association will hold the Sarawak open chess tournament at the Ultimate Professional Centre, opposite the Pullman Hotel, in Jalan Bukit Mata Kuching, Kuching on Dec 12-16. Internationally-rated event played over nine rounds and time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

Entry fees are RM25 (ladies and all players below 16 years old) and RM50 (all other participants). The closing date for entries is Dec 5.

Details available from Morsin Ahmad (012.8949415, morsinab@sarawaknet.gov.my), Abang Mohd Reduan (019.8887786, reduan_sahari@bsn.com.my) and Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, limkhwa@gmail.com).

 

Vicious lies

THE CHESS community in Malaysia is a tolerant lot but we are not amused about the way the royal game has been thrust unfavourably into the limelight in the past fortnight by some blog writers in the country.

I wouldn’t want to repeat all the nonsense that has been bandied about in their blogs but I want to state that the use of an image of a totally unrelated person to further the bloggers’ agenda is really irresponsible and unwarranted. 

How or why they selected a picture of an innocent woman chess grandmaster is beside the point – it could have been any other picture they picked up from the Internet – but all the same, I would wish that it had not happened at all to anybody especially when it is without basis. Such lies are bound to be found out at the end.

As it stands, I know that the family of Anya Corke is distressed over the whole matter and rightfully too as they have no connection to and no roots in this country. 

The only brief occasion she was ever in Malaysia was in September 2005 when the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) organized the Asian zone 3.3 chess championship and she took part as the representative from Hong Kong.

In a statement which was forwarded to the local press here last week, she registered shock and dismay over the way that her name was dragged into the matter.

“I have never met or even heard of any of the people involved. I have never been physically assaulted in any way. I have never been victimised in any way by this boy or his family. The only way in which my ‘modesty was outraged’ has been by the publication of my picture in connection with these scurrilous and unfounded rumours,” she said.

Corke was the Hong Kong national chess champion four times in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. Her talent was very clear from a young age and she was included as a member of the Hong Kong national men’s team at the Chess Olympiad in Calvia, Spain in 2004. It was there that she earned the woman grandmaster title.

When the MCF held the zonal championship in 2005, she was the only woman participant among the other 43 players. She secured 3½ points from the nine games and finished the competition tied in 32nd to 37th positions.

Corke is presently an undergraduate student at the prestigious Wellesley College in Massachusetts, USA.

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Penang age group

The Penang Chess Association is presently holding this year’s Penang age group chess championship for boys and girls over five Sundays. Six rounds, time control of 15 to 40 minutes per game, depending on the age group. 

The second of the five events, for players under nine years old, will be played this Sunday. On Nov 6, the under-11 event will be played; on Nov 13, it will be the under-13 tournament; and on Nov 20, the under-15 and under-17 events will wrap up the championship.

All the events are played at the clubhouse of the Residents’ Association of Bayan Baru in Bandar Bayan Baru, Penang. Entry fees: RM15 (PCA members) and RM30 (non-members). For inquiries, contact Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Frank Goon Cup

The Johor Chess Association will organize their Johor chess open tournament for the Frank Goon Cup this Sunday. Venue will be the Level 35 of the Office Tower City Square in Johor Bahru. Depending on the number of players, there will be either six or seven rounds. Time control is 25 minutes per game.

Entry fees: RM20 (open), RM10 (players below 16 years old). For more details, contact Steven Cheong (016.7202272, steven52s@gmail.com) or Dinesh (014.6115256).

RSC rapid play

The chess section of the Royal Selangor Club will hold their annual RSC rapid play open tournament at their club premises in Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. Seven rounds, with the first three rounds this Sunday and the final four rounds on Nov 6. Apart from the prizes in the open section, there are also other prizes for the best under-13, under-11, under-9, veteran and lady players. Time control is 25 minutes per game, subject to final confirmation. 

Entry fees for RSC members: RM30 (single player), RM25 (family discount for two or more family members). For non-RSC members: RM40 (single player), RM30 (family discount for two or more family members). For junior players: RM25. Entries will close by today. For more information, contact Wahid (016.3283160, awkarim@gmail.com) or Joseph Toh (016.6784648).

Giant Tampoi chess

The Johor Bahru Chess Association, The Giant Hypermarket Tampoi and the Rakan Muda Johor Bahru are jointly organizing their second Giant Tampoi junior chess tournament for under-16 and under-12 category players on Nov 13. 

Venue is the Giant Hypermarket at Tampoi, Johor. Seven rounds, 25 minutes time control. Entry fees are RM15 (under-16 players) and RM12 (under-12 players). Closing date is Nov 11. Call Narayanan Krishnan (013.7717525, jb_chess_association@yahoo.com) for more details.

 Asian amateur open

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) will organize the second Asian amateur open and women chess championship in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 25 to Dec 1. The tournament is open to only Asian players who are either unrated or with an international rating of not more than 2100 points. Nine rounds with time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees are USD125 for players with international ratings and USD150 for non-rated players. Malaysians wishing to play will be charged at RM412 and RM495 respectively. Entries will close on Nov 4. 

Top prizes for the open section are USD1,500 (about RM4,500) for first, USD1,000 (about RM3,000) for second and USD800 (about RM2,400) for third. There are six other minor prizes that go down to USD200 (about RM600). For the women, there are four prizes with the best of them set to win USD400 (about RM1,200). There are also identical prizes for the four best unrated players.

All inquiries and requests for entry forms to the event secretariat (najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com) or the Malaysian Chess Federation (msianchess2010@gmail.com).

Penang chess league

This year’s Penang Chess League will be held at the Dewan Sri Pinang in George Town, Penang on Dec 3 and 4. The two-day team event is open to teams from four broad categories: public sector, factories, institutions of learning and others. 

Each team shall comprise four players and an optional reserve. Average rating per team during play should not be more than 2100 points. Seven rounds, time control of one hour play-to-finish for each game. Entry fees are RM150 (open category), RM90 (under-18 teams), RM60 (under-12 teams). Closing date is Nov 29. 

More details available from Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com) or visit http://penangchess.com for more information.

Penang heritage open

The Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organize the Penang heritage city open chess championship at the Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel, Penang on Dec 6-10. Two separate events: open and challenger sections, both internationally rated. Nine rounds with time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.

Entry fees for the open event: free for Malaysian national masters and all players with FIDE ratings of above 2300 points, RM100 (PCA members) and RM150 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 2000 and 2299 points, RM150 (members) and RM200 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1800 and 1999 points, RM200 (members) and RM300 (non-members) for players with FIDE ratings between 1600 and 1799 points, and RM250 (members) and RM350 (non-members) for players without any FIDE rating.

Entry fees for the challenger event: RM50 (PCA members) and RM100 (non-members) for players with a FIDE rating, and RM100 (members) and RM150 (non-members) for unrated players. 

Closing date for all entries is Dec 1 and thereafter, all late entries will be charged double. Direct all inquiries to Tan Eng Seong (012.4299517, estan64@yahoo.com or estan64@gmail.com). More information also at http://penangchess.com

Sarawak open

The Sarawak Chess Association will hold the Sarawak open chess tournament at the Ultimate Professional Centre, opposite the Pullman Hotel, in Jalan Bukit Mata Kuching, Kuching on Dec 12-16. Internationally-rated event played over nine rounds and time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment for each move.

Entry fees are RM25 (ladies and all players below 16 years old) and RM50 (all other participants). The closing date for entries is Dec 5.

Details available from Morsin Ahmad (012.8949415, morsinab@sarawaknet.gov.my), Abang Mohd Reduan (019.8887786, reduan_sahari@bsn.com.my) and Lim Kian Hwa (016.8603180, limkhwa@gmail.com).