Champ of champs

The Malaysian Masters will determine who our best player is.

.
WITH the excitement of the Malaysian Chess Festival and the KL Open behind us, it is time to start looking again at the more down-to-earth chess activities in the country. But what have we here?

.

.
For one, it’s the Malaysian Masters knock-out series. This event has been going on over some weekends already. The objective of this series was to let our top players determine who could rightly claim to be the champion of Malaysian champions..

The annual national closed championships were not enough to measure a winner’s credentials. It is not often that defending champions returning to defend their titles. Some risk being labelled flash-in-the-pan champions due to their unwillingness to take part again.

..
We can always fall back on the Fide rating list to see who our current crop of best active players are, but there is nothing like a real hand-to-hand, over-the-board combat among the best to settle the issue, is there?

..
The Malaysian Masters was designed to be a way for seven of our national masters and the present national junior champion to fight it out among themselves.

.
Actually, the organisers had called upon the top four players from the July 2009 Fide rating list, and added the top two players from this year’s national closed championship, the winner of the national junior championship and one player nominated by the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF).

.
But when Wong Zijing – one of Malaysia’s top four on the Fide list – was unable to confirm his participation, his place went to the fifth person on the Fide list, Mok Tze Meng. Peter Long was the MCF’s top choice but as he too couldn’t play, Ooi Chern Ee filled the last available slot.

.
So far, I have written about two of the four preliminary matches, Mas Hafizulhelmi (Malaysian No.1 in the September 2009 Fide rating list) beating Muhammad Tariq Amru (national junior champion) with a 3-0 score, and Mok triumphing over Ooi by the same margin.

.
The week before the Malaysian Chess Festival took off, Nicholas Chan (Malaysian No.3 in Fide’s September list) won the match against Evan Timothy Capel (national champion) by 3-0.

.
Of course, the players’ experience and rating strengths would be significant in any contest. Chan has had many opportunities to play at international levels whereas Capel’s experience was virtually none. Also, their rating difference was a world apart and a gulf of almost 400 points separated them.
.

.
Chan vs Capel: Game 1
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 Be7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 O-O 7. e3 b6 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. O-O Ne4 10. Bf4 Nxc3 11. bxc3 h6? 12. Ne5 Nd7 13. Bxh6 Nxe5 14. dxe5 f5 15. Bf4 g5 16. Bg3 Bc8 17. f4 g4 18. Qb3 Be6 19. e4 Qd7 20. Rad1 dxe4 21. Bc4 Bc5+ 22. Kh1 Bxc4 b Qxc4+ Qf7 24.e6 Qf6 25. Rd7 Rae8 26. e7+ Rf7 27. Rxc7 Rexe7 28. Rc8+ Kg7 29. Rd1 Qe6 30. Qa6 Rd7 31. Re1 Rf8 32. Rxc5 Rd2 33. Rc7+ Kg6 34. Qxa7 Rh8 35. Rg7+ Kf6 36. Rb7 Rxa2 37. Qxb6 Qxb6 38. Rxb6+ Kf7 39. c4 Rd8 40. Rf6+ Kxf6 41. Bh4+ Ke6 42. Bxd8 Rc2 43. Kg1 Rxc4 44. Bb6 Kd5 45. Kf2 Rc3 46. Be3 Ra3 47. Rd1+ Ke6 48. Bc5 Rc3 49. Rd6+ Kf7 50. Rf6+ Kg7 51. Rxf5 Rb3 52. Bd4+ Kh6 53. Re5 Ra3 54. Re8 (1-0)
.
Game 2
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 4. c3 h6 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. Nbd2 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nc6 8. e3 Qd8 9. Bd3 Be7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. a3 d6 12. b4 Bd7 13. Rc1 a6 14. Qb3 a5 15. d5 Ne5 16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Nf3 axb4 18. axb4 Ba4 19. Qc3 Qxd5 20. Bc4 Qd6 21. Qxe5 Qxe5 22. Nxe5 Bxb4 23. Nd3 Bd6 24. Rb1 Rfc8 25. Bb5 Bc2 26. Rb2 Ba3 27. Ra2 Bb3 28. Raa1 Ra5 29. Nf4 e5 30. Nh5 Rc5 31. Bd7 (see diagram) Bc4 32. Rfb1 b5 33. Ng3 Rc7 34. Bf5 b4 35. Bc2 Be6 36. Bd1 Kf8 37. e4 Rac5 38. Ne2 Rd7 39. Bb3 Bxb3 40. Rxb3 Rd2 41. Kf1 Rcc2 42. Re3 g6 43. f3 Kg7 44. Ke1 h5 45. Rd1 Rxd1+ 46. Kxd1 Rb2 47. Rd3 b3 48. Rd5 Bb4 49. Ng3 Rb1+ 50. Ke2 b2 51. Kf2 (0-1)
.
Game 3
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. d4 Be7 6. Bg5 O-O 7. e3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 Re8 9. Qc2 h6 10. Bh4 c6 11. O-O Ne4 12. Bxe4 Bxh4 13. Bh7+ Kh8 14. Bf5 Bf6 15. b4 Nf8 16. Bd3 Ne6 17. Rab1 Qd6 18. Rfc1 b6 19. b5 Bb7 20. bxc6 Bxc6 21. Nb5 Bxb5 22. Bxb5 Rec8 23. Qa4 Rc7 24. Ba6 Ng5 25. Ne1 Ne4 26. Rxc7 Qxc7 27. Qa3 Be7 28. Qb2 Bd6 29. g3 Rd8 30. Rc1 Qe7 31. Rc2 Rd7 32. Qb3 Nf6 33. Rc8+ Kh7 34. Qc2+ g6 35. Nd3 Rc7 36. Rxc7 Qxc7 37. Qxc7 Bxc7 38. Nb4 Bd6 39. Nc6 Ne4 40. Nxa7 Nc3 41. Nb5 Nxb5 42. Bxb5 Kg7 43. Bc6 f6 44. Bxd5 Kf8 45. Be4 Kf7 46. Kf1 Bb4 47. Ke2 g5 48. f4 Ke6 49. fxg5 hxg5 50. h4 gxh4 51. gxh4 Bf8 52. h5 Bh6 53. Kd3 Kd6 54. Bf5 Bg5 55. a4 Bh6 56. e4 Bf4 57. Kc4 Be3 58. Kb5 Kc7 59. d5 Bf4 60. Ka6 Be3 61. Bg6 Bf4 62. Bf5 Be3 63. Kb5 Bf4 64. Kc4 Kd6 65. Kd3 Ke5 66. Ke2 Bc1 67. Kf3 Bd2 68. Bd7 Kd6 69. Bf5 Bh6 70. Kg4 Ke5 71. Bg6 Bf8 72. Bh7 Bh6 73. d6 and White soon won the game (1-0)

.
Up next
The Johor Chess Association is organising this event, to be held on Oct 3 and 4, at Kolej Tun Hussein Onn, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor. The results of this eight-round tournament will be used as the basis for selection of players to represent Johor at the Sarawak team championship in December and possibly next year’s national closed championship.

.

Entries are limited to the first 60 players who sign up. Open to non-Johoreans too. To register, contact Leong Mun Wan (016-7419960 / leongmunwan@yahoo.com). -The Star

Game for more

CHESS
By QUAH SENG SUN

Even on a limited budget, we can still host interesting tournaments that attract strong foreign players.

ONE observation made by Malaysian Chess Federation honorary life president Datuk Tan Chin Nam at the prize-giving ceremony of the Malaysia Open last month was that chess promotion need not mean holding elite tournaments graced by the best players.

It was a statement that struck a chord. He was right, of course.

Best of the best: Vietnam’s Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son accepting his prize from Masterskill University College of Health Sciences director Tunku Kamel Tunku Rijaludin.

Let’s leave the elite tournaments to organisers with the big bucks. If we spend within our means, we can still hold interesting tournaments that attract reasonably strong foreign players.

After all, as Tan reasoned, chess professionals still have to make a living off the game.

Through the Malaysia Chess Festival, we provide opportunities for players to enjoy themselves and win some cash prizes, aside from raising the standard of the local game and enabling them to earn their international title norms.

A successful chess event by Tan’s interpretation then would mean having a tournament that satisfies these conditions: that it must be organised for the players, by the players and be about the players.

If I were to draw a conclusion about the Malaysia Chess Festival based on these conditions, then yes, the event was a success.

The same could be said about the Masterskill Kuala Lumpur Open held earlier this month. I could apply the same three conditions to the KL Open and come to the conclusion that it, too, was a success for the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association.

Of course, I cannot compare the KL Open to the Malaysia Open.

They were two completely different tournaments although they shared many similarities. Both were equally competitive and suspenseful. Players jostled for position and they jostled hard for the points.

Nevertheless, the smaller number of players in the KL Open together with a more compact playing area gave the tournament its own special characteristic.

Players were sitting closer to one another, almost elbow to elbow in many cases. Not one of the visiting grandmasters or international masters minded. No prima donnas among them, they came here to play chess and enjoy a bit of competitive fun.

On the chess board, there were big battles. But as much as I would like to say that it was a very tight race to the finish point, it wasn’t exactly so.

The second half of the tournament was dominated by a 19-year-old grandmaster from Vietnam. Presently, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son is ranked as No.2 in his country.

At the Malaysia Open, he was among four or five players who remained unbeaten throughout that event. With a little more luck, he could have tied for the first place too.

Well, at the KL Open, he showed why his consistency has made him one of Vietnam’s brightest chess stars.

After the fourth round, he shared the top position with two other players but by the end of the fifth round, he was leading the field. However, he allowed his compatriot, the veteran Vietnamese grandmaster Dao Thien Hai, to catch up with him on points and for two rounds, they were running neck and neck towards the finish post.

Dao, however, slipped up in the eighth round. Here was the perfect chance for the 19-year-old. Obviously, he had learnt his lesson at the Malaysia Open and went into the final round with a lot of determination.

He refused to accept any other result but a win and in the end, he got what he wanted: a valuable point from the Uzbekistan grandmaster Marat Dzhumaev.

In second place was Indonesian grandmaster Susanto Megaranto who was just half a point behind the winner. Interestingly enough, Susanto is also the second highest ranked player in his country so there was also a lot of pressure on him to perform.

Unfortunately, he had a poor start, losing two of his first five games. But thereafter, he managed to pull his game together and reeled off consecutive wins in his last four games. His most important point came in the last round when he beat Dao.

Up next

IIUM Open: International Islamic University Malaysia will hold its second chess tournament at its Gombak campus on Oct 17 and 18. Entry fees are RM30 for the open category and RM20 for players under 21. For details, call Norsharmila Zabani (% 03-6196 5393), Ahmad Fadzil Nayan (013-953 1278) or Nurul Azlina Bakrin (017-462 5224). -the star

Positive note

CHESS
By QUAH SENG SUN

.

BY my reckoning, the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) has at least drawn acknowledgement from Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek that the Government could have done more for the game.

.
“This is a game that needs more publicity and aggressive promotion to bring in the fans,” he said when opening the Malaysia Chess Festival in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday.

.
As a first step, he said that his ministry would meet with the MCF to draw up a development programme.

.

“We shall have to take the initial step towards producing quality players for the future, including grandmasters, and we look forward to assisting the MCF in whatever way we can to promote Malaysia as a destination for chess,” said Shabery.

.
He was impressed by the good turnout at the chess fest which attracted about 600 local and foreign players as well as their families. The foreigners hailed from 21 countries, some coming from as far as Uzbekistan and Australia.

.

New champion: Parimarjan Negi (left) with Malaysian Chess Federation honorary life president Datuk Tan Chin Nam

.
Shabery observed that this was a game that defied boundaries. “It is not a game of physical strength, not how big or how small you are, young or old, man or woman, or nationalities. Rarely do we see a sporting event that allows for both genders to compete on equal terms,” he said.

.
Earlier, in his welcome speech, MCF president Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib stressed that the MCF has had no financial assistance from the Government in the past five years.

.
“We are a sports organisation recognised by the Olympic Council of Malaysia and yet we do not receive any funding at all. We appeal to the minister for assistance and greater recognition of our efforts and activities in contributing to nation-building.

.
“We undertake more than 10 competitions every year and send contingents to compete at international level. We are now undertaking a project to establish our first grandmaster.

.
“I can confidently say that more than 40,000 people in this country are active in the game in one way or another: people from all walks of life, of all ages and physical abilities, from schoolchildren to working adults and senior citizens, playing competitively or socially.

.
“Chess has a good following in this country; it gives good exposure to our country and the game helps in promoting awareness of Malaysia,” Ramli said.

.
Speeches aside, one of the memorable moments of the 10-day Malaysia Chess Festival must be the tight finish at the IGB Arthur Tan Malaysia open tournament.
When I arrived in Kuala Lumpur after the end of the seventh round, I was wondering whether China’s Yu Yangyi would be able to hold on to his slim, sole lead.

.
At that stage, he had earned six points, dropping only two early draws to Malaysia’s Yeoh Li Tian in the first round and Iranian grandmaster Ghaem Maghami Ehsan in the fifth, and winning all the other games.

.
Right behind him was a crowded field of five players with 5½ points each, all waiting for the slightest mistake from him.

.
In the eighth round, Yu did make a mistake. Careless play against Emmanuel Senador of the Philippines doomed him to defeat. Suddenly Senador found himself thrust into the role of tournament leader with 6½ points.

.
In the meantime, the players who were chasing after the leader had grown to nine players, all only half a point behind.

.
In such circumstances, I would consider the tournament to be wide open. That half a point notwithstanding, any one of the 10 players could become the next Malaysia open champion.

.
For the final round, Senador found himself paired with Parimarjan Negi. Other critical last-round match-ups saw Ronald Dableo paired with Susanto Megaranto, Ghaem paired with Darwin Laylo, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son with Yu, Gerhard Schebler with Nafisa Muminova and Saidali Yuldachev with Li Chao.

.
Negi and Dableo found inspiration in their games as they carved out wins. So did Schebler who won his game and thus ended the tournament with 6½ points. All the other encounters were drawn.

.
So by the time the dust finally settled on the Malaysia open, Negi and Dableo were the only two players left standing with seven points each. Eight players, including Schebler, finished with 6½ points.

.
Originally, I thought there would be a play-off for the title but the tournament organisers told me there wouldn’t be one. If more than one player were to tie at the end of the nine rounds, the tie would be broken by tie-breaks. As it turned out, Negi had a slightly better tie-break than Dableo.

.
The event was a thrilling fight from beginning to end. Spectators came to the tournament to see whether Li Chao could do a hattrick by winning the Malaysia open tournament for a third time.

.
Instead, they found a new hero in the young Indian grandmaster, Negi. Now 16 years of age, Negi was once the youngest grandmaster in the world. On July 1, 2006, at the age of 13, he became a grandmaster when he earned his third and final GM norm at a tournament in Russia.

.
Up next
The Kuala Lumpur open chess tournament at Shah’s Village Hotel in Petaling Jaya starts today. Except for Sunday, there’ll be two rounds daily until next Tuesday, with games starting at 8am and 2pm.

.
According to the organisers, there will be six grandmasters and nine international masters in the 56-player field.

.
The round-by-round results can be followed almost instantaneously from the tournament website,http://www.klchess.com/.

.
> Quah Seng Sun can be contacted at ssquah@gmail.com. -The star