Picture taken from hairulov's blog

MOK IS THE JAGUH OF TERENGGANU

After a gruelling 5 days, Mok Tze Meng proved why he is still champion material after winning the inaugural Grand Final of Pencarian Jaguh Catur Terengganu held recently. The tournament which saw several interesting events such as IM Mas Hafizul's lost by forfeit in Round 2 and NM Kamal Abdullah's lost by forfeit by his handphone in the last round, cannot take away the spotlight on Mok as he brushed aside a host of players which include NM Kamal Abdullah, Ian Udani and also IM Mas Hafizulhilmi. However, it is interesting to see whether these forfeitures (which can be easily avoided had Mas turned up earlier in his game against Norazman, or Kamal turned off his handphone before playing) can reshape the turnout of the entire tournament.

For full results, see syedchess' blog.

picture taken from Internet Chess Club

TOPALOV WINS IN CHINA AND READY TO FACE ANAND

When I read this article, I thought that Topalov can play Chinese Chess. However, it really means Topalov won a tournament in China. He is ready to beat Kamsky to earn the right to play Viswanathan Anand in the World Title Match 2009. I can't wait to see who is better between these two, but Topalov is ahead in the rating list, with nearly 20 points margin. You can see their rating live here.

GM ANTON WINS INAUGURAL KL OPEN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

GM Anton Filippov (picture), the number one seed with 2543 FIDE rating, drew his final game to clinch the KL Open Chess Championship. He received the trophy from DYTM Raja Nazrin Shah at the closing ceremony held at the Legend Hotel. He beat the challenge from a host of GMs and IMs in the 67 strong field of players.

Meanwhile, in the challengers category, Nur Nabila Azman Hisham won against more fancied opponents to become champion and received her prize from DYTM Raja Puan Besar Tuanku Zara Salim.

You can read more about the tournament at the official or unofficial website.

PENCARIAN JAGUH CATUR TERENGGANU STARTS TODAY

The much anticipated inaugural rated tournament in Terengganu starts today. Below is the full list of players pitting their chess skills to become the jaguh (champion) of Terengganu. The surprise inclusion is IM Mas Hafizulhilmi, still trying to obtain his status as the first Grandmaster in this country.

You can find the list in Catur Terengganu website. I have sorted it according to their ratings. Good luck to all of you!

Rated players:

1. IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (2439)
   
2. FM Mok Tze Meng (2308)
   
3. Kamaluddin Yusuf (2184)
   
4. Ian Udani (2181)
5. Mohd Kamal Abdullah (2146)
   
6. Abdullah Che Hassan (2125)
   
7. Md Fadli Zakaria (2121)
8. Mustafa Kamal Zamhuri (2121)
   
9. Ismail Ahmad (2106)
10. Zarul Syazwan Zullkafli (2085)
11. Osric Mooi (2050)
    
12. Zarul Shafiq Zullkafli (2047)
    
13. Faizal Andin (1997)
    
14. Lim Kian Hwa (1964)
    
15. Ahmad Afiq Afyfy (1929)
16. John Harry Pereira (1926)
    
17. Mohan Raj (1916)
18. Zullkafli Mat Daud (1883)
19. Francois Wolfaardt (1858)
20. Norazman Ismail (1821)
    
21. Abang Zain Draup (1778)
22. David Gates (1738)
    
23. Hj Abang Azman Draup (1714)
    
24. Zamanhari Abang Draup (1656)
    
25. Syazrin Abdul Rahman (1507)
26. Syed Iskandar Shah (provisional)

Terengganu players:

1. Hashim Jusoh
2. Abdul Rahim Ramli
3. Heng Aik Kiat
4. Hisamullah Harun
5. Md Hafez Hilmi Harun
6. Mohd Pouzi Hamzah
7. Muhd Asyraf Zakaria
8. Muhd Syazwan Zulkifli
9. Mohd Aiman Azani
10. Mohd Amirul Zahanuddin
11. Mohd Huzaimi Abd Jalal
12. Mohd Khairul Nazrin A Nashir
13. Munir Azmi Muhd
14. Mat Jusoh Omar
15. Mohd Sallehuddin Mohd Salleh
16. Najwah Aziz
17. Nor Azma Adilla Alias
18. Ahmad Syukri Ismail
19. Ahmad Faez Azmi
20. Alias Mohd Amin
21. Abd Latif Abd Halim
22. Abdul Kadir Jailani Ramli
23. Ahmad Akif Abd Rahim
24. Ahmad Ariff Abd Rahim
25. Ahmad Rizal Othman
26. Ahmad Ariff Ramli
27. Siti Noraihan Md Shaifuddin
28. Siti Aisyah Sabirin
29. Salleh Omar
30. Suhaidi Mustaffa
31. Siddiq Husainy Hasbullah
32. Peteer Jabir
33. Rozamzam Ibrahim
34. Ruzenan Abu Bakar
35. Ramli Setapa
36. Wan Aizuddin Wan Razali
37. Zaimah Abdullah
38. Zulkefeli Jusoh
39. Zaharuddin Sulaiman
40. Che Mohd Rizal Ibrahim
41. Fairul Yusuf
42. Gani Kadir
43. Amira Syamina Zullkafli

DILEMMA (THE VERDICT)

I posted earlier about my dilemma of weighing between playing a rated game in KL or Terengganu. And as it stands, I will not be playing in both, all because of family matters. The reason? I want to spend my time with my family, especially my wife and my son. I am currently teaching in Gua Musang, whereas my wife is furthering her study in UKM, Bangi and my son growing up at my wife's family in Tanah Merah. We only get to be together during holidays, thus spending quality time is very important. I don't want to waste it for some tournament which I know I will not be getting any advantage of, apart from wasting my time and money when I should be saving for our future. However, this does not mean I will not be participating in any rated or unrated tournament ever, but I shall stay low for the time being, and improve my chess skills to better my chances in winning tournaments. Judging from my last two tournaments in Penang and IIUM, I have many flaws to cover. Therefore, playing competitive chess at this time around will not be good to me.

SMS CHESS

A friend of mine ask me to put in my blog the game we played through short message service (SMS) for the duration of nearly one year. Yes, for chess enthusiasts like both of us, we can play chess using anything, including our handphone. I remembered when we were in our secondary school (SMU Ma'ahad Muhammadi, Pengkalan Chepa), we used to play blindfold chess. The reason was because chess was prohibited by the discipline teacher, and he confiscated all the chess sets brought by the students to the school. The safer option was to play the beloved game blinfolded, thus avoiding from getting our chess sets being taken.

Back to the game, it was a game of correspondence nature, using all the means available eg. books or even computer programme, to analyse the game before making a move. Thus, silly mistakes were avoided, and strong moves were made which ended the game with a draw. How true a quote by Fischer, "I think it's almost definite that the game is a draw theoretically."

Yours Truly - IIUM Top Player [B00]
SMS game, 31.12.2005 - 25.11.2006
Owen Defence

1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Nd2 e6 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Be7 6.Qe2 d5 7.0-0 c5 8.c3 Qc7 9.Re1 0-0 10.e5 Nfd7 11.Nf1 Nc6 12.Bf4 cxd4 13.cxd4 Rfc8 14.Rac1 Qd8 15.a3 a6 16.Qe3 Na5 17.Bg5 Nc4 18.Bxe7 Qxe7 19.Qe2 b5 20.Ne3 a5 21.Rc2 Ba6 22.Rec1 Ndb6 23.Nd1 b4 24.axb4 axb4 25.b3 Na3 26.Rc5 Bxd3 27.Qxd3 Qd8 28.h4 h6 29.Qd2 Nd7 30.Rxc8 Rxc8 31.Rxc8 Qxc8 32.Qxb4 Qc1 33.Kh2 Nc2 34.Qe7 Qf4+ 35.Kh1 Nf8 36.Ne3 Nxe3 37.fxe3 Qxe3 38.b4 h5 39.Qc7 g5 40.hxg5 h4 41.Qc2 h3 42.Qd2 Qb3 43.Kh2 hxg2 44.Nh4 ½-½

'I-DUL ADHA MUBARAK!

Greetings to all Muslims with the hope of prosperity and happiness. Although, I was not that happy today as my son was down with fever. We spent the morning sponging him to bring down the temparature. Alhamdulillah, after repeated sponging + giving him medicine every 4 hours, he cooled down. Nevertheless, we managed to visit my wife's aunt before returning home an hour later. No socializing today because my mind was preoccupied with this event as it is the first time he ever had a fever. It was so sad seeing him crying, which is alien to his characteristics. I hope that this can be a very helpful experience for future reference.

Some references which I read on how to face fever for your kids.

http://www.mymomsbest.com/dealing-with-high-fever-fits-cough-cold-watery-stools.htm
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/504.html
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body/fever.html

PENCARIAN JAGUH CATUR TERENGGANU UPDATE

Enter the highest rated player for this tournament. Looks like FM Mok Tze Meng will try his luck in Terengganu, not Kuala Lumpur.

You can find the list in Catur Terengganu website. I have sorted it according to their ratings.

1. FM Mok Tze Meng (2308)
   
2. Kamaluddin Yusuf (2184)
   
3. Ian Udani (2181)
4. Kamalariffin Wahiduddin (2147)
   
5. Mohd Kamal Abdullah (2146)
   
6. Abdullah Che Hassan (2125)
   
7. Md Fadli Zakaria (2121)
8. Mustafa Kamal Zamhuri (2121)
   
9. Ismail Ahmad (2106)
10. Zarul Syazwan Zullkafli (2085)
    
11. Zarul Shafiq Zullkafli (2047)
    
12. Faizal Andin (1997)
    
13. Lim Kian Hwa (1964)
    
14. Ahmad Afiq Afyfy (1929)
15. John Harry Pereira (1926)
    
16. Mohan Raj (1916)
17. Zullkafli Mat Daud (1883)
18. Francois Wolfaardt (1858)
    
19. Abang Zain Draup (1778)
    
20. Hj Abang Azman Draup (1714)
    
21. Zamanhari Abang Draup (1656)
    
22. Syazrin Abdul Rahman (1507)
23. David Gate (I can't find the rating for this guy)

GACC RESULTS

Both Iranian GMs from Islamic Azad University finished tops in the GACC 2008. GM Amir Bagheri (picture right), rated 2490, amassed 8 points from 9 games to become the champion, followed by colleagues GM Shojate Ghane (2408), Amin Nasri (2339) and unrated Chavez Antonio from the Far Eastern University of Philippines, all with 7 points each. Best Malaysian player is Pok Wern Jian, although studying in National University of Singapore, who finished 9th. While in the woman category, lovely WFM Shirin Navabi (picture left), also from Islamic Azad University, leapfrog Krishna Ramya to become the champion with 8 points. Nur Shazwani Zullkafli from University of Malaya, saved Malaysia the blushes by sitting 4th behind S. Harini from SRM University, India.

The full results of the Open category can be read here and the Woman category here.

PENCARIAN JAGUH CATUR TERENGGANU UPDATE

Now the Zulkafli's family have confirmed their participation. When I searched for their ratings, I found that Zarul Shafiq also has two FIDE IDs.

You can find the list in Catur Terengganu website. I have sorted it according to their ratings.

1. Kamaluddin Yusuf (2184)
   
2. Ian Udani (2181)
3. Kamalariffin Wahiduddin (2147)
   
4. Mohd Kamal Abdullah (2146)
   
5. Abdullah Che Hassan (2125)
   
6. Md Fadli Zakaria (2121)
   
7. Ismail Ahmad (2106)
8. Zarul Syazwan Zullkafli (2085)
   
9. Zarul Shafiq Zullkafli (2047)
   
10. Faizal Andin (1997)
    
11. Lim Kian Hwa (1964)
    
12. Ahmad Afiq Afyfy (1929)
13. John Harry Pereira (1926)
    
14. Mohan Raj (1916)
    
15. Zullkafli Mat Daud (1883)
16. Francois Wolfaardt (1858)
    
17. Abang Zain Draup (1778)
    
18. Hj Abang Azman Draup (1714)
    
19. Zamanhari Abang Draup (1656)
    
20. Syazrin Abdul Rahman (1507)
21. David Gate (I can't find the rating for this guy)
    

AMIN NASRI LEADS IN GACC

After 5 rounds, Amin Nasri's quest is still flawless. With 5 points the Iranian is the sole leader of the pack, followed by compatriot GM Amir Bagheri and Indian R. Premnath with 4.5 points. Chan Tze Wei from UTM is the best Malaysian so far with 4 points after losing his 2 round game with Sheider Nebato from the Philippines.

While in the women's category, WFM Ramya Krishna, the highest rated player in the category, leads with a perfect score, followed half a point behind by WFM Navabi Shirin from Iran and Nur Shazwani Zullkafli representing the host university, UM.

Here are some pictures taken from the official website.

Draw against a WFM from South Africa in GACC 2004

GACC STARTS!

The Grand Asian Chess Challenge or GACC starts today at 2nd Residential College, University of Malaya. It is an annual chess competition for university students from all over the world. It started with the Asean region in 1996 but gradually upgrade its status to cover students from Asian universities before widening it to the world. However, the acronym GACC is still maintained, even though it do not represent its present status. It is a FIDE rated event, and now already reaching its 12th installments. It is becoming more interesting than before its inception, as nowadays we can see participants (students) who are GMs and IMs. I myself had the opportunities to play in 6 GACCs in 1997-2000, 2002 and the last one in 2004, playing against strong players ranging from the Phillipines to the Mongolia!

Here is a game I won against a rated player from Sri Lanka:

Yours Truly - I.L.K. Tennakoon (Sri Lanka) (2072)
GACC VII (Round 9), 17.10.2002

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 d6 5.Nxd4 Ne5 6.Be2 Nf6 7.Nc3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.f4 Ng6 10.Kh1 a6 11.a4 Bd7 12.Nf5 Nxe4 13.Nh6+ gxh6 14.Nxe4 Bc6 15.Bd3 f5 16.Ng3 Nh4 17.Rf2 Qe8 18.Bd2 Qg6 19.Bc3 Bf6 20.Bxf6 Rxf6 21.Bc4+ Kh8 22.Qd4 h5 23.Rg1 Nxg2 24.Bd5 Bxd5 25.Qxd5 Ne3 26.Qd4 Ng4 27.Re2 h4 28.Nh5 Qxh5 29.Rxg4 fxg4 30.Qxf6+ Kg8 31.Qe6+ Qf7 32.Qxg4+ Kh8 33.Qf3 Rf8 34.Rf2 c6 35.Qc3+ Qg7 36.Qxg7+ Kxg7 37.Kg2 Kf6 38.Kf3 Kf5 39.Rg2 h6 40.Rg7 b5 41.a5 Rf6 42.Ra7 Re6 43.Rxa6 Re4 44.Rxc6 Rxf4+ 45.Ke3 Ra4 46.a6 Ke5 47.Rb6 b4 48.b3 Ra2 49.Kd3 h3 50.Rxb4 Rxa6 51.Rh4 d5 52.Rh5+ Kf4 53.Rh4+ Ke5 54.Rxh3 Rf6 55.c3 Kf4 56.Kd4 Kg4 57.Rg3+ Kh4 58.Kxd5 Rf2 59.Rg6 h5 60.b4 Rxh2 61.b5 Rb2 62.b6 Kh3 63.c4 h4 64.c5 Kh2 65.Rg7 h3 66.b7 Kh1 67.c6 h2 68.Rh7 Kg1 69.Kd6 1-0

POOR SHOWING

Ranked 74th in FIDE ranking, Malaysian team finished 96th at recently concluded Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. A team consisting of IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (2439), FM Lim Yee Weng (2396), FM Mok Tze Meng (2308), IM Jimmy Liew (2306), and Edward Lee however should have performed better, especially against their last round opponent, Guatemala.

Here are the full results for the Malaysian team:

Round 1: Malaysia (74) - Libya (115) 3.5 - 0.5
Round 2: Jersey (143) - Malaysia (74) 1.5 - 2.5
Round 3: Germany 1 (11) - Malaysia (74) 3.5 - 0.5
Round 4: Malaysia (74) - Slovakia (25) 0.5 - 3.5
Round 5: Malaysia (74) - Dominican Republic (76) 2.5 - 1.5
Round 6: Slovenia (28) - Malaysia (74) 3.5 - 0.5
Round 7: Egypt (49) - Malaysia (74) 4 - 0
Round 8: Malaysia (74) - IPCA (77) 1.5 - 2.5
Round 9: Liechtenstein (123) - Malaysia (74) 0.5 - 3.5
Round 10: Equador (65) - Malaysia (74) 2 - 2
Round 11: Malaysia (74) - Guatemala (106) 2 - 2

TWO RATINGS IN FIDE?

When I searched the FIDE website for my rating, I found that two allocations were made for me. One without a rating and the other with 2065. I think FIDE should check into this matter so that no other players have two allocations also. This error maybe because of the mistake in spelling the players name, which is quite confusing especially Chinese names. Rating officer Lim Tse Pin should look at the players ID card so that the correct spelling is sent for rating evaluation. Malay names, eg. mine, have our name and our father's name, so Mr. Lim should determine whether to put father's name in front or otherwise.

DILEMMA (PART 2)

I received a call from Muhammad Arshad (picture), the Secretary of Terengganu Chess Association and the organiser for the Pencarian Jaguh Catur Terengganu Grand Final this coming December. He said that there will be room to let at the hostel of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu which cost RM10 for a night for the players (and their family) during the tournament schedule. I mentioned earlier in my post that I am weighing between two FIDE rated tournaments, and that I will have accommodation problem for the Terengganu meet. However, up to this point, this will solve little as my family literally begs me not to go to both!

According to Catur Terengganu website, so far there are 18 rated players already confirmed their participation.

1. Ismail Ahmad (2106)
   
2. Lim Kian Hwa (1964)
   
3. Ian Udani (2181)
   
4. Abdullah Che Hassan (2125)
   
5. Kamaluddin Yusuf (2184)
   
6. Mohd Kamal Abdullah (2146)
   
7. Ahmad Afiq Afyfy (1929)
   
8. Zamanhari Abang Draup (1656)
   
9. Hj Abang Azman Draup (1714)
   
10. Abang Zain Draup (1778)
    
11. Md Fadli Zakaria (2121)
    
12. Mohan Raj (1916)
    
13. Francois Wolfaardt (1858)
    
14. David Gate (I can't find the rating for this guy)
    
15. John Harry Pereira (1926)
    
16. Kamalariffin Wahiduddin (2147)
    
17. Faizal Andin (1997)
    
18. Syazrin Abdul Rahman (1507)
    

BE CAREFUL ON YOUR LONG TRAVEL

Tomorrow I will travel to Kuala Lumpur with my family. As usual, preparations must be made before embarking on a long journey to ensure you and your family's safety. Oil must be changed, tyres checked, brake tried etc. This holiday will be a test considering that the monsoon season already started. It was non-stop raining for the past two days in Kota Bharu, and travelling in the rain always has some difficulties. Hopefully we arrive there safely.

UNSUCCESSFUL OUTING

Venue: CAC Hall, IIUM
Date: 16th November 2008
Format: 8 rounds Swiss
Time control: 20 mins

Utterly disgusted. Two walkovers, two nearly wins, one fighting draw, and three lame losses were not what I'm looking for in my return to IIUM. I'm not going to blame it on the time control, which was slashed from 25 mins to 20 mins only, but for my incapability of competing among the best. Two losses against Fairin and Saprin were not even close to my real capabilities. That and the loss against Mohan Raj which was due to underestimation and succumbed to mate with his one and only hopeful attack, were uncharacteristic of me. However, I can take heart from the fact that I nearly beaten one of my coaches, Mr. Rizal Ahmad Kamal, before accepting his hand for a draw in game 5. The other one, Sargeant Ismail Ahmad, went all the way to the podium for second placing after drawing his last game against the eventual champion Ian Udani.

Here are the top 10 for the Open Category

1. Ian Udani (7.0 points)
2. Ismail Ahmad (7.0)
3. NM Zarul Shazwan (7.0)
4. Mohd Saprin Sabri (6.5)
5. Rizal Ahmad Kamal (6.5)
6. Nor Ilhamuddin (6.5)
7. NM Mohd Kamal Abdullah (6.0)
8. Nik Ahmad Farouqi (6.0)
9. Mohd Khair Wahiduddin (6.0)
10. Muhd Syakir Shazmeer (6.0)
45. Yours Truly (4.5)

Full results can be found here.

Below are pictures from the event.

Waiting for the opponent, who never came, in round 1

146 participants in the lovely CAC Hall

Ian Udani pondering upon his moves (the first board game shown at the screen)

Battling draw against former coach, Rizal AK

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Do you still remember where your chess life began? Well, I do. The game below was the very first game where I learned chess notation, all by myself. I found this game in JAGUH (a small section in Berita Harian newspaper, now non-existent) then I figured out what the Q, B, K means. It influenced me so much I quickly changed my repertoire into Sicilian (previously I was playing French). Then, the irony was that the first game in my first tournament in 1996 at IIUM PJ was against Azhari, where I drew large crowds when I drew with him!

Agus Salim - Azhari Md Noor
Bestari Open 1993 (Round 5), 1993
Sicilian Defense

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 Be6 9.Bc4 b5 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Ne2 Be7 12.Qd3 0–0 13.0–0 d5 14.Bxf6 Rxf6 15.Rad1 d4 16.Kh1 Qf8 17.f3 Rd8 18.Nb1 Nb4 19.Qb3 Rh6 20.f4 Qf6 21.f5 Qh4 22.h3 Qxe4 23.f6 Bxf6 24.Qxe6+ Kh8 25.Ng3 Qd5 26.Qxd5 Nxd5 27.Nf5 Rh5 28.c3 Rxf5 29.Rxf5 Ne3 30.Rxf6 gxf6 31.Rd3 Kg7 32.Nd2 Nc4 33.Ne4 Nxb2 34.Rg3+ Kh8 35.cxd4 exd4 36.Nd2 d3 37.Rf3 Nc4 38.Rf2 Re8 39.Kg1 Re1+ 40.Kh2 Rc1 41.Ne4 0–1

My game against Azhari (pardon the quality of my game because it was my first tournament game).

Me - Azhari Mohd Nor
IIUM Convo Speed Chess (Round 1), 18.08.1996
Petroff Defense

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Bd2 Bxc3 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Bd3 Re8 10.0-0 Bg4 11.Be2 Nd7 12.h3 Bh5 13.Rb1 f5 14.Rb3 g5 15.g4 fxg4 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Rxe5 18.hxg4 Bg6 19.Be3 Qe7 20.Bd4 Re6 21.Rxb7 Nd6 22.Bc5 Rxe2 23.Bxd6 Qe6 24.Bxc7 Qxg4+ 25.Bg3 Be4 26.Qd4 Qxg3+ 27.fxg3 Rg2+ 28.Kh1 Rd2+ 29.Kg1 Rg2+ 30.Kh1 Rd2+ 31.Kg1 Rxd4 32.cxd4 Bxc2 33.Rc1 Be4 34.Rcc7 a5 35.Rg7+ Kh8 36.Rxg5 a4 37.Rgg7 Rc8 38.Rgc7 Rf8 39.Rf7 Rg8 40.Kf2 Bg6 41.Rfe7 Rf8+ 42.Ke3 Rc8 43.Rbc7 Rb8 44.Ra7 Bc2 45.Kd2 Be4 46.Rxe4 dxe4 47.Rxa4 Kg7 48.Ke3 Re8 49.d5 Re5 50.Rd4 Kf7 51.a4 Ke7 52.d6+ Kd7 53.Rxe4 Rg5 54.Kf4 Ra5 55.Re7+ Kxd6 56.Rxh7 Rxa4+ 57.Kf5 Ra3 58.g4 Rf3+ 59.Kg5 Rg3 60.Kf4 Rg1 61.g5 Rf1+ 62.Kg4 Ke6 63.Rh6+ Kf7 64.Rf6+ ½-½

THE FIRST GRANDMASTER IN MALAYSIA?

Its been a long while now that IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (picture right) top the Malaysian chess rating chart, but still there is no grandmaster (GM) in Malaysia. He is currently rated at 2439 and is striving to complete his final GM norm. His employer, Petronas, even backs him and gives him 18 months in order to complete his quest. I originally thought that he only has to upgrade his rating to 24++ to achieve his final GM norm, but I am perplexed how he is still to get his title. I played against him once only - during the simultaneous event at the University of Malaya way back in 1998 - and lost. I would like to play against him again though, one-on-one, hopefully after he achieved his GM title and be the first player to beat a Malaysian GM!

Here is the game I played against him in 1998:

DILEMMA

I am weighing my options whether to enter Pencarian Jaguh Catur Terengganu Grand Final (PJCT) or KL Open Chess Championship (KLOCC). Before I discuss the pros and cons of both tournaments, I will give some information about them. The former will be held from 18th - 22nd of December at Terengganu Trade Centre, with a total prize fund of RM18,000, and opened to FIDE rated players only plus 30 selected Terengganu players from 5 grand prix series. While the latter will be held from 15th - 21st of December at Bukit Jalil Stadium, with a total prize fund of RM45,000, and opened to all, albeit with different entrance fees according to the categories.

The Similarities
Both tournaments will claim at least a week of my time from my family. Both will be rated tournaments and will offer a large sum of prize money.

The Pros and Cons
The entry fee for PJCT is RM50 only while the entry fee for KLOCC is RM200 (Open Category). I will have a difficulty in finding a lodging place for PJCT while I have plenty of choices for KLOCC. The level of play for KLOCC will arguably be higher than PJCT (although I admit I will have difficulties in both). I will play against more GMs, IMs and FMs in KLOCC than in PJCT. I will undoubtedly drop more rating points in KLOCC than in PJCT.

The Verdict
I will tell you later because it will involve my family and 2 rakaats of Istikharah prayer!

Dasher (2450) vs Yours Truly

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Last night I got a good position against the Dasher. I was an exchange down but the Queen and the Knights had a good opportunity to put a sucker punch. However, in time scramble, I did not find the best continuation. From the position I moved 26... Rf8 and lost. White replied 27.Qc4 and the Queen got to the defense just in time. After I made some analysis, I found the idea of retreating the Bishop to attack another diagonal. I should have moved..

26... Bb7


27.Qxb6 Ba6
The point. Black threatened mate at f1.

28.Nd3

White must defend f4, or else my Knight will take this spot with devastating effect. For example 28.Nc2 Nf4! (diagram right) 29.gxf4 Qxf3, 30.Rf1 Qh3

28.... e4, 29. Qc6 Bxd3, 30.Qxa8+ Kh7 and Black should win.

Yours Truly vs Computer (FIDE 2400)

SLAYING THE FRENCH

Beating a computer chess programme is very hard. It has the ability to refer to its books, make long calculations, and obviously no fear factor. All these make an unfair game against a human player like me. Nevertheless I managed to get the above position against a computer chess programme. I attacked Black's castle position with 16.h6 in order to force his hand. Black replied 26... g6 and suddenly his castle became fragile.

27.R1b5

I noticed that the Queen and the Bishop had multiple defending tasks and they could not leave their respective position.

27... Qf8
The Queen dare not leave the diagonal in order to defend the checkmate.

28.Nd4 a3, 29.R5b6 a2, 30.Nxe6 Bxe6, 31.Rxe6 a1=Q+, 32.Ke2 Ra6
Black must defend against the threat of 33.Rxg6+ which will lead to mate.

33.Ree7

Pigs (or hogs) on the seventh rank! A dream of every chess player.

34... Ra2, 35.Rg7+ Qxg7, 36.Rxg7 Kh8, 37.Rc7!


A bolt from the blue! Fortunately, I found this move even though I was in severe time trouble. The Rook was immune because of the threat of mate. Now Black must surrender most of his troops to defend his King (a human opponent will resign here).

37... Rxc2+, 38.Bxc2 Qa6+, 39.Bd3 Kg8, 40.Bxa6 Rxc7, 41.Qd8+ Kf7, 42.Qxc7+ Kf8, 43.Qxb8+ Kf7, 44.Qc7+ Kf8, 45.Qg7+ Ke8, 46.Bb5+ Kd8, 47.Qd7# 1-0

Yours Truly vs Kuala Krai Champion

WEIGHING THE RISKS

This position arose from the Reti Opening after a middle-game mistake from me which cost me a pawn. Playing against a good opponent who recently won at Kuala Krai, I had to take risks in order to counter his pawn majority on the Queen-side. However, it was not easy, as his Rook was attacking my Knight. After a little while, I moved ...

28.axb5
It was not the best move, but I reckoned 'What the heck'...

28... Rxc3
He obviously wanted me to prove the soundness of my sacrifice.

29.bxa6 Rc8
The champ moved it hastily without thinking that the Rook was in the same line with his King which allowed some tactical chances. 29... Rc7 was a better try.

30.a7
The point. If the Rook was on c7 this move was not possible. Now the passed pawn guaranteed me at least a Knight.

30... Na5?


A gross blunder. In his try to save his Knight, he forgot that he did not have time to take the menacing passed pawn.

31.Ra4 and black resisted for another 10 moves before surrendering the throne.

1st IIUM CHESS INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT

Venue: CAC Hall, IIUM
Date: 16th November 2008

Insha Allah, barring any obstacles, I plan to enter the tournament. However, I do not expect to win because it is my first individual tournament since July. Those came from the capital are pump up for it because the prizes are quite alluring. They have plenty of tournaments to practice compared to me who live in Kelantan (Gua Musang, for that matter!). Another reason is that IIUM was my study place for about 6 years and I would love to set my foot again in the beautiful surrounding. Maybe it is good for my preparation towards the rated tournament in Terengganu this coming December.

Further information see Stonemaster's website.

CAC Hall

KASPAROV STILL LOVED IN CHESS, BUT HATED IN POLITICS!

Kasparov visited US of America earlier this month and played a simul at the Harlem Children's Zone before sitting for an interview with Glenn Beck at the CNN studio in Manhattan about his political involvements. Finally, he signed autographs at the Borders, one of which on a 20-year-old Kasparov chess computer brought by a girl.

Kasparov played a simul at Harlem Children's Zone

Kasparov vs US Girls' Champion, Medina Parilla

Glenn Beck interviewed Kasparov on his political views

Kasparov signed a vintage Kasparov chess computer

Pictures courtesy of Chess Ninja.com


Kasparov was attacked by a flying penis at a political speech!

ANAND WINS WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2008

Anand drew the 11th game to retain his title of the World Chess Champion with the final score of 6.5 to 4.5. As expected, Anand pushed the e-pawn to seduce Kramnik to play Petroff Defense, which is known to be very drawish among the top GMs. Understandably, Kramnik chose the sharp Najdorf to keep his chance alive. Anand replied with 6.Bg5, and soon the position went AWOL and the result could not be predicted. However, Anand got a slight advantage at the end so Kramnik offered a draw.

Kasparov commented on the championship in Chess Ninja:

"It was a very well-played match by Vishy. Except for the loss of concentration in the tenth game he played consistently and managed to enforce his style. His choice to open with 1.d4 was excellent. He reached playable positions with life in them, so he could make Kramnik work at the board. Anand outprepared Kramnik completely.

[In this match] Kramnik did not expect tough, sharp challenges with white, and this was the key for Anand. He kicked some sand in Kramnik's face and hit Kramnik's weakness: his conservative approach to the game itself. Suddenly Kramnik had to fight in these sharp positions and he wasn't able to do it. This result ends the illusion that Kramnik is a great match player. London was a unique occurrence and I still stand with Leonid Yudasin as the only players Kramnik has ever beaten in a match! Kramnik now has some work to do. His overly-defensive play seems to represent a general decline in strength."

Match director Josef Resch (left) with Anand and Campomanes
(pictures courtesy of chessbase.com)

Replay game 11 here:

Me vs ex-UKM, position after 19.Qg3

MY BATTLE WITH THE EX-UKM
Venue: Yahoo! Messenger (YM)

Last night I played a game through the YM with a formidable ex-UKM player, now a Math teacher in Selangor. It started with the Sicilian Defense until it reached the above position before we decided to adjurn it. I hope we will continue it in the near future.

KRAMNIK WON, AT LAST!

The score now 4 - 6. Kramnik have to win the last 2 games to bring the championship into a tie break. Last night, he chose the Kasparov variation to counter Anand's Nimzo-Indian Defense. He then moved his Queen to a6 and tied the black pieces down before forcing Anand's knight into the edge of the board. Once the rook entered the seventh heaven, Anand resigned.

Xabi celebrated his goal after the final whistle (pic from LFC official site)

RECORD BREAKING

Chelsea 0 - Liverpool 1. Do not adjust your computer screen, it is true. Liverpool had done what other teams could not do for the past 86 games (4 and a half years) by beating Chelsea at their own turf - the Stamford Bridge. Xabi Alonso's deflected goal was enough for the Reds to maintain their unbeaten run this season thus confirming their title credentials despite what others said or would say about them. One interesting fact I want to share with you - IM Malcolm Pein (picture right) is a Liverpool fan and last night he commented on the 9th game of Anand vs Kramnik from the stand at the Stamford Bridge.

Enough said. Now let us ponder upon Kramnik's record of going without a win for nearly 2 years now with the black pieces. He needed to win this game to have a chance of ever winning the championship. However, the game was delayed for about half an hour because of the daylight saving time. But this did not deter Anand from playing the ultra sharp anti-Moscow gambit in order to kill Kramnik off. Even a novelty with 11...Bb4 and a Bishop sacrifice could not stop Anand from getting the result he wanted. So, Kramnik's waiting continues.

Anand played the anti-Moscow gambit

Kramnik sprang a novelty

Kramnik sacrificed a Bishop