ANAND vs TOPALOV WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2010

I'm following the duel between two great masters of the game; an Asian versus an European. The championship started colourfully when Anand had to travel overland after the Icelandic volcanic eruption which prompted him to ask for a 3-day postponement. The organizer rejected his appeal but luckily Anand managed to arrive on time. However, he eventually succumbed to Topalov's knight sacrifice in Game One. Topalov then invoked a small rule of 'silence' which clearly incensed Anand and his team. So it's only natural that Anand bounced back in Game Two to level the score before they rest.

All the games can be watched live at the official website.

THE DATELINE STORY

The characters in this story are imaginary and not to be mistaken with any particular real characters in the real world.

The Day Before the Tournament

Player A: Do you want to participate in tomorrow's tournament? The dateline is today and I have confirmed my participation several days ago. It was so easy; I just have to SMS my name and send to the contact person as per advertised in the local blogs weeks ago.

Player B: I don't know yet. I will see tomorrow whether I am free or not. Besides, the dateline is not conclusive; the organizers will accept my registration. I just have to be at the tournament venue tomorrow to register. This is only a small matter.

Organizer A: The dateline is today. So far there are only 15 names registered after the dateline at 5 p.m. This is not good. We will incur some losses if we continue with the tournament. Is it hard to call or SMS their names to us to confirm their participation? I have to key in the names in the pairing program so that we will start the tournament on schedule at 9 a.m.

Organizer B: Let us wait tomorrow. Surely there will be participants who will come and register. The program is very easy. We will be able to accept several participants more and key in their names before the first round starts. Don't worry.

The Day of the Tournament

Player A: I am on my way to the tournament. I will be on time for the scheduled first round at 9 a.m.

Player B: I am free today. I can go and play in the tournament. But first, let us have a breakfast. You can't play with your stomach empty, right? Don't worry, there is still time.

Organizer A: There is only an hour left for the first round to start. I should get ready with the chess pieces and clocks so that the tournament will be smooth.

Organizer B: Wait! I'm still accepting these players registration. I will key in their names in the pairing program. There is plenty of time. After all, everybody knows that chess tournaments in this country starts rather late; it is a custom! We will get as many number of participants as we can before we start the first round.

The Day After the Tournament

Player A: Yesterday's tournament started 2 hours late. My winning mood vanished completely. That's why I lost the games.

Player B: They should have not accepted my late registration. I was caught in the traffic jam and arrived an hour late but still they accepted me.

Organizer A: I don't think this tournament was a success. There were so many complaints that the tournament started very late. Consequently we had to cut the time of play for each round. Many were not happy.

Organizer B: I think it was a success. We got so many participants and recovered our money. The players had to blame themselves for not registering before the dateline and caused this delay.

And that is what usually happens in our local chess scenes. Who is to be blamed? The players or the organizers?

CHESS LESSON LINKS

My colleague from MSSD Tumpat asked me to list some links to good chess lessons for him so that he can teach his students better chess. Here are the links which I think would be helpful for him:

Logical Chess
Chess Teacher Lessons
Teaching Your Child Chess
Chess Teaching Manual
Chess Corner

However, the coach must know how to effectively use these materials for the benefits of his charges. Examples should be taken from his/her own games so that the students will feel involved in the lessons.

Happy coaching!

UPDATE ON TUMPAT MSSD REPS

We have finalised the MSSD Tumpat players names for the upcoming MSSK Kelantan which will be held at SMK Dato' Ismail, Pasir Puteh on 6th - 9th May 2010. This is because previously in our selection tournament under-15 category was not contested. Here are the names:

Boys U-18

1. Muhammad Nuramin bin Ibrahim (SM Agama Falahiah)
2. Abdul Haiyi bin Ismail (SM Mahmud Mahyiddin)
3. Badrul Munir bin Zakaria (SM Agama Falahiah)
4. Arif bin Mokhtar (SM Agama Falahiah)
5. Wan Muhammad Zikri bin W Mohammad (SMK Tumpat)

Girls U-18

1. Wan Nurhazirah bt Wan Abdul Halim (SM Mahmud Mahyiddin)
2. Fatin Amira Shakira binti Musa (SMK Geting)
3. Nur Faizeen binti Mahad (SMK Wakaf Bharu)
4. Tg Haryani Norlaini binti Tg Hanafi (SMK Chabang Empat)
5. Siti Sarah binti Ibrahim (SMK Tumpat)

Boys U-15

1. Muhammad Alif bin Azmi (SMK Wakaf Bharu)
2. Muhammad Aiman Zakwan bin Rosli (SMK Wakaf Bharu)
3. Shahir bin Sani (SM Agama Falahiah)
4. Mohd Luqmanul Hakim bin Rosli (SM Agama Falahiah)
5. M Faris Aiman bin M Sanusi (SMK Wakaf Bharu)

Girls U-15

1. Marlida binti Md Nor (SM Mahmud Mahyiddin)
2. Nor Izzatul Elanie binti Mustafah (SMK Chabang Empat)
3. Wan Naemah binti Wan Mahmood (SM Mahmud Mahyiddin)
4. Auni Maisarah binti Rumaizi (SM Mahmud Mahyiddin)
5. Nur Lidiya Amani binti Abdul Aziz (SM Mahmud Mahyiddin)

Boys U-12

1. Amir Syariefudden (SK Chabang Empat)
2. Wan Muhd Syazwi (SK Kutan)
3. Muhd Alham Zuhri (SK Chabang Empat)
4. Muhd Zaiful Zulhizman (SK Chabang Empat)
5. Muhd Ikram (SK Palekbang)

Girls U-12

1. Wan Nur Fatin Athirah (SK Kampung Laut)
2. Siti Zubaidah (SK Kampung Laut)
3. Anis Nadhirah (SK Kampung Laut)
4. Nur Nadzirah (SK Kampung Laut)
5. Nur Amani Balqis (SK Kutan)

SAPO NOK MAING WOKEL KELATE?

Kepado anok Kelate hok segho nok maing wokel negeghi kito dale National Closed bule Jung nih, silo wi namo nga alamat (tok kigho la alamat ghumoh ko, emel ko, FB ko, tipong ko) ko kawe denga nulih komeng bowoh post kawe nih sebeghapo segegho. Kawe nok update senagha namo pemaing ceh Kelate dale database.

Translation:
For all Kelantanese who wants to be the state representative in the upcoming National Closed which will be held in June, please jot your name and contact (home address, email, FB or phone number) in the comments box below as soon as possible. We want to put a list of Kelantan chess players in a database.

Nik Nazri - picture taken from Terengganu Chess

NAZRI WINS SMACH OPEN 2010

Kelantan MAKSAK player, Nik Ahmad Nazri, won the SMACH Open today. He was better than the others with a mere 1/5 points. The final round was tense as no more than 3 players could claim to be the champion. However, Nazri got the point he needed from non other than YOURS TRULY! I was unlucky to be paired against the in-form teacher from Gua Musang in the last round, and lost on time contesting a completely equal position. The other game I lost was against Bakri Jusoh, repeating his feat from last year's Kelantan Closed.

Full results:

• Open and Under-18 (boys),
• U-18 (Girls) and U-15 (boys & girls)
• U-12 (boys & girls)

Pictures here.

SMACH 2010

SM Sains Machang will hold an open chess tournament in conjunction with its convocation. Those who are interested kindly refer to the details below:

Date: 17 April 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 8.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Venue: Gymnasium, SM Sains Machang

Fees: Open RM15 (Kelantanese) RM20 (Non-Kelantanese) RM10 (Secondary school students) RM5 (Primary school students)

Prizes: There are more than RM1000 to be won in the Open category, while top 4 students in each under-18, u-15 and u-12 (Boys & Girls) will receive cash.

All participants will receive a certificate.

Contact person: Wan Rozuhan (013-938 9819), Muhammad Arshad (012-921 0841)

CHANGE OF MSS KELANTAN DATE

I was notified by Mr. Anis that the new date for the MSS Kelantan, which initially scheduled for tomorrow, will be on the 6th - 8th May 2010. However, he did not tell me the exact venue, but I think it is still under PPD Pasir Puteh. So, train harder, for you have another month of preparation. Identify your weakness, and rectify it. We will have a stronger state team, insha Allah.

FAMILIAR NAMES FOR KB

Ahmad Zulhilmi (Faris Petra), Wan Aemellia Elisha (Naim Lilbanat), Wan Mohd Imran (Ismail Petra), and Laila Husna (Zainab 1) were all reps for Kelantan team last time out at Selangor. This year, they won their respective categories again, and expected to pass the final hurdle this coming Kelantan state selection, which date is yet to be confirmed.

Full results at Bad Bishops blog. Pictures here.

BLOGGERS AT WAR!

Today I was at SMK Chengal to watch Kota Bharu players battle it out to be the district reps. I bumped into Bad Bishops (BB), who went to cheer for his students. Unfortunately, my camera was not available and I did not take any pictures. The selection was held for two days (3-4 April 2010) and the winners will be announced tomorrow.

In the mean time, BB and I played a game while waiting for the third round to commence. It started as a French (I played Black), and after a series of exchanges, BB was true to his name when he had two Bishops against my two Knights (I was captain of IIUM Knights several years back, before they change the name to IIUM Mustangs nowadays). Consequently, further exchanges leads to an interesting pawn endgame where Black had double f-pawns.

Here is the position; Black to move and end the game:

Answer: 1...f5! 0-1

HANIF vs IIUMCHESSMASTER, FINAL POSITION

Final position

At last, White resigns. After more than a year playing the game, White decides that it is best that he does not continue the pain. The game started on December 7th, 2008 as a Morra Gambit, his pet line, against my Sicilian. He skillfully mixed up the order of the opening moves, but I maintained my composure and went along with him. However, the game became interesting when he blundered away a central pawn with 25.Rd2? and I took advantage. The resulting Queen + Rook + Pawns endgame was still dangerous play, however, and I managed to force the exchange of Queens with 29...Qc7+ to enter the Rook endgame with a passed d-pawn. He created a Queenside passed pawn, in order to get a counterplay, but the death of this pawn signaling the demise of any hope.