AN INTERVIEW WITH THE MANAGER OF KELANTAN NCC TEAM

One of the Kelantan players, Nasrul Humaimi a.k.a. Naserov, interviewed the manager of Kelantan National Chess Championship team, Mr. Norazlin Juarih a.k.a. BadBishops. Here is the English version (the original version was in Kelantan dialect) of the interview.

Naserov (NV): Assalamu'alaikum. Have you finished playing?

BadBishops (BB): Wa'alaikumussalam. Yes, and I won the last game to finish with 4 points.

NV: Congratulations! Well, can you enlighten us as to how Kelantan players get 2 pieces of t-shirts this year?

BB: These t-shirts are sponsored by Arina Indah Enterprise and Anuza Enterprise. It is hoped that wearing the t-shirts, the players will play with more spirit, and in turn, the name of Kelantan Chess Association (PCNK) will be significantly upheld.

NV: In that case, I want to thank you because I also get 2 of these red t-shirts.

BB: Do you came all the way here just to interview me about the t-shirts?

NV: No (Laughing out loud). What is your comment about the performance of the Kelantan players?

BB: I am very satisfied with their performance, especially Nik (Ahmad Farouqi). He battled to the death with Tan Khai Boon in the final round to get the National Master title. If he wins, he gets it, but if he loses, he still gets the top 10. This is only good for the PCNK's name.

NV: What about other players?

BB: Syed (Azizi) also played well. He surely did not disappoint coming here as the Kelantan champion. His performance surely merits the FIDE rating. The strategy was.. a loaf of bread each day! Luckily he did not eat rotten bread for the third day.

NV: How about me?

BB: You also played well, especially against the kids (laughing). But the kids here are very good players. I also lost a game against one of the kids where I thought that I fake a mistake, but it turned out to be a real mistake! Very unfortunate. Madir (Wan Mahadzir) was also checkmated early against one of them, and he reacted by opening a blog! I don't know what is the blog address, though. (The blog is The Spirit of BarBat Catur)

NV: Don't you want to comment about your own games?

BB: I played from the back of the bunch, because I don't want to burden myself with heavy games. From there, kids asked for my autographs, albeit only for their score sheets after our games (laughing).

NV: Anything else you want to add?

BB: Yes. I want to give credits to other Kelantan players - Madir (Wan Mahadzir), (Wan) Tarmizi, (Siti Nur) Afiqah and Najihah for their efforts to finish all their games and ended with respectable points. For your information, Madir and Tarmizi played on their own tickets, not under the PCNK.

NV: That's good. At least they did not go home empty handed. One more thing, do you personally agree that it is good to hold this tournament at places like this (UKM)?

BB: Certainly. The venue is magnificent, the lodging is satisfactory, and the cafe is nearby. Even the organizers and the arbiters played their parts well. Not all chess players afford to stay at expensive hotels in the middle of the city, even more so for a five-day tournament like this. I think it will increase participations in the future.

NV: I second that. The more affordable, the more participation. I heard that you bought a CD for preparation to enter again next year?

BB: I did. I bought a CD worth RM5 from Andrew Oii a.k.a. GilaChess. I want to study over 900 opponent pictures for my preparation. I hope I can create novelties from there.

NV: Wow! I think we better stop here because I sense there is something wrong with you, studying pictures for chess preparation.

BB: I think so too. Please go and interview other players because I'm tired now. But before that, let's grab a glass of fresh orange each.

SO NEAR YET SO FAR(OUQI)

Sadly, Nik Ahmad Farouqi failed to get the coveted National Master title. However, it is not the end of the world, rather it is a beginning of a journey for Kelantan players. The first products of PCNK, as I said earlier, did not disappoint. Nearly all of them finished above their initial rankings. Here are the performance of each players:

1. Nik Ahmad Farouqi (started 9th, finished 6th with 6.5 points)
2. Syed Azizi (90th, 34th, 5)
3. Nasrul Humaimi (28th, 38th, 5)
4. Izuddin Ahayat (68th, 48th, 4.5)
5. Wan Mahadzir (66th, 50th, 4.5)
6. Norazlin Juarih (73rd, 65th, 4)
7. Wan Tarmizi (61st, 68th, 4)
8. Siti Nur Afiqah (30th, 27th, 4)
9. Najihah (25th, 30th, 4)

The full results, as taken from the arbiter's blog:

Open Category

Female Category

For other reports (with pictures), please click Naserov's and BadBishops' blogs.

Nik Ahmad Farouqi for National Master 2010?

Tomorrow, Nik Ahmad Farouqi (NAF) will battle it out in the last game with Tan Khai Boon for the title of National Master 2010. However, he has to win it to clinch the title, whereas Tan only has to draw the game. Nevertheless, all Kelantanese will pray that NAF will win the title for Kelantan, because it has been a long time since Mas Hafizulhelmi brought the title back to Kelantan. I personally hope the first product of Kelantan selection organized by the PCNK will come good when it matters.

Other players also did well - Dr. Nasrul Humaimi with 5 points at table 10 against Abdullah Che Hassan, Kelantan champion Syed Azizi also with 5 points at table 11 against Mohd Khair Wahiduddin, Wan Mahadzir (4.5 points) at table 17, Wan Tarmizi (3, 36), and the team manager Bad Bishops (3, 40). It should be mentioned here that Amer Hamzah Mohd Zuhri is not a Kelantan player, and the typing error is confirmed when he is stated as a Wilayah Persekutuan player here.

While in the Female Category, Siti Nur Afiqah is the best Kelantan player with 4 points at table 11 against Latifah Syamimi. The other Kelantan player, Najihah, only gets 3 points and will play at table 17 tomorrow.

All results and pictures can be obtained at the official page here.

NATIONAL CLOSED 2010

The attention now shifted to the National Closed which will be held this 16th - 20th June 2010 at the National (see the resemblance?) University of Malaysia (UKM). For latest results, you can browse the official page here. I will be covering Kelantan players' results, insha Allah. The representatives are:

Open Category
1. Syed Azizi Abdul Rahman (unrated)
2. Nik Ahmad Farouqi (2102)
3. Norazlin Juarih (unrated)
4. Dr Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood (1971)
5. Wan Mahadzir Wan Sulaiman (unrated)
6. Wan Tarmizi Wan Sulaiman (unrated)

Women Category
1. Siti Nur Afiqah Mohd Haslam (unrated)
2. Najihah Mohd Saufi (unrated)

MSSM FINAL RESULT

Luckily, we have bloggers (GiloCatur) and (Muhammad Arshad) updating results. I will compile the results for Kelantan players only, but I will provide the links to full results, taken from MSSM blog and TerengganuChess blog.

Congratulations to all winners. As for Kelantan, a job well done, especially the U15 girls. Even though they did not retain the gold, but certainly the task of bringing home something to cheer about had been done perfectly.

Pictures taken from TerengganuChess.

U12 Boys

Individual
Team (Crosstable)

Kelantan players:

Ismat Warfi Haziq (12th)
Muhd Alham Zuhri (21st)

Team (8th)
1.Alif Omar
2.Ihab Fitri
3.Mohd Firdaus
4.Ahmad Syafiq


U15 Boys

Individual
Team (Crosstable)

Kelantan players:

Wan Muhd Imran (10th)
Muhd Ikmal Hakimi (22nd)

Team (7th)
1.Fadhil Aiman
2.Mohd Fadhil
3.Muhd Afham Haikal
4.Zurayus Azrul


U18 Boys

Individual
Team (Crosstable)

Kelantan players:

Mohd Syazwan (8th)
Ahmad Zulhilmi (9th)

Team (12th)
1.Ahza Daisam
2.Wan Muhd Adli
3.Ahmad Syakirin
4.Mohd Faisal


U12 Girls

Individual
Team (Crosstable)

Kelantan players:

Nor Atikah (13th)
Siti Khalilah (21st)

Team (8th)
1.Fatih Nur Sahariah - Best board
2.Nur Hanis Natasha
3.Farah Ishami Faqihah
4.Wan Ainul Basyira


U15 Girls

Individual
Team (Crosstable)

Kelantan players:

Taibah Lailie (19th)
Alia Farhana (24th)

Team (2nd)
1.Laila Husna - Best board
2.Siti Nur Afiqah - Best board
3.Najihah
4.Nur Ain Syahirah


U18 Girls

Individual
Team (Crosstable)

Kelantan players:

Nabilah (6th)
Wan Nurhazirah (23rd)

Team (6th)
1.Wan Aemellia Elisha
2.Wan Zarif Sofea
3.Ayu Anabihah
4.Khairun Anisa

KELANTAN MSSM CHESS TEAM

The tournament is held at Putra Palace Hotel, Kangar, Perlis. Pictures at Gilocatur's blog and MSSM blog.

Same as last year, the format of the tournament consists of individual and team categories. The composition of the Kelantan contingent is as follows:

Boys U12

Individual
1. Ismat Wafri Haziq
2. Muhd Alham Zuhri

Team
1.Alif Omar
2.Ihab Fitri
3.Mohd Firdaus
4.Ahmad Syafiq


Girls U12

Individual
1.Siti Khalilah
2.Nor Atikah

Team
1.Fatih Nur Sahariah (picture right)
2.Nur Hanis Natasha
3.Farah Ishami Faqihah
4.Wan Ainul Basyira


Boys U15

Individual
1.Wan Muhd Imran
2.Muhd Ikmal Hakimi

Team
1.Fadhil Aiman
2.Mohd Fadhil
3.Muhd Afham Haikal
4.Zurayus Azrul


Girls U15

Individual
1.Taibah Lailie
2.Alia Farhana

Team
1.Laila Husna
2.Siti Nur Afiqah
3.Najihah
4.Nur Ain Syahirah


Boys U18

Individual
1.Ahmad Zulhilmi
2.Mohd Syazwan

Team
1.Ahza Daisam (picture right)
2.Wan Muhd Adli
3.Ahmad Syakirin
4.Mohd Faisal


Girls U18

Individual
1.Wan Nurhazirah
2.Nabilah

Team
1.Wan Aemellia Elisha
2.Wan Zarif Sofea
3.Ayu Anabihah
4.Khairun Anisa

KNIGHT ENDGAME STUDY

Knight endgame is always fascinating. Those who dances gracefully and purposefully will win the game beautifully. Here is a position I was in last night against an online opponent. I was down a pawn, but I managed to put my King in a commanding position. His last move was 55.Nb6, attacking my d5 pawn. What is the best move for Black?

KELANTAN SET TO BRING SOME FIREWORKS TO PERLIS

Kelantan MSSM chess contingent heads to Perlis this morning. The players are refreshed after their 2 days rest after completing 2 weeks of rigorous training regime in Pasir Puteh. I don't know what their target is, but I'm sure they are going to defend their gold in Girls under-15 category. Hopefully they will also better their achievement in the overall standings (last year they were 6th).

Noticeable absentee - Mohd Lokman Mat Daud (picture). Widely considered the best talent from Gua Musang chosed to study in Arabic school and missed out this year's selection. Last year he was the best player for board 3.

Wan Aemellia Elisha has upgraded to Girls under-18. We will wait for her performance eagerly. But Laila Husna is still there to help the girls defend their golds.

As for me, I anticipate my padawans Mohd Alham and Nurhazirah from Tumpat to excel in their respective categories. I was told by her that she was chosen to play in individual category. Hopefully she will bring something home.

With the recitation of the Basmallah, guys, start your game!

Here was my report for last year's tournament.

KELANTAN CLOSED BULLETIN

I'm keying in games from the recent Kelantan Closed for the tournament official bulletin. I've finished Round 2 and I found many interesting games played between the players. Here is one of the games, played between Baharuddin Hamzah and Mohd Fadhil Mohd Saufi. Both players took out both their knights for their first two opening moves before Baharuddin pushed the e-pawn. He then gave his Bishop for the black Knight and accepted doubled f-pawns. In the middle game, his Knight dominated d5 before exchanging with the opponent's Bishop to enter a winning endgame with two connected passed pawns. The rest was, like we always say, a matter of technique.

White : Baharuddin Hamzah
Black : Mohd Fadhil Mohd Saufi
Kelantan Closed 2010
Round 1

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.e4 d6 4.Bc4 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.d4 e5 7.Be3 exd4 8.Bxd4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bxf3 10.gxf3 Be7 11.O-O-O a6 12.f4 c5 13.Qe3 b5 14.Bd5 Rb8 15.e5 Nxd5 16.Nxd5 O-O 17.Nxe7+ Qxe7 18.exd6 Qxe3+ 19.fxe3 Rbd8 20.e4 f6 21.e5 fxe5 22.fxe5 Rfe8 23.Rhe1 Re6 24.Rd5 c4 25.Kd2 Kf7 26.Rc5 Ke8 27.Rc6 Ra8 28.Rc7 Kd8 29.Rxg7 h6 30.Kc3 Rc8 31.Kd4 Rc6 32.Rf1 Re8 33.Kd5 Rc8 34.d7 Re7 35.Rxe7 1-0

MATE IN ONE

Here is an interesting puzzle I found in a book (I'll tell you later with the solution).

The question:

Peter was watching his two brothers playing a game of chess. At one point of the game, Peter sketched out exactly what he saw on the board, and his diagram is shown here. The interesting thing is that it was his eldest brother David's move next (he was playing with the white pieces), and he achieved checkmate that move.

What was David's move?