A BLAST FROM THE PAST

I was rummaging the store where I put the boxes containing my chess books and materials, and I found this game which is played way back in 2003. I was very obsessed with attacking style then, and the game versus a well-known GM from the U.S.A. was no exception. In the end, my knight sacrifice was not sound, and my position was blown away efficiently. The only good thing was I got to take away the board I was playing on and I asked him to sign on it.

The board with GM Yaseer's autograph

KPI REVIEW

At the start of this year, I stated the KPI for my chess life. In my own words from the original post,

Hopefully this year, I can achieve 2100 FIDE rating and 1700 MCF rating. In terms of coaching, I intend to have at least 3 students from my district (Tumpat) representing Kelantan in MSSM, insha Allah.

Sadly, all the targets will not be achieved by the end of this year, which is just around the corner. In terms of FIDE rating, insha Allah, I will see an increase of 3 points to 2068 from previous 2065. This is accumulated from the only FIDE rated tournament I entered this year - 1st Kelantan FIDE Rated Round Robin Tournament. Meanwhile, instead of increasing to 1700, my MCF rating dropped to 1665. Losses in at least 2 National rated events helped in this matter. My final resolution also was not materialised, as I only had 2 students from Tumpat representing Kelantan in MSSM.

I think, for next year, I will stick to these KPIs.

MSSM CHESS 2012

Information taken from the MSSM calendar for 2012, Terengganu will hold next year's MSSM chess, scheduled from 5 - 9 June. Hopefully, I will have some quality time to prepare and train my students for the event.

You can view the calendar here.

NIK AHMAD FAROUQI IN SARAWAK OPEN

Nik Ahmad Farouqi is the sole representative for PCNK in Sarawak Open which will be held from 12 - 16 December 2011. The field consists of 94 players, some of them from outside the country, with an Indian IM as the first seed. NAF is the 8th seed and so far he had already collected 2 points from his two games. You can view his progress by clicking his name at the start of this post.

GOMO, NIK AHMAD FAROUQI, GOMO!

HAQ IS THE CHAMPION!

Abdul Haq

Abdul Haq becomes the first champion for the inaugural Kelantan FIDE Rated Round Robin Chess Tournament even though there are three more games to be played. With the victory against Baharuddin and 9.5 points, he leapfrogs Nik Ahmad Farouqi who becomes second with 9 points. Third place belongs to Mohd Azizul after a painful defeat in his last game against Nasrul Humaimi and finishes with 8 points. He will not be caught by Syed Azizi even if the latter won his two remaining games against Ariez and Wan Mahadzir this Saturday.

PREVIEW - 1st KELANTAN FIDE RATED

This Saturday, the remaining games will be played to complete the tournament. Two games in particular will determine the top three. The games are between Abdul Haq vs Baharuddin and Yours Truly vs Nasrul Humaimi.

versus

Haq, 2nd in the current standing with 8.5 points, has to win against the gritty, 'roti-canai' eating Baharuddin to win the tournament. Playing white, Haq would probably start with 1.e4, his favourite move. Meanwhile, Baharuddin will be unpredictable because he has not played with black except against Nik (who started with 1.Nf3) and Ezmi (Grob, obviously). A loss will give the title to Nik Farouqi and a possibility for Yours Truly to leapfrog him to second place. A draw, however, is subject to the other game's result.

versus

On the other hand, Yours Truly, 3rd in the current standing, has to win against Nasrul for a chance to finish second. A win is unlikely to make him the champion because he had already lost against the tournament leader, Nik Farouqi, who finishes with 9 points. However, Nasrul will not give Yours Truly an easy ride since he was the best performer for Kelantan in the recently concluded Asian Amateur, ahead of Abdul Haq in particular. So far, Yours Truly has played all the standard opening moves 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.Nf3. It is interesting what will be played this Saturday, so stay tuned for updates.

Current standing

1st FIDE RATED CONTINUES..

The inaugural tournament will continue tomorrow with 4 more games to be played. The players are:

9 a.m.

Ariez vs Nik Nazri
Wan Mahadzir vs Yours Truly


2 p.m.

Ariez vs Yours Truly
Nik Nazri vs Wan Mahadzir



Current standings

SOME GAMES FROM ASIAN AMATEUR (PCNK ONLY) - CREDITS TO NG6

After browsing through Ng6 blog, I found some games involving our players. Here I compiled the links.

Abdul Haq vs Wong Jianwen
Marzuki vs Ismail Ahmad
Ezmi vs Fairul Yusoff
Ahmad Fadzil Nayan vs Abdul Haq
Mohd Nabil Azman Hisham vs Ezmi
Nasrul Humaimi vs Mohd Khair Wahiduddin

ASIAN AMATEUR UPDATE (PCNK ONLY)

I visited the venue today, and was in awe when I saw that all of the PCNK players cut quite a dash in the PCNK vests, while Nik Farouqi was another person altogether in the peach suit. So far from 4 rounds played:

12. Mohd Ezmi Mahmood 3.0 points
25. Marzuki Yaacob 3.0 pts
30. Abdul Haq Mohamed 2.5 pts
50. Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood 2.0 pts
58. Mohd Ariez Azman 2.0 pts
65. Syed Azizi Abd Rahman 2.0 pts
67. Norazlin Juarih 2.0 pts
71. Wan Mahadzir Wan Sulaiman 1.5 pts
93. Harun Bustaman 1.0 pts

For the details, please visit my previous post here or chess-results website.

GOOD LUCK TO PCNK IN ASIAN AMATEUR 2011

PCNK has sent a team of players sponsored by InstaForex to the Asian Amateur which starts today. The players are (click on the players' name for updates):

1. Abdul Haq Mohamed - 2096

2. Dr. Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood - 1951

3. Marzuki Yaacob - 1916

4. Syed Azizi Abdul Rahman - Kelantan Open Champion 2010

5. Ariez Azman

6. Ezmi Mahmood

7. Norazlin Juarih

8. Wan Mahadzir Wan Sulaiman

9. Harun Bustaman

GOOD LUCK!

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Tonight, a top of the table clash will be held at Shah Alam between the incredible Hulk (picture left) and the English teacher, Yours Truly (picture right). Hulk, fresh from winning the Insofar, will want to continue his winning streak against the unpredictable Sir, who has just lost a game against Nik last weekend. The outcome of the duel will shape the complexion of the top three where a win for Yours Truly will give him another chance to go for the championship while a win for Hulk will put him in the driver seat in the two-way race between him and Nik Farouqi.

The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.

Current standing:

NIK FAROUQI NEARLY GOT 4 FLAT!

From 4 games, Nik Ahmad Farouqi won three and drew against Nik Nazri which consequently made him top the current standing. However, this was done not without luck. In his game against Yours Truly, Nik, who was duped to play against the Morra Gambit, got away from being crushed in the opening when his opponent failed to see 12.Bxe6 check! (see diagram 1) While in the game against Bad Bishop, Nik once again got away from being a piece down when his opponent missed Bxa6.

On the other hand, Mohd Ezmi won a game against the rated Marzuki convincingly (see diagram 2). Marzuki, who was called upon to replace the 'injured' Syed Azizi in the original schedule, lost both games with the KL based players.

Diagram 1: Yours truly missed 12.Bxe6+

Diagram 2: Final position between Marzuki - Ezmi

All results and standing can be read at the results and standing page.

White to move

QUIZ

Black's King was being too adventurous and went surprisingly forward after a Knight check at e5. Was it a journey to remember or a point of no return?

1ST FIDE RATED CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND

Nik Ahmad Farouqi and Mohd Ezmi return home to face the Kelantan based players this weekend. They will stop to play Nik Nazri and Baharuddin at Kuala Krai before continuing their journey north to the Kelantan capital to take on Syed Azizi and Yours Truly.

Schedule:

Friday (18 Nov 2011)



9 a.m.

Nik Nazri vs Mohd Ezmi Mahmood
Nik Farouqi vs Baharuddin Hamzah


2 p.m.

Nik Nazri vs Nik Farouqi
Mohd Ezmi Mahmood vs Baharuddin Hamzah


Saturday (19 Nov 2011)



9 a.m.

Mohd Azizul Mat Daud vs Nik Ahmad Farouqi
Syed Azizi vs Mohd Ezmi Mahmood

2 p.m.

Nik Ahmad Farouqi vs Syed Azizi
Mohd Ezmi Mahmood vs Mohd Azizul Mat Daud

KELANTAN IN DATCC TEAM EVENT

DATCC Senior vs Kelantan

Kelantan sent a team to compete in the ongoing DATCC Team Event comprising of quite a strong lineup:

1. IM Mas Hafizulhelmi
2. Ahmad Maliki Mohammad
3. Abdul Haq Mohammad
4. Abdullah Che Hassan
5. Azahari Mohd Nor
6. Mohd Amin Mohd Noor
7. Mohd Ezmi Mahmood
8. Mohd Bukhari Yahya
9. Izzudin Ahayat
10. Nik Ahmad Farouqi Nik Abd Aziz

Four rounds have already been played:

Round 1: Kelantan beat 17 Chess Club 2.5 - 1.5
Round 2: Kelantan drew Najib's Rojak Team 2 - 2
Round 3: Kelantan beat DATCC Senior 3.5 - 0.5
Round 4: Kelantan beat Seahorse PETRONAS 3 - 1

For Round 5 this Tuesday (15 Nov 2011), Kelantan, currently third, will play Too Less Ordinary which is currently second in the standing.

All the pictures, results and games can be viewed at PCNK's website.

SHOUTBOX

After weighing the pros and the cons, for the second time, I close my shoutbox. I hate it when irresponsible people put advertisements in it. However, those who likes to comment on my post still can use the comment button below each post. I think this is better, for I will know which comment is for which post, unlike the comments in the shoutbox.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

LATEST RANKING

This is the latest ranking after Nik Farouqi and Abdul Haq draw. However, I was informed that Nasrul has beaten Marzuki late this afternoon, and Nasrul, being the winner, promptly uploaded the game on the 'official website'.

The result has been updated on the results (Grand Finale) page.

This event is so special as it is very flexible with games being played in various venues which includes the DATCC, KL, the Insta Forex, Kubang Kerian, the PPAS, Shah Alam and also at one of the players home.

DATCC

Insta Forex

PPAS

Marzuki's home

QUEEN ENDING

White to move

I like endings. But endings like this will burst our heart, especially if played in time trouble. Queen controls so many squares, but which squares are more important? And then the exchange to pawn endings. Is it advantageous? All this questions must be answered before you make your move.

DRAW

.. against Marzuki Yaacob (picture) has taken away my 100% record. Not to take the credits away from him; he is actually a good player; but I should have managed my time more efficiently so as not to land in time trouble when it matters the most. I tried to transpose his English into a Nimzo-Indian, but he refused by not playing 3.d4. The middle game was slightly in White's favour, until his Kh2 forced him to take 2 steps back. From there, I took the initiative by placing my pieces towards his King. An exchange of Knights put his other Knight at h4, and I decided to chase it at the expense of opening up my castle. He complicated the game with a d5 push and the game was drawn during the time trouble.

The d5 push

Final position

The were also several other games played, and, at the time of writing, Baharuddin would be playing his third game for today. On the other hand, Nik Nazri managed to get his first point against Norazlin. So far, Yours Truly still tops the standing with 4.5 points, followed by Marzuki and Syed Azizi with 3 points each, Baharuddin with 2 points, Nik Nazri with a point and finally Norazlin with 0.5 point.

The results can be read at the results page, and my game today will be published later in the tournament website.


Update:

Baharuddin held FIDE rated Marzuki for a draw.