AL-FIRDAUS WINS SMACH OPEN 2013

Muhammad Al-Firdaus stopped the Terengganu players from bringing home the Zaaim Redha challenge trophy by winning the SMACH Open 2013. He finished with the same score as Muhammad Arshad, but his Berger tie break gave him the edge after the Bucholz tie break could not determine the winner. The tournament also saw a comeback by Syed Azizi and Bakri Jusoh who were last seen in the Kelantan tournament earlier last year.

KELANTAN CLOSED 2013

Masterskill College saw a grueling fight among players aiming to be the Kelantan representatives for this year's National Closed which is scheduled to be held at Terengganu. Once the registration closed at 10 a.m. Friday morning, 41 players in the Male Category and 7 players in the Female Category started the first round at 3 p.m. Only 4 male players and 2 players needed, so the 7 rounds produced high quality games despite the time allocation of 30 minutes plus 10-second increments. There were sacrifices everywhere, and Abdul Haq produced the best sacrifice of the tournament when he sacrificed himself for the third round game by giving the opponent a win without playing! When the dust has settled, the emergent winners were announced by the President of the Persatuan Catur Negeri Kelantan (PCNK), Mr. Nik Mohd Azrihan on the eve of the second day. The reps are:

SMACH OPEN 2013

For a year, the Zaaim Redha trophy sits proudly on my chess rack. This Saturday, I have to bring it to SMACH again to be defended against those who aspire to be the next champion. Players who want to enter this tournament, though, have to register their names by today (18 April 2013) or risk paying the penalty. The organiser really wants to change the mindset of Kelantan chess players who like to register late and thus delay the start.

KELANTAN DID WELL BUT NEED TO IMPROVE

Individuals and team medals show the efforts made by the Kelantan team in the recent MSSM Chess held in Perak. Wan Mohd Amirul portrays why he is the force to be reckoned with in the near future when he managed to be second in the under-18 Boys Category. On the same note, Mohd Ali Ashgar also makes Kelantan proud by getting among the top 5 of the under 15 Boys Category. In the team category, under-18 Girls team manages to get the silver medals while Mohd Iqbal Amran from the under-18 Boys team had the best first board medal.