MAKSAK KUALA LUMPUR

I might be whining, but this MAKSAK was my worst to date. Three losses in winning positions spelled my doom which ensured my journey home filled with embarrassment and regret. It was all down to one factor - the time control. I accept that not everybody will see eye to eye with me on this one, but, in my humble opinion, the 45 minutes + 10 seconds increment time control was not my cup of tea, especially when I had to write until the end of the game. When my time was in the mercy of the 10-second increments, I basically had 3 seconds of thinking time after I had done all these:

1. Move the piece

2. Push the clock button

3. Take the pen

4. Write down the move

5. Put the pen down again

I did not even see basic tactics - pushing passed pawns, taking free pawns or basic forks and checks as I was too engrossed with writing down moves as per required. I might be smiling and congratulating my victorious opponents at the end of the flag, but deep down, I cursed myself for being incapable of thinking faster, which was something that I've been missing nowadays. One of my teammates suggested fatigue as the culprit, but I beg to differ on his opinion. The time control has to be reviewed, at least, as writing down moves using the 10-second increments is next to being impossible to be done. I saw a lot of players neglected writing the moves, and those who wrote, made mistakes they should have never done if left blitzing without the distraction of writing moves. 

Here are the final positions of the lost games:

Game 2: Yours Truly vs Nor Azmi (Terengganu). White to move.

Game 4: Yours Truly vs Zaidi Saleh (Melaka). White to move.

Game 6: Yours Truly vs Amirudin (Perak). White to move.

The Kelantan team fared badly also. We lost a lot of games we should have won had I not lost my games. I felt guilty and gutted, as playing as a team needs everybody's contribution which I clearly did not provide. The team even got a BYE for the last round because of my loss against Perak. This had caused my teammates their best board prizes, and Kelantan to return home empty handed. 

Here is the final rank (click on the picture for chess-results link):

This year also saw a handful of beautiful players playing in the women's individual category. It was a start to what I think will be the women team category next year. Each state may have to scramble to search for female players after this. 

As for Kelantan, we brought Mrs. Haslina to compete in this category, and she did okay, I believe. Here is the results for this category:

Here are some pictures from the event:

Stopped by at PCNK Vice President's place in Lipis

The playing venue

First game - Lost to Sabah

The best line up

The female category contestants

Dinner at Bangi Station

A view from Bangi Station

Baharuddin missed a mate in six moves