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

WINNING BY ILLEGAL MOVES

 Nowadays I become an arbiter more than being a player. I have arbitrated the Kelantan Closed back in January, the Kelantan Age Groups 1.0 - 3.0, the Mahabbah blitzes, the MSSK in Kuala Krai and the MSSM in Kota Bharu (although being only a pairing arbiter), UiTM Open in August, Cobra Blitz and SK Temangan Open in September. In two more days, I will be arbitrating the National Sports Day Open.

I admit that during my arbitration, there were many instances where I made a wrong call. Most recently in Cobra Blitz, I gave a win to the opponent when the other player made an illegal move, retracted it and played a legal move before pushing his clock. When I checked The Official Rules of Chess written by Eric Schiller, page 77, it clearly states that 'An illegal move is completed once the opponent's clock has been started. The opponent is then entitled to claim a win before making a move. Once the opponent has made a move, an illegal move cannot be corrected.'

This is of course a special rule for the blitz only, whereas in standard games, an illegal move must be replaced with a legal move once the position immediately before the illegal move is reinstated. Of course, it comes with time penalty for the offender. (Article 7.4)

Most of the tournament held nowadays in Kelantan are rapids, so coaches make it compulsory to equip their players, especially the young ones, with 'the illegal move arsenal'. I've seen a lot of these players won their games after the opponents made illegal moves. They were quick to raise their hands and claim it; you could even see many hands raised at the same time in Under 12 category.

My advice is, to coaches out there, please teach your players about the illegal move. Although according to this article it is one of the most difficult concepts to explain to beginners, at least you can teach them this simple rule: a king must never be moved into check, or left in check.

EVERYTHING IS 8 IN KB BLITZ TOURNAMENT

Kota Bharu Blitz Chess Tournament was truly a unique event, held in conjunction with the National Sports Day on 10 October 2015. 8 minutes per player, 8 Swiss System rounds with prize money starting from RM188 for the champion, RM88 for the runner up and RM28 for the 10th placing. The Under 12 category was also true to the spirit with RM48 set aside for the winner. Even the dateline for registration was 8 October 2015.

Kelantan Youth and Sports Department was the venue for the event. It started at 2 p.m. to give way for other events such as cycling, running and aerobics to be held in the morning. Millions of Malaysians were involved on the whole in various sports and we were excited to be among the 17648 events which made it into the Malaysian Book of Records. 

Kelantan chess enthusiasts came from all over Kelantan to be involved in this event. Baharuddin, who came from Kuala Krai, won the Open Category while Faridzul Asyraf was second, albeit with the same score. Ariez was half a point behind to take the third prize. 

The champion

Open Category

1. Baharuddin Hamzah - 5 points

2. Mohd Faridzul Asyraf - 5

3. Muhd Ariez Azman - 4.5

4. Abdul Khair Jusoh - 4.5

5. Ghazali Che Cob - 4

6. Muhd Ariji Hasan Basri - 4

7. Norazlin Juarih - 4

8. Marzuki Yaacob - 4

9. Mohd Noor Khairullah - 4

10. Ahmad Mujahid - 4

In the Under 12 Category, Muhammad Ajwad proved to be too hot to handle by his peers when he won all his games effortlessly leaving Mohd Syakir Aiman (second) and Adi Safiuddin (third) two points behind. 

Under 12 Category

1. Muhd Ajwad Md Amin - 6 points

2. Mohd Syakir Aiman - 4

3. Adi Safiuddin - 4

4. Nik Abd Qayyum - 4

5. Wan Nurul Aisyah - 4

The winners with PCNK committee members

On the somber note, the KB Blitz was not without blunders, to use a chess term. The invitation letter to the school students was rejected 3 days before the event by the State Education Department merely because of the RM5 fee. Curiously, it was approved by the director on Sunday before being blocked by his committee three days later. That seriously hampered our effort to reach the primary school students to boost our participants in the Under 12 Category. Personally, I don't see any harm in imposing the fee as we don't want to make them disregard the tournament if they play without any payment. Time and time again we see players leaving tournaments before the last rounds if they think that they couldn't get any prize. At least by imposing some fee, they will finish the tournament to make what they paid worthwhile. 

As for me, my appointment letter as the arbiter never reached the school where I work. The day being a school day, I couldn't leave as I please, thus making me late to arrive at the tournament hall because the distant between the hall and my school is around 25 kilometres. The State Education Department, again, said that I had to apply for it through e-Pelepasan, upon which, when checked, has to be made 14 days prior. This is totally new to me; I never really know about this before that phone call I made to the department. I tried to follow the correct procedure in applying for my leave, but it seemed that the correct procedure was never really clear to me. 

In the last round, there was an incident where a player claiming for the illegal move. As the arbiter, I was summoned to the table to look at the dispute. He claimed that his opponent pressed the clock before adjusting a fallen Bishop of his. His opponent, on the other hand, claimed that the Bishop fell after he had pressed the clock. To settle the matter, I asked both of them to continue, as there was no chance that I would know who among them was telling the truth. Angrily, the claimant told that he would settle for a draw instead, but that was another matter whatsoever, because he had to offer the draw and his opponent had to accept it for the game to be declared a draw. Fortunately, his opponent accepted the draw without further ado. 

And then there was time when the printer's ink was going out, and the technical problem when my laptop which I used to make the pairings failed to respond accordingly, the tournament finished later than expected. Luckily, we only had to play for six rounds, which preciously saved some time. We were able to give out the prizes before 6.15 p.m. which, in my opinion, quite on schedule. 

So, there were plenty of pluses and minuses which can be taken for holding future tournaments. 

 

BARBAT BLITZ 2014

New Castle Chess Solution (NCCS) was instrumental in gathering several Kelantan hardcore chess players prelude to the Kelantan Open by holding a blitz chess tournament. Like the previous Deepavali Blitz, this tournament was also held at a football playing venue - a futsal court. It really strengthens the notion that chess is indeed a sport, not merely a recreation game like some argue. The tournament details are as follows:

Date: 6 December 2014

Time: 3 - 6 pm

Venue: 7F Futsal Centre, Kg Seterpa, Peringat, Kota Bharu, Kelantan

Format: 7 Swiss Rounds

Time Control: 10 minutes per player per game

Fees: RM5.00

Sponsored by several other individuals apart from the NCCS, which include Rozhisham with the medals, Azlin with the Detox patches and Nik Azhan with MILO packets, the tournament attracted 24 players:

1. Alif Omar Mohd Saufi

2. Mohd Saufi Deraman

3. Muhd Khairul Ikmal

4. Norazlin Juarih

5. Wan Mahadzir

6. Nasrul Humaimi

7. Najihah Mohd Saufi

8. Muhd Haziq Rhozisham

9. Asomuddin Mohd Safi

10. Mohd Faridzul Asyraf

11. Nik Nur Nadzirah

12. Nik Anisy Syakirah

13. Roslee Alias

14. Marzuki Yaacob

15. Muhd Zudi

16. Nik Mohd Nazri

17. Muhammad Ariez Azman

18. Wan Tarmizi

19. Wan Mohd Azmie

20. Syed Azizi

21. Faiz Zakaria

22. Yusnizam

23. Azfarziyad

24. Yours Truly

In the end, Yours Truly managed to claim top spot by holding the Deepavali Blitz chess champion, Nasrul Humaimi, to the draw and winning the rest. I was extremely lucky to be able to hold my pieces together in the fast games as I really do think that I am only suited for classical time control nowadays. Nevertheless, the games were enjoyable enough and you readers are lucky I am able to recall all the 7 games. 

Click on the game headers to view the games.

Round 1: Asomuddin Mohd Safi vs Yours Truly

It started as a Najdorf but it quickly turned into a Sveshnikov, albeit with the White knight on b3 instead of a3. After I was able to force White to take with a pawn on d5, Black controlled the centre viciously. 

Position after 24...Qb6

Round 2: Yours Truly vs Roslee Alias

I was trying to be clever by taking the Black undeveloped Knight at b8 but was foiled by a check by the Black Queen at a5. Black should have punished my mistake, but instead he blundered away two minor pieces. The rest was history.

Position after 7... Qa5+

Round 3: Najihah vs Yours Truly

Morra Gambit revisited. I used my preferred line, but was nearly crushed by the young Kelantan scholastic champion. The push f5 was uncalled for, and I barely survived the onslaught. Luckily, I was saved by an illegal move with 1 second to spare.

Position after 17...f5

Round 4: Marzuki Yaacob vs Yours Truly

English is Marzuki's specialty, and playing it against an English teacher can be considered 'cocky'. However, I chose a wrong timing to push d5 and was hit by an avalanche of pawns. However, he wrongfully adjudged the exchange sacrifice and crumbled badly. 

Position after 10...d5

Round 5: Yours Truly vs Dr. Nasrul Humaimi

I made a mistake by placing a Bishop at the vulnerable d6 square and was punished by an alert Dr Nasrul. He took the opportunity to double his Rooks on the c-file and nearly got away with the point. However, I managed to secure the draw by leaving the opposite coloured Bishop on board. 

Position after 14.Bd6

Round 6: Yours Truly vs Nik Mohd Nazri

I was able to develop quickly because of his opening choice but it was not decisive until he decided to give away a pawn on e7. Latching onto the opportunity, I quickly doubled the Rooks on the e-file and put him under intense pressure. Sure enough, another crucial pawn in front of the King was given, and with it, the game.

Position after 23.Nxg6

Round 7: Muhammad Ariez vs Yours Truly

I always try to prove that the Trompovsky Bishop should not be surrendered because it will leave the b-pawn unguarded, and I usually accept a doubled pawn to lure its demise. My Queen and dark-squared Bishop were bossing the dark squares and White found it hard to develop his pieces because of this. As a result, White gave away a centre pawn in the middle game and this proved to be enough for me to win the endgame and the tournament. 

Position after 19...Bxe4

The final results:

Some pictures courtesy of Rhozisham and also Empty Bench:

Family duel between siblings living miles apart

Cozy playing venue

The passing of the mantle

The prizes

   

The matching attires tell us what we need to know

Laksa for everybody

A doctorate and a soon-to-be doctor

 This successfully held event showed several important observations:

1. Kelantan chess players are hungry for chess tournaments which are a rarity in Kelantan nowadays.

2. It does not require a huge amount of money to gather enthusiastic chess players - they just want to play.

3. PCNK really needs the right people to lead it towards glory and success.

DEEPAVALI BLITZ TOURNAMENT

After a long wait for a tournament in Kelantan, one of Kelantan Chess Association (PCNK) members organised a small scale blitz chess tournament on invitation basis to fulfill a lengthy holiday in conjunction of Deepavali. At first, 10 Kelantan players were invited to play a round robin tournament at the Sultan Muhammad IV stadium, but in the end, there were 14 players turning up: 

1. Nasrul Humaimi (the organiser)

2. Khairul Aznan

3. Muhammad Ariez

4. Marzuki

5. Nik Mohd Nazri

6. Haziq Rozhisham

7. Norazlin

8. Rozhisham

9. Irfan

10. Mohd Azizul

11. Hilmi

12. Khairul

13. Wan Mohd Adli

14. Wan Mohd Amirul

After the customary 13 rounds of play, the organiser emerged as champion by defeating almost everybody. Even Yours Truly was checkmated without any mercy as he was in demolition mode. Second and third were taken by siblings Wan Mohd Amirul and Wan Mohd Adli, respectively while Yours Truly was fourth after losing to all three mentioned and winning the rest. The full results are shown below:

  

Although youthfulness of the siblings proved to be the catalyst for them to excel in the fast paced chess that night, the youngest player in the tournament, Haziq, has a lot to do after losing all his games. It turned out that he could not muster his moves quickly enough to counter his opponents, and this is quite perplexing. Hopefully he will do better in the upcoming UTP blitz tournament in November.

Some pictures from various sources (credit to Nasrul and Ariez rare CANON camera):