ROMANCING THE GACC

GACC is the trademark for Tuanku Bahiyyah College, UM (or the 2nd Residential College). It started as a team event, before changing its status in 1999 (GACC IV). 'A' stands for 'ASEAN' but it was widen to stand for 'ASIAN' in GACC III, before standing for nothing when the playing field was widen again to invite universities worldwide in 2002. I was lucky enough to have played in 6 GACCs because I was summoned to play for IIUM even before I entered the main campus in 1998. Here are the GACCs where I did play, and a game taken from each GACC just for romance's sake.

GACC II
Points: 2.5/5

Playing 1st board for IIUM 'B'

Venue: UM Main library

Winners: University of Gunadarma, Indonesia

I was chosen to captain IIUM team B. I played at the first board and was lucky to be paired with IM Bobby Kurniawan (picture right with IIUM girls), the eventual first board winner.

Yours Truly (IIUM B) - IM Bobby Kurniawan (ITB) [B78]

GACC II (1), 10.11.1997

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.0-0-0 Ne5 11.Bb3 Rc8 12.h4 h5 13.Bg5 Rc5 14.Kb1 b5 15.a3 Nc4 16.Bxc4 bxc4 17.Nde2 Qb8 18.Nf4 Re8 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.g4 Qb6 21.b4 cxb3 22.Nfd5 bxc2+ 23.Kxc2 Bxc3 24.Nxb6 Bxd2+ 25.Kxd2 axb6 26.gxh5 Rxh5 27.Rb1 b5 28.Kd3 Ra8 29.Rb3 d5 0-1

GACC III
Points: 4/6

5th board for IIUM

Venue: Engineering Faculty

Winners: University of Khorassan, Iran

Still a team event, GACC, however, was 'upgraded' to Asian level while I was 'upgraded' to be in the IIUM team (I forgot whether there was IIUM 'B'). The game below is the first time I played Saifuddeen from UNITELE in the GACC, ending with a threat of checkmate which cost him a whole rook. Eliza Hanim (picture left with her sister, Eliza Hanum), Saifuddeen's teammate, said that he was a beginner. Yeah, right.

Saifuddeen (UNITELE A) - Yours Truly (IIUM) [D05]

GACC III (5), 28.10.1998

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 d5 4.Bd3 Bd6 5.Nbd2 Qe7 6.e4 e5 7.dxe5 Bxe5 8.Nxe5 Qxe5 9.Nf3 Qh5 10.e5 Ne4 11.Bf4 Bg4 12.Qe2 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Nc5 14.0-0-0 Ne6 15.Bg3 c6 16.Qe3 Nd7 17.Be2 Ndc5 18.f4 Qf5 19.Bd3 Nxd3+ 20.Rxd3 h5 21.f3 h4 22.Be1 Qxf4 23.Qxf4 Nxf4 24.Re3 Kd7 25.Rg1 Ke6 26.c3 g5 27.Kc2 Kf5 28.Bd2 Rae8 29.Ree1 Re6 30.Bxf4 Kxf4 31.Rg4+ Kf5 32.Kd3 Rhe8 33.Kd4 f6 34.Reg1 Rxe5 35.b4 b6 36.h3 Re2 37.R1g2 R8e5 38.a4 Rxg2 39.Rxg2 Kf4 40.Rg1 Kxf3 41.Rf1+ Ke2 0-1

GACC IV
Points: 3.5/9

Individual event

Venue: Engineering Faculty

Winners: Mongolian State Pedagogical University, Mongolia

The Mongolian team came and conquered with a couple of GMs and a WIM (Battsetseg Thuvshintugs - picture right). I managed to get a picture taken with her at the residential hostel after watching her creaming everybody with her chess prowess that night. The game below is the second time I played Saifuddeen in the GACC.

Yours Truly (IIUM) - Saifuddeen (UNITELE B) [C44]

GACC IV (3), 25.10.1999

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 d6 5.0-0 Ne5 6.c3 Nxc4 7.Qa4+ c6 8.Qxc4 dxc3 9.Nxc3 Be6 10.Qe2 Nf6 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.Nd5 Qc8 13.Bg5 cxd5 14.Rac1 Qd7 15.exd5 Be7 16.dxe6 Qxe6 17.Qxe6 fxe6 18.Rc7 Rb8 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Nd4 Kf7 21.Nb5 d5 22.Rdc1 Rhd8 23.Nxa7 Ke8 24.Nc8 Bf8 25.a3 Rd7 26.Rxd7 Kxd7 27.Nb6+ Kd8 28.Re1 e5 29.Nxd5 Bg7 30.Rd1 Ke8 31.Nb6 Rd8 32.Rxd8+ Kxd8 33.Kf1 Kc7 34.Nc4 f5 35.f3 e4 36.b3 b5 37.Ne3 exf3 38.gxf3 Bb2 39.a4 bxa4 40.bxa4 f4 41.Nc4 Bc3 42.Ke2 Bf6 43.Kd3 Kc6 44.Nd2 Bd8 45.Kc4 h5 46.Nb3 h4 47.h3 1-0

GACC V
Points: 5/9

Individual event

Venue: Perdana Siswa

Winners: University of Gunadarma, Indonesia

My best GACC. In the first round, Almario Marlon (picture left), an individual player from Rizal Technological University, Philippines, came late from a flight. Jet-lagged, Marlon was beaten by me in a single Bishop ending. Not to be deterred, he went on to clinch 9th placing with 7/9. He said that whenever we meet again, he wanted to see me with a title. However, here I am now, with a lowly FIDE rating compared to him, a US master. Hope that we do not meet again, Marlon :)

Almario Marlon (RTU) - Yours Truly (IIUM) [A05]

GACC V (1), 14.10.2000

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b6 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.0-0 e6 5.d3 d5 6.Nbd2 Be7 7.e4 c5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Re1 Nc6 10.Nf1 h6 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.h4 0-0-0 13.Bf4 Kb8 14.Ne3 Nd4 15.Nxd4 cxd4 16.Ng4 g5 17.hxg5 hxg5 18.Bc1 Rh7 19.Qd1 Rdh8 20.Bd2 Qd8 21.f3 Qf8 22.Kf2 Qg7 23.Qe2 Ka8 24.Rac1 Qg6 25.Rh1 Rxh1 26.Bxh1 f5 27.exf6 Nxf6 28.Nxf6 Qxf6 29.Re1 Bc8 30.Bg2 Bd6 31.c3 Rh2 32.Rh1 Qh6 33.Rxh2 Qxh2 34.g4 Bg3+ 35.Kf1 Qh6 36.c4 Bb7 37.cxd5 Bxd5 38.f4 gxf4 39.Bxd5+ exd5 40.Qe8+ Kb7 41.Qd7+ Ka6 42.Qxd5 Qh3+ 43.Ke2 Qxg4+ 44.Qf3 Qe6+ 45.Kd1 Qxa2 46.Qc6 Qb3+ 47.Ke2 Qf7 48.Kd1 Qb3+ 49.Ke2 Qf7 50.Kf1 Qf5 51.Kg2 Qg4 52.Qf3 Qxf3+ 53.Kxf3 Kb5 54.Ke4 a5 55.Kxd4 f3 56.Ke3 Bf4+ 0-1

GACC VII
Points: 5/9

Individual event

Venue: Perdana Siswa

Winners: Islamic Azad University

The first GACC opened to world universities. I lost the first game by default because of an exam. I actually came to the tournament venue, and managed to see that I was out of time just several minutes earlier. Nevertheless, I was able to equal my performance in GACC V. En route, I crushed Ian Lee of MMU A, the former 1st board winner in GACC III.

Yours Truly - Ian Lee Wen Chun (MMU A) [B92]

GACC VII (5), 14.10.2002

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f4 Qc7 9.Be3 Nbd7 10.f5 Bc4 11.a4 Be7 12.0-0 0-0 13.Kh1 Kh8 14.a5 Rfc8 15.Bxc4 Qxc4 16.Ra4 Qc6 17.Rf3 b5 18.axb6 Nxb6 19.Bxb6 Qxb6 20.Rd3 Qb7 21.Nd5 Nxd5 22.Rxd5 h6 23.c3 Kg8 24.Rb4 Qa7 25.Qe2 Rab8 26.Rxb8 Qxb8 27.Qxa6 Rc7 28.Rb5 Qe8 29.Na5 Rc5 30.Rxc5 dxc5 31.Nc4 Qd7 32.Qa8+ Kh7 33.Qd5 Qa4 34.g3 Qa1+ 35.Kg2 Qe1 36.Qd3 f6 37.Ne3 Bd6 38.Nd5 c4 39.Qxc4 Qd2+ 40.Kh3 Qg5 41.Qe2 1-0

GACC IX
Points = 4/9

Individual event

Venue: Tunku Cansellor Main Hall, UM

Winners: Nan Kai University A

My last GACC and I was woeful. Two draws with two Japanese students in the last two rounds sums my performance up. Nonetheless, there was still a game to remember. A draw with a WIM was the highlight of my GACC that year.

Yours Truly - WIM Anzel Laubscher (URSA) [A08]

GACC IX (3), 03.11.2004

1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 dxe4 7.dxe4 e5 8.h3 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Re1 Qc7 11.c3 h6 12.Qc2 Be6 13.Nf1 Rfd8 14.Ne3 b5 15.Nh4 Rac8 16.Nhf5 Bf8 17.g4 Ne7 18.Bf1 a6 19.Ng2 Ng6 20.g5 hxg5 21.Bxg5 Ne7 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Nge3 Nxf5 24.exf5 Bd5 25.Bg2 Bxg2 26.Kxg2 Bh6 27.Rad1 Qc6+ 28.f3 Bxe3 29.Rxe3 Rxd1 30.Qxd1 Kf8 31.Re4 Ke7 32.Qc2 c4 33.h4 Qd5 34.Re2 Rg8+ 35.Kf2 Qc5+ 36.Re3 Rg2+ 37.Kxg2 Qxe3 38.Qf2 Qf4 39.Qc5+ Ke8 40.Qc8+ Ke7 41.Qc5+ ½-½

RAKAN MUDA GACC 2009 - 14th EDITION

University of Calcutta won the this year's Rakan Muda GACC ahead of 19 other teams held recently at the Tuanku Bahiyah Residential College, UM. Nanyang Technological University was second with International Islamic University Malaysia (team A) finished third. Kudos for my former teammates for becoming a strong team after training under a formidable coach, Mr. Fadli 'Stonemaster' Zakaria.

However, this weak edition of GACC makes an interesting observation - has GACC lost its prestigous charm? Looking at the participating teams, there were no more than 4 oversea universities which came to play in the team category. There were no teams from Iran, and regrettably none from our ASEAN countries apart from a university from Singapore. Most of them prefer to participate in the open individual category or ladies category. I missed the time when the format of the championship was solely for teams (GACC 1 - 3) way back in 1996. Nowadays, we hardly feel the pressure playing for teams anymore as the format changes to individual plays.

Not to take the credits away from current IIUM team members, because it is still hard playing in this format. To get 5.5 points from possible 9 is quite an achievement; my best was 5 points in GACC 5 (if I'm not mistaken). It is still the best chance for students to get rating norms freely because their respective universities are paying for that. My rating calculation included GACC games, and with the outstanding fees involved to play an open rated game it is advisable to take part in GACC, if you are still legally capable.

Nevertheless, these are the current IIUM team members:

1. Wan Mohd Fazli bin Wan Nawawi
2. Ahmad Fadzil bin Nayan
3. Abdullah Khairi bin Kamarul Zaman
4. Mohd Musa al-Ashaari bin Mohd Azmi
5. Che Muhammad Hafiz bin Che Ismail
6. Nurul Najmi binti Bakar



Final results:

Team Category

Open Category

Ladies Category

GACC RESULTS

Both Iranian GMs from Islamic Azad University finished tops in the GACC 2008. GM Amir Bagheri (picture right), rated 2490, amassed 8 points from 9 games to become the champion, followed by colleagues GM Shojate Ghane (2408), Amin Nasri (2339) and unrated Chavez Antonio from the Far Eastern University of Philippines, all with 7 points each. Best Malaysian player is Pok Wern Jian, although studying in National University of Singapore, who finished 9th. While in the woman category, lovely WFM Shirin Navabi (picture left), also from Islamic Azad University, leapfrog Krishna Ramya to become the champion with 8 points. Nur Shazwani Zullkafli from University of Malaya, saved Malaysia the blushes by sitting 4th behind S. Harini from SRM University, India.

The full results of the Open category can be read here and the Woman category here.

AMIN NASRI LEADS IN GACC

After 5 rounds, Amin Nasri's quest is still flawless. With 5 points the Iranian is the sole leader of the pack, followed by compatriot GM Amir Bagheri and Indian R. Premnath with 4.5 points. Chan Tze Wei from UTM is the best Malaysian so far with 4 points after losing his 2 round game with Sheider Nebato from the Philippines.

While in the women's category, WFM Ramya Krishna, the highest rated player in the category, leads with a perfect score, followed half a point behind by WFM Navabi Shirin from Iran and Nur Shazwani Zullkafli representing the host university, UM.

Here are some pictures taken from the official website.

Draw against a WFM from South Africa in GACC 2004

GACC STARTS!

The Grand Asian Chess Challenge or GACC starts today at 2nd Residential College, University of Malaya. It is an annual chess competition for university students from all over the world. It started with the Asean region in 1996 but gradually upgrade its status to cover students from Asian universities before widening it to the world. However, the acronym GACC is still maintained, even though it do not represent its present status. It is a FIDE rated event, and now already reaching its 12th installments. It is becoming more interesting than before its inception, as nowadays we can see participants (students) who are GMs and IMs. I myself had the opportunities to play in 6 GACCs in 1997-2000, 2002 and the last one in 2004, playing against strong players ranging from the Phillipines to the Mongolia!

Here is a game I won against a rated player from Sri Lanka:

Yours Truly - I.L.K. Tennakoon (Sri Lanka) (2072)
GACC VII (Round 9), 17.10.2002

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 d6 5.Nxd4 Ne5 6.Be2 Nf6 7.Nc3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.f4 Ng6 10.Kh1 a6 11.a4 Bd7 12.Nf5 Nxe4 13.Nh6+ gxh6 14.Nxe4 Bc6 15.Bd3 f5 16.Ng3 Nh4 17.Rf2 Qe8 18.Bd2 Qg6 19.Bc3 Bf6 20.Bxf6 Rxf6 21.Bc4+ Kh8 22.Qd4 h5 23.Rg1 Nxg2 24.Bd5 Bxd5 25.Qxd5 Ne3 26.Qd4 Ng4 27.Re2 h4 28.Nh5 Qxh5 29.Rxg4 fxg4 30.Qxf6+ Kg8 31.Qe6+ Qf7 32.Qxg4+ Kh8 33.Qf3 Rf8 34.Rf2 c6 35.Qc3+ Qg7 36.Qxg7+ Kxg7 37.Kg2 Kf6 38.Kf3 Kf5 39.Rg2 h6 40.Rg7 b5 41.a5 Rf6 42.Ra7 Re6 43.Rxa6 Re4 44.Rxc6 Rxf4+ 45.Ke3 Ra4 46.a6 Ke5 47.Rb6 b4 48.b3 Ra2 49.Kd3 h3 50.Rxb4 Rxa6 51.Rh4 d5 52.Rh5+ Kf4 53.Rh4+ Ke5 54.Rxh3 Rf6 55.c3 Kf4 56.Kd4 Kg4 57.Rg3+ Kh4 58.Kxd5 Rf2 59.Rg6 h5 60.b4 Rxh2 61.b5 Rb2 62.b6 Kh3 63.c4 h4 64.c5 Kh2 65.Rg7 h3 66.b7 Kh1 67.c6 h2 68.Rh7 Kg1 69.Kd6 1-0

MEMORABLE COMBINATIONS

Yours Truly - Lim Yeang Khee
GACC III (Round 6), 28.10.1998

This position arose from the Pirc Defense, and both sides were attacking their opponents King vigorously. Black has just played 26...Nd5, attacking my Queen. Do I run away, or do I plot another move?

27.Rxh7+
My first coach was an ex-National player who drills everybody into sacrificing, sacrificing and sacrificing your pieces in order to gain an advantage, or to burn your opponent's castle. Moves like this were filling my head during that time due to many exercises he gave us during the training sessions. Actually, if you really look into the position deeply, you can see that there is a possibility of a King hunt. You only have to pry open the castle's door by sacrificing a piece.

27...Kxh7 28.Qf7+ Kh6 29.Rh1+ Kg5 30.f4+ Nxf4
Even 30...Kg4 cannot help in view of 31.Qxg6+ Kxf4 32.Rh5 and mate is not that far away. I cannot help but smiled when he moved the Knight and captured the sacrificed (yes, another sacrifice, and its called 'clearance sacrifice' - according to some books) little pawn. It only made my task easier. By now there were many spectators gathering around our table; our teammates included.

31.Nf3+ Kg4 32.Rh4+ Kg3 33.Qxf4+ Kf2 34.Nd4+ 1-0
Boy, what a great feeling to come out victorious after the see-saw battle! Black surely had nightmares afterward, I know I will after being defeated by a junior like me (I was still in matriculation when summoned to play for the University team).

Final position