UiTM OPEN

UiTM Machang will hold the first open chess tournament in Kelantan this year. It will be held this Saturday (1 March 2014) at Block D. Early registration via email is encouraged. For further details, please read the poster.

 

NORAZMI THE OTAI WINS UiTM MEET

Norazmi Mohd Noor won the UiTM Machang 3rd Open Chess Tournament held today. He only drew his last game after winning all the other five to secure his title. Luck was with him since winning the first round with a walkover all the way to the podium by beating, among others, Nik Mohd Nazri and Muhd Syazwan Zulkifli. His non-existence first round opponent eventually came and got three points to help his solkoff.

3rd UiTM OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT

C'STA UiTM is becoming increasingly active in organising tournaments in Kelantan, including last year's Kelantan Closed. The third installment of the UiTM Open will be held tomorrow (7 September 2013). I will be participating in this tournament to warm up before the big Inter State 4 days after that. Hopefully all my teammates will also be there to flex some rusted muscles and freshen the clogged mind.

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.

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.

A TOURNAMENT TO REMEMBER, A TOURNAMENT TO FORGET

I really don't know where to start. Well, I think it started a week ago after the tsunami warning. That night, I dreamt of tsunami drowning me. I woke up frightened and told my wife. To my surprise, she told me that she heard dreams like that mean that I would 'get something big'. Well, I really don't believe in dreams. Especially not when I have never get anything big in my life.

A Tournament to Remember

Initially, I didn't want to play in SMACH Open. My purpose was just to give tournament experience to my charges, particularly Maznie, Elanie and Syikin who are going to the MSSK Selection in May as the Tumpat representatives. However, circumstances had another idea, and I ended up playing in the Open Category. There were so many times when I was denied the championships before - Kelantan Closed in 2009, Kelantan Closed in 2010, and SMACH Open in 2010 just to name a few - by losing my last game to the eventual champions, but this time I kept my cool and claimed the number 1 spot convincingly. Receiving the trophy from the namesake - the trophy was named Zaaim Redha after him - was just a bonus for me. That night, I shared my joy with my students at Kok Lanas KFC. 

Today, I sit in my room staring at the trophy wondering whether the interpretation of the dream given by my wife is really true. 

The Final Standings

1. Yours Truly 6 points from 6 games

2. Wan Mohd Amirul 5.5

3. Nasrul Humaimi 5

4. Fairul Yusoff 5

5. Sahadi Ismail 5

6. Marzuki Yaacob 5

7. Abdullah Che Hassan 4.5

8. Nik Mohd Nazri 4.5

9. Baharuddin Hamzah 4.5

10. Mohd Khairul Ikmar 4.5

The Games

They were quite interesting, the last three in particular. The opponents kept giving me the advantage though; I got a Bishop in Round 3, a Queen in Round 4 and I managed to screw a checkmate in Round 5. Only in the last round the opponent was able to take me to a time trouble ending spree. Eventually, he gave me a Bishop as well.

 

A Tournament to Forget

I departed from my home at 6.30 a.m. and reached my school at 7.05 a.m. When my students said that they wanted to have breakfast, I gave them until 7.30 a.m. Then we sped towards the venue 45 kilometres away and managed to arrive there before 9 a.m. I thought I was already late, so I rushed to complete the registration. However, we were among the first to arrive, and I even managed to park my car under the garage. Then, it became a waiting game after that which went on for nearly 3 hours! Finally, we started our first round barely before noon. As a consequent, the first two rounds were played with a 10 minutes time allocation (actually, my first round was 11 minutes/player, a mistake, perhaps) and the players were given 20 minutes each for the last 4 rounds after the Friday prayer. Then there was another waiting game before the prize giving ceremony at 7.30 p.m. 

More surprises happened in the Female Category. I waited for the arbiter to announce the pairing for my students, but I found that the round had started without our knowledge and we had to play against each other at the back tables. Then, the unexpected happened. After the Friday prayer, the game restarted anew, and the results for the first game before that were annulled. However, the tournament kept getting worse. Round 4 and 5 were played with only 3 minutes/player, and I saw one of my students cried when she lost on time while leading in materials. 

The Problems and some Suggestions

I asked the arbiter what actually happened, and he told me that the problem stemmed from the double entries. There were names keyed in twice, and the pairing programme used could not rectify the mistakes. And then, there was the usual problem - the late registration. The players were still behaving the way the shouldn't, letting it late to register their participation. 

Personally, I have some suggestions for the organiser. Not that I think I can do better if given the opportunity, but these suggestions are really my humble opinion. 

1. The double entries should be minimized by assigning only one person to handle the registration. One email, one phone number, simple. This way, the person will surely manage to keep track on the names given to him by the participants.

2. The late participation should be minimized by fining the registration confirmed after the deadline. Not the initial registration, but the paid registration. There is no problem in paying for the fees before the deadline; there are plenty of cash deposit machines (CDM) around. Fining an extra RM5 or RM10 will surely make these people think twice before doing what they usually do.

3. Try another arbiter. It is always a good policy trying new means in order to find the best. What more Kelantan already have three International Arbiters who surely can do the job. 

SMACH 2012

SM Sains Machang will hold its annual open chess tournament this month. Those who are interested kindly refer to the details below:

Date: 20 April 2012 (Friday)
Time: 8.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Venue: Gymnasium, SM Sains Machang

Other details have yet to be finalised. However, if you are that eager to know more about the tournament, you may contact Wan Rozuhan at

(013-938 9819)

Last year's winner can be read here.

Update:

Entrance fees:
Open Category RM15 (Kelantanese), RM20 (Non-Kelantanese)
Students RM10 (Secondary school students), RM5 (Primary school students)

Registration:
Before 19 April 2012 e-mail your particulars to terengganu_chess@hotmail.com

TWO RED KNIGHTS

The Kelantan Closed 2012 had successfully ended. Nik Ahmad Farouqi had defended his title brilliantly, which include a win against our IM Mas Hafizulhelmi and of course, against Yours Truly. Our game was the highlight of Round 6, where most of the games had already finished.

Kelantan Closed 2012
Date: 28.01.2012
Round 6

White: Nik Ahmad Farouqi
Black: Yours Truly

1.e4 d6

I took 5 minutes to register this move, merely because I wanted to surprise Nik Ahmad Farouqi (NAF). It was not prepared specially for him, just that I nearly lost many of my games in this 45-minutes-to-the-finish tournament that I chose The Pirc to test his attacking ability.

2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6

Not a true Pirc with a Kingside Bishop fianchetto, where NAF would probably storm my castled position with his foot soldiers like many of his wins in this tournament.

4.h3 Nbd7 5.Nf3 e5 6.Be2 Be7 7.O-O O-O

Both sides had castled. The centre was still fluid as White did not state his intention of either to close the position or to open it up, yet.

8.Be3 Qc7 9.Re1 Rd8 10.Bf1 Nf8 11.a3 Ng6 12.Qc1 Nh5 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.g3

White stopped Black from infiltrating with a Knight at f4 square.

14... Be6 15.Rd1 f6 16.Rxd8+ Rxd8 17.Qe1 b6 18.Rd1

It was clear that White's intention was to simplify the game by exchanging the heavy pieces. Therefore, I tried to find something to play with the minor pieces after the imminent exchanges.

18... Bf8 19.Rd2 Ne7 20.Qd1 Rxd2 21.Bxd2 g6 22.Kh2 Nc8 23.Be3 Nd6

My plan was easy. Exchange as many pieces as I could, starting with the Bishops. This Knight jump was to exchange a pair of Bishops at c4 square.

24.Nd2 Nf7 25.Bc4 Qd7 26.Bxe6 Qxe6 27.Qe2 Bh6 28.Nc4 Bxe3 29.Nxe3 Ng5

After swapping all the Bishops, Black started the attack with his Queen and Knights. However, this plan was short lived as the King position was dreadful where White managed to tame the attacking Queen.

30.Qc4 Ng7 31.Kg2 Kf7 32.h4 Qxc4 33.Nxc4 N5e6 34.Nd6+ Kf8 35.Nc8 Ke8

NAF told me after the game that he did not want to calculate the consequence of taking a pawn at a7 where his marauding Knight might be trapped.

36.Nd6+ Kd7 37.Nc4 Nd4 38.Ne3 Nge6

Black Knights started to take centre positions to influence the game.

39.Na2 h5 40.Nc1 Nc5 41.f3 Kd6 42.Kf2 b5 43.c3 Nde6

44.g4 Nf4 45.gxh5 Nxh5 46.b4 Na4 47.c4 a6 48.Nb3 Nf4 49.c5+ Ke6 50.Na5 Kd7 51.Ng4 Nh5 52.f4

NAF started to play aggressively after seeing that I had not much time left. True enough, this move forced me to pause and think even though I was already in severe time trouble.

52... exf4 53.e5 fxe5 54.Nxe5+ Ke6 55.Nxg6 Kd5 56.Ne7+ Kd4 57.Naxc6+ Ke4 1-0

The game actually went on for some more moves before my flag was up.

Final top 10 standing (Open Category):

1		Nik Ahmad Farouqi	MAS	2069	7.5	42.5	39.75	35.5
2		IM Mas Hafizulhelmi	MAS	2388	7.0	41.0	34.00	31.0
3		Nik Mohd Nazri	MAS	1835	6.0	43.0	28.50	27.0
4		Yours Truly	MAS	2068	6.0	37.5	25.00	26.0
5		Muhd Al Firdaus Md Nazir	MAS	1505	5.5	39.0	24.75	24.5
6		Mohd Ezmi Mahmood	MAS	1805	5.5	28.0	19.50	22.0
7		Wan Mohamad Amirul	MAS	1435	5.0	38.5	24.00	23.5
8		Mohd Amin Mohd Noor	MAS	1835	5.0	38.0	17.50	29.0
9		Azudin Abdullah	MAS	1466	5.0	35.0	18.00	23.0
10		Norazlin Juarih	MAS	1521	5.0	34.5	17.00	22.0

You can read the full results at PCNK website or chessresults.com

TERTUTUP KELATE 2012

Akhirnyo ado pulok petandinge kat Kelate nih. Meme hok kito tunggu2 doh ni Tertutup Kelate. Mace hok kito janji doh, petandinge ni jadi acaro tahune doh. Tahniah PCNK atah usoho murni nih. Jadi, jange tunggu lamo2, daftar selaluh! Segalo maklumak hok perlu kawe letok bowoh ni:

Formak: 9 pusinge Swih
Maso: 45 menek soghe
Tepak: Blok A, UiTM Mache, Kelate
Haghi: 27 & 28 Januari (Jumaat & Sabtu)
Yure: ikok ketegori

Tebukok Jate nga Tino samo2 RM30 (tapi kalu jadi ahli PCNK RM20 jah)
Bowoh 18 nga bowoh 12 RM20 (tapi kalu jadi ahli PCNK RM10 jah)

Pah lagu mano nok jadi ahli? Sene jah, isi bore, baya RM5. Tapi keno tengok la syarak2 duluh:

1. Beranok di Kelate, IC 03, 28 nga 29.
2. Dok Kelate, belaja atau kijo (sekure2nyo 2 tahun)
3. Penoh wokel Kelate
4. Ayoh atau mok ada IC 03, 28 nga 29 (ghasonyo oghe tuo takdok IC 28 nga 29 nih)
5. Alamak Kelate dale IC.

Pah lagu mano nok tahu ketegori? Selaing dari tengok umor dale IC dan jengok dale seluar, syarak2 khas untuk budok2 ado jugok. Mano2 budok jate hok rating MCF lebeh dari 1599 keno maing ketegori Tebukok Jate. Mano2 budok tino hok rating MCF lebeh dari 1299 pulok keno maing ketegori Tebukok Tino.

Maklumak lanjot gi la jengok blog PCNK.

SMACH OPEN RESULT

This is the first time I ever got a top 10 result but was not rewarded. Looking at the final standing of the recent SMACH Open, I was left reeling when it was clear that I would not get anything because the organizer allocated the final spot to a female. Here is the final standing in the Open Category:

1. Ahmad Fadzil Nayan
2. Kamaluddin Yusof
3. Nor Azmi Mohd Nor
4. Abdul Rahim Ramli
5. Fairul Yusuf
6. Nik Ahmad Farouqi
7. Muhd Syazwan Zulkifli
8. Baharuddin Hamzah
9. Nik Mohd Nazri Nik Hassan
10. Yours Truly

Nevertheless, I'm truly happy with my performance (except for the 2 losses, anyway) and also the performance of my students I brought with me from SMK Chabang Empat, Tumpat. Their final standings:

74. Wan Mohd Amim Mohd Nasir

89. Muhd Syahrul Ahamad

91. Wan Abu Bakar Samaun

97. Noor Sahida Anuar

100. Nurul Asyikin Anuar

101. Nik Shamiera Adnan

105. Maznie Madri

Now for some pictures:

SMACH 2011

SM Sains Machang will hold its annual open chess tournament this week. Those who are interested kindly refer to the details below:

Date: 15 April 2011 (Friday)
Time: 8.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Venue: Gymnasium, SM Sains Machang

Fees: Open RM15 (Kelantanese) RM20 (Non-Kelantanese) RM10 (Secondary school students) RM5 (Primary school students)

Prizes: There are more than RM1000 to be won in the Open category, while top 4 students in each under-18, u-15 and u-12 (Boys & Girls) will receive cash.

All participants will receive a certificate.

Contact person: Wan Rozuhan (013-938 9819), Muhammad Arshad (012-921 0841)

Last year's winner can be read here.

Nik Nazri - picture taken from Terengganu Chess

NAZRI WINS SMACH OPEN 2010

Kelantan MAKSAK player, Nik Ahmad Nazri, won the SMACH Open today. He was better than the others with a mere 1/5 points. The final round was tense as no more than 3 players could claim to be the champion. However, Nazri got the point he needed from non other than YOURS TRULY! I was unlucky to be paired against the in-form teacher from Gua Musang in the last round, and lost on time contesting a completely equal position. The other game I lost was against Bakri Jusoh, repeating his feat from last year's Kelantan Closed.

Full results:

• Open and Under-18 (boys),
• U-18 (Girls) and U-15 (boys & girls)
• U-12 (boys & girls)

Pictures here.

SMACH 2010

SM Sains Machang will hold an open chess tournament in conjunction with its convocation. Those who are interested kindly refer to the details below:

Date: 17 April 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 8.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Venue: Gymnasium, SM Sains Machang

Fees: Open RM15 (Kelantanese) RM20 (Non-Kelantanese) RM10 (Secondary school students) RM5 (Primary school students)

Prizes: There are more than RM1000 to be won in the Open category, while top 4 students in each under-18, u-15 and u-12 (Boys & Girls) will receive cash.

All participants will receive a certificate.

Contact person: Wan Rozuhan (013-938 9819), Muhammad Arshad (012-921 0841)

SMACH RESULTS

The results for SMACH Open is out, and IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (picture right) predictably won all his games easily. I couldn't even think this tournament qualified as a warm-up for his quest for the Grandmaster title, as none of his opponents could even chase his shadow, moreover shake his mantle. The final standing:

1. IM Mas Hafizulhelmi
2. Baharuddin Hamzah
3. Ahmad Rizal Othman
4. Muhammad Arshad
5. Fairul Yusoff
6. Bakri Jusoh
7. M Syazwan Zulkifli
8. Sansubari
9. Hamlee Ismail
10. Ahmad Zulhilmi

See full results here.

Whereas in the under-18, Wan Mohd Adli (picture left) finished unscathed ahead of more fancied opponents such as Izzul Ikhwan, Ahza Daisam and Mohd Abhar Akmal.

For full results, click here. For more pictures, click here.

SMACH OPEN

Date: 25th April 2009
Venue: SM Sains, Machang, Kelantan
Format: Swiss 25 minutes

Fees:
Kelantan residents (work/study/born/reside in Kelantan) RM15
Kelantan non-residents RM25
Secondary school students RM10
Primary school students RM5

Prizes:
Open champion: RM300
Secondary school (under-18): RM100
Secondary school (under-15): RM100
Primary school (under-12): RM50

It is tournament time again in Kelantan. This time it will be a rapid game of 25 minutes per player per game. The fees will be according to residential status, where Kelantan players will be given priorities. I don't know whether non-Kelantanese players who work, study, born or reside outside Kelantan will be eligible, because both the websites I referred to (Badbishops and Masterchess91) do not mention it. The prizes mentioned are the first prize for each category but I like to think that there will be prizes until 10th placing, as usual. However, any clarifications can be forwarded to En. Wan Rozuhan at 013-9389819.

For those who don't know how to get to SM Sains Machang, click here. You can also surf the school's official website.

Good luck!