THE BATTLE BEGINS TODAY!

Who will get on that Kelantan's bus? The answer will be revealed after this three day event held at the SMK Tanah Merah 1 hall, Tanah Merah. Chess players from 10 districts will battle it out in 6 categories to get that exclusive ticket to this year's MSSM Chess Tournament which will be held at Terengganu this coming school holidays.

Again, here are links for some of the district selections (click to go to the links):

Kuala Krai (4 - 5 April 2012)

Tumpat (9 - 10 April 2012)

Gua Musang (24 - 25 April 2012)

Kota Bharu (25 - 26 April 2012)
Tanah Merah (2 - 3 May 2012)

There will also be bulletins of last year's Kelantan Closed and Kelantan Rated Tournament. You can get them at reasonable price of RM10 each. However, if you buy both of them, there will be a discount. Here are the covers of the bulletins.

 The bulletin consists of all the FIDE rated games for the 1st Kelantan FIDE Rated event held ever in Kelantan. There were 5 FIDE rated players and 7 challengers who each got FIDE ratings once the tournament was over. There are 66 high standard games inside for the reader's pleasure.

Price: RM10.00

 The selection for Kelantan's representation in 2011 National Closed tournament can be found in this bulletin. There were intense battles in all rounds as players battle it out to become Kelantan's representatives. At the end, Nik Ahmad Farouqi managed to pip the title from last year's champion, Syed Azizi.

Price: RM10.00

TANAH MERAH SELECTION

The host, Tanah Merah, held its selection on 2 - 3 May 2012. The results:

Under 12 Male

1. Mohd Amirul Asyraf (SK Nik Daud)
2. Lukmanul Izzat (SK Nik Daud)
3. Muhd Hanif (SK Nik Daud)
4. Aizad (SK Sri Suria 3)
5. Muhd Khairul Amiruddin (SK Sri Suria 2)
6. Nik Muhd Irfan Firdaus (SK Batu Gajah)

Under 12 Female

1. Nurul Syafiqah Izzaty (SK Nik Daud)
2. Nur Shazreen Zulaika (SK Nik Daud)
3. Amalia Syabilla (SK Nik Daud)
4. Nur Faqihah Amni (SK Nik Daud)
5. Nurul Hana (SK Batu Gajah)
6. Nurul Shafiqah (SK Nik Daud)

Under 15 Male

1. Muhd Syazwan (SMK Ladang Kerilla)
2. Ahmad Bukhori (SMK Ladang Kerilla)
3. Muhd Zaim (SMK Datuk Mahmud 1)
4. Loh Yung Shen (SMK Datuk Mahmud 1)
5. Tio Yu Xuen (SMK Datuk Mahmud 1)
6. Khairul Anam Zamir (SMK Tanah Merah 2)

Under 15 Female

1. Yap Minle (SMK Datuk Mahmud 1)
2. Nur Shahida (SMK Tanah Merah 1)
3. Nushamimi (SMK Bukit Bunga)
4. Siti Hajar Nursyafiqah (SMK Bukit Bunga)
5. Nur 'Amilyn (SMK Tanah Merah 1)
6. Akmal Adina (SMK Tanah Merah 2)

Under 18 Male

1. Muhd Izzudin (SMK Tanah Merah 1)
2. Muhd Zharif (SMK Tanah Merah 1)
3. Muhd Imran Hashimi (SMK Tanah Merah 1)
4. Mohd Kamariezal (SMK Tanah Merah 1)
5. Koh Kiat Huang (SMK Datuk Mahmud 1)
6. Arif (SMK Tanah Merah 1)

Under 18 Female

1. Nur Fatihah (SMK Tanah Merah 1)
2. Nur Najiehah (SMK Tanah Merah 1)
3. Siti Nabila (SMK Tanah Merah 1)
4. Nurul Ain (SMK Ladang Kerilla)
5. Bak See Kei (SMK Datuk Mahmud 1)
6. Akmal Adibah (SMK Tanah Merah 2)

TANAH MERAH WELCOMES YOU!

This year's MSSK Kelantan will be held at SMK Tanah Merah 1. It is situated beside the Pantai Timur and it has a big hall. The details of the tournament are as below:

Date: 10 - 12 May 2012 (Thursday - Saturday)

Venue: Main Hall, SMK Tanah Merah 1

Time: 8.00 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Format: 8 Swiss rounds (3 games will be held on Thursday, 2 games on Friday and 3 games on Saturday). Players will be given an hour to the finish.

For free accommodation, please contact the PPD Tanah Merah before 7 May 2012 to arrange for hostels nearby.

PPD TUMPAT MAINTAINED 2 STATE REPS

At last, the state selection ended. PPD Tumpat, like last year, managed to send two of its players to represent the state in the MSSM. The players are:

1. Wan Muhammad Zikri Wan Mohammad (Boys Under 18 Category)
2. Wan Nur Fatin Athirah (Girls Under 12 Category)

The selection, held at MRSM Kuala Krai from 5 - 7 May 2011, saw 64 participants in every categories totaling to 384 junior chess players competing to be the state representatives. The Kota Bharu contingent returned home with the most golds - 5 from 6 categories! Even though the contingent was divided into two - Northern KB and Southern KB - with 12 winners overall, it did not deter the fact that the other contingents still have a lot of catching up to do. Kuala Krai was next with 9 winners in all categories, while Pasir Puteh came third with 5.

1. Kuala Krai (9)
2. Northern Kota Bharu (8)
3. Pasir Puteh (5)
4. Southern Kota Bharu (4)
5. Pasir Mas (4)
6. Tumpat (2)
7. Machang (2)
8. Tanah Merah (1)
9. Jeli (1)

Uniquely, the Boys Under 18 Category saw 6 participants from 6 different contingents, whereas the Boys Under 12 Category was dominated by Kuala Krai. Gua Musang and Bachok did not have a single representative. The names of the winners:

Boys Under 18

1. Wan Mohd Adli (KBU)
2. Mohd Fadhil (PPH)
3. Wan Mohd Zikri (TPT)
4. Nik Muhd Sharifudin (MCH)
5. Fadhil Aiman (KKR)
6. Muhammad Syahmi (JEL)

Boys Under 15

1. Wan Mohd Amirul (KBU)
2. Muhd Ikmal Hakimie (PMS)
3. Alif Omar (PPH)
4. Wan Muhd Imran (KBU)
5. Muhammad Adam Hafiz (KBU)
6. Muhamad Izani (KKR)

Boys Under 12

1. Nik Muhd Haziq (KKR)
2. Muhammad Syakir (KKR)
3. Mohd Firdaus (KKR)
4. Abdul Manaf (KKR)
5. Muhamad Akram (MCH)
6. Muhamad Irfan (KBU)

Girls Under 18

1. Wan Aemellia Elisha (KBS)
2. Ayu Anabihah (TMH)
3. Nabilah (KBS)
4. Wan Zarif Sofea (PPH)
5. Norazlisa (KKR)
6. Aisyah Nabilah (PMS)

Girls Under 15

1. Siti Nur Afiqah (KBU)
2. Najihah (PPH)
3. Laila Husna (KBS)
4. Nur Ain Syahirah (PPH)
5. Nik Nur Ain Sabrina (KBU)
6. Nur Hanis Natasha (KBS)

Girls Under 12

1. Nur Fatini (KBU)
2. Nurfatin Aisyah (PMS)
3. Nik Nur Nadzirah (KKR)
4. Wan Nur Fatin Athirah (TPT)
5. Nik Anisy Syakirah (KKR)
6. Nur Anis Fazliyana (PMS)

Pictures from the event:

The Tumpat Team



Sending a full force in each category, the Tumpat team managed to make the other contingent run for their money. The targets were Wan Nurhazirah (Girls Under 18), Wan Muhammad Zikri (Boys Under 18), Abdul Haiyi (Boys Under 18) and Wan Nur Fatin Athirah (Girls Under 12).

Heartbreak for darling, she only managed to get 7th in her category. She won her games before losing to Aemellia, the eventual champion, in Round 4. Then, she drew all her games before winning her last. Finishing 5.5 points with the strongest tie break did not ensure her a place in the state team.

While Abdul Haiyi only managed to finish 11th when he lost to a player from Machang in Round 7. Although he won his last game, 5.5 points were never enough to secure a top 6 finish.

GUA MUSANG NOW HAS CELCOM 3G!

Good news for Gua Musang residents (especially me!) as my broadband modem turns from green to blue light. It started approximately a week before Hari Raya Aidilfitri this year (2008). I hope it stays that way for the rest of my stay in the district (not planning of moving in the near future, though). It was false dawn at Tanah Merah (my in-laws' residence) during last election, when I enjoyed UMTS connection for only about a week, as it turned back to GPRS after the election. However, the district also has Celcom 3G connection now, and I'm not complaining.