NEW RESPONSIBILITY

In the recent Annual General Meeting held during the ZADANO Kelantan Open, PCNK members who were present unanimously voted me to be the new president for 2015-17. This shocked me as I predicted Dr. Nasrul or even Mr. Nik Azrihan to fill the post vacated by Dato' Zaimi. Although I found it hard to take at first, I came to term to their beliefs and will carry on with it as responsibly as I can. I will have to juggle my time wisely between the tasks I already have with the hope that I will not disappoint those under my care. 

Coach of SMK Chabang Empat, Tumpat

I managed only 4 district representatives this year, with the fifth player declined the opportunity to play for Tumpat merely because he did not want to get behind in his studies. Maznie, Nur Asyikin, Nor Muniera Farhin and Muhammad Syahiran Nazwa were the players who trained with me everyday and I was proud of them for getting into the district team. 

Chairman of Tumpat District Chess Technical Committee

It was an unfortunate last day for the Tumpat team as Maznie and Mursyid, who were both on 5.5 points, needed at least a draw to cement the place in the state team. Instead, they lost to their respective opponents and forfeited the golden opportunity. No words could describe my disappointment that day but I know they had fought tooth and nail. It is still a mountain to climb for Tumpat team to be on par with the likes of Kuala Krai and Kota Bharu teams, but it is possible with the proper management of the human resources and talents I currently have. 

President of Kelantan Chess Association (PCNK)

This is my new responsibility. So far, PCNK had organized, or co-organized, at least an event each month, and this should be good for PCNK members or chess enthusiasts in Kelantan on the whole. The Junior Rapid, UiTM Open and ZADANO Kelantan Open in February, KTD Open in March and SMACH Open in April were among the tournaments held to satisfy chess players in Kelantan. Hopefully, with the new selected committee members of PCNK, we will continue to hold tournaments, workshops and will collaborate with any organizations in holding chess related activities. 

  

Kelantan State Player (The Red Knights)

So far, I was disappointed with my performance in the National Closed, and I feel that I have also let Kelantan team down. Although it was not a team game, still it was a tournament where the players fought under the state name. My next task would be the MAKSAK Team Tournament which will be held in Alor Star at the end of this month, and I hope I will do better this time.

A TOUCH OF REALITY

Reality hurts. A lot. I must accept the fact that I am not as strong as I once was. Losing to lower rated opponents repeatedly confirms that I am now on the decline. I just could not see what was happening on the board anymore. I developed the pieces and then lost my way in the calculations. I thought finishing marking my students' papers would help me focus on the task, but it did not. The downfall was apparent since game number one where I could not finish off my opponent in an easy endgame.

10 years elapsed since my first FIDE rating of 2065 which eventually went up to 2068 in 2011, and now it stands at 1943, a massive 125 points drop because of a single tournament, The National Closed. This was a tournament I never entered before, and this will be a tournament I will hardly play in the future, considering that I could not even beat a 16++ opponent which will make my task in the upcoming selections harder.

Diagnosing on the factors, I do believe the inability to successfully solve the problems I currently have is the numero uno. Even though I hid them in the back of my head, they still unconsciously disturbed my calculations. Until I am free from these disturbances, I can never play my best games. Sadly, I cannot see a solution to these problems in the near future, which will mean that my best games are still going to be far, far away.

Hopefully, I could drag myself out of these mess sooner rather than later.  

The Red Knights

The Red Knights

As for my teammates, I am glad that they had fared better. Two of them (Dr. Nasrul and Nik Ahmad Farouqi) were among the top 15 in the Open Category while Najihah was 11th in the Female Category. Even though none of the Red Knights managed to become national flag bearer this time, we were proud of our achievement.

You can read more about this in PCNK website.
 

MY CHESS ACTIVITIES FOR 2015

In 2015, Kelantan chess fans are treated with tournaments for all levels of play, starting with NCCS Rapid Chess Series for age groups, which was held on 19th February at SMK Raja Sakti, Kota Bharu and the much awaited ZADANO Kelantan Open, an international FIDE-rated event, a day later. A turn-out of more than 160 players for each tournament means that Kelantan chess enthusiasts are really craving for playing time after nearly tournament-less year of 2014. 

Personally, I was involved in both. Here are my views on each :

NCCS Rapid Chess Series

Youth players competed in three categories of Under 12, Under 15 and Under 18, respectively. The tournament was a great sparring prelude for the upcoming MSSM which will be in June, as well as respective district and state selections. I was told that there will be other similar tournaments (hence the word SERIES) which will be held at the same venue. I think this is very good for the target group as there will be plenty of tournaments to toughen them up before the big game. 

I brought some of my Project Squad from Tumpat, and one of them did very well in winning the best female under 12 category. 

ZADANO Kelantan Open

I was personally involved with this one, as the organizer and also a player. It was daunting, but it was rewarding. Objectively, the tournament was held to fund the purchase of chess clocks for PCNK. We got what we wanted, and we also got more than we bargained for. Bonds with SMKA Naim and also the Kelantan Sports & Youth Department were sealed, as well as ties with players from Lipis and Kuantan. There will also be new FIDE rated Kelantan players to be added to the existing ones.

The list of ZADANO winners can be read here.

PCNK General Meeting was also held in the eve of the first day, but the turnout was still far from satisfying. Nonetheless, new committee was formed and, reluctantly, I was chosen as the new President for 2015 - 2017 (read about the new committee here).

Anonymously, the meeting agreed that the representatives for the National Closed (a) would be taken from the best in this very tournament, while (b) taking into account their rating qualification. After the final round, this is the final verdict : 

1. Nik Ahmad Farouqi

2. Wan Mohd Adli

3. Yours Truly

4. Nik Mohd Nazri

5. Bakri

There are two slots for State Representatives for the Open Category and another two slots for Female Category. With the FIDE rating of 2063 and National Rating of 1979, Nik Ahmad Farouqi qualified hands down for the first slot. Wan Mohd Adli, with National Rating of 1485, on the other hand, did not qualify because of (b) rating qualification. Therefore, the next best was Yours Truly with the FIDE rating of 2068 and National Rating of 1696, who qualified based on both (a) and (b). Najihah and Nurwahida Atira completed the remaining slots. 

So, here I am, on the verge of competing in a FIDE rated classical time control for the first time since 2011. Hopefully I can do something in this National Closed. I already completed marking for all my students for March test to focus on this tournament. My games at ZADANO were far from convincing, yet, I still believe.

MAY ALLAH BLESS YOU, CM AHMAD FADZIL BIN NAYAN

CM Ahmad Fadzil bin Nayan

Died 18 January 2015, 9.08 p.m.

I had high hopes for him. I regarded him as one of the candidates to ever get a Grandmaster title for Malaysia. Even though I never had a chance to play against him in tournaments, I know that he was a very gifted player. I really like him as a person, even more so because he represented the very same team I once represented - the IIUM chess team. Although the name has been changed into IIUM Mustangs (IIUM Knights previously), it is of the same honour. I once pictured a contest between the current IIUM Mustangs versus IIUM Knights in my post but now, the Mustangs team will never be the same again.

The latest news I have heard about him was when he fell sick in the Malaysian Chess Festival held here in Kuala Lumpur after drawing with Grandmaster Zhang Zhong. He recovered but his death came as a surprise to me. Leaving the world at a very young age is not in anybody's plan yet God's plan is greater. Let us pray together so that Allah grants his place in the heaven.

Here are some pictures taken from fellow chess players in tribute to him:

If you want to share your stories or your pictures with him in this post, please do so in the comments below. THANK YOU.

VENUE CONFIRMED FOR ZADANO KELANTAN OPEN 2014

Google Street View of SMKA Naim Lilbanat, Kota Bharu

The venue for Zadano Kelantan Open has been confirmed. It will be held at Haji Yaacub Hall, SMKA Naim Lilbanat, Kota Bharu. It is situated at Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra and is easily accessible by any kind of transportation. 

Some of the hotels and accommodations nearby:

1. Renaissance Hotel

2. Leo Mutiara Hotel

3. Kami Hotel

4. MCna Homestay

5. D' Naja Inn

6. Tune Hotel
7. Perdana Hotel
8. Al-Quds Hotel
9. Saf Inn
10. BBP Hotel

For reminders:

The closing date is 22 December 2014.

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.

CARLSEN vs ANAND 2014

Sochi will witness the rematch of last year's World Championship match between the reigning World Champion, Magnus Carlsen and the challenger Viswanathan Anand. Will there be something new from Anand's camp? Or will it be same old, same old for Carlsen? Currently at the time of writing, Carlsen has just won the second game with the white pieces after drawing the first game with black. Hopefully Anand will bounce back because the whole world want to see a fair fight. 

You may witness the duel on the official site here.

ps: Carlsen looked very old in the above picture taken from the official site :)

KELANTAN OPEN 2014

The most awaited event of the year for Kelantan chess community will finally be held this December. It is a FIDE rated event and is open to everybody. Sponsored by Zadano Malaysia, the Kelantan Open is expected to attract the maximum of 200 players to challenge for the champion trophy and first prize money of RM2000.

The details of the tournament can be read in the flyer below:

You may also download this form by clicking here.

You may view the latest list of registered PCNK members here.

 most awaited event of the year for Kelantan chess community will finally be held this December. It is a FIDE rated event and is open to everybody. Sponsored by Zadano Malaysia, the Kelantan Open is expected to attract the maximum of 200 players to challenge for the champion trophy and first prize money of RM2000. The details of the tournament can be read in the flyer below:

Make money by copying the best: http://bit.ly/best_tips

The most awaited event of the year for Kelantan chess community will finally be held this December. It is a FIDE rated event and is open to everybody. Sponsored by Zadano Malaysia, the Kelantan Open is expected to attract the maximum of 200 players to challenge for the champion trophy and first prize money of RM2000. The details of the tournament can be read in the flyer below: You may also download this form by clicking here. You may view the latest list of registered PCNK members here.

Make money by copying the best: http://bit.ly/best_tips

Kelantan Open 2014 The most awaited event of the year for Kelantan chess community will finally be held this December. It is a FIDE rated event and is open to everybody. Sponsored by Zadano Malaysia, the Kelantan Open is expected to attract the maximum of 200 players to challenge for the champion trophy and first prize money of RM2000. The details of the tournament can be read in the flyer below: You may also download this form by clicking here. You may view the latest list of registered PCNK members here.

Make money by copying the best: http://bit.ly/best_tips

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):

 

UTP RAPID AND BLITZ 2014

UTP would like to invite you to join this event which will be held as follow:

Date: 22nd and 23rd November 2014 (Saturday and Sunday)
Venue: Main Hall, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
 
FORMAT: Rapid (9 rounds Swiss System, 20 Minutes + 10 Seconds increment) and Blitz (9 rounds Swiss System, 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment)
 
CATEGORY: Open (FIDE Rated) and Age-Group Categories (Nat. Rated: U-16 Boys/Girls, U-14 Boys/Girls, U-12 Boys/Girls, U-10 Boys/Girls, U-8 Boys/Girls)

PRIZES: (All winners will get certificate of achievement, all participants will get certificate of participation)
Open Rapid: 1st RM1000, 2nd RM500, 3rd RM400, 4th RM350, 5th RM300, 6th RM250, 7th RM200, 8th RM150, 9th RM100, 10th RM90, + 5 consolation prizes)

Open Blitz: 1st RM500, 2nd RM250, 3rd RM200, 4th RM150, 5th RM100, 6th RM90, 7th RM80, 8th RM70, 9th RM60, 10th RM50, + 5 consolation prizes)

Age-Group Rapid: 1st RM50 + Medal, 2nd Medal, 3rd Medal (For each age-group categories, boys and girls)

Age-Group Blitz: 1st RM30 + Medal, 2nd Medal, 3rd Medal (For each age-group categories, boys and girls)

ENTRY FEE: The fee shall cover BOTH rapid and blitz events. No refunds will be given if player chooses to participate in only one event.
1. RM 40.00 for Age-Group Category (Under-16, Under-14, Under-12, Under-10 and Under-8)
2. RM 70.00 for Open Category – FIDE Rated Player
3. RM 120.00 for Open Category – NON-FIDE Rated Player
4. FREE ENTRANCE FEE for Malaysian IM / FM / WIM / WFM

CLOSING DATE: 19th November 2014 (Wednesday)

INFORMATION: Please contact Lee Ming Xiang (mingxiang1006@gmail.com; 012 - 979 1319) or Tisha Loh (tishaloh@hotmail.com; 019-3779444) or visit website at http://nrbcc.weebly.com.

IIUM OPEN

IIUM Sports Development Centre in collaboration with Ministry of Education (MOE) and Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) will be organizing the 6th IIUM Chess Invitational Tournament 2014 scheduled to be held on 18th October 2014 at Multipurpose Hall, Female Sports Complex, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Gombak.

This tournament will be divided into three categories which are Open Category, Under-21 Category and Under-12 Category.

 

Please register before the closing date stated. Late entry registration will not be entertained. 

 

Entry fee must be paid before the registration day. Payment by cheque should be written in the name of BENDAHARI UIAM. Or you can bank in to Maybank Account No. 158284093811 (Miss Nurul Najmi Bt. Bakar). Please provide the proof of payment or bank in slip during the registration day.

 

Any inquiries, kindly contact the Secretariats:-

Mrs. Norsharmila Zabani
Tel.: 016-3332207
E-mail  : sharmila@iium.edu.my

Miss. Nurul Najmi Bakar
Tel.: 016-4452501
E-mail  : nurulnajmibakar@gmail.com

Mr. Ahmad Azfar Azmi
Tel.: 017-6709644
E-mail  : azfar64master@yahoo.com

Mr. Wan Muhammad Shafiq Mohd Shukri
Tel.: 017-8172998
E-mail  : kingafiq@yahoo.com.my

HOST WINS MAKSAK 2014

Winners in action

 Terengganu took advantage of being the host to wrest the title away from Johor in the recently concluded MAKSAK held at Tanjung Vista Hotel, Kuala Terengganu. The three-day tournament saw 14 teams participating in the inaugural 7 round Swiss format. The previous winners' pool and losers' pool format was relinquished to give the chance for the change into Swiss format. It was a bold decision made by this year's MAKSAK committee at the time when we already grew accustomed to the previous format. 

Kuala Lumpur is the runners up

The participating teams were (according to initial ranking): 

1. Johor

2. Kuala Lumpur

3. Terengganu

4. Sarawak

5. Perak

6. Selangor

7. Pahang

8. Armed Forces

9. Kedah

10. Jail

11. Police

12. Perlis

13. Penang

14. Kelantan

Kelantan was put at the bottom of the pack for not participating in the 2013 MAKSAK in Johor. We nearly do not participate this year also if not for the effort put in by the team members and the timely school holidays.At the final moments, we managed to assemble a team consisted of (according to board number):

1. Mohd Saufi Deraman

2. Nik Mohd Nazri Nik Hasan

3. Muhammad Ariez Azman

4. Mohd Anis Rahimi Mohd Noor

5. Baharuddin Hamzah

Nik Mohd Nazri is contemplating a move

Kelantan performance was not up to par, in my opinion. Only Nik Mohd Nazri and Baharuddin did well in their games while others were way off the mark. However, I think they were forgivable as the team did not properly trained prior to coming for the tournament. Ariez is a newcomer while Mohd Anis and Mohd Saufi obviously need some time before the tournament to warm their engine up. 

Mohd Anis and Mohd Saufi

Kelantan performance, as a team and individually, can be viewed here.

Baharuddin in action

Nik Azrihan was also there as the manager of the team. He didn't get to play any games but he did play a big part in the team. It was him who made sure that the team has proper attire, courtesy of a generous sponsorship from PCNK, because uniformity is what make a team bond. As an absentee, I was quite jealous of this, but as a member of the Red Knights, I was proud. At least they have proven that the state's decision for not sending a team will not deter the Red Knights from competing in MAKSAK tournaments in the future. 

Nik Azrihan

The final results: