A BLAST FROM THE PAST

I was rummaging the store where I put the boxes containing my chess books and materials, and I found this game which is played way back in 2003. I was very obsessed with attacking style then, and the game versus a well-known GM from the U.S.A. was no exception. In the end, my knight sacrifice was not sound, and my position was blown away efficiently. The only good thing was I got to take away the board I was playing on and I asked him to sign on it.

The board with GM Yaseer's autograph

KPI REVIEW

At the start of this year, I stated the KPI for my chess life. In my own words from the original post,

Hopefully this year, I can achieve 2100 FIDE rating and 1700 MCF rating. In terms of coaching, I intend to have at least 3 students from my district (Tumpat) representing Kelantan in MSSM, insha Allah.

Sadly, all the targets will not be achieved by the end of this year, which is just around the corner. In terms of FIDE rating, insha Allah, I will see an increase of 3 points to 2068 from previous 2065. This is accumulated from the only FIDE rated tournament I entered this year - 1st Kelantan FIDE Rated Round Robin Tournament. Meanwhile, instead of increasing to 1700, my MCF rating dropped to 1665. Losses in at least 2 National rated events helped in this matter. My final resolution also was not materialised, as I only had 2 students from Tumpat representing Kelantan in MSSM.

I think, for next year, I will stick to these KPIs.

MSSM CHESS 2012

Information taken from the MSSM calendar for 2012, Terengganu will hold next year's MSSM chess, scheduled from 5 - 9 June. Hopefully, I will have some quality time to prepare and train my students for the event.

You can view the calendar here.

NIK AHMAD FAROUQI IN SARAWAK OPEN

Nik Ahmad Farouqi is the sole representative for PCNK in Sarawak Open which will be held from 12 - 16 December 2011. The field consists of 94 players, some of them from outside the country, with an Indian IM as the first seed. NAF is the 8th seed and so far he had already collected 2 points from his two games. You can view his progress by clicking his name at the start of this post.

GOMO, NIK AHMAD FAROUQI, GOMO!

HAQ IS THE CHAMPION!

Abdul Haq

Abdul Haq becomes the first champion for the inaugural Kelantan FIDE Rated Round Robin Chess Tournament even though there are three more games to be played. With the victory against Baharuddin and 9.5 points, he leapfrogs Nik Ahmad Farouqi who becomes second with 9 points. Third place belongs to Mohd Azizul after a painful defeat in his last game against Nasrul Humaimi and finishes with 8 points. He will not be caught by Syed Azizi even if the latter won his two remaining games against Ariez and Wan Mahadzir this Saturday.

PREVIEW - 1st KELANTAN FIDE RATED

This Saturday, the remaining games will be played to complete the tournament. Two games in particular will determine the top three. The games are between Abdul Haq vs Baharuddin and Yours Truly vs Nasrul Humaimi.

versus

Haq, 2nd in the current standing with 8.5 points, has to win against the gritty, 'roti-canai' eating Baharuddin to win the tournament. Playing white, Haq would probably start with 1.e4, his favourite move. Meanwhile, Baharuddin will be unpredictable because he has not played with black except against Nik (who started with 1.Nf3) and Ezmi (Grob, obviously). A loss will give the title to Nik Farouqi and a possibility for Yours Truly to leapfrog him to second place. A draw, however, is subject to the other game's result.

versus

On the other hand, Yours Truly, 3rd in the current standing, has to win against Nasrul for a chance to finish second. A win is unlikely to make him the champion because he had already lost against the tournament leader, Nik Farouqi, who finishes with 9 points. However, Nasrul will not give Yours Truly an easy ride since he was the best performer for Kelantan in the recently concluded Asian Amateur, ahead of Abdul Haq in particular. So far, Yours Truly has played all the standard opening moves 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.Nf3. It is interesting what will be played this Saturday, so stay tuned for updates.

Current standing

1st FIDE RATED CONTINUES..

The inaugural tournament will continue tomorrow with 4 more games to be played. The players are:

9 a.m.

Ariez vs Nik Nazri
Wan Mahadzir vs Yours Truly


2 p.m.

Ariez vs Yours Truly
Nik Nazri vs Wan Mahadzir



Current standings