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 :)

NORWAY vs MALAYSIA, 41st OLYMPIAD, NORWAY

This has been truly a remarkable journey the team has endured throughout the tournament. 2 consecutive draws against higher rated team has put our flag way up there on the third board. What equally sensational is that Malaysia has been drawn to play against the home team which has a certain Super Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, the highest ever rating player in the world of chess! I believe not many of us have envisaged this a fortnight ago, but here we are now, punching which I believe what is not really above our weight. 

Regardless of the result would be, this Malaysia chess team will be remembered for a long time to come. The mixture of experienced and new comers has produced wonders. No more fixations with certain individuals because honest selections will bring out the best from our chess talents. 

For tomorrow night, providing that the lineup fits, this is my review: 

Board 1 : GM Magnus Carlsen (2877) vs IM Lim Yee Weng (2311)

This will be really tough for Lim. The 566 rating difference does not lie. However, Lim likes to play simple games, so hopefully he will find a draw somewhat. It will be absolutely hard though, because Lim will be playing black.

Board 2 : Aron Teh Eu Wen (2309) vs GM Simen Agdestein (2630)

The youthful Aron against the experienced Agdestein will be a game to watch. Aron likes to attack, and playing white, he will have the first opportunity. However, the stumbling block will be the fact that Aron has lost two games in the row, which might make him suffer a little in terms of confidence. 

Board 3 : GM Jon Ludvig Hammer (2628) vs Fong Yit San (2143)

GM Jon Ludvig draws a lot in this tournament, so Fong should take note of this. The drive of getting the FIDE Master should be enough to give Fong the motivation he needs in order to tackle this game. Fong played quite impressively in the last 4 games, so this game will be the cream of the crop if he does pull it off.

Board 4 : Ahmad Fadzil Nayan (2121) vs GM Johannessen Leif Erlend (2528)

To my dismay, Ahmad Fadzil Nayan is arguably the best IIUM player ever. He is now representing the country whereas most of us ex-IIUM are at best representing our states. Nonetheless, the champion of Asian Amateur 2011 has to be at his best in order to win against GM Johannessen. I really like to see whether Ahmad Fadzil will accurately calculate his moves tomorrow, leaving the miscalculation of yesterday's game against the Swiss to the back of his mind. He also has the chance to be a FIDE master if he gets at least half a point. 

GOOD LUCK MALAYSIAN CHESS TEAM!

41st CHESS OLYMPIAD IN TROMSO, NORWAY

The Malaysian chess team is currently battling their wits in the land of the reigning World Champion, Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen. As per post, Malaysia male chess team is in 48th placing from the 177 participating countries. This is very impressive considering the team composition which comprises of mostly new faces.

Although there are many sites providing the coverage, I watch their performance every night at chess24.com. Its interactive features are quite good, so you may try it yourself.

Tonight in Round 9 the male team is playing Tajikistan. Hopefully the chess team will get the chance to revenge our football team loss to Tajikistan under the new coach Dollah Salleh.

The team's results can be accessed in the chess-results.com server. Please click here.

picture courtesy of Biro Catur Wanita MCF

Male Team

1. IM Lim Yee-Weng (FIDE 2311)
2. Aron Teh Eu Wen (2309)
3. Fong Yit San (2143)
4. Sumant Subramaniam (2075)
5. Ahmad Fadzil Nayan (2121)


Female Team

1. WFM Alia Anin Azwa Bakri (1964)
2. WCM Tan Li Ting (1945)
3. WCM Nur Nabila Azman Hisham (1916)
4. WFM Nur Najiha Azman Hisham (1886)
5. Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar (1860)

ANAND vs CARLSEN - Final Episode

Anand finally started with 1.d4. A Nimzo-Indian ensued and we quickly found that Carlsen was under pressure right from the start. He was behind in time and also space and was in danger of being checkmated. However, with nerves of steel, he counter attacked on the opposite wing and got a passed pawn. In the end, this passed pawn contributed to the demise of a champion. 

I really feel sad for Anand. He must win the remaining 3 games to go level and bring the championship into tie breaks. It will be amazing if he really pulls that out, though. If today's game ends in a draw, he will surely regret the draws he had wasted in the first and second games.

Click on the picture to browse the gallery and click on the caption below for the 'live' video. Credit goes to the official website.

Game 9 Game 9 (Press Conference)

Game 10 (Part 1) (Part 2)
(Press Conference)

ANAND vs CARLSEN - Episode 2

At last, the first win goes to Carlsen. I kind of expected the result after seeing that Carlsen has managed to gain momentum, especially in Game 4. He might have accustom himself with the climate and atmosphere of Chennai, as well as to its people. Slowly, he took out his arsenal and started firing, although I must admit that part of Anand's weak defending led to his downfall today. He should have probably known by now that messy positions suit Carlsen very well, and they should be avoided if possible. 

On the bright side, they will be plenty of games to go. I personally think that there are still exciting games coming, much to the delight of chess fans worldwide. We have seen Reti, Caro Kann, Berlin and Queen's Gambit Semi Slav (if I'm not mistaken, as shown by my chess programme). Being Carlsen, he might come out with more openings in the course of the 12 games. 

Click on the picture to browse the gallery and click on the caption below for the 'live' video. Credit goes to the official website.

Game 5 Game 5 (Press Conference)

Game 6 Game 6 (Press Conference)

Game 7 Game 7 (Press Conference)

Game 8 Game 8 (Press Conference)

ANAND vs CARLSEN - Episode 1

I, like the rest of the chess world right now, am following the Chennai World Chess Championship where the current World Champion, Viswanathan Anand is playing the highest rated player of all time, Magnus Carlsen. This is the sternest test yet for the World Champion, as Carlsen is not a pushover. He is up there, by the way, and will strive to justify his rating by winning this battle between two generations. 

During my early chess days, I like Anand very much. Then, he was dubbed 'The lightning kid from Madras'. I was inspired by one of his rapid games featured in JAGUH (a chess column in Berita Harian a long time ago) that I took up French Defense as my first opening. I still like him, though. He is arguably the best prepared chess player for this kind of world class tournament, as his five world championship titles show. He even has the home advantage this time.

As for Carlsen, I first heard about him when he nearly beat Kasparov in 2004, the one and only time they faced each other in a competitive chess match. I thought that, 'Wow! I would like him to replace Kasparov in the near future'. Nearly 10 years later, he has the chance to prove that he should be the one holding the title. He did a lot of interviews, and I watched some of them. As a thirteen-year-old boy, interviewed after his game against Kasparov, he did say that he wanted to be the world champion. I was in awe! He showed maturity beyond his age in most of the interviews. 

After two opening games, they are still even. I suspect that both are still studying each other's preparation. Although some of the viewers have already labeled this match as 'boring', I still think that there is so much more to come. As much as I want Anand to win this, I also want Carlsen to get his wish. 

What do YOU think?

Can you imagine these videos airing at ASTRO? I sure can't. Nevertheless, enjoy! (Click on the picture to browse the gallery and click on the caption below for the 'live' video. Credit goes to the official website)

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4 (Part 1) Game 4 (Part 2)