GOOD LUCK, JUNIOR RED KNIGHTS!

SMK Badang, Kota Bharu

The junior Red Knights left for MSSM Chess Tournament last night. This year, the venue is Sarawak. All 36 of them were very keen to fight for Kelantan when I met them during their centralised training in SMK Badang, Kota Bharu. Although they were physically and mentally pushed to the limit in that training, they were quite happy. 

Najihah gets third placing (pic courtesy of Andrew Oii)

Five of them had the luxury of extra training when they were taken to represent the first team in the National Closed held from 16 to 20 March. Mohamad Ali Asghar, Wan Mohamad Amirul, Mohd Syakir, Najihah and Nik Nur Nadzirah were all smiles for that privilege. Even though initially chosen because there was no Kelantan Closed, the traditional tournament for selecting players for National Closed, 0ne of them, Najihah Mohd Saufi, managed to get third placing in the prestigious tournament. 

Recent years have seen Kelantan bringing home some medals from the tournament. Hopefully this year will be the same. 

KELANTAN CLOSED 2013

Masterskill College saw a grueling fight among players aiming to be the Kelantan representatives for this year's National Closed which is scheduled to be held at Terengganu. Once the registration closed at 10 a.m. Friday morning, 41 players in the Male Category and 7 players in the Female Category started the first round at 3 p.m. Only 4 male players and 2 players needed, so the 7 rounds produced high quality games despite the time allocation of 30 minutes plus 10-second increments. There were sacrifices everywhere, and Abdul Haq produced the best sacrifice of the tournament when he sacrificed himself for the third round game by giving the opponent a win without playing! When the dust has settled, the emergent winners were announced by the President of the Persatuan Catur Negeri Kelantan (PCNK), Mr. Nik Mohd Azrihan on the eve of the second day. The reps are:

KELANTAN CLOSED 2012 BULLETIN

Kelantan Closed 2012 bulletin is now ready! There will be over 100 games which include IM Mas Hafizulhelmi who played in the selection held early this year plus several selected games with special annotation by the players. Discount will be given to active PCNK members. 

There will also be edited version of past Kelantan Closed bulletins and the 1st FIDE Rated tournament. 

 

Get them at the Kelantan Open on 28 - 29 December 2012!

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.

FAROUQI IS OUR NEW CHAMPION!

It was all down to the wire. They needed the play off match to determine who will become the winner. Both Farouqi and Syed Azizi are worthy champions. Kelantan will be very proud to have you as our representatives in the coming National Closed.

Full results taken from chess-results.com here.

KC2011 - DAY ONE

There are 97 participants for the Open category, vying to be the state representatives in this year's National Closed. The format is 7 rounds Swiss, with the time control of 30 minutes and 30 seconds increments for each move per player.

Speaking of time, one of the junior players played a very interesting ending against me in Round 3. He did not use his time wisely, taking less than a minute for each of his moves. By the time the game was over, he had 35 minutes to my 2 minutes. Here is the position with Black to move:

Speculatively, I moved the pawn to e3. I knew it was not the best move, yet my time management was so off that I had to try something for a win. Now, instead of chasing the pawn with Kd3, he blundered by putting his King to d4, thinking that he supposedly had to cover his Knight at d5. If he had thought more deeply, he would have known that the Knight at d5 was immune because of the hanging Bishop at b7. Nevertheless, being who he is (I saw him played fast many times), he succumbed to the crushing blow of e2!, leaving no chance of him getting the queening pawn.

Here is some pictures from the first day:

All the results and pairings are uploaded at chess-results.com

REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS FOR KELANTAN CLOSED

Please check your name and your rating in Kelantan Chess Network here.

One noticeable presence is Abdullah Che Hassan. According to the rules and regulations, the participants must be in either of these conditions (and prove it with documentations):

1) born in Kelantan

2) one of the parents was born in Kelantan

3) live / work / study in Kelantan

So, Abdullah, whose father is a Kelantanese, IS ELIGIBLE to play for Kelantan.

I also received news that Muhammad bin Arshad (Yes, THAT Muhammad bin Arshad) had asked to play in this Kelantan Closed, because of that second condition. This sparks a debate what if he is ever selected, and if Terengganu also comes calling? Thus, we had a meeting between the organising committees and we conclude that he IS ELIGIBLE to play for Kelantan also.

A condition is added to both players though - that they will not play for other state this year. If the added condition is breached, they will not be permitted to play in Kelantan Closed ever again.

KELATE CLOSED IS HEATING UP..

There are already 68 Kelantan chess players registered for this event, making it more prestigious than last year's event. For the full list of registered players, please visit PCNK's blog here. Naserov already looked into the water and predict the winners in his blog here.

Apart from that, there is news about Kelantan female players at last year's National Junior Championship. The blog Biro Catur Wanita MCF commented on the involvement of 5 Kelantan junior female players playing in the event (picture above). Remember my post about their rating drop? Well, apparently, this was the event where they did drop a lot of rating points. You can read the post here.

KELANTAN CLOSED

PCNK's first event for 2011 will be a closed tournament for the state's born players. The tournament details are as follows:

Date: 4 - 5 February 2011

Venue: SMK Pahi hall, Kuala Krai

Overall prizes amount to RM3000 will be handed out to more than 30 winners divided into 6 categories. The tournament will be nationally rated event.

Further inquiries, please contact Nik Mohd Azrihan at 019-9866428

KELANTAN CLOSED BULLETIN

I'm keying in games from the recent Kelantan Closed for the tournament official bulletin. I've finished Round 2 and I found many interesting games played between the players. Here is one of the games, played between Baharuddin Hamzah and Mohd Fadhil Mohd Saufi. Both players took out both their knights for their first two opening moves before Baharuddin pushed the e-pawn. He then gave his Bishop for the black Knight and accepted doubled f-pawns. In the middle game, his Knight dominated d5 before exchanging with the opponent's Bishop to enter a winning endgame with two connected passed pawns. The rest was, like we always say, a matter of technique.

White : Baharuddin Hamzah
Black : Mohd Fadhil Mohd Saufi
Kelantan Closed 2010
Round 1

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.e4 d6 4.Bc4 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.d4 e5 7.Be3 exd4 8.Bxd4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bxf3 10.gxf3 Be7 11.O-O-O a6 12.f4 c5 13.Qe3 b5 14.Bd5 Rb8 15.e5 Nxd5 16.Nxd5 O-O 17.Nxe7+ Qxe7 18.exd6 Qxe3+ 19.fxe3 Rbd8 20.e4 f6 21.e5 fxe5 22.fxe5 Rfe8 23.Rhe1 Re6 24.Rd5 c4 25.Kd2 Kf7 26.Rc5 Ke8 27.Rc6 Ra8 28.Rc7 Kd8 29.Rxg7 h6 30.Kc3 Rc8 31.Kd4 Rc6 32.Rf1 Re8 33.Kd5 Rc8 34.d7 Re7 35.Rxe7 1-0

SYED AZIZI CHAMPS!

I shouldn't have underestimated this chap, especially after he creamed Nik Ahmad Farouqi in Round 4. I know nothing of him then, but I know now after I was put down to earth in Round 5. He went on to beat Baharuddin in Round 6 in his road to become the undefeated champion and the representative for Kelantan in the National Closed. The other representative is Nik Ahmad Farouqi, whom I lost to in the last round.

The final top ten results:

1. Syed Azizi Abd Rahman (unrated) - State representative
2. Nik Ahmad Farouqi (1867) - State representative
3. Nasrul Humaimi (1561)
4. Baharuddin Hamzah (1497)
5. Muhd Bakri Jusoh (1636)
6. Rosmizal Ibrahim (unrated)
7. Muhd Ariez Azman (1649)
8. Yours Truly (1681)
9. Bad Bishops (1491)
10. Alif Omar Mohd Saufi (1417)


More stories at BadBishops and CaturKelate. Full results uploaded by arbiter Muhammad Arshad at chessresults.com

KELANTAN SELECTION STARTS TODAY

The selection for Kelantan's representatives to the National Closed 2010 will be held today at the Putra Hall, SMK Putra, Kota Bharu, Kelantan. The very best of Kelantan players will vie for 4 places provided by the MCF; the winners being fully sponsored by the Persatuan Catur Negeri Kelantan. However, there are also cash prizes to be won, so be there. You might get your first national rating also!

The results will be uploaded at chess results website.

Bakri vs Nik Nazri

BAKRI WINS KELANTAN CLOSED

Bakri Jusoh won the inaugural Kelantan Closed held today at the MARA auditorium, Kota Bharu ahead of 29 other participants. He held his nerve and overcame the likes of MAKSAK players Nik Nazri, Baharuddin and yours truly, and also the veterans such as Azahari Mohd Noor and Ghazali Che Cob. He played a steady game and gave me my only defeat when we met in Round 3. The tournament was a disappointment in terms of participation when there seemed to be very few students came. Thus, the organizers had to scrap the students category and put them to play with the others.

The final standings:

Open

1. Bakri Jusoh
2. Nik Mohd Nazri Nik Hassan
3. Azahari Mohd Noor
4. Yours Truly
5. Rosmizal Ibrahim
6. Baharuddin Hamzah
7. Ghazali Che Cob
8. Khairullah Anuar Saidy
9. Syed Azizi Abdul Rahman
10. Rahsliminiza


Under 16

1. Aliff Omar Mohd Saufi
2. Wan Muhd Adli
3. Wan Muhd Aqli


Results and pictures can be read at Bad Bishops blog.

KELANTAN CLOSED UPDATE

According to the organizer, there will be two categories. Open and Student. Here are the details and the prizes:

Organizer : Persatuan Catur Melayu Kelantan
Date : 1st August 2009 ( SATURDAY )
Format : 25 minutes & 6 round/player
Venue : Dewan Auditorium MARA, Tingkat 3, Bangunan MARA, Kota Bharu
Contact : Nadzri - 012 6767020, Adzlin - 013 9223707, Rozlisham - 013 7238898


Prizes

1. Open :

1. RM200.00
2. RM150.00
3. RM100.00
4. RM80.00
5. RM70.00
6. RM50.00
7. RM30.00
8. RM30.00
9. RM30.00
10. RM30.00

2. Student :

1. RM100.00
2. RM80.00
3. RM70.00
4. RM60.00
5. RM50.00
6. RM40.00
7. RM30.00
8. RM20.00

Fee

1. Open - RM15.00
2. Student - RM10.00

(Up to 100 players only)

KELANTAN CLOSED CHESS TOURNAMENT

Date: 1 August 2009 (Saturday)
Venue: Level 3, MARA Auditorium Hall, MARA Building, Kota Bharu, Kelantan.
Organizers: MARA and PCMK

Persatuan Catur Melayu Kelantan (PCMK) will jointly organize a closed chess tournament with MARA in the first day of August this year. The tournament will be opened to those who were born or live in Kelantan only. There will be two categories: open and under 16.

For those who are interested, please contact these persons:

Ahmad Nadzri (012-6767020)
Adzlin (013-9223707)
Rozlisham (013-7238898)