SELECTED GAME FROM MSSK PAHI

The dust has finally settled at SMK Pahi, Kuala Krai and 36 players from 368 hopeful competitors have been selected to be the representatives for the Kelantan state team in MSSM which will be held next month at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan main hall, Pengkalan Chepa. I was selected as one of the pairing arbiters and am relishing the opportunity to perform the same task in the national chess event. 

The pairing arbiters

The state selection, which was held from 23 to 26 July, produced some interesting games. I saw a Chinese boy checkmated his opponent in the Rook + Bishop vs Rook situation, which was really a hard task to do. Nevertheless, I want to share a game where one of my students from Tumpat district failed to capitalized on his material advantage and drew the game instead. 

Danial (playing Black) moved his King to c5

Zull Heikal (KKR) vs Wan Md Danial (TPT)

From this position, as you can see in the picture above, Danial moved his King to c5. The game continued 2.Ke4 Kb5 3.Ke5 Bg4 4.Kf6 Bh5 5.f5 and Danial had a hard time defending his position afterwards.

However, he should have moved his King to d5 covering key squares and pushing the opponent's King further down the board. 

1... Kd5 2.Kf3 Bf5 3.Ke3 Bg4 

This move covers f3 so Heikal would have to make way for Danial's King to enter the key square e4 and take the Kingside pawns. As to rub salt into the wound, Heikal went on to represent Kelantan via the play offs while Danial was left painfully outside the top 10 by getting the 11th placing.

In the under 12 Boys play off, another of my student, Zal Hasani Aqil had a winning position but failed to find the correct move and lost. 

Zal Hasani Aqil (playing Black) gave check at d3

 

Md Hanif (TMH) vs Zal Hasani Aqil (TPT)

From this position, Aqil gave check at d3 and went on to lose the game. Instead, he should have found 1... Qh1+ which was winning if he really trained his eyes and looked at the board really closely. He too handed over the baton to his opponent when a win would have ensured him into the Kelantan team instead of that opponent. 

 

As a coach, you would be really upset watching your students lose this way but the experience was priceless if your students could really take something from that. 

MSSD KUALA KRAI SELECTION

Kuala Krai has finished its selection for the upcoming MSSK. The event was held on 4 - 5 April 2012. The final results:

18 (L)
1. Mohd Muhaimin (SMK SYP2)
2. Muhd Afif Mohd Fakri )SMK SYP1)
3. Fadhil Aiman (SMK SYP2)
4. Muhd Izuan ( SMK Dabong)
5. Muhd Rashidi (MRSM)
6. W A Al Muhaimin (SMK Pahi)

 

18 (P)
1. Siti Mariani Anis (SMK SYP2)
2. Akma Syamimi Mohamed (SMK SYP2)
3. Nor Atikah Abd Rahman (SMK Laloh)
4. Nur Aziean (SMK Dabong)
5. Siti Sri Suriati (SMK SYP2)
6. Fatin Amira (SMK Manek Urai)

 

15 (L)
1. Shamil Ilman (MRSM)
2. Muhd Syahiran (SMK SYP2)
3. Muhd Khairul Ikmal (SMK SYP2)
4. Muhd Luqman (MRSM)
5. Hakimi (SMK Manek Urai)
6. Muhd Izani (SMK SYP2)

 

15 (P)
1. Fatih Nor Sahariah (MRSM)
2. Nik Anisy Syahkirah (SMK SYP2)
3. Aznira Hanoon (SMK SYP2)
4. Nora Asma M Noor (SMK Mengkebang)
5. Suzuani (SMK Manek Urai)
6. Nik Nur Najihah (SMK SYP2)

12 (L)
1. Nik Mohd Haziq (SK SYP2)
2. Mohd Syakir (SK Kg Tengah)
3. Chong Jing Ming (SK Yuk Chai)
4. Saiful Izzat (SK SYP2)
5. Amiruddin (SK Temalir)
6. Muhd Khuzairie (SK Sg Pas)

 

12 (P)
1. Nurul Izzah Aqilah (SK Sg Pas)
2. Nik Nurina (SK Karangan)
3. Siti Sarah (SK SYP2)
4. Wan Farhanah Nadia (SK Laloh)
5. Nik Nurmiza (SK Karangan)
6. Aini Mahadi (SK Kg Tengah)

NIK NAZRI WINS 2ND KUALA KRAI CLOSED

Nik Ahmad Nazri (picture right) capped the good news of his wife's pregnancy with energetic displays to dislodge the tournament favourite Nik Ahmad Farouqi in the recent 2nd Kuala Krai Closed. Both players were among the invited to play in the Elite Category together with junior players with ratings above 1300. Other winners were Mohd Amin, Baharuddin and Mohd Ariez. The full results (for the Elite Category):

1. Nik Mohd Nazri Nik Hassan (1776)
   
2. Nik Ahmad Farouqi Nik Abd Aziz (1894)
   
3. Mohd Amin Mohd Noor (1702)
   
4. Baharuddin Hamzah (1566)
   
5. Mohd Ariez Azman (1612)
   
6. Mohd Faiz Zakaria (1448)
   
7. Norazlin Juarih (1504)
   
8. Mohd Nusyafiq Yahya (1376)
   
9. Mohd Bukhari Yahya (1586)
   
10. Wan Mohd Amirul Wan Yusoff (1435)
    

Other results, please visit PCNK's blog.

KUALA KRAI CLOSED

After the success of the first series, Kuala Krai Chess Club will be organizing its second this Saturday. The details of the tournament are as follows:

Date: 30 July 2011 (Saturday)
Time: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Venue: Sekolah Menengah Sultan Yahya Petra 2, Kuala Krai
Format: 6 rounds SWISS
Fees:

1. Elite Category (with national rating 1300 and above) - RM15.00
2. Secondary School (under 18 & under 15) - RM10.00
3. Primary School (under 12 & under 9) - RM10.00

The tournament offers National ratings for each categories. For this purpose, several national rated players have been invited. Among those in the Elite Category are:

1. Nik Ahmad Farouqi
2. Nik Muhd Nazri
3. Mohd Amin Noor
4. Mohd Bukhari Yahya
5. Mohd Ariez
6. Baharuddin Hamzah
7. Wan Muhd Amirul
8. Wan Muhd Adli
9. Siti Nur Afiqah Haslam
10. Aliff Omar Saufi
11. Projek Jejak Juara PPD Kuala Krai 2012 squad
    
12. Under 18, 15 dan 12 from the first series Champions
    

Any enquiries, please contact:
Cikgu Nik Azrihan at 010-9245096

CENTRALIZED TRAINING FOR MSSM

SJK (T) Pasir Gajah, Kuala Krai

Kelantan's MSSM chess contingent is now having its centralized training at SJK (T) Pasir Gajah, Kuala Krai. The training will be held until this Saturday. The players will be coached by formidable coaches coming from all over Kelantan. It is hoped that they will bring the best out of these players so that the contingent will become a real challenge for the other states.

We Kelantanese wish you

ALL THE BEST!

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.

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

PETRA 2 OPEN CHESS TOURNEY

Norazmi Mohd Nor won all 7 of his games to top this year's Petra 2 Open held today at SMK Sultan Yahya Petra 2, Kuala Krai. Among his victims were Kelantan's MAKSAK player Sahadi Ismail and Mohd Bakri Jusoh, the eventual second place winner. There were 100 participants involved in this successful event. Here are the top 10 winners (source from Chess Results.com):

1. Norazmi Mohd Nor - 7pts
2. Mohd Bakri Jusoh - 6pts
3. Izuddin Ahayat - 6pts
4. Nik Ahmad Nazri - 6pts
5. Che Khairul Azmadi - 6pts
6. Norazlin Juarih - 5.5pts
7. Sahadi Ismail - 5pts
8. Alif Omar - 5pts
9. Sabirin Sulaiman - 5pts
10. Mohd Al Azhari - 5pts

CHESS WORKSHOP IN KELANTAN (CORRECTION)

The date for the upcoming chess workshop which will be held in Kuala Krai, Kelantan has been changed. The details of the workshop as follows:

Venue: SMK Sultan Yahya Petra (2), Kuala Krai, Kelantan
Date: 16 January 2009 (Friday)
Time: 10 am - 5 pm
Fees: RM15 per person

Those who are interested to join, please contact Mr. Baharuddin at 014-2929201. Lunch and certificates will be provided to all participants.

CHESS WORKSHOP IN KELANTAN

Stonemaster will be the facilitator for the upcoming chess workshop which will be held in Kuala Krai, Kelantan. The details of the workshop as follows:

Venue: SMK Sultan Yahya Petra (2), Kuala Krai, Kelantan
Date: 17 January 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 10 am - 5 pm
Fees: RM15 per person

Those who are interested to join, please contact Mr. Baharuddin at 014-2929201. Lunch and certificates will be provided to all participants.

Baharuddin Hamzah

KUALA KRAI OPEN

Venue: SMK Sultan Yahya Petra (2)
Date: 25 Oct 2008
Format: 6 rounds Swiss

Baharuddin Hamzah, a Kelantan MAKSAK player, won the recently concluded Kuala Krai Open with a tie-breaker after finishing with 5.5 points, the same as 2nd place Ghazali Che Cob and 3rd place Syed Azizi Syed Abdul Rahman. The tournament, which was held at SMK Sultan Yahya Petra (2), attracted more than 100 participants. Below are the full results:

Open Category

1. Baharuddin Hamzah ( 5.5 points )
2. Ghazali Che Kob ( 5.5 points )
3. Syed Azizi Syed Abd Rahman ( 5.5 points )
4. Wan Ali Wan Manan ( 5 points )
5. Nik Ahmad Faruqi (5 points )
6. Wan Ismail Wan Yusuff ( 4.5 points )
7. Zulhasmie ( 4 points )
8. Wan Abd Fatah ( 4 points )
9. Mohd Amin ( 4 points )
10. Sahadi Ismail ( 4 points )

Under 18 Category

1. Chiew S Hau ( 5 points )
2. Md Azmanizam ( 5 points )
3. Md Ilham ( 4.5 points )
4. Ahmad Hafiza ( 4.5 points )
5. Pang S Chin ( 4.5 points )
6. Vnesh (4 points )
7. Tang S Soon ( 4 points )
8. Jamidah Dzurie ( 4 points )
9. Nuraihan ( 4 points )
10. M.K. Hafizi ( 4 points )

Under 15 Category

1. A Zulhilmi ( 6 points )
2. Md Syazwan ( 5 points )
3. Wan Md Azmi ( 5 points )
4. Fadhil Aiman ( 5 points )
5. Kamalanathan ( 5 points )
6. Wan Md Imran ( 4.5 points )
7. Wan Md Ridzuan ( 4.5 points )
8. S Norashikin ( 4.5 points )
9. Md Anas ( 4.5 points )
10. Nik Zulhafiz ( 4 points )

Under 12 Category

1. Alif Omar Saufi ( 5.5 points )
2. Laila Husna ( 5.5 points )
3. Noor Hisham ( 5 points )
4. Fatih N Sahariah ( 5 points )
5. Siti Nur Afiqah ( 5 points )
6. Hafiz Nuzlan ( 4.5 )
7. Najihah ( 4 points )
8. Nur Salsabila ( 4 points )
9. M Nursyahir ( 4 points )
10. Muhammad Afham Haikal ( 4 points )