LATEST RANKING

This is the latest ranking after Nik Farouqi and Abdul Haq draw. However, I was informed that Nasrul has beaten Marzuki late this afternoon, and Nasrul, being the winner, promptly uploaded the game on the 'official website'.

The result has been updated on the results (Grand Finale) page.

This event is so special as it is very flexible with games being played in various venues which includes the DATCC, KL, the Insta Forex, Kubang Kerian, the PPAS, Shah Alam and also at one of the players home.

DATCC

Insta Forex

PPAS

Marzuki's home

QUEEN ENDING

White to move

I like endings. But endings like this will burst our heart, especially if played in time trouble. Queen controls so many squares, but which squares are more important? And then the exchange to pawn endings. Is it advantageous? All this questions must be answered before you make your move.

DRAW

.. against Marzuki Yaacob (picture) has taken away my 100% record. Not to take the credits away from him; he is actually a good player; but I should have managed my time more efficiently so as not to land in time trouble when it matters the most. I tried to transpose his English into a Nimzo-Indian, but he refused by not playing 3.d4. The middle game was slightly in White's favour, until his Kh2 forced him to take 2 steps back. From there, I took the initiative by placing my pieces towards his King. An exchange of Knights put his other Knight at h4, and I decided to chase it at the expense of opening up my castle. He complicated the game with a d5 push and the game was drawn during the time trouble.

The d5 push

Final position

The were also several other games played, and, at the time of writing, Baharuddin would be playing his third game for today. On the other hand, Nik Nazri managed to get his first point against Norazlin. So far, Yours Truly still tops the standing with 4.5 points, followed by Marzuki and Syed Azizi with 3 points each, Baharuddin with 2 points, Nik Nazri with a point and finally Norazlin with 0.5 point.

The results can be read at the results page, and my game today will be published later in the tournament website.


Update:

Baharuddin held FIDE rated Marzuki for a draw.

PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR THE GRAND FINAL

I just made my proposed schedule for the Grand Final this November. I supposed that all the postponed games involving Baharuddin and Nik Farouqi will have been finished by then.

ROUND 3 AND 4 (KELANTAN BASED)

Yours Truly won 2 more games to amass 4 points overall and head the standing in Kelantan. This time, he won against Syed Azizi and Nik Nazri. He is followed by Marzuki with 2.5 points, Syed Azizi with 2 points, Baharuddin with 1 point, Azlin with 0.5 point while Nik Nazri is still searching for points. Unfortunately, all games against Baharuddin were postponed. Results can be achieve at the results page.

Some pictures from the event:





Current standing (taken from PCNK website):

AFTER TWO GAMES..

.. Yours Truly leads the standing in Kelantan. He won both the morning and afternoon games against Baharuddin and Bad Bishop, respectively. Trailing closely are Marzuki Yaacob and Syed Azizi, both with 1.5 points, Baharudin with a point and finally Nik Mohd Nazri and Bad Bishop who lost both of their games. Results can be read at the results page.

ARE YOU READY?

Tomorrow the Kelantan-based players will lock their horns on the chess boards at Waja Timur Technology, Instaforex, near D'Klasik, Kubang Kerian.

GOOD LUCK!

1ST KELANTAN FIDE RATED (KELANTAN BASED)

The 6 Kelantan-based players will start their games next week. The proposed venue is Instaforex, Kubang Kerian.

The schedule:

KELANTAN BASED PLAYERS

RND 1	24/09/2011 (9 am)
	Name	Res.	Name
	Mohd Azizul Mat Daud	-	Baharuddin Hamzah
	Norazlin Juarih	-	Marzuki Yaacob
	Syed Azizi Abd Rahman	-	Nik Mohd Nazri
RND 2	24/09/2011 (3 pm)
	Name	Res.	Name
	Baharuddin Hamzah	-	Nik Mohd Nazri
	Syed Azizi Abd Rahman	-	Marzuki Yaacob
	Mohd Azizul Mat Daud	-	Norazlin Juarih
RND 3	1/10/2011 (9 am)
	Name	Res.	Name
	Baharuddin Hamzah	-	Norazlin Juarih
	Mohd Azizul Mat Daud	-	Syed Azizi Abd Rahman
	Nik Mohd Nazri	-	Marzuki Yaacob
RND 4	1/10/2011 (3 pm)
	Name	Res.	Name
	Baharuddin Hamzah	-	Marzuki Yaacob
	Mohd Azizul Mat Daud	-	Nik Mohd Nazri
	Syed Azizi Abd Rahman	-	Norazlin Juarih
RND 5	8/10/2011 (9 am)
	Name	Res.	Name
	Baharuddin Hamzah	-	Syed Azizi Abd Rahman
	Nik Mohd Nazri	-	Norazlin Juarih
	Marzuki Yaacob	-	Mohd Azizul Mat Daud

REPORT ON THE FIRST DAY

4 games were played today. There were 4 players available, while Wan Mahathir will be joining the fray tomorrow. The players who managed to complete their games today were Abdul Haq, Ariez Azman, Mohd Ezmi and Nasrul Humaimi.

Round 1

Mohd Ezmi Mahmood lost to Abdul Haq Mohamed
Ariez Azman drew with Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood

Round 2

Mohd Ezmi lost to Ariez Azman
Abdul Haq won against Nasrul Humaimi

Special thanks to arbiters Mr. Greg and Mr. Najib, and also to DATCC for preparing the venue. Hopefully tomorrow more intense battles will ensue.

Some pictures (taken from the official website):

Update:

The results after 2 days of play (Kuala Lumpur players) have been updated in the pages. All the games involving Nik Ahmad Farouqi are postponed. This is due to his mother's death sometime today (17 September 2011). May Allah bless her soul.

1ST KELANTAN FIDE RATED OFFICIALLY STARTS TOMORROW

At last, the long awaited tournament will hit the board starting tomorrow. The 12 players have been divided into two camps based on the players' whereabouts. The KL-based players will start hitting the clock tomorrow, while the Kelantan-based players will hit the ground running next week.

The KL-based Players

1. Abdul Haq Mohamed (FIDE 2096)
2. Nik Ahmad Farouqi Nik Abdul Aziz (2055)
3. Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood (1951)
4. Ariez Azman
5. Mohd Ezmi Mahmood
6. Wan Mahadzir Wan Sulaiman

The Kelantan-based Players

1. Mohd Azizul Mat Daud (2065)
2. Marzuki Yaacob (1916)
3. Baharuddin Hamzah
4. Nik Mohd Nazri
5. Norazlin Juarih
6. Syed Azizi Abdul Rahman

GOOD LUCK!

Tomorrow's schedule:

RND 1	16/9/2011 9 pagi
SNo.	Name	Res.	Name	SNo.
1	Ariez Azman	-	Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood	6
2	Abdul Haq Mohamed	-	Wan Mahadzir Wan Sulaiman	5
3	Nik Ahmad Farouqi Nik Abdul Aziz	-	Mohd Ezmi Mahmood	4
RND 2	16/9/2011 3 ptg
SNo.	Name	Res.	Name	SNo.
6	Nasrul Humaimi Mahmood	-	Mohd Ezmi Mahmood	4
5	Wan Mahadzir Wan Sulaiman	-	Nik Ahmad Farouqi Nik Abdul Aziz	3
1	Abdul Haq Mohamed	-	Ariez Azman	2

Full schedule can be read in the official website.

NO GM FOR MAS

IM Mas Hafizulhelmi finished with 5 points from 9 games to end his quest for GM norm without success. He played 2 GMs and lost both of the games. This is yet another failed attempt which Mas must improve on in order for him to get the elusive title and be the first Malaysian GM.

The official site offers no such thing as a free viewer to the games. You must log in as a Platinum member of the Chess.com for you to watch the live games. I had to wait for the result to be keyed in the schedule page before updating it in My Chess Life. Nevertheless, here are Mas' full result:

Round 1 : win vs Adarsh Jayakumar (2177) USA
Round 2 : lost vs GM Micheal Adams (2715) England
Round 3 : draw vs Dereque Kelley (2203) USA
Round 4 : draw vs Eric Rosen (2216) USA
Round 5 : win vs Jeff Phillips (2071) USA
Round 6 : win vs Timothy Taylor (2279) USA
Round 7 : draw vs IM Andranik Matikozyan (2451) Armenia
Round 8 : draw vs Michael Lee (2395) USA
Round 9 : lost vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (2613) USA

Points : 5/9