THE RED KNIGHTS ARE OFF TO TERENGGANU

Before the Red Warriors are scheduled to finish off Terengganu's chances in FA Cup after seeing off the first leg with a dramatic 4 - 1 win, our own Red Knights are marching towards Terengganu capital, Kuala Terengganu to fight for the National Closed Championship crown which will be contested from 28 May - 1 June 2013 at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.

AL-FIRDAUS WINS SMACH OPEN 2013

Muhammad Al-Firdaus stopped the Terengganu players from bringing home the Zaaim Redha challenge trophy by winning the SMACH Open 2013. He finished with the same score as Muhammad Arshad, but his Berger tie break gave him the edge after the Bucholz tie break could not determine the winner. The tournament also saw a comeback by Syed Azizi and Bakri Jusoh who were last seen in the Kelantan tournament earlier last year.

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:

SMACH OPEN 2013

For a year, the Zaaim Redha trophy sits proudly on my chess rack. This Saturday, I have to bring it to SMACH again to be defended against those who aspire to be the next champion. Players who want to enter this tournament, though, have to register their names by today (18 April 2013) or risk paying the penalty. The organiser really wants to change the mindset of Kelantan chess players who like to register late and thus delay the start.

KELANTAN DID WELL BUT NEED TO IMPROVE

Individuals and team medals show the efforts made by the Kelantan team in the recent MSSM Chess held in Perak. Wan Mohd Amirul portrays why he is the force to be reckoned with in the near future when he managed to be second in the under-18 Boys Category. On the same note, Mohd Ali Ashgar also makes Kelantan proud by getting among the top 5 of the under 15 Boys Category. In the team category, under-18 Girls team manages to get the silver medals while Mohd Iqbal Amran from the under-18 Boys team had the best first board medal.

LUCK SAVES ALIF AND TUMPAT TEAM

Muhammad Alif from Tumpat

 

Muhammad Alif survived the final day misfortune which happened to his unlucky friends from the Tumpat team and clinched the final place in the under 18 male category. It has been a long time desire for the plucky lad as last year was the closest he has been to be a Kelantan representative. It was all down to hard work in training and, of course, a little luck.

PERFECT IM MAS HAFIZUL

The Tournament

IM Mas Hafizulhilmi is still dodging from playing against me in a tournament. No, no. Actually, I should say that I am still not 'up there' to play against such a complete player like him. Last year in Kelantan Closed, I wasn't paired against him although I managed to finish fourth. This year in Kelantan Open, unfortunately, I still did not cross path with him on my way to finish seventh. He was such a celebrity that day; signing autographs for his fans who were mainly under aged players. Winning all 9 games showed exactly why he was rated 2354 FIDE, almost 300 points away from me who was second highest rated player with my 2068 FIDE. Calmly, he sprinted away and left the second place winner with a mere 7.5 points.

TUMPAT SELECTION

HECTIC! That is the most suitable word describing the Tumpat selection held in SMK Chabang Empat today. Increased participation from additional schools attending the selection ensured the hectic atmosphere around the block C hall. Inevitably, problems arose, and fortunately, solutions were found. Thanks to all involved, especially my beloved assistants, Saifuddin and Shamiera. 

KELANTAN OPEN IS A FIDE RATED EVENT!

After the postponement of this event last December due to the flood, it is now confirmed that it will be held this Chinese New Year. Actually, it will be a dual event where the open category will be an International event while the age group category will be a national event.

SAD DAY FOR MALAYSIAN CHESS

A sad day for Malaysian chess scene. Our own Sabirin Sulaiman and his family were on their way home from the 3C tournament when an accident happened to them. All 4 in the car died in the burning car.

KEMAMAN: Empat beranak rentung apabila kereta yang dinaiki mereka bertembung dengan sebuah bas ekspres di Kilometer 125.8, Jalan Kuala Terengganu-Kuantan, dekat Kemasik, awal pagi tadi.

Nahas berlaku jam 1.30 pagi itu, di depan Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN) Kemasik.
Mangsa yang maut dikenali sebagai Sabirin Sulaiman, 45, isterinya, Halina Saif@Saib,40, dan dua anaknya, Siti Aisyah, 14, dan Siti Khatijah, 12.

Mereka berasal dari Kampung Batu 5, Dungun. Mereka baru balik dari kejohanan Catur di Kompleks 3 C Sunway ,Selangor.Al-Fatihah.

MOHD AMIN WINS 3C MEET

Mohd Amin Mohd Noor won the 3C Tournament organized by Cerdik Catur Enterprise with a score of 7.5 points from 8 games, a half-point lead over his nearest rivals Mohd Ali Chor, Abdul Rahim Ramli, Mohd Hanif Arkurni Abas and Rasoul Goudarzi. He won all his games before drawing the last game with Abdul Rahim Ramli. 

The field of 150 players saw many other Kelantan players such as Mohd Rezal Che Man, Mohd Zaki Mohd Yusoff, Izuddin Ahayat, Nik Mohd Nazri Nik Hassan and Noor Hisyah Ahayat.

The final top ten standing as below:

Rk. Name Rtg  Pts.  1 Mohd Amin Mohd Noor  1649  7.5 2 Mohd Ali Chor   1625  7 3 Abdul Rahim Ramli  1668  7 4 Mohd Hanif Arkuni Abas  1683  7 5 Rasoul Goudarzi    0  7 6 Razali Hamzah  1623  6.5 7 Mohd Azrul Aminur Rashid A Majid  1630  6.5 8 Syawal Aqmar Shahrir Ariff   1596  6 9 Che Muhd Hafiz Che Ismail  1539  6 10 Zamri Abdullah   0  6

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!

CONGRATS, BADBISHOPS!

This Badbishops is not so bad after all! Winning his last game against Hasidin put him third in the standing thus getting a medal for himself and also helping the Kelantan team to get a placing in the recently concluded Paralympiad 2012. He actually called me to send him our game which discussed the Dutch played early this year in the Kelantan Closed for his preparation (this game is available in the Kelantan Closed 2012 bulletin which insha Allah will be sold at the Kelantan Open this month).

As I said before, home preparation is the deadliest weapon there is in chess. Azlin used this weapon effectively and it paid dividends. So, there should be no more excuses, especially the young players, for being lazy because the evidence is everywhere. There are many ways for those who really want to improve their chess skills and knowledge, including reading chess books or bulletins (preferably that contain your games in it) and also hiring a chess coach.

Once again, congratulations for Azlin and for you readers, enjoy the game!

GOMO AZLIN GOMO!

I just received news that one of our Kelantan players is currently flying high in the Paralympiad in Pahang. For the final round tomorrow, he will play against a tough opponent in Hasidin Abdul Rashid, a Melaka player. With the Red Warriors beating their opponents soundly in the friendlies (7 - 0 vs Perlis and 4 - 1 vs Kedah), hopefully our own Norazlin Juarih, or famously known as BadBishops (picture right), will also beat his last hurdle in what should be the most important game of his chess life yet. Let us Kelantanese (no offense because this blog is mostly for Kelantanese) pray for the sole Red Knights representative to make history!

The current standing can be read here and the final round pairing here.

KELANTAN OPEN

At last, the long overdue Kelantan Open tournament will actually be held at the end of this month. This is the first time the PCNK will be involved in organising an open tournament after successfully held the Kelantan Closed several times. It will be co-organised with the Politeknik Kota Bharu, MCF and also the MSSK.

The details of the tournament can be achieved at the PCNK website.