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)

DARULNAIM COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Darulnaim College of Technology will hold its inaugural chess event this weekend in conjunction with its convocation festival. The details of the event are as below:

Date : 16 August 2014 (Saturday) 

Venue : Main Hall, Darulnaim College of Technology

Time : 8.30 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.

Format : 6 Swiss Rounds (25 minutes per round)

Categories : 1) Open

                      2) Secondary School

                      3) Primary School

For registration, please contact these people in-charge

                      1) Norazlin 017-967 4737

                      2) Sodirah 018-909 6851  

or register online by clicking here.

How to get there? Here is a simple map.

MY RAPID CHESS.COM GAMES

Today I played my 5000th game in the rapid category of chess.com chess server. I would stop playing the rapid games as it is clear that I could not play fast nowadays. Many of those games I lost due to time pressure, and in quite a lot of them I was in the winning position. I am now playing in a slower time control category and I think I am doing quite well. 

Here is the stats for my chess.com games:

In my 5000th game, I luckily won although we were both in time trouble. It was a sharp Sicilian game where both of us castled on the opposite sides and raced to get to the enemy's King. In the end, he lost on time at the point where he would be checkmated in two moves. 

The diagram below shows one of my lost due to the rapid time control when I could not find the checkmate. By the time I was giving him a perpetual check in order to search for the mate, time was out. You might think that 'This is an easy one!', but try to imagine that you only have seconds to search for it, coupled with the server lag.

DECOY - ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON IN CHESS

You are absorbing the news from GAZA when suddenly the strike on the MH17 takes your eyes away from it. While you are trying to deal with the new information, GAZA is attacked again. This is the art of decoy used widely in the game of chess, and whoever masters this art wins almost every time. 

However, I cannot actually say that the two are interrelated as I don't really have the evidence to link between them. This post is only to demonstrate what decoy means in chess, and I will use examples from my own games, not from the masters. 

Perhaps the most memorable decoy I employed was against Lim Yeang Khee in 1998 during the Grand Asean Chess Challenge:

Yours Truly - Lim Yeang Khee, GACC III, 1998

The Black King was sitting comfortably in his castle when suddenly 27.Rxh7+ came crashing. It lured the King into the corner where he was eventually taken on a terror ride towards his doom. Once the King has left his guard of f7, I took the liberty to gatecrash the castle starting with 28.Qf7+. The rest was history. 

In recent games also, especially online games because I don't enter many tournament games nowadays, I have successfully deployed the decoy with deadly effects. Take for example a game against dedanikola in 2014:

dedanikola - Yours Truly, chess.com, 2014

I was playing black in this sharp position. I could actually take the e5-pawn but chose to take the King for a walk instead with 18... Nxf2!? where the open King position was subject to checks from my Bishops and Rooks. Coupled with his weak defending, I managed to checkmate him 12 moves later. 

CALCULATING THE MOVES

Pic courtesy of ayamori

Somebody once told me that if we put somebody at the wrong place, disaster will happen. Or in this particular case, nothing happens. Six months are a lot of time to do something, and it is plenty of time also not to do anything. Although patience is a virtue, patience also has its limits. Not improving one's performance is considered bad in any religion, especially in Islam, so we have to do something in order to change what is considered to be the deadwood; the non-productive elements in our life. 

However, to make a change to an organisation, we have to work in groups. Discuss and determine together what are the non-productive elements in our organisation before casting them out. There should be no preference whatsoever; nobody is bigger than an institution. We can always replace those deadwood with better ones, and the organisation will continue to move on.

Hopefully, and I mean, hopefully, I will also move on.

EDU RIA IN SMKCE FEATURING KECIK TRW

Learning should not only be done inside a classroom; it is actually best to learn outside the classroom. There are lots of things which can be learned - interacting with people, business and marketing, and information gathering from various sources are only to name a few - and all these cannot be found inside a classroom full of broken chairs and desks. 

Edu Ria (or Education Enjoyment in English) is the sort of programme organised by SMK Chabang Empat which allows the students to implement the theories they have learned through the interaction at the stalls, exhibition booths and also through segments on the Dewan To' Beta stage.

To top it off, the school invites one of the members of The Red Warriors, Mr. Wan Zaharulnizam or Kecik, to meet the students. It was a golden opportunity for the students to meet their favourite player, and boy they really took it. Kecik was surrounded by the students from the moment he entered the school premise until he left an hour later. They took the opportunity to take pictures with him and asked for his autograph.With a smile on his face, he professionally interacted with his fans and they really loved him. 

The teachers were also starstruck, and I was one of them. Luckily, we had more opportunities than the students to take pictures with him. I was the first one to greet him when he arrived but I took pictures with him only half an hour later inside the school office. 

In a way, I am at least equal to him. He is the state football player and I am the state chess player. However, chess is not popular in Kelantan compared to football, so the admiration for him and The Red Warriors is more and the admiration for me and The Red Knights is virtually non-existent. 

Maybe it is the difference between a professional player and a semi-professional player. Luckily for the football players, they got out of the semi-pro label in the 1990s and only God knows when the chess players can be professional players in Malaysia.

Kecik in action

Me in action

CONGRATULATIONS, JUNIOR RED KNIGHTS

The Junior Red Knights

 
Well, what can I say? At least, we manage to continue what we always get since a couple of years back, which is maintaining the medals we get in the team event. Overall, we must accept that we are still behind in youth development compared to other states. We must also acknowledge that the same bunch of players are giving us the medals, and they are running out of their school time which will unable them to participate anymore. Unless we are coming up with a very good development programme for our youth, we are facing the prospect of not gaining anything in the coming years.

The results of the junior Red Knights in Sarawak MSSM can be summed up below:

Boys under 18 team (BRONZE)

A senior Kelantan official admitted that they made a mistake in fielding the players. The Boys under 18 team was represented by Alif Omar (1483), Ahmad Syafiq (1302), Adam Hafiz (1286) and Mohd Lukman (unrated?) while the individual players were Wan Mohd Amirul (1647) and Mohd Ali Asghar (1808). I personally think that they wanted to get something in the individual event by fielding both highest rated player in the category but it backfired when both did not get any medals, including last year's silver medalist, Amirul. Putting one of them in the team would make the team competing for the gold, at least.

As for Mohd Lukman, I think that he becomes unrated because the organiser misspell his name. He is Mohd Lokman Mat Daud (1345) in the January 2014 rating list.

Girls under 18 team (SILVER)

The girls' team consisted of Najihah (1576), Afiqah (1565), Aznira Hanoon (1273) and Nur Arafah (1207) while the individual players were Nur Hanis Natasha (1289) and Atikah Shamihah (1272). The selection was right, in my opinion, but the Wilayah team was really on another level. The combination of Najihah and Afiqah, however, has come to the end. We have to come up with other set of players if we want to maintain getting medals in this category.


While in the under 15 and under 12 categories, our team did not do very well. Only the Girls under 12 team gave us a glitter of hope for the coming MSSM tournaments by managing to get fifth placing in their event.

Boys under 15 team

Girls under 15 team

Boys under 12 team

 

Girls under 12 team

MSSM SARAWAK & MH370

MSSM Sarawak will be aired live at http://broadcast.kedaicatur.com/

So far, several games have been broadcasted, thanks to Mr. Muhammad bin Arshad, from Terengganu delegation. Hopefully, we can enjoy the games, especially those involving the Junior Red Knights. 

Some pictures were also sent to me by Siti Nur Afiqah. 

In the wake of the announcement by the Prime Minister on the fate of MH370 which was confirmed by him that it ended the journey in the Indian Ocean, I would like to express my condolences to those involved, especially the family members of the passengers and the crews. I also pray that all the delegation will fly safely home when the MSSM tournament ended.

MSSM SARAWAK

Pic courtesy of Siti Nur Afiqah

Currently our junior Red Knights team is battling it out at Sarawak soil. The tournament will be held from 24 March to 28 March 2014. There will be team and individual events for each categories. The link to all the results are listed below:

Team event

Male

Under 12

Under 15

Under 18

Female

Under 12

Under 15

Under 18

Individual event

Male

Under 12

Under 15

Under 18

Female

Under 12

Under 15

Under 18

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. 

UiTM OPEN

UiTM Machang will hold the first open chess tournament in Kelantan this year. It will be held this Saturday (1 March 2014) at Block D. Early registration via email is encouraged. For further details, please read the poster.

 

TUMPAT DISTRICT SELECTION

Tomorrow, Tumpat will hold its selection at SMKA Falahiah. 174 players will be competing in 6 categories to be the district representatives this year. They will surely strive hard to have a go at breaking into Kelantan top 36 in order to fly towards the nationals which will be held in Sarawak next month.

The schools involved are: 

SMKA Falahiah

SMK Sungai Pinang

SMK Wakaf Bharu

SMK Dato Bijiwangsa

SMK Chabang Empat

SMK Geting

SMK Mahmud Mahyiddin

SMK Kampung Laut
SMK Berangan
SMK Tumpat

SK Palekbang

SK Pulau Beluru

SK Kampung Laut

SK Kutan

SK Berangan 1

SK Chenderong Batu

We are surely missing MRSM because of technical problems. However, it is hoped that the players selected will proudly represent the district and uphold its name by improving on last year's achievement of 1 state representative. 

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)