Wednesday, March 31, 2010

"PARENTS FORUM" During NAG 2010


During the first day of NAG 2010 held in Dewan Sri Pinang, Pulai Pinang which was on Sunday, a "meet the parents" forum was held at 5.00pm. A number of chess parents from many different states - Pulau Pinang, Perak, Selangor, KL, N9, Johor and others joined the forum to hear some briefing and discussion especially on MCF Selection Guidelines and National Rating.

The forum is very critical and important to ensure chess is striving on the right direction and path in the country. Surely, all the parents whom children are involved in chess would like to know many related things especially when it involves with the national authority and body in chess which is the Malaysian Chess Federation or simply MCF. Besides the selection guidelines in representing the country in international chess tournaments overseas and the national ratings such as the newly-revised ratings fee structure, some other matters or issues highlighted are (as of what GiLoCatur remembers since lost the notes):

  • Raymond Siew highlighted about transparency and healthy competition particularly about his plight with PICA. Check out his blog - here During the session on his plight, a term "little napoleons" came up. As of GiLoCatur research and not sure whether this what it means, BERNAMA explains about the term like this - “Little Napoleon is often described as one who is pugnacious, arrogant and abrasive, especially a person in power, having features like Napoleon Bonaparte, an absolute ruler in France during the late 18th century.”
  • Azhar MS highlighted about his son having multiple FIDE IDs. He stressed that any accompanying official to look into the registration process carefully to avoid such problem. He also highlighted that his son problem has been longing for many months.
  • Some parents highlighted that their state chess association does not really support and take serious about the National Age Group (NAG) championship. They believe that the state should identify players to represent it in the championship. In other words, the NAG is not really a national-level chess championship as per its name. The parents urge MCF to look into this matter.
  • Both Puan Adzlin and Puan Zurin asked the MCF council the attending members about the case of the children whose parents do not belong to any MCF-affliate state chess associations. Would they be discriminated in the selection process. There were other questions that GiLoCatur missed.

Hopefully, what ever points and highlights that GiLoCatur misses to include in this post, please write them in the comments of this entry.


Some MCF Office Bearers or council members
check out its official blog for the complete MCF Council members


The chess parents including some of their chess-playing children

Whatever it, GiLoCatur hopes that the forum does not wash away just like that without any appropriate action being taken. MCF should do what ever it is supposed and have to do. Chess parents also should play and do their responsibilities and roles. Or else, it will still be the same and back to square one.


The 39th Chess Olympiad LOGO

Gambar di atas merupakan logo Chess Olympiad yang ke 39. Sebuah logo yang cantik pada pandangan GiLoCatur.

Bila akan diadakan Chess Olympiad 2010? Di mana ia akan diadakan?

Nak tahu jawapannya, sila ke link ini.

Adakah Malaysia akan mengambil bahagian? Siapakah yang akan mewakili negara kita nanti? Bagaimanakah prestasi pemain-pemain Malaysia? Berjayakah Malaysia mendapat ranking yang lebih baik dari kedudukan sekarang iaitu ranking ke 70?

TUNGGUUUUUuuuuuuuu!!!!!

Jalan-jalan Ke Padang Jawa (Drive Cruising To Padang Jawa)


Pada hari Sabtu lalu, GiLoCatur dan keluarga pergi melawat Fikri di asrama putera SMK Seksyen 18. Kami membeli KFC untuk beliau. Sungguh berselera Fikri makan KFC setelah dia sedikit kelaparan kerana tidak makan makanan asrama. Kami tiba agak lewat sedikit dari yang dijanjikan iaitu pada pukul 2 petang. Macam-macam yang dibualkan walaupun hanya berpisah selama seminggu. Masih segar diingatan sewaktu zaman GiLoCatur tinggal di asrama di Kajang di awal 80an. Tiada ahli keluarga yang datang melawat. Al maklum, jarak kampung GiLoCatur dengan asrama (kalau tak salah) adalah sejauh 150 km. Tetapi "transportation" dan infra jalanraya pada ketika itu tidak secanggih dan sepantas zaman sekarang. Tambahan pula keluarga GiLoCatur tiada kereta walaupun sebenarnya mampu.

Sebulan sekali barulah GiLoCatur pulang ke kampung menaiki perkhidmatan awam iaitu bas bersama-sama abang senior. Itu pun memakan masa setengah hari, dan mungkin lebih lama jika naik "bas lompat"; bukan bas ekspress. Perubahan zaman iaitu urbanisasi dan serba kemodenan telah merubah landscape kehidupan anak-anak. Gangguan-gangguan seperti astro, gameboy, play station, mp3, mp4 dan youtube telah mempengaruhi kehidupan kanak-kanak dewasa ini berbanding di zaman kanak-kanak GiLoCatur.

Back to the story, pada kira-kira jam 6 petang, kami beredar dari asrama Fikri. Bagi menghilangkan kebosanan di hujung minggu, (bosan sungguh rupanya bila masa tidak diisi dengan aktiviti2 dan pertandingan catur), GiLoCatur telah membawa ahli keluarga "drive cruising" ke Padang Jawa. Adakah anda tahu di mana ia? Pernah ada satu pertandingan catur diadakan di Padang Jawa. Sudah agak lama GiLoCatur tidak pergi ke Padang Jawa. Begitu juga dengan "orang rumah" GiLoCatur yang pernah mengajar di sebuah sekolah di Padang Jawa sewaktu bujang dahulu. Sebenarnya GiLoCatur nak survey kot kot ada tempat makan yang istimewa.


Sewaktu di Padang Jawa, GiLoCatur tertarik kepada sebuah rumah seperti gambar di atas. Sungguh cantik dan unik sekali rumah tersebut pada pandangan mata GiLoCatur. Dengan warna biru lembut atau "biru laut" yang merupakan warna favourite GiLoCatur, di samping pagar kayu yang simple dan kemas, rumah tersebut memang benar-benar telah menawan hati. Rumah siapalah agaknya. Diharap tuan empunya rumah tidak marah apabila GiLoCatur paparkan di laman blog ini.


Akhirnya GiLoCatur dan keluarga telah berhenti di sebuah restoran yang nampak cantik dan anggun. Tidak perlulah GiLoCatur menyatakan nama restoran tersebut kerana "SUDAH TERANG LAGI BERSULUH". Lokasi restoran adalah tidak jauh dari traffics lights jalan masuk ke Padang Jawa.

Sempat pula "kakak", Anis, dan "adik", Fahim, berposing di hadapan air pancut seperti gambar di atas. GiLoCatur dah pesan awal-awal dengan mereka agar tidak memesan sebarang makanan kerana mereka berdua telah kenyang makan "snack plate" bersama Fikri. Mereka hanya dibenarkan untuk order air minuman sahaja he he he ... Sebab nanti takut tak habis, membazir sahaja.


Wah GiLoCatur dan isteri makan apa tu? Lain macam pinggan makanan GiLoCatur tu. Actually, GiLoCatur memesan "koay / kuey / kway" (yang mana satu ni?) teow kungfu. Makanan apa pula yang dipesan oleh wife GiLoCatur? Alamak tak nampak sangatlah, terlindung dek tangan.


Hah! Dah nampak? Mmmm meehun sup maa ... Eh lain macam aje tempat meehun sup tu? Rupanya agak special lor .. look like small "kuali". Kira uniklah "pinggan"nya. Kalau berminat dengan bekas meehun sup tu, jangan tanya GiLoCatur ya ... tu kena tanya tauke restoran ... kat mana dia beli. Tapi kalau berminat dengan tudung yang mrs GiLoCatur pakai, tu boleh order. Memang dia ada jual.

So, kalau korang semua ada tersampai ke Padang Jawa atau tinggal di kawasan berhampiran, bolehlah berkunjung ke restoran tersebut. Sedap tak makanan2 kat situ? Bab-bab sedap tak sedap ni agak subjektif. Ikut salero masing-masing. Tapi koay teow kungfu GiLoCatur tu, "I like" meminjam kata2 Linda Onn. Aik, tak kenal Linda Onn atau LO? Check out her blog here.


Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Keputusan Undian #2


Dengan ini poll kedua ditutup! Berikut adalah keputusan undian / poll kedua. The Malaysian chess community has spoken. An outstanding 136 had voted. 2/3 atau 87 tidak menyokong. Hanya 32% atau 44 yang menyokong. Sementara 4% yakni 5 undian tidak kisah / tidak peduli.

GiLoCatur harap pihak Jaffolea akan mengambil kira dan mengguna pakai keputusan undian ini.

Firstly, terima kasih kepada semua yang membuat undian. Bermacam-macam feedback dan comment berkenaan undian atau poll ini. Ada yang berbentuk konstruktif dan ada juga sebaliknya. Ada juga yang begitu menyampah. GiLoCatur amat mengharapkan semua warga komuniti catur di negara ini memberikan pendapat, pandangan dan membuat pilihan secara rasional dan berdasarkan fakta; bukan dengan emosi. Sudah sewajarnya seorang pemain catur yang bijak menggunakan minda dan akal fikiran memiliki pemikiran dan intelektualiti yang tinggi.

Terima kasihlah kepada yang tolong promote tentang undian ini di semua shoutbox local chess blog walaupun GiLoCatur tidak minta sesiapa untuk berbuat demikian. Malahan GiLoCatur sendiri tidak mengundi dan juga tidak call atau contact sesiapa untuk berbuat begitu. Memandangkan GiLoCatur pernah terlibat dalam membuat survey sebelum ini dan pernah juga berkursus dengan mereka yang pakar dan ahli, GiLoCatur cuba agar poll dilaksanakan sebaik mungkin dan seadil yang mungkin.

GiLoCatur mahu pelawat dan pembaca blog ini sendiri peka dengan isu-isu dan hal-hal yang berkaitan dan bersangkut paut tentang sukan catur di negara ini. Jika poll kedua ini boleh mencecah 136 undian, diharap poll-poll yang lain juga akan mendapat response yang baik sebegitu.

Sekali lagi, thank you very much to all especially who had participated in the poll. Hopefully, they will participate in other next polls. GiLoCatur also welcomes any topic, matter, idea or issue for the polls.


Sunday, March 28, 2010

14th Bandaraya Chess Master Johor Open - The Unofficial Results


Below are the unofficial results of 14th Bandaraya Chess Master Johor Open.

Open category (47 participants)
  1. julius joseph de romos
  2. ian udani
  3. kamaludin yusoff
  4. im enrique paciencia
  5. nik ahmad farouqi
  6. ong thian loon
  7. leong mun wan
  8. ahmad afiq afyfy
  9. derek lim
  10. muhd nabil
  11. amitpal singh
  12. t. mandar
  13. norazman ismail
  14. herman (rahman)
  15. marzuki

U18 category (92 participants)
  1. muhd irfan haqqim azhar ms
  2. muhd fareed hisham
  3. iskandar abdullah
  4. nur nabila azman
  5. muhd syakir shazmeer azhar ms
  6. boo chan hui
  7. ling zhang yang
  8. ng hong yuan
  9. wu fu wei
  10. teo che chong

U12 category (122 participants)
  1. nur najiha azman
  2. puteri munajjah az-zahraa azhar ms
  3. puteri rifqah fahada azhar ms
  4. muhd zaiful roslan
  5. muhd aziz farhan
  6. muhd hafiz
  7. maisarah nor akbar
  8. chen zhi shien
  9. joanavene tan qie ven
  10. ong wei bin

More than 260 chess players from Malaysia, Singapore and Philippine were participating in the chess tournament in three different categories.


source : syed iskandar & azhar ms

More INSOFAR Fide-rated Tourneys

Mat Zaki Yeop of Insofar Chess Academy
(hp : 017.203.2051)


WOW! So many many FIDE-rated tournaments y'all!

1) SHAH ALAM - 4/6, 25/6, 2/7, 9/7, 16/7, 23/7, 30/7, 6/8, 13/8

2 categories - 10 players for each category
a. Open
b. Below FIDE 1800 + Not Rated

Format : 9 rounds RR (Round Robin) of 90 minutes + 30 seconds
Day : Fridays of the above dates
Time : 7.30 - 11.00pm
Venue : 3rd Floor, PKNS Complex
Total prizes :RM 1,500
Closing Date : 27 April 2010


2) BANGI - 22/5, 12/6, 26/6, 3/7, 10/7, 17/7, 24/7, 31/7, 7/8, 14/8, 21/8

3 categories - 12 players for each category
a. Open
b. Below FIDE 2000 + Not Rated
c. Below FIDE 1800 + Not Rated

Format : 11 rounds RR (Round Robin) of 90 minutes + 30 seconds
Day : Saturdays of the above dates
Time : 7.00 - 11.00pm
Venue : AMPAC, 10A Medan Pusat bandar 1, Seksyen 9, Bandar Baru Bangi
Total prizes :RM 2,700
Closing Date : 15 April 2010


3) KL - 3/6, 24/6, 1/7, 8/7, 15/7, 22/7, 29/7, 5/8, 12/8, 19/8, 26/8

5 categories - 12 players for each category
a. Open
b. Below FIDE 2200 + Not Rated
c. Below FIDE 2000 + Not Rated
d. Below FIDE 1800 + Not Rated
e. Below FIDE 1600 + Not Rated

Format : 11 rounds RR (Round Robin) of 90 minutes + 30 seconds
Day : Thursdays of the above dates
Time : 7.00 - 11.00pm
Venue : Level 4, DAT Chess Center, Kompleks Wilayah
Total prizes :RM 4,400
Closing Date : 27 April 2010


The Official Results of 2nd Bandaraya Chessmaster Team Championship


TQ to Mr Narayanan for his below email message for the official results (winners) of 2nd Bandaraya Chessmaster Team Championship.

from Narayanan Krishnan
date Sat, Mar 27, 2010 at 8:11 PM
subject [chess-malaysia] 2ND BANDARAYA CHESSMASTER TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - RESULTS

Champion : Young & Danger
Second : SMS Gold 2
Third : JB Chess Association
Fourth : Novena Nobodies
Fifth : Chess Expats
Best Government : Polis JB
Best IPT : UTM Queen

Kejohanan Catur Tertutup N9

klik gambar for larger view


Kepado warih-warih semuo, moh kito beradu minda bermain catur dalam Kejohanan Catur Tertutup N9 kali ke 5 anjuran Persatuan Catur N9 seperti berikut :

Tarikh : 3 & 4 April 2010
Tempat : Ruang Legar Tingkat 1 Plaza Ampang
Kategori : 1) Terbuka 2) U18 3) U12
Tarikh Tutup : 31 Mac 2010

TERHAD KEPADA 100 PENYERTAAN PERTAMA SAHAJA!


APO LAIE EKAU TUNGGU JANG? PRACTICE LA !!!


[ GiLoCatur : Some visitors especially the foreigners may not understand the language being used in the above entry. Even the translation may be not correct. Actually, it is not the standards Malay language because some of the words are from a Malay ethnic dialect. Negeri Sembilan state residents practice their own dialect and has very unique culture and food. Sunday, 28 Mar 2010, 5.40pm ]

Saturday, March 27, 2010

27 - 28 March Weekend Malaysian Chess Summary


Really not much chess activities for GiLoCatur and the kids during this weekend. Fikri does not come home from the hostel. Anis and Fahim were involved in their school chess club program as well as GiLoCatur who is asked to assist. GiLoCatur intended to participate in the Bandaraya Johor Chess Open for a chess travelogue but for few reasons cancelled it.

Let GiLoCatur summarize this weekend chess tourneys around Malaysia.

1) Johor Chess Festival

GiLoCatur and the kids did participate in Bandaraya Chessmaster a couple years ago, 2008 if not mistaken. Three parties have worked together as the organizer - Majlis Bandaraya Johor Baharu or its acronym MBJB for the two day chess event that include the team championship on the first day and the individual championship on the second day.

You can check out the details published in most local chess blogs like hairulovchessmaniacs, fireyrook, and stonemaster (to name just a few).

One of local chess bloggers, Syed of syedchess, participate in the Johor Chess Festival. Check out his chess blog also for latest update.


2) March First Saturday Chess Classics

Some Klang Valley chess players who do not want to drive for five hours down south to JB, the capital state of Johor, can participate in the FSCC at Jax Tham's Excel Chess Academy. Ten rounds of 20-minute time control with 30 seconds increment (10.20.30) will surely satisfy some "gilocatur"s. Check out Jax Tham's chess blog here for the details and latest updates.


3) DATCC Razzle Dazzle Chess Rapid

For other Klang Valley chess players who only can play on Sunday, they can go to DATCC and enter DATCC Razzle Dazzle rapid. Go to DATCC chess blog here and hairulovchessmaniacs blog at this link for further details and latest updates.


4) Sabah Chess Rapid Master

Sabah, famously known as "the state below the wind" or in Malay "Negeri di Bawah Bayu", will have a chess tournament as well as its AGM. The seven-round tournament will be held in two days - Saturday and Sunday. Check out Sabah Chess Association (SCA) official website for the details and latest updates here.

What a weekend for Malaysian chess players and lovers. Four chess tournaments? plus weekdays FIDE-rated (DATCC team event, Nf6 Invitation Master and Insofar FIDE-rated tourney). Malaysia should progress further in chess. Hopefully, Malaysia will improve its FIDE world ranking.

And more chess tournaments to come next month. KL Open is one of them. Several top GMs will come to Malaysia and participate. And many PPDs will have their MSS chess tournaments.

So, Malaysian chess players - HAVE FUN PLAYING CHESS!



Berita Hangat Dari JB (Hot News From JB)



Got a text message from Azhar MS regarding our local young chess team known as "Young and Danger" comprises of Muhd Nabil, Afiq Afyfy and WCM Nur Nabila that becomes the champion in the 2nd Bandaraya Chessmaster Johor Open Team Championship held today in Johor Baharu. The team edged several strong teams like SMS Gold and Chess exparts. Twenty two teams of three players including five from Singapore were participating. SYABAS DAN TAHNIAH!

So, to all other young Malaysian chess players, "YAKIN BOLEH!" that every one of you is capable of being the champion among strong players including titled players. BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES!

Pasukan Young and Danger! yang dibarisi Muhd Nabil AH, Ahmad Affiq Afify dan WCM Nur Nabila muncul juara berpasukan JB Chessmaster ptg td. Naib johan SMS Gold Ian Udani, Kamaludin dan Nik Ahmad Farouqi, ketiga JB Chess Team. Pilihan utama Chess Exparts yg dibarisi IM Enrique Pacencia, T.Mandar dan Michael Palmar hanya ditempat kelima, setelah IM Pacencia kalah kpd Nabil dan T.Mandar kalah kpd afify. 22 pasukan termasuk 5 pasukan dari Singapore mengambil bahagian. Esok dijangka hampir 400 pemain akan bertarung dlm acara individu. Tq. Azhar MS

Thursday, March 25, 2010

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY TO FAHIM


Today is 25.03.2010


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE YOUNGEST CHILD OF GILOCATUR, FAHIM AL-FAQEH.

"SEMOGA PANJANG UMUR, MURAH REZEKI DAN SUKSES SELALU!"

HOW OLD IS HE? HE IS TODAY EXACTLY 8 YEARS OLD.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Titiwangsa Chess Open - The Photo Journalism

The venue of the tournament i.e. "Stadium Titiwangsa" located in Titiwangsa Lake, a popular recreational spot in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

The participants just arrived in the early morning.

The players were warming up before the tourney started.

The final standings for the Open category after Round 6 completed.



1MALAYSIA WINNERS

U12 Champion from Seremban, Nithyalakshmi

Akmal Salleh, one of the winners in the Open category.

Chong Kwai Kun, one of the winners in the Open category.

A teenage girl winner.

OKU winners

OKU winners


Sunday, March 21, 2010

SMASEL - The 1st Leg


Today, there were two chess tourneys in KL. The first one is StoneMaster Amateur Special Edition Limited which was held at the Cochrane's Excellent Sports Center. More than 100 chess players who have national ratings below 1650 including several GiLoCatur's chess buddies like Cikgu Suhairi, Ng6, Syed, Sahir and Zullghafari (just to name a few) were participating. They played 8 rounds of rapid chess games.

Cikgu Suhairi was leading the pack after the sixth round when he had a perfect 6/6 score. Finally, he was the second runner up. Ng6 who played his 17ChessClub gang, Syed, in the final round on the top board was placed fifth while his opponent was the first runner up.

Check out the photos of the top 10 winners at Ng6's blog here.

More photos of the tourney at Gilachess's blog here.

The second one is "Catur Terbuka Hari Wilayah DBKL" which was held at Titiwangsa Stadium. Check out the photos later.

An Elegant Waist Pouch For Chess Pieces?


What's the above? It is a waist pouch that GiLoCatur bought last month while outstation in Kuching.

What's it for? In order to make chess an elite and exclusive sport like golf, GiLoCatur spent a bit to buy the above attractive waist pouch (at least to GiLoCatur) for the chess pieces because previously GiLoCatur kept them in an ice cream box that look very lowly and disgraceful. GiLoCatur hopes no one among the Malaysian chess community will keep chess pieces in an unattractive and lowly casing like a plastic bag or a rotten box. Let's make chess very elegant and classy to increase its reputation.


Pouch seperti gambar di atas GiLoCatur beli di Kuching pada bulan Februari lepas. GiLoCatur tidak gunakan ia di pinggang seperti kebiasaan untuk menyimpan barangan peribadi. Sebaliknya ia digunakan untuk menyimpan set buah catur supaya senang dibawa ke mana2 terutamanya oleh Fahim ke sekolah. Amat penting sekali kepada semua pemain catur agar menyimpan buah2 catur pada casing yang menarik, "ada kelas" dan unik agar ia kelihatan profesional dan ekslusif. Diharap buah2 catur tidak lagi disimpan dalam beg plastik atau bekas aiskrim seperti yang pernah GiLoCatur buat sebelum ini.

GiLo... RED!!!


Tonite, GiLoCatur has found a very interesting person in the net. The person is SHE. She is a Malaysian. She is a blogger. In fact, she is a very successful blogger. She has won several blogger awards. Her blog or website has surpassed 3 million visitors in about 5 years if not mistaken. Wow! For GiLoCatur, in about 5 years of time would be lucky enough if the blog even surpass the 100 K visitors. One interesting fact also written in her profile is she loves chess too.


[ GiLoCatur : Actually, Red Mummy is really a chess lover and fanatic, is a chess player, is a chess champion for four consecutive years at her office and during her teenage years and a chess addict by playing online. Check out her entries that relates to chess here. Mon, 22 March, 1.23am ]


What really interesting about her is she is RED fanatic or simply GiLo ... RED ... thus, she is known or called as Kak RED or RED Mummy or RED Diva.

[ GiLoCatur : Maybe the Red Mummy can be the X-Factor for chess in Malaysia? ]

Check out her website http://redmummy.com/ or her blog here.






Does anyone want to share his / her unique interest or hobby?


Saturday, March 20, 2010

StoneMaster "Amatur" Special Edition Limited (SMASEL)



credit : stonemaster's photo collection


Come tomorrow, SUNDAY 21st March, Pusat Kecemerlangan Sukan Cochrane (as per above picture) will be the battle field among Malaysian amateur chess players (below national ratings of 1650) to determine who is the best. One of the local chess tournaments being waited and anticipated by many chess players. They have practised, they have studied openings, middle game, end game, tactics and strategies and they have sparred.

Unfortunately, GiLoCatur can not participate since have a program to attend. GiLoCatur wants to find out whether has improved or otherwise. GiLoCatur wish Best of Luck to all participants especially chess buddies like Zullghafari, Azam, Max, Syed, Ng6, Fauzi Ahim and Sahir.

To check out the latest update on SMASEL, please go to stonemaster's website here or here.


Update On Cheras Chess Challengers


At this moment, the final round i.e. seventh of the Cheras Chess Challengers is ongoing at Pusat Kecemerlangan Sukan Cochrane, KL. The four-day tournament is a FIDE-rated event and held for four days starting from Wednesday, 17th March 2010. Two chess academies - Cheras Chess Academy and Excel Chess Academy are the organisers with the help of PERCAWI, Persatuan Catur Wilayah. With another chess academy, Insofar which synonymes with Zaki Mat Yeop, Cheras Chess Academy sponsor the tournament that is rare in the country previously. 36 chess players including two rated foreigners are participating.

Going to the final round, the top seed Abedin Md Jaynul and the 4th seed Norazman Ismail are leading with 5.5/6 points. Both drew in the third round. Who is going to be the champion? Is either one of them or maybe Paul Parimanam if he wins and the top seed lose? Check out the final results and other tournament details at Kids4Chess website here.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Keputusan Undian Lokasi Pilihan NAG - Final


GiLoCatur telah menutup undian atau "Poll" bagi venue atau lokasi pilihan Kejohanan Catur NAG. Semenjak ia dibuka bermula 7 Mac lalu sehingga hari ini, seramai 75 responden menyuarakan pilihan mereka. Satu jumlah yang boleh dikatakan bagus. Diharap lebih ramai komuniti chess Malaysia yang terlibat dalam poll sebegini di masa hadapan. Pemain-pemain catur di negara ini perlu dididik untuk berani bersuara dan prihatin dengan isu-isu semasa berkaitan sukan catur. Tetapi pendapat dan pandangan perlu disuarakan mengikut norma-norma dan bersantun sesuai dengan adat ketimuran kita.

Daripada keputusan poll seperti di atas, amat jelas lokasi pilihan adalah di Kuala Lumpur. Seramai 19 responden atau 25% membuat pilihan tersebut. Sementara Selangor menjadi lokasi pilihan kedua setelah berjaya mendapat 16 undi bersamaan 21%. Ini bermakna, jika dicampurkan kedua-duanya, 46% memilih NAG diadakan di Lembah Kelang. MCF perlu perihatin dengan fakta ini. Ada tiga lokasi yang lansung tidak mendapat sebarang undian iaitu Melaka, Negeri Sembilan dan Sarawak.

Agak memeranjatkan juga bagi GiLoCatur, Melaka yang merupakan satu lokasi pelancongan terkenal tidak mendapat sebarang undian. Mungkinkah dek kerana Persatuan Catur Negeri yang tidak aktif? Mengapa ia tidak aktif? Adakah orang-orang di Negeri Melaka tidak berminat main catur? Diharap orang-orang Melaka tidak berdiam diri tentang hal ini. GiLoCatur yakin jika diutarakan kepada Ketua Menteri, Insya Allah, beliau akan memberi sokongan padu.

Begitu juga dengan YB Datuk Idris Harun, ahli parlimen Tangga Batu yang merupakan aktivis belia dan bekas Timbalan Menteri Pengajian Tinggi. Insya Allah, beliau akan memberi sokongan untuk aktiviti berfaedah seperti catur. GiLoCatur amat berharap catur akan berkembang dan aktif di Melaka dan N9. Sdra Zullghafari telah memulakan satu usaha mengadakan "chess sparring" di Melaka. Diharap ia akan diadakan setiap minggu atau sekurang2nya 2 kali sebulan. Kepada pelajar2 dan kelab catur GBS (SMK Gajah Berang) diharap dapat menghidupkan sukan catur di Melaka. Begitu juga dengan "Ustaz" Zainal. GiLoCatur dapat merasakan sambutan hangat di N9 ketika berada di Pertandingan Catur Seremban Parade baru-baru ini.


GiLoCatur telah mulakan Poll yang baru iaitu berkenaan Kejohanan Catur Melayu Tertutup. Seperti yang pernah GiLoCatur tulis dalam laman blog ini berkenaan satu Kejohanan Catur Melayu Tertutup yang dirancang untuk diadakan pertengahan tahun ini oleh Kelab Catur Jaffolea, ada pendapat yang mengatakan kejohanan hanya untuk sesuatu kaum sebegini tidak wajar diadakan kerana ia bercanggah dengan konsep 1MALAYSIA. Tetapi sebahagian pula berpendapat selama ini memang ada kejohanan sukan untuk sesuatu kaum tetapi tidak pula mendapat sebarang bantahan seperti Kejohanan Bola Sepak Piala Bardhan untuk kaum India, Kejohanan Ping Pong Melayu Kebangsaan dan Kejohanan Bola Keranjang Piala KLBA untuk kaum bukan Cina.

Sebagai sebuah negara yang mengamalkan demokrasi, di sini GiLoCatur buka satu POLL berkenaan kejohanan tersebut untuk mengetahui pendapat dan pandangan semua peminat2 catur di negara ini. Samada bersetuju ia diadakan atau tidak? GiLoCatur cukup yakin semua dapat membuat pilihan berdasarkan kematangan dan secara rasional bukan mengikut sentimen perasaan atau emosi. Diharap lebih ramai warga komuniti catur Malaysia mengambil bahagian. SUARAKAN PILIHAN ANDA!


Thursday, March 18, 2010

DBKL "Hari Wilayah Persekutuan" Chess Open


A chess tourney known as "CATUR TERBUKA HARI WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN DBKL" will be held this coming Sunday. The summary of the tournament is per below :

Date : Sunday, 21 March 2o10
Time : 8.30am to 6.00pm
Venue : Tasik Titiwangsa Closed Stadium, KL
Format : 6 Swiss Rounds of G/25 (25 minute time control)
Limited to the first 150 entries.

Please call KL Braille at 03-4022 0046 for registration.

Titiwangsa Lake


Go to SIFU.mycatur blog here for further details.

GiLoCatur believes that it is very refreshing to play near a lake like Titiwangsa Lake which is situated in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. Even though the tournament venue is in a closed stadium, but players and participants can go nearby the lake in between the rounds. But to all parents with hyper kids like GiLoCatur, be careful and watchful. We don't want a tragedy to happen. Closely monitor and watch the kids.

For those who are not familiar where the venue is, check out the map below. The lake is basically near Jalan Tun Razak and the national library - PNM (Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia).


click here for larger view.


credit : the above lake picture and the map are from this blog

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Summary of NAG 2010 Champions


GiLoCatur and family are still in Penang. We stay another night for a good rest for the kids (as well as to their parents ... LOL) to wander around Penang. Yesterday, after the tournament GiLoCatur and family was treated a dinner by a family friend at a seafood outlet. Thank you very much to them for the treat. May ALLAH bless the whole family.

After GiLoCatur stayed up late last night for updating the final results of the NAG, this morning after a refreshment GiLoCatur like to write about the summary of the champions.

The first question is how to determine a player will represent which state?

The state of residence?
The state of schooling?
The state of where the parents were born or raised?
The state of choice?

How about you stay in KL but go to school in Selangor or vice versa?
How about the parents move to other states due to work?

For GiLoCatur's kids, it is simple and straight answer. All the above answers is SELANGOR.

Both GiLoCatur and wife were born in Selangor. GiLoCatur was born in Sabak Bernam while the wife was born in Sungai Besar. All the children except Fikri were born in Selangor.

GiLoCatur and family stay in Shah Alam, the capital city of Selangor.

All GiLoCatur's children - Fikri, Anis Fariha and Fahim Al-Faqeh are schooling in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Then finally the state of choice is surely Selangor.

OK, let's forget a while about that. Whatever it is a player must choose one state.

So, how is the gold medal statistics by states?

Penang or Pulau Pinang won four. It won both U8 and U10 boys categories. Wong Yinn Long won all his 8 rounds in U8 while Teh De Juan scored 7/8 points.

Kedah won one gold medal in U8 girls section. Nur Islamurni Yahaya of Jaffolea Chess Club is the winner by scoring 6/7 points.

Selangor won three gold medals. All of them are in the girls categories - U10, U12 and U14. Puteri Rifqah Fahada of the four Azhar siblings won the U10. Then the two Azman Hisham sisters - Nur Najiha and Nur Nabila, won the U12 and U14.

Noor Akbar brothers - Daniel Iskandar and Muhd Aziz Farhan who are currently studying in Johor won two gold medals for Johor. Both of them are the champions for U12 and U14 respectively.

Wilayah Persekutuan or often referred as KL (Kuala Lumpur) won two gold medals. It won in U16 girls and U18 boys. KL is strong in these two categories where it won 5/6 medals. Latifah Kaiyisah Mohd Latib and Tan Ken Wei are the champions for such respective categories.

Penang's other two gold medals come from U16 boys and U18 girls categories. Evan Timothy Capel won the former while Ong Choon Yong won the latter.

The gold medals tally may be different if several other players participate. For example, several champions of the previous NAG edition like Yeap Eng Chiam of KL and Yeoh Li Tian. If not mistaken, both of them scored the perfect points in NAG 2009.

Selangor is missing Edward Lee and Amira Syahmina. Pahang is missing Sumant and Sarika Subramaniam who are playing outside the country if what GiLoCatur hears is correct. Kedah is surely missing Muhd Sirajuddin. Some states even do not have players participating.

The chess community and the relevant chess authority needs to brainstorm and do something to make sure all states are represented. The summary and statistics here can be used as the indicator for the chess development and commitment.

GiLoCatur hopes all the Malaysian chess community to work in unity and together to make chess excel and developed in the country.

LET'S HAVE A DREAM AND MISSION!


GiLoCatur signs off from Room 316, Regal Hotel, Pulau Pinang.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

NAG 2010 - The Winners


NAG 2010 concludes today. After three gruelling days of chess battles among all the participants in 12 age groups, and after three tense and tiring days among the parents, the winners have finally emerged. How many of them? 12 champions. 60 top ten (10) winners/medallists among the boys. 30 top five (5) winners/medallists among the girls. Below are the pictures of them:

U8 Girls

Champion - Nur Islamurni Yahaya (6/7)
2nd - Khaw Ker Shean (5.5/7)
3rd - Zainoor Ikmal Maisarah Mohd Noor (5.5/7)
4th - Nadia Syafiqah Mohd Hisham (4/7)
5th - Chua Jia-Tien (4/7)


U8 Boys

Champion - Wong Yinn Long (8/8)
2nd - Jagathees Guna Balan (7/8)
3rd - Tan Jun Ying (5.5/8)
4th - Muhd Faqih Aminuddin (5/8)
5th - Lim Zee Ern (5/8)
6th - Yeoh Ern (5/8)
7th - Ng Shi Yang (4.5/8)
8th - Lim Rui Yi (4/8)
9th - Bryan Lee Ewe Chuen (4/8)
10th - Prashanth Ramasamy (4/8)

U10 Girls

Champion - Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar (6.5/7)
2nd - Nithyalakshmi Sivanesan (5.5/7)
3rd - Puteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa Azhar (5/7)
4th - Tan Wei Ting (4.5/7)
5th - Teh De Zen (4/7)

U10 Boys

Champion - Teh De Juan (7/8)
2nd - Amier Hamzah Mohd Zuhri (6.5/8)
3rd - Tan Yong Zhao (5.5/8)
4th - Danish Hamzah Al-Hadi (5.5/8)
5th - Yee Jian Yang (5.5/8)
6th - Nicholas Tan Yi Quan (5.5/8)
7th - Kabir Singh (5.5/8)
8th - Wong Zi Quan (5/8)
9th - Ng Jen Sheng (5/8)
10th - Ian Teh Eu Shien (5/8)

U12 Girls

Champion - Nur Najiha Azman Hisham (6.5/7) [*winner by playoff]
2nd - Tan Li Ting (6.5/7)
3rd - Camilia Johari (4.5/7)
4th - Ee Sun-Xin (4/7)
5th - Kelly Lim Pei Ying (4/7)

U12 Boys

Champion - Muhd Aziz Farhan Noor Akbar (7.5/8)
2nd - Ooi Zhi Yang (7/8)
3rd - Aron Teh Eu Wen (6/8)
4th - William Lee Kah Howe (5.5/8)
5th - Subramanian Sivanesan (5/8)
6th - Ooi Yen Hoe (5/8)
7th - Mohd Faizal Roslan (5/8)
8th - Chuah Hao Feng (5/8)
9th - Tang Wei Kit (5/8)
10th - Shum Rui Yuan (5/8)

U14 Girls

Champion - Nur Nabila Azman Hisham (6/7) [*winner by PE]
2nd - Fairuz Hamizah Ahmad Fuad (6/7)
3rd - Tang Kar Khei (5.5/7)
4th - Hoh Tjin Hui (4.5/7)
5th - Angel Lim Ann Jie (4/7)

U14 Boys

Champion - Daniel Iskandar Noor Akbar (6/8) [*winner by PE]
2nd - Muhd Irfan Haqqim Azhar (6/8)
3rd - Elgin Lee Kah Meng (6/8)
4th - Tan Jun Feng (6/8)
5th - Roshan Ajeet Singh (5.5/8)
6th - Lim Winsen (5/8)
7th - Fikri Saleh (5/8)
8th - Derek Poon Guo Liong (5/8)
9th - Tan Lu Quan (5/8)
10th - Muhd Nuriman Yahaya (5/8)

U16 Girls

Champion - Latifah Kaiyisah Mohd Latib (5.5/7)
2nd - Hoh Tjin Li (5/7)
3rd - Teh Kai Wen (5/7)
4th - Winnie Hong Wee Ni (4.5/7)
5th - Vickie Hong Wee Ki (4/7)

U16 Boys

Champion - Evan Timothy Capel (6.5/8)
2nd - Muhd Nabil Azman Hisham (6/8)
3rd - Fong Yit San (6/8)
4th - Wong Jianwen (6/8)
5th - Muhd Syakir Shazmeer Azhar (6/8)
6th - P'ng Ren Chi (5/8)
7th - Chen Pei Xian (5/8)
8th - Muhd Fareed Mohd Hisham (4.5/8)
9th - Muhd Nurislam Yahaya (4.5/8)
10th - Wong Hao (4/8)

U18 Girls

Champion - Ong Choon Yong (6/7)
2nd - Putri Nur Fariza Ahmad Darji (5/7)
3rd - Lee Yan Xin (5/7)
4th - Nur Munirah Mat Rahim (5/7)
5th - Latifah Syamimi Mohd Latib (4.5/7)

U18 Boys

Champion - Tan Ken Wei (5.5/7) [*winner by PE]
2nd - Lim Zhou Ren (5.5/7)
3rd - Muhd Izz Saifuddin (4.5/7)
4th - Mark Siew Kit-Tze (4.5/7)
5th - Nicholas Chong Ing Hooi (4.5/7)
6th - Fong Yit Ho (4/7)
7th - Ahmad Afiz Afyfy Rosly (4/7)
8th - Gavin Fong Wei Chern (3.5/7)
9th - Fong Yip Siang (3/7)
10th - Tan Yik Shen (3/7)


"SYABAS" AND "TAHNIAH" TO ALL THE CHAMPIONS, AND ALSO TO OTHER MEDALLISTS. KEEP UP YOUR GAMES AND SUCCESS. BECAUSE THE OTHERS WILL CHALLENGE YOU IN THE NEXT NAG TOURNEY.

TO ALL THE OTHER PLAYERS WHO ARE NOT IN THE MEDALLISTS LIST, DON'T GIVE UP. KEEP PRACTISING. KEEP LEARNING. KEEP PLAYING. MAYBE THE NEXT NAG TOURNAMENT WILL BE YOUR TURN.

TO ALL PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR PARENTS, SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT YEAR!


[Room 316, Regal Hotel, Penang. 12 midnite - 1.30am]

NAG 2010 - Day 3 The Heat Is ON! The GIRLS







Unofficial results :

Board 1 : Black wins
Board 2 : White wins

Based on PE (Personal Encounter) - both drew in the third round. At the end, Najiha is the champion after she wins the playoff match.

It is a do or die mission also to Anis for the third spot against Camilia. Unfortunately, the lady luck is not on her side where the third placing eludes her. For next year NAG edition, InsyaAllah, she will join Nabila and Fairuz (to name a few) in the Under 14 age group category.







from Bilik Orkid, Dewan Sri Pinang