WYCC 2009 - Round 9 Results & R10 Pairings

After Round 9,

Under 8 Open

Two Iranian players dominated this section. GHOLAMI Aryan who is the second seed with 1950-ratings lead the pack after collection 8/9 points. His countryman, TABATABAEI Mohammad Amin, is trailing with 7.5/9 points. Four players with 7/9 points including the American VASUDEVA Tanuj whom GiLoCatur picks as one of the favourites while nine others including AMIER Hamzah Mohd Zuhri, one of the two Malaysian players participated in this section score 6.5/9 points. Amier is placed 11th after the tie breaks.

In Round 9, Amier defeated SHIRINOV Farid of Azerbaijan at Table #9 while Teh De Juan defeated KESGIN Halit Kaan, the host player at Table #37.

Hence, Amier who has collected 6.5/9 points will meet with ZALMAKHANOV Ramazan from Kazakhtan at Table #6. Amir will play white. While De Juan who is ranked 53rd after Round 9 and with 5/9 points will play KUCUK Dogukan, another Turkish opponent, at Table #25. Like Amier, he will also play white.

Under 8 Girls

An American player by the name of PALAKOLLU Samritha is leading the pack by halfpoint. Scoring 8/9 points, she is in front of CHU Ruotong, one of De Zen's opponents. CHU who hails from China accumulated 7.5/9 points. A Kazakhtan player and another American player, WANG Annie, are placed third and fourth respectively. Both of them are the only players with 7/9 points.

With 5/9 points, De Zen is ranked 32nd out of 85 players after Round 9 behind five other 5-point players. Not bad for her since if not mistaken WYCC 2009 is her first international tournament. In the next round, she will be at Table #20 playing black against Turkish player, ONUR Cigdem who has 4.5/9 points.

Under 10 Open

Malaysia has no representative in this age group. Leading the pack is the unrated Chinese player named BAI Jinshi. He collected 8/9 points. Trailing half point are Indian and Russian player who has 7.5/9 points. Three other players score 7/9 points whom two of them are unrated Chinese players. Asian players are dominating the top 10 after Round 9.

Under 10 Girls

An Azerbaijan player, MAMMADZADA Gunay Vugar Qizi, is leading the pack with 9/9 points. The 9th seed with 1732-ratings is 2 points in front of the second rank player, DROGOVOZ Irina of Russia, after Round 9 who is among four players with 7/9 points. Another two players score 6.5/9 points. Needing only half point, MAMMADZADA will be the champion of this section.

The Malaysian player in this section, Nur Najiha, is ranked 53rd with 4 points. She needs to win the next two rounds especially if against rated players to achieve more than 50% win and get FIDE ratings.

Najiha lost to Georgian player at Table #21 in the 9th round. In Round 10, she will play white against Croatian player, BLAZEKA Mihaela at Table #28.

***** GiLoCatur needs to get ready for DATCC Individual tournament, not as a player but as a driver to bring the children who are participating. GiLoCatur will try to continue this update from the center. Sat, 21/11/09, 12.45pm *****

Under 12 Open

Based on the ranking after Round 9, two players are leading the pack with 7.5/9 points. They are both from Russia and USA. While the top seed from India, VAIBHAV Suri, is leading the five 7/9 pointers. FM TRAN Tuan Minh from Vietnam is one of them. Another familiar player to GiLoCatur is Bobby Cheng from Australia is also among the group.

Malaysian sole representative in this age group, Mohd Irfan, won his R9 game against a rated Swedish player named AGREST Anton at Table #61. It shows that he is capable of beating 1800-rated and 1900-rated players. As of Round 9, Irfan has accumulated 3.5/9 points. GiLoCatur believes Irfan can do better, maybe lady luck is not on his side. In round 10, he will play white against Japanese player with ratings of 1830, ABE Mahiro. A win is also crucial here for FIDE ratings.

So, IRFAN CUBA MENANG GAME NI. IRFAN SURE BOLEH KALAHKAN LAWAN. PAKCIK DOAKAN IRFAN MENANG. INGAT ABAH DAN MAMA KAT MALAYSIA SERTA ADIK-BERADIK MENDOAKAN KEJAYAAN IRFAN!

Under 12 Girls

The top 6 boards for U12 Girls section

In Round 9, Nabila who was playing white against a Russian WFM at Table #5, had to settle for a draw. Therefore, she is currently with 6.5/9 points together with seven other players. Two players with 7/9 and 8/9 points. The top 2 seeds - WFM Sarasadat of Iran and WFM Anna of Russia are the leaders and will play their respective 7-point opponents. If the top two seeds win their respective games and Nabila win hers, Nabila can climb further to be ranked third (to what GiLoCatur believes) since she is the top of the 6.5/9 group.

As of Round 9, Nabila is ranked fifth behind the 8-point and 7-point players. Nabila needs to win the remaining two rounds. And it would be an uphill battle and a tough challenge since she may meet one of the top two leaders - the 2000+-rated players.

In the next round, Nabila will play black against WCM CHIANG Sarah from USA, a familiar name to GiLoCatur AT Table #3. Another live game for Nabila which can be viewed at http://web4.tsf.org.tr/ tonight that starts at 9.00pm Malaysian time. GiLoCatur urges all the Malaysians not only in Malaysia but all over the world to support and pray for her success. Based on ratings, Nabila has the edge and better chance. GiLoCatur is hoping that Nabila can win the crucial game. GiLoCatur also hopes that her experience playing in previous WYCC and ASEAN age group tournaments will give her more confidence and motivation.

GO NABILA GO! GRAB THE GOLDEN CHANCE! YOU'RE ROCK, GIRL!

***** Updating from DATCC Kuala Lumpur during the 5th round of the DATCC Individual Weekender tournament on Sat, 21/11/09, 3.45pm *****

Two More Local Chess Blogs

It is very encouraging to have two more local chess blogs in the net. GiLoCatur is honoured to be invited as a contributor, as well as a consultant, in one of the blogs. The two blog are :

The SIFU.mycatur blog is created and maintained by Encik Abdul Latif Mohamad, one of Malaysian IAs  (International Arbiter). The effort is tremendous and very good to our local chess industry since he is very experienced and knowledgable especially in organizing and arbitering chess tournaments. Moreover, he can offer a venue i.e. KL Braille Training Center for any chess tournament. So check out his blog at http://sifumycatur.blogspot.com/.

Kelab Chess SBPI Gombak is created and administered by a chess-lover student of  Sekolah SBPI Gombak named Nabil Fikri Mohd Najib. GiLoCatur salutes his determination and strong spirit for chess eventhough he does not get a very good support from his school and its chess club especially when entering non-MSS local chess tournaments. His blog can be accessed at http://interchess.blogspot.com/.

It is very common scenario in most schools in Malaysia where not many school chess club teachers are very supportive to their chess-loving pupils. GiLoCatur urges to all school chess club teachers in Malaysia to provide a very strong support like having chess sets and digital clocks, providing chess coaching and training, and providing chess news, infos and tournaments to their pupils to help chess development in the country. With such efforts Malaysia will have bright future in chess and can be dominant in world chess like Vietnam and Philippine where they have many GrandMasters (GM). A salute to all determined and suportive teachers to chess in Malaysia.

For the two new bloggers in the block, AL and Nabil, GiLoCatur says Welcome Aboard! Hope they can be a very consistant bloggers where their blogs are always updated. For all local chess lovers, let's support their blogs by visiting them and providing positive feedbacks.

Malaysian Aspiring and Promising Future!

The above pictures show some of the aspiring and promising Malaysian youngsters who can excel in chess. They are currently participating in the KLCA Chess Open in Challengers category held in Commonwealth Hall, Bukit Jalil. The category is for all chess players with FIDE ratings below 2000. All of them are 10 years old or below.  They love chess and are enthusiastic to win honors in chess tournaments. They are supported by their dedicated parents who provide the necessity and requirements to excel in chess like coaching, chess materials, motivation and tournaments fees.

Besides the parents, these intelligent youngsters also require support from other parties to improve further and achieve honors like getting title and winning chess tournaments both local and international.

• The government via relevant agencies or ministries to provide basic facilities, funds and chess-related programs.

• The local chess authority to plan, manage and facilitate local chess activities and programs.

• The media both electronic and newspapers to provide coverage to all chess-related activities like tournaments and workshops or having chess columns or segments. 

• The society to be involved and participate in chess-related events and to have active chess clubs.

• The schools and teachers to support and activate chess clubs, organize in-house chess tournaments and training.

Malaysia surely can produce chess geniuses and have chess Grandmasters, the highest chess title, when all parties play their important roles. If Malaysia can allocate a sum of money in space program, surely it can allocate also for chess program to produce chess GM and win world class  tournaments. MALAYSIA BOLEH!

Dresden Olympiad 2008 - Round 4 & 5

In Round 4, Malaysia was paired againts Slovakia. The opponent team has three GMs and one IM. Malaysia only managed a half-point when FM Yee Weng drew on the second board. And in Round 5, Malaysia managed to win againts Dominican Republic. Malaysian top player, IM Mas, won againts the only GM. Again, FM Yee weng drew his game. Malaysian third board player, FM Mok secured the winning point by beating higher-rated DR player. 

Dresden Olympiad 2008 - Round 3

It is really an uphill battle to win againts Germany team but surely the Malaysian team needs to fight. Malaysia managed to get 1/2 point when FM Yee Weng drew with GM Jan Gustafsson on board 2. Bravo! Next, Malaysia will meet Slovakian team.

Dresden Olympiad 2008 - Round 2

Malaysia won the second round match beating jersey by 2 1/2 to 1 1/2. FM Yee Weng, FM Mok and Im Jimmy Liew drew all their games whereas Edward Lee won his first match. The next round opponent for the Malaysian team is Germany 1.

Dresden Olympiad 2008 - Round 1

IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (2439)

FM Lim Yee Weng (2396)

IM Jimmy Liew (2308)

FM Mok Tze-Meng (2306)

NM Edward Lee

(The above pictures are from MCF blog.)

Malaysia is represented by the above chess players in the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany.

Bo 1 game, Bo 2 game, Bo 3 game, Bo 4 game

Malaysia started off well in the first round. We beat Libya by 3 1/2 to 1/2.  Well done! In the second round, Malaysia is paired againts "Jersey". I never heard about it being a country.  It is a very good chance that Malaysia will win. Even Mas, as the first board player, is rested to give a chance for Edward to play. Surely, the Malaysian contigent is confident enough to win againts the tiny European country.

The interesting results that I notice in the first round are :

a. GM So Wesley of Philiphine won againts GM Ni Hua from China. 

b. Iran drew all games againts stronger Hungarian players including GM Judith Polgar.

c. GM Nguyen Ngoc from Vietnam drew againts GM Ivanchuk Vassily.

Sukan Yang Telah Terpinggir Dari Masyarakat Kita

Dalam kelesuan dan keletihan bermain catur selama dua hari di UPSI, cuti umum pada hari ini aku ambil peluang bersantai di rumah setelah ke Mydin membeli groceri. Aku begitu tertarik dengan satu artikel di Kosmo yang bertajuk Novel Sukan Bantu Pupuk Minat tulisan Alias Ismail. Di antara intipati artikel tersebut ialah beberapa pandangan ahli akademik dan pakar sejarah, Prof. Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim. 

1) Sistem pendidikan sudah tidak lagi mengutamakan sukan. (Aku amat bersetuju sekali dengan pendapat ini. Kebanyakan ibubapa lebih mementingkan bidang akademik demi masa hadapan.)

2) Sistem pendidikan yang lebih menjurus dan berorientasi kepada Amerika Syarikat, sedangkan sebelum ini lebih dipengaruhi British. (Aku kurang bersetuju dengan pandangan ini kerana Amerika Syarikat juga mementingkan sukan. Banyak biasisiwa yang disediakan kepada atlit-atlit. Cuma di Amerika Syarikat sukan sudah terlalu komersil.) 

3) Sebelum ini terutamanya di awal negara memperoleh kemerdekaan jabatan kerajaan seolah-olah mewajibkan kakitangannya bersukan dan perlu menubuhkan kelab sukan sendiri. (Banyak faktor yang membantutkan mereka untuk bersukan seperti kesesakan lalu lintas, window shopping, mengambil anak-anak, buat part time dan sebagainya.)

4) Kakitangan awam yang komited dan berbakat dalam sesuatu jenis sukan sentiasa diberi penghormatan.

5) "Selagi fokus kita terhadap kejayaan dalam peperiksaan awam terlalu tebal, selagi itulah kita memanjangkan barah kehidupan."

6) "Kita terlalu bergantung kepada satu dahan iaitu kejayaan akademik, dan disilau dan dilemaskan oleh kerlipan dan arus sonsang dunia hiburan."

Sungguh mendalam maksud kata-kata tokoh pengkritik sukan tersebut. Semua pihak perlu mengambil peranan dan menggembeling tenaga dalam mengembalikan kegemilangan sukan yang pernah dikecapi oleh negara kita di waktu lalu. Pemimpin-pemimpin dan peneraju kelab-kelab sukan di negara ini perlu bersatu hati untuk memajukan sukan. Kepentingan diri perlu dielakkan. Perbalahan sesama sendiri tidak kira atas apa jua alasan perlu dihindarkan.

"MAJULAH SUKAN UNTUK NEGARA!"

2008 WYCC - 6th Round Final Results & 7th Round Pairings

In Open 10 category - Li Tian won, Aron drew.  Li Tian so far scored 4 and 1/2 points while Aron has 2 and 1/2 points. Li Tian is the highest scorer among the Malaysian players.

In Girls 10 category, Najiha won againts a Slovakian player whereas Camilia had a nother draw againts a Russian player.  Good so far, no lost. The former has 3 and 1/2 points while the latter has 2 and 1/2 points.

In Girls 8 category, playing black Puteri Rifqah lost to Zhou Qiyu on Board 7. Syill she has 3 points. 

In Open 12 category, the lone Malaysia player Elgin drew to score 3 points.

Both Syakir, Open 14 category, and Justin Ong, Open 16 category, should be proud enough to draw with their higher rated opponents. Both also scores 2 and 1/2 points each.

Alia, playing in Girls 14 category also drew to score 3 points.

Tomorrow is a rest day. All Malaysian players should relax their tired minds to face their other opponents in Round 7. Based on the pairing above, Justin Ong has the toughest opponent. While the rest has better chances to score another point. ALL THE BEST! Enjoy your games in Vung Tau and make our country proud.  

2008 WYCC - 4th Round Final Results & 5th Round Pairings

It is about 1 o'clock. My eyes are really heavy he he ... The 4th round results and 5th round pairings just came up. Good news for the boys camp. No lost at all. Only Elgin drewn with a Kazakhtan player.  It is a sweet victory for Syakir for defeating much higher-rated opponent (2074 compared to his 1844 FIDE rating).

It is quite sad for the girls camp. Puteri could not continue her winning momentum when lost to a local player. Only Nabila won. The rest lost their games.

For the fifth round, Elgin, Syakir and Justin Ong will play higher-rated opponents. Both Li Tian and Eu Wen winning chances is higher.  For the girls, only Nabila will be meeting much tougher Russian opponent, Tereshechkina Maya, the number 4 ranking. 

GOOD LUCK! to all Malaysian players. Make our country proud and known to the international stage. As for me, I need to go to bed now. Asta Manyana!! 

... 1:25 am ...

2008 WYCC - 3rd Round Final Results & 4th Round Pairings

The final 3rd round results of the Malaysian players.

The 4th round pairings of the Malaysian players.

Two of our players - Camilia and Alia, will be playing againts Fide Master. This is a very good exposure. It will be sweeter if they can beat them. MALAYSIA BOLEH!! Puteri and Alia are leading the way for our contigent to get the medals.

2008 WYCC - 3rd Round Results

Li Tian drew with Nguyen Ngoc Minh Tri from Vietnam on Board 14 while Eu Wen lost to his Vietnamese opponent. In Open 12 category, our player Elgin Lee Kah Meng playing black won againts an England player. 

Puteri drew her game againts another Vietnamese player on Board 2. Thus, she has collected 2 and 1/2 points so far. Both Najiha and Camilia add another 1/2 point each when they met each other in the third round.

Results for other players are not published yet as per now 3:30pm.

Justin lost to a Mexican player, Rojas Alarcon Julian Antonio. He will play againts a Republic South Africa player, Naidu Sayen, in Round 4 at 5:00pm today.  (Updated at 4:15pm)

It is good news. Alia won her third round againts an Australian player named Sally Yu. In Round 4 this afternoon, she will play againts an Iranian WFM Ghazal Hakimifard on Board 11 playing black.  Hopefully she can beat her. Go Alia! Go. (Updated at 4:26pm)

Syakir lost his third round game to Gaehwiler Gabriel. In the fourth round, he will be playing white againts a Norwegian player, Hansen Pal Andreas. Let's pray for his win. (Updated at 4:34pm)

2008 WYCC - 2nd Round Results

For the boys, the results today are the opposites of yesterday. All who lost yesterday won today. Li Tian, playing white, won againts an Indian player. Both Syakir and Justin defeated Kenyan players. Eu Wen could not upset the first seeded Iranian player whereas Elgin lost to a Vietnamese player.

For the girls, Puteri is the only one who has perfect score so far. Today playing on Board 2, she beats Sakalli Esin from Turkey. Except for Alia who drew with a Vietnamese player, the other girl players lost their games. Najiha lost to an Indian player, Najiha was defeated by a Serbian player while Camilia could not outplay the fifth seeded Bulgarian player, Vasova Mariya.

Let's pray for all the players to win the third round tomorrow.

Except for Syakir and Justin who will play againts much stronger opponents, the others will have about equally strong opponents. It is just unfortunate for both Camilia and Najiha who have to play againts each other.

GOOD LUCK!! MAKE MALAYSIA PROUD!!

Sambutan Syawal 2008

Keletah Fahim bersama datuk dan 'uwo'nya.

Fikri bersalam raya dengan datuknya.

Anak-anak bandar, Fahim dan Ezzah, di hadapan bendang.

Fikri dan Anis bersama sepupu mereka Ezzah.

1 Syawal pada tahun ini, 2008, jatuh pada 1 Oktober bersamaan hari Rabu. Setelah menunaikan solat sunat Aidil Fitri di surau Pekan Simpang 5, acara maaf bermaafan seluruh ahli keluarga pun berlansung. Pada tahun ini aku sekeluarga berpakaian sedondon warna keungu-unguan. Anak-anakku bersama-sama sepupu-sepupu mereka gembira mendapat duit raya dari datuk, 'uwo' panggilan nenek di kalangan kami orang-orang Kampar, pakcik dan makcik mereka.

Sesudah itu kami ke rumah 'uwo' isteriku atau moyang bagi anak-anakku. Rumah beliau berada di kawasan sawah padi atau lebih dikenali 'bendang' di kalangan orang-orang tempatan. Maka bertemu pula anak-anakku dengan dua pupu- dua pupu mereka. Bertemu bukan selalu, hanya setahun sekali. Begitulah adat berziarah di bulan Syawal yang seharusnya terus diamalkan.

Pada raya kedua, aku dan kedua-dua anak lelakiku, Fikri dan Fahim, menyertai rombongan 'baraan' raya dari rumah ke rumah. Lebih 20 buah rumah yang diziarahi. Kepada mereka yang tidak pernah mendengar perkataan ini, perkataan 'baraan' berasal dari bahasa Jawa. Ia bermaksud kunjungan atau ziarah ahli kariah kampung beramai-ramai ke rumah-rumah. Sebelum menjamu selera bacaan doa akan diaminkan beramai-ramai. Ini merupakan satu budaya masyarakat kita yang perlu dikekalkan turun menurun. Ia satu budaya yang bersesuaian dengan ajaran Islam itu sendiri. Bagi kanak-kanak, apa yang paling menggembirakan mereka ialah ketika mendapat 'ang pow' raya. 

Di kampungku sendiri iaitu di Jalan Sultan Sungai Tengar, aku juga menyertai acara baraan ini dari aku berusia kanak-kanak sehinggalah ke zaman bujangku. Sewaktu kanak-kanak, kami hanya menaiki basikal. Setelah remaja kami bermotosikal pula. Sungguh indah pengalaman tersebut. Begitulah budaya manis di kampung yang telah semakin luput di bandar-bandar. 

Dalam menyambut Syawal di kampung, aku dan anak-anak tidak lupa untuk praktis catur di waktu senggang. Apatah lagi banyak pertandingan catur dalam bulan Oktober ini. Semoga kami akan lebih berjaya nanti.

Family Vacation To Penang

Me and my family have just arrived home from a vacation to Penang. We left home on Wednesday morning at around 9 am. We stopped to have our lunch at Sungai Perak R&R. At around two, we arrived at Bukit Mertajam and checked in at the Bukit Mertajam Summit Hotel. I booked and chose the hotel because it is a family type and the price is very reasonable.

After resting a while we started our first visit. We planned to go to the Fisheries Aquarium located at Batu Maung. Unfortunately, it was closed since. Then we went to the War Museum which is located not far from the Aquarium. Actually, it was not in our plan. It turned out to be memorable and fun since we could experience, learn and see lots of the past and history especially during the war of World War II i.e. the Japanese invasion.

The most memorable act that we all did was climbing up the escape tunnel to the top. Even Fahim, my youngest six-year-old son could do it. Besides that the communication tools during that era really fascinated me.