Reviews On 11th Weekend MALAYSIAN Chess Tournaments

Malaysian chess community is blessed with five chess tourneys during the last 11th weekend. Unfortunately, one of them was cancelled due to lack of participants. But still the other four tourneys that include three grand prix managed to attract 482 chess players to participate. The one-day Perak grand prix or GP held on Sunday had the highest number of participants with 187 that required more than 90 chess boards. Bangladeshi GM Ziaur Rahman showed his prowess by winning all his seven games to clinch the champion for the Open category. Go to this link if you want to know more details about the tournament.

The second top most number of participants is the Putrajaya Closed with 161 players in total for three categories. A strong chess player, Rizal Ahmad Kamal of Malaysian Royal Customs Department, won the Open section bagging the RM 500 cash reward. For more reports and details of result, please go to Hairulov's blog here and Sifu's blog here.

The Segamat GP that was held in a secondary school in Segamat, Johor had provided the chance and opportunity to many Johorean school children to participate in a chess tournament. 90 players entered the tournament in three categories. The highest number is Under 18 section with 47 participants. GiLoCatur believes with more aggressive promotion like approach the PPDs and schools in Segamat and Muar areas, more and more school children will participate. As posted in this blog here, Abdullah Che Hassan is the champion of the Open category edging other favourite and top players like Abg Bro or Kamaluddin Yusof.

Lastly, KL Grand Prix had 44 participants. Event though, it had the smallest number of participants, it also had quality players. Mohd Nabil Azman won the Open section after scoring 5.5/6 points in the absence of the first leg winner and a Malaysian chess prodigy, Yeoh Li Tian . Go to fireyrook's chess blog here to view further details and pictures of the tourney.

In short, having several chess tournaments at the same time do not necessarily affect the number of participants. The important thing is the tourney is at the right time and the right venue with proper, well-planned and aggressive promotion as well as impressive prizes. GiLoCatur believes with some little adjustments and attractive package, foreign and overseas chess players especially from the neighbouring ASEAN countries will participate in our chess tournaments.

KEEP IT GOING!

Click here to check on GiLoCatur's posting on all the chess tourneys that took place during the last 11th weekend.

The Results of KL Grand Prix Leg 2

U12 Section from chess-results.com

MSSM chess players of three different states - N9, Selangor and WP, had dominated the Under 12 section of the KL Chess Grand Prix - Leg 2 held at the Royal Selangor Club. They were among 24 players who participated in the two day tournament. The Sivanesan siblings had won back-to-back when the brother, Subramaniam scored 5.5/6 to be the champion. While the sister, Nuthyalakshmi, tied second with 4.5/6 points with 2009 MSSM U12P Team Gold medalist, Puteri Rifqah of Selangor and Amier Hamzah of Wilayah Persekutuan. Their positions are decided by tie breaks.

Open Section from chess-results.com

While the 2009 MSSM U15L Team Gold medalist, Nabil, was declared the champion for the Open section after scoring 5.5/6 points. He won his first five rounds and drew the last with Abdul Haq. The second place is Roshan Singh, also from the Selangor MSSM chess contingent, with 5/6 points. He won 4 and drew 2. For this year MSSM edition to be held in KL, both of them are predicted to make impact in the Under 18 since U15 and U18 will be merged into one. In the Open category, 20 chess players participated.

Once again, TAHNIAH and SYABAS to all the winners.

Local Chess Tourneys This Weekend

There would be five chess tourneys held during this weekend (6 & 7 March):

1) KL Chess Rapid Grand Prix

The second leg of KL Chess Grand Prix will be held at the RSC, Royal Selangor Club, located at Dataran Merdeka. The tourney also has 6 rounds. The time control is 45 minute per side or simply G/45. Based on the first leg, the pairings will be shown using a LCD projector, an advanced method or approach.

2) The First Saturday Chess Classics

For players who prefer and like the standards chess, they can participate in this tourney organized by the Excel Chess Academy. GiLoCatur believes many NAG participants will choose this tourney for the warm up. The format is 6 rounds of G/60 + 30 seconds. Jax Tham will be the host at his chess center located in Overseas Union Garden (OUG).

GiLoCatur yakin abang Zainal Arif, seorang "gilocatur" dan peniaga di Segamat tidak akan melepaskan peluang menyertai Segamat Grand Prix di SMK Seri Kenangan. Pastikan rakan2 abang semua diajak menyertai sama, bang.

3) Putrajaya Chess Closed

This chess tourney is only for Putrajaya residents or those who work in Putrajaya. As advertised, the tourney's format is 6 rounds of G/20 format. Three categories would be contested - Open (16 years old and abobe), Under 15 and Under 12. The fees are very cheap. The champion for each category will receive cash prizes of RM 300, RM 300 and RM 250 respectively. The cash prizes for both Under 15 and Under 12 are the highest in any tourney as far as GiLoCatur remembers. Good for chess development among the juniors. Hopefully, more new chess talents will emerge. And also it would spark more interest in chess by Putrajaya residents. A question? Will Hairulov of http://hairulovchessmaniacs.blogspot.com/ defend his last year the Open category champion title in this edition?

Kamaluddin aka Abg Bro (right) vs Kok Wei Tze in the recent MMU International Invitational tournament. Again another chess tourney for Abg Bro, but which tourney? Anyone can guest?GiLoCatur hopes Abg Bro keeps track his participation in the local chess tournament. Boleh Abg Bro share dengan semua jumlah chess tourneys yang telah disertai? Boleh masuk Malaysian Book of Records (MBR) maybe? And GiLoCatur hopes Wei Tze will play in the Segamat Grand Prix. He is a talented young and fast rising chess player.

4) Segamat Chess Rapid Grand Prix

Another G/45 format tourney is the first leg of Segamat Chess Grand Prix. The tourney plays 7 rounds in two days. Segamat is about 2 and 1/2 hours drive south of Kuala Lumpur. It is actually located in the state of Johor. Yes, Johor is full of chess activities this year. Later this month, two chess tournaments will be held in JB in one weekend with nearly RM 15 K (grand) in cash prizes. Another chess tourney in Johor will be in Kota Tinggi. Johorean chess players should (or maybe MUST) take advantage of this scenario by participating in such tourneys. They should have the spirit and determination of the 8-year-old Jagathees Guna Balan who is rising in the Malaysian chess circle. And GiLoCatur also hopes chess players from Melaka and Negeri Sembilan like Kok Wei Tze, a player to watch at 2010 MSSM, will participate in the Segamat Grand Prix.

Where would Abdullah Che Hassan (left), one of the mostly-participated Malaysian strong chess players be during this weekend? KL Chess Grand Prix?, The FSCC? or Segamat Grand Prix?

5) Perak Chess Grand Prix

Like in PICA's official blog at perakchess.blogspot.com, the first leg will be held at Wisma Belia, Kompleks Belia dan Sukan which is situated in Ipoh. Three categories - Open, Under 16 and Under 12 with Best Girls for each age group sections, will be organized by both PICA and MCF. The tourney is sponsored by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad. The format will be G/25 of 7 Swiss rounds played in one day.

GiLoCatur and the kids will not participated in any of the five chess tourneys. Fikri is not coming home from his hostel. Anis will be busy with her school program. GiLoCatur decides to attend the PTA meeting at SK Bukit Jelutong which GiLoCatur thinks more important. Hopefully, GiLoCatur will get the updates and results of all the chess tournaments to share with. GiLoCatur hopes to have a more relaxing and less hectic weekend before driving for a long journey to Penang in the following week for the NAG, National Age Group.

GOOD AND BEST OF LUCK TO ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THE FIVE TOURNEYS!!! THE IMPORTANT THING IS, ENJOY PLAYING CHESS! like GiLoCatur eventhough often being whacked and thrashed by strong players and masters. LOL (Laugh Out Loud or "gelak besor" kata Bahasa Melayu Peraknya!)

GiLoCatur can't wait to know what is the total number of Malaysian chess players in all the tourneys to gauge the popularity and increasing interest in chess.

Last Weekend Tournaments Summary

There were four known chess tournaments in the country in last weekend. Below are the summary :

1) KL Chess Grand Prix - Leg 1

Organizer : KLCA, Polgar Chess Asia

Venue : Royal Selangor Club, Dataran Merdeka, KL

Format : G/45, 6 Swiss rounds

Total number of players : 29 participants (Open), 25 participants (Under 12)

Categories : Open, Under 12

Champion : Yeoh Li Tian (6/6) for Open category [RM 300], Subramaniam Sivanesan (5.5/6) for Under 12 [RM 150]

Click here for Open category full result.

Click here for Under 12 category full result.

Or here for cross table results.

2) First Saturday Chess Classic (FSCC)

Organizer : Excel Chess Academy

Venue : EXCEL CHESS ACADEMY, 26A JALAN HUJAN EMAS 4, OUG, JALAN KELANG LAMA, 58200 KUALA LUMPUR

Format : G/90 + 30 secs, 6 Swiss rounds

Total number of players : 10 participants

Categories : Open

Champion : Lim Zhou Ren (6/6) [RM 180 + trophy]

Click here for Open category full result.

3) MMU Melaka International Chess Open

Organizer : MMU Chess Club

Venue : MMU, Bukit Beruang, Melaka

Format : G/45, 7 Swiss rounds

Total number of players : 30 participants

Categories : Open

Champion : Ian Udani (6.5/7) [RM 1,000 + trophy]

Click here for MMU Melaka results.

4) Kejohanan Catur SMK Seri Putera

Organizer : PICA and SMK Seri Putera

Venue : Dewan SMK Seri Putera, Ipoh Perak

Format : G/20, 6 Swiss rounds

Total number of players : ? participants

Categories : Open, U15, U12, U10

Champion : ? for Open [RM 100]

Chess ... Chess ... Chess

What a hectic couple of weeks for GiLoCatur. Juggling between work and chess activities during the weekends.

24 Jan 2010

GiLoCatur and family were busy at Jeram (Kuala Selangor) Chess Open. The three kids and GiLoCatur participated in the national-rated event of seven G/25 rounds . Both adik "Fahim" and kakak "Anis" played in the Under 12 section while abang "Fikri" was in the Under 18 group. Meanwhile, GiLoCatur himself was among the Open category participants. How's the performance? Both Fikri and Anis managed to be among the winners. Fahim, as usual, still play very fast. A long way to go for him. As for GiLoCatur, not bad at all, in fact had positive rating difference. And had a good game against WCM Nabila.

The above picture was candidly taken by Ng6 while GiLoCatur just arrived at the venue of Jeram Chess Open.

25 to 27 Jan 2010

In Monday morning, GiLoCatur drove to Muar for an outstation. Had three sparring sessions with Zullghafari Suparmin who stay and work there. We also had chit chat, discussion and knowledge sharing that relate to chess. We are really "gilocatur" or chess maniacs. GiLoCatur has yet to write and post entry about our chess sparring.

GiLoCatur was in front of Muar's landmark at night. Muar is a big town located in Johor. It is about 2-hour drive or 200 kilometers from GiLoCatur's house in Shah Alam.

30 & 31 Jan 2010

GiLoCatur was at KL Junior Chess Championship. All the kids were participating in the tournament held in Cochrane Sports Excellence Center. Five age group categories were contested by about 180 Malaysian junior chess players. The youngest one, Fahim, was among the Under 10 Boys category. He was supposed to play in Under 8 Boys. The only daughter, Anis Fariha, tops the Under 12 Girls category. But due to certain circumstances like spending much time on tuition for the UPSR exam this year, she could not win the gold medal. The other important factor that affected her performance during the tournament is coming late for the second day and the crucial fourth round. Not her fault though. It is the mistake of GiLoCatur himself for not strong enough to handle the hectic schedule. Fortunately, the eldest one Fikri was offered a draw by his opponent even though he had time deficit. The fourth round and the first game of the 2nd day started at 8.30am. Fikri arrived at his board at around 9.05am which means that he had less than 30 minutes left. He cruised through the tournament in his Under 14 Boys age group section with 4 wins and 2 draws to claim the first spot. He was very happy for his performance. But he must continue practicing and learning to improve his ratings and achieve the target.

Fikri received his champion medal and winning certificate from Muhammad Arshad, the secretary of Terengganu Chess Association and a chess blogger of http://caturterengganu.blogspot.com/

1 to 3 Feb 2010

GiLoCatur once again went outstation to Muar. If in the previous week GiLoCatur stayed at Classics Hotel, this time around GiLoCatur stayed at Muar Traders Hotel. The latter is preferred because it is situated near a river which is very peaceful at night. Moreover it is not in the cramped downtown or city center. This time, GiLoCatur had only two chess sparring sessions with Zullghafari, one of GiLoCatur's chess buddies. One at the hotel lobby having about seven 10-minute blitz games and the other at MacDonalds. [ Jika Ng6 buka satu cawangan di MacD Bangsar, GiLoCatur lak buka cawangan di MacD Muar he he ... ]. GiLoCatur will write a dedicated entry for activities and attractions in Muar next time.

6 & 7 Feb 2010

During this coming weekend, there will be four chess tournaments:

1) KL Chess Grand Prix - the first leg

Organizer : KLCA and Polgar Chess Asia

Venue : Royal Selangor Club, Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur

Format : G/45, six rounds

Click here, for further details.

2) First Saturday Chess Classics (FSCC) - month of February

Organizer : Jax Tham and Excel Chess Academy (ECA)

Venue : ECA, OUG Jalan Kelang Lama, KL

Format : G/90 + 30 seconds, six rounds

Click here for further details.

3) MMU (Multimedia University) Open

Organizer : MMU Chess Club

Venue : MMU, Bukit Beruang, Melaka

Format : G/45, six rounds (may change)

Click here for further details.

4) SMK Seri Putera Open

Organizer : PICA and Chess Club of SMK Seri Putera

Venue : SMK Seri Putera, Ipoh, Perak

Format : G/20, six rounds

Click here for further details.

(Registration deadline : tomorrow! 4 Feb 2010)

Four chess tournaments in one weekend? Two in KL and one each in Melaka and Perak. WOW! What else Malaysian chess players and community have to do? Just select one of the four tournaments and enjoy playing chess. Show your support by participating in the local chess tournament. Let's put chess in the limelight in the country and improve the quality.

As for GiLoCatur and the kids, where we will be playing? Come back again to find out. :)-

A Chess Grand Prix

WOW! THE YEAR 2010 IS FULL OF CHESS ACTION FOR THE MALAYSIAN CHESS FRATERNITY. A SERIES OF CHESS TOURNAMENTS ARE BEING LINED UP. SO, PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! THEN WE BATTLE OUT IN THE TOURNAMENT.

KL CHESS GRAND PRIX SURELY WILL KEEP MALAYSIAN CHESS PLAYERS BUSY ...

Below are the details :

The Organizers

The Sponsors

http://www.ypim.com.my/

The Format

G/45 : 45 minutes time-control per player, Swiss System of 6 rounds

The Schedule

1st Leg : 6th & 7th Feb 2010

2nd Leg : 6th & 7th Mar 2010

3rd Leg : 3rd & 4th APR 2010

4th Leg : 8th & 9th MAY 2010

Grand Finale : 5th & 6th JUN 2010

On Saturday,

12.00 - 1.00pm : Final registration

2.00 - 3.30pm : Round 1

4.00 - 5.30pm : Round 2

On Sunday,

9.00 - 10.30am : Round 3

11.00am - 12.30pm : Round 4

1.30 - 3.00pm : Round 5

3.30 - 5.00pm : Round 6

5.30 - 6.00pm : Closing and Prize Giving

The Prizes

The Fees

• Members of KLCA and RSC - Open (RM 15), Under 12 years old (Rm 5)

• Non-members - Open (RM 20), Under 12 years old (RM 10)

Payment

Please make payment to MBB (Maybank) account : 514-187-214-430 [EFFECTIVE COMMERCE SDN BHD], 3 days before each leg kicks off, or else a 50% penalty may apply.

The Tournament Venue

The Card Room, Royal Selangor Club, Dataran Merdeka KL

Important Points

Points (actual scores) accumulated from each leg will be used as the basis for qualifying for the Grand Finals, where the top 10 in each section will be given free entry and the top 25 overall finishers* in each section will be given priority in participation.

The organizers reserve discretion in modifying the number of qualifiers.

Participants are encouraged to pre-register with the organizers to be assured of a place as space is limited and so only 80 places are guaranteed for each leg.