Corus C 2009 : Round 12 - Wesley So tame Tiger !

Wesley So meet Swedish famous GM - Tiger Hillarp Person (photo right) last night . I wrongly predict that it would be an interesing duel considering Tiger is well known as an attacking player - a suitable style if you look at his name . Tiger is also a versatile player. As white he play 1.e4 and 1.d4 regularly.

However, Wesley easily "tame" the Swedish Tiger after his opponent made a series of "unforce error".

GM Tiger Hillarp Person (2586) - GM Wesely So (2627)

Corus C, Round 12, 31.1.09

analysed by Hairulov and Fritz 11

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Bd3 Bg4 6.Qb3 Bxf3

now 7.Qxb7? will be a mistake ( sorry but after checking with The Slav by FM Graham Burgess, 7.Qxb7 is playable. After Bxg2 8.Rg1 dxc4 9.Qxa8 cxd3 10.Rxg2 but black has good compensation) 7.gxf3 Qc7 8.Nc3 e6 9.a4 probably a novelty. My source show only 9.Bd2 and 9.c5 9...Nbd7 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.a5 Nb8 12.Bd2 Nc6 13.Ke2 Bd6 14.Na4 0–0 15.Qb6 Qe7 17.f4? This move cause white a pawn after 17... Bc7 18.Qb3 Bxf4

not 19.exf4?? and Nxd4+ forking white's king and queen 19.Qc3?! Probably 19.Qa3 or 19.Rac1 is better 19...e5! A good move by Wesley. White still can take the bishop on f4 because 20.exf4? exd4+ and white will lose his queen. 20.Nb3? Tiger add another problem to his position. He should have replaced his king to a better square with 20.Kf1 20... Rfc8! 21.dxe5 i Think after 21...Bxe5 Tiger could have resign and safe his energy for tommorow last round game !
21...Bxe5 22.Qc5 Tiger can save his queen with 22.Qc1 but after 22...Nxa5 23.Qd1 Nc4 his position is equally hopeless 22...Nd4+ 23.Qxd4 Bxd4 24.Nxd4

Tiger continue to play a hopeless position 24...Ne4 25.Rag1 g6 26.Bxe4 dxe4 27.h4 Rc4 28.Bc3 Rxc3 29.bxc3 Qc7 30.Kf1 Qxa5 31.h5 Qa1+ 32.Kg2 Qxc3 33.hxg6 fxg6 34.Rh4 Re8 35.Rb1 b5 36.Rhh1 Qc5 37.Rbc1 Qg5+ 38.Kf1 Rf8 39.Rh2?? I don't know what's wrong with Tiger tonight but with 33 minutes left to reach the time control this is too much.

39...Qxe3 0-1

17Chess Club is still live n kicking!

The 17 Chess Club guys battling at Jayanti. Photo from 17chessclub.blog

It's good to note that the 17 Chess Club is back in business this year after a quite inactive period especially in the second half of last year. Recently they organised a reunion at their usual training ground - Jayati Restaurant at Seksyen 17, Shah Alam.

It's a pity that the Restaurant now operate "only" till 12 midnight which means that the players have to end their session "early". However this didn't dampen the "cold blooded" 17Chess Club guys because after the Restaurant closed they will move to the 24 hours McDonald Restaurant at Seksyen 3 Shah Alam ( near UiTM).

I missed this chess gathering so much and hope that i can join ( turun!) regularly as before.

2009 Klang Open Chess Championship

Badan Kebajikan Kakitangan Pejabat Agama Islam Klang dan Majlis Guru Besar Daerah Klang will organise a national rated chess tournament - The 2009 Klang Open Chess Championship as below:-

Date : 7th February 2009 (Saturday)

Time: 7.30am - 6 pm

Venue: Pusat Sumber Pendidikan JAIS (PSPJ)
Jalan Bukit Jati, Kampung Jawa, Klang, Selangor ( maps to the event see gilachess.com link here )

Format : Swiss System, individual, 7 round ( * First Round start at 9.30 am)

Time Control : 25 minutes

Tie Break : Solkoff, Sonneborn Berger, Progressive Score

Fee : Under 12 years old : RM 15.00

Under 18 years old : RM 20.00

OPEN : RM 25.00

TOTAL CASH PRIZES AMOUNT : RM 7410.00 ( the full list of the prizes see link to gilachess.com )

TROPHY WILL BE GIVEN TO ALL TOP THREE WINNERS OF MAIN CATEGORY

CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT WILL ALSO BE GIVEN TO ALL WINNERS.

OFFERING 72 OVERALL WINNERS

NOT-TO-BE-MISSED : LUCKY DRAW DURING PRIZE GIVING.

BREAKFAST & LUNCH PROVIDED

registration & enquires : Zamri Sajari : 016-2775005
Syed Abd Rahman : 012-2484513
Azhar Mohd Said : 012-6796193

Method of payment : registered trough sms and deposit the fee to ' BIRO EKONOMI MAJLIS GURU BESAR DAERAH KLANG' -Maybank account : 562067507199 and fax the bank slip to 03-33231319 before 3rd February 2009. The original copy of the bank slip should be submit to the organiser on the tournamanet day.


Closing date : 3rd February 2009

Source : Mr.Azhar Said


* Disclaimer :Hairulovchessmaniacs Upcoming Tournament Announcement are provided for the convenience of all interest party and are for informational purposes only. Unless expressly indicated otherwise, Hairulovchessmaniacs is not responsible for the accuracy of anything contained in these announcements. Those interested in additional information or having questions about any of these tournaments are directed to contact the organizer listed. Hairulovchessmaniac will exercise all due diligence in providing accurate information but assume no responsibility for errors made in such work.

City Day Countdown Blitz !

Jax Tham will organize a blitz games - City Day Countdown Blitz in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur City Day on the 1st February 2009. A little history info:- on 1 February 1974 Kuala Lumpur seceded from Selangor and the city became a Federal Territory (Wilayah Persekutuan). That mean that Kuala Lumpur is 2 year older then me !

The details is as below :-

City Day Countdown Blitz

Veneu : Excellence Chess Academy (ECA), OUG,

Jalan Kelang Lama, Kuala Lumpur ( see maps below )

Date: 31st January 2009 - 1 February 2009

Time : 8.30pm - 12.30 am (* the centre is open from 5pm onwards)

Organiser Contact : Jax Tham (013-3232280)

Technically the event will take two day to finish but of course it's because it will start on saturday (31st January 2009) at 8.30pm and finish on the next day ( 1st February 2009) at 12.30 am. Don't worry about where to sleep because there's bed available to use if you decide not to go home straight after event. You can rest there and when back home at suitable time which mean ...before Jax Tham start charging :)

* Disclaimer : Hairulovchessmaniacs Upcoming Tournament Announcement are provided for the convenience of all interest party and are for informational purposes only. Unless expressly indicated otherwise, Hairulovchessmaniacs is not responsible for the accuracy of anything contained in these announcements. Those interested in additional information or having questions about any of these tournaments are directed to contact the organizer listed. Hairulovchessmaniac will exercise all due diligence in providing accurate information but assume no responsibility for errors made in such work.

maps from gilachess blog

Corus 2009 : Round 11 - Wesley So beat Bosboom 1-0

Wesley So trash Dutch IM - Manuel Bosboom (photo right). Bosboom is a specialst blitz player and he's among the top blitz player in Holland. He even beat former World Champion - Gary Kasparov (with black piece ! ) in Hoogevens Blitz Tournament in 1999!

GM Wesley So (2627) - IM Manuel Bosboom (2418)
Corus C, Round 11, 30.01.2009

Analysed by Hairulov and Fritz 11

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6

A fashionable ways to play the Scandinavian nowadays ! 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 a6 6.g3 Bg4 7.Bg2 e6 7...Nc6 8.0-0 0-0-0 is another way to play in this opening. 8.0–0 c6 This move looks like to slow especially after white play 9.Bf4 chasing white queens with a tempo. Probably 8...Nc6 is better. 9.Bf4 white develop with a tempo. Black have to waste time with his queen where as his pieces development , not to mentioned his king safety...is way behind. 9... Qd8 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Be7 The problem with 11...Qxd4 is white will have a strong initiative after 12.Rfd1 whereas black's queen will have to "run" every where to find a shelter 12.Ne2 0–0 13.Qb3 Ra7! I like this move because it's not only guard the b7 pawn, it also move the rook from the attck of white Bf3 bishop. One more idea is after black play b5, his rook on a7 can later go to d7 14.c4 b5 15.Rfc1 Bd6 16.Be5 dxc4 17.Rxc4
Black c6 pawn is weak but he can defend it with 17...Nd5. Black Knight on b8 look passive whereas white could probably double his rook on c file later.
17...Nd5 18.Nc3 Bxe5 19.dxe5 Qg5?! A typical blitz players move. They usually like activities but probably better is exchanging the queen with 19...Qb6 20.Qxb6 Nxb6 21.Rd4 Nd5 20.Re1 Nd7 21.Rxc6! The problem is 21... Nxc3 (21...Nxe5 22.Bxd5 exd5 23.Qxd5) 22.Qxc3 21...Nxe5 22.Bxd5 probably black missed 22...exd5 23.Qxd5 and black will face problem after 23...Re7 24.Re3
h6 25.Rxa6 Qf5 26.Kg2 Qc8 27.Ra4 27.Rxe5? is a blunder for e.g 27... Rxe5 28.Qxe5 Qxa6 27...Rd8 28.Qb5 Rd2?? Bosboom is in serious time trouble ( he has 56 seconds left to reach move 40) which is a typical problem for strong blitz players when playing in longer time control. Probably they think they can play better in time trouble but Bosboom 28...Rd2 cost him a piece after 29.Rxe5 Rxb2 30.Rc5! Rxf2+? a desperate counter play 30...Qb8 31.Qxb8+ Rxb8 and white a piece up 31.Kxf2 Qxh3 32.Ra8+ Kh7 33.Rh5 1-0

Bosboom resign because white can simply trade the queen after 33...Qe6; or 33...Qg4 with 34.Qf5+ and have a large material advantage !

Suitable device for Pocket Fritz 3

Friends… I plan to buy a suitable device that can run Pocket Fritz 3. As a chess blogger, I found that it always interesting to show games or certain position for a tournament report. However in a rapid or blitz tournament, it almost impossible to get the full games because the players is not required to record the moves.

I welcomed any suggestion about the device from all of you. You can give a suggestion by leaving comment in this article, shout at my shoutbox or email me at hairulov@gmail.com

Thanks in advance.

Kamsky - Topalov match

The chess world will be focusing on Topalov - Kamsky match which will be held in Sofia from 16th to 28th of February, 2009. FIDE is keep reducing the total games of almost every world title and now they will only play 8 games in this important clash before the winner meets Vishy Anand. Is this a wise decision?

I have created a poll in which you can cast a vote of your choice. Vote wisely.
Play simple but not simpler......................... Luth Mikael®

Corus 2009 Round 10

Wesley So beat 19 years old Dutch IM - Roeland Pruijssers in round 10 last night. Hi is now in second place with 7 points behind Swedish GM - Tiger Hillarp Persson who lead the C Group with 7.5 points and with 3 more rounds to play.


IM Roeland Pruijssers (2444) - GM Wesley So (2627) [B48]
Corus C, Round 9, 28.01.2009

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qc7 5.Nc3 e6 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.0–0–0 Bb4 9.f3 Ne5 10.Nb3 b5 11.Qd4 Be7 12.Qb6 Qxb6 13.Bxb6 d6 14.a3 0–0 15.Na5 Bd7 16.f4 Nc6 17.Be2 Rfc8 18.Bf3 Rab8 19.Nxc6 Bxc6 20.Ba5 Nd7 21.Bb4 Nc5 22.Rd2 Kf8 23.Rf1 Nb7 24.e5 dxe5 25.fxe5 Bxf3 26. Rxf3 Bb4 27.axb4 Rc4 28. Rd7 Nd8 29.Rd6 Rxb4 30.Rfd3 Ke8 31.Rxa6 Rg4 32.Rad6 Rxg2 33.Nxb5 Rc8 34.Rd2 Rg1+ 35.Rd1 Rxd1+ 36.Rxd1 Ke7 37.Nd6 Rc7 38.b3 f5 39.Nc4 Rc5 40. Rg1 g6 41.h4 Nf7 42.Re1 h6 43.Kd2 g5 44.hxg5 hxg5 45.Kc3 g4 46. Re2 Rd5 47.b4 g3 0-1

Blast From The Past : Kamal Abdullah - Alexander Wohl 1/2-1/2 : 1992 Commonwealth Chess Championship, Bangi, Malaysia !

Thanks to NM Kamal Abdullah (photo left) for his valuable game and details of his past game in the 1992 Commonwealth Chess Championship held in Bangi. . Below an excerpts from his email :-

..."Salam Hairul,

The Commonwealth Chess Championship 1992 was held from the 22nd May (my b’day) to the 2nd June at the Multi Purpose Hall, Petronas Sports Complex, Bangi.

I played rather well with losses to GM Anthony Miles and GM William Watson only before the final round, which I needed to win to gain an IM norm! I played IM Sundhakar Babu (2365-IND). The pressure was tremendous and played real badly, despite having the white pieces. Could not sleep the night before thinking about the norm!

I was happy with the way I played before the last round game of course. Wins against WGM Susan Arkell (ENG), and draws against Alex Wohl (AUS), IM Ravi Lanka (IND). My performance rating was 2406.. (I was at that time 2205)".....

Kamal – Alex Wohl Round 6 – Alekhine Defense (maybe you and Fritz can analyze this)"...

I'm honoured to analyse it Kamal ! - Hairulov

Mohd Kamal Abdullah (2205) - Alexander Wohl (2280) [B04]
Commonwealth Chess Championship, Bangi, Malaysia (Round 6), 1992

Analysed by Hairulov and Fritz 11

1.e4 Nf6 The Alekhine Defense. This opening is not only weird in it appearance but the pronunciation also . Normal chess player will pronounce it as Alehain but my old chess friend said that it's actually -Alekin. 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 c6 5...dxe5?! Is dubious because 6.dxe5! c6 7.Nc3 Be6 not (7...Nxc3?? 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Qxd8) 8.Ng5± 6.0–0 Bg7 In Round 4, Wohl play the weak 6...Bg4?! against IM William Watson 7.exd6 Qxd6 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Bg7 10.Nc3! e6 (of course not 10...Bxd4? 11.Nxd5 cxd5 12.Bxd5) 11.Ne4 Qc7 12.Bb3 0–0 13.c4 Ne7 14.Bf4± With large advantage to white however Wohl managed to draw the game. 7.Bb3 Kamal prepared for c4 push. The main line is 7.exd6 Qxd6 7...0–0 8.c4 Nc7 9.h3 dxe5 10.dxe5 Qxd1 11.Rxd1

The game has been simplified. 11...Ne6 12.Bd2 Na6 13.Bc2 Rd8 14.Na3 Bd7 15.b4 Be8 16.Bc3 Rdc8 17.Be4 Kamal is trying to exploit black weak pawns on the queen side mainly b7 and c6 . 17...Rab8 18.Nc2 Nac7 19.a4 h6 20.Ne3 Ng5 21.Nxg5 hxg5 22.Bf3 Rd8 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Rd1 ½–½ There's no clear advantage for both side so draw is the fair result for both player.

Thailand Open Chess 2009 ( 9th Bangkok Chess Open)

The 2009 Thailand Open Chess Championship or better know as the 9th Bangkok Chess Championship will be held from April 1st till 6th April 2009 at the Aisawan Resort & Spa, Pattaya, Thailand .

So far participant from Malaysia who has already registerd is only FM Peter Long. I think Malaysian top players should take this opportunity to play in this tournament because 7 GM's, 7 IM's and 2 FM's have already registerd to play so far. Big names such as GMs -Mikheil Mchedlishvili (FIDE 2619), Merab Gagunashvili (FIDE 2585), Georgy Timoshenko (FIDE 2551) registered. This means that there's good chance for Malaysian players such as Mashafizul and others to try to get the FIDE title (GM , IM or FM).

Corus 2009 : Round 9 - Wesley Won !

Round 9

After a disastrous blunder in round 8, Wesley meet Dutch IM Ali Bitazaldeh in the round 9 tonight. A terrible lost just before a rest day is the last thing a player want because the lost will haunt you for the whole day. Wesley show maturity however by winning convincingly against Ali. .

Analysed by Hairulov and Fritz 11

IM Ali Bitazaldeh (2400) - GM Wesley So (2627)
Corus C, Round 9 27.01.2009

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nc3 a6 6.0–0 Rb8 7.d3 d6 8.Bg5 b5 9.Qc1 Bg4 10.Rb1 Qd7 11.b3 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 Nd4

White has a problem now. Wesley is thretening 13...Nxf3 to capture white's important light square bishop and to double white f-pawn . If he retreat with 13.Bg2 then 13...b4and white will have problem with black Nxe2 - forking white king and queen.
12.Bxf3 Nd4 13.Ne4 Nxf3+ 14.exf3 f5 15.Nc3 b4 16.Nd5 e6 17.Re1 Kf7 18.Nf4 h6

19.Nxe6? Ali missed an excellent resources 19. Nh3! because if black take the knight with 19... hxg5 then he can at least get a perpectual check with 20. Nxg5+ Kf8

if 20... Kf6 21. Rxe6+

if 20... Ke8 21. Nxe6 Kf7 22. Ng5+

21. Nxe6+ Kf7 22. Ng5+ Kf6 23. f4 Re8 (23... Bh6 24. Qb2#) 24. Qb2+

Black chance to avoid the perpectual is 19...Qc6

19... Re8 20.Nd8+ Rxd8 21.Bxd8 Qxd8 22.a3 a5 23.axb4 axb4 24.Qe3 Qd7 25.f4 Bc3 26.Re2 Nf6 27.Qf3 Qa7 28.Rc1 Qa8 29.Kg2 Qxf3+ 30.Kxf3 Ra8 31.h3 h5 32.Rb1 Ra3 33.Rc2 d5 34.cxd5 Nxd5 35.g4 Ne7 36.gxh5 gxh5 0-1

Commonwealth Chess Champion 1992, Bangi, Malaysia !

As you all know, i'm collecting information about the 1992 Commonwealth Chess Championship which was held in Malaysia. This is as a build up for this year Commonwealth Chess Championship which was unofficially announced to be held in Malaysia !

Thanks to my friend Rizal and a newspaper cutting from Ilhammudin which gave me a valuable info about The 1992 Commonwealth Chess Champion which was held at the Kompleks Sukan PERMATA (PETRONAS Training Unit), Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.

According to Rizal, he got 8 out of 9 of the 1992 tournament bulletins which consist about 220 from 320 games. Unfortunately he didn't have the round 9 bulletin.

Below are the details i got so far:-

Venue : Kompleks Sukan PERMATA , Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.

Date : 22 May 1992 - 2 June 1992

Format : Swiss 9 round

Participants :- 50 ( 25 local players)

1. GM Julion Hodgson (2580) - England
2. GM Anthony Miles ( 2565) - England
3. GM William watson (2535) - England
4. GM Mihail Suba (2520) - Romania
5. GM Joe Gallagher (2510) - England

6. GM Stuart Conquest (2505) - England
7. IM Darryl Johansen (2485) - Australia
8. IM Pravin Thipsay (2485) - India
9. IM Collin McNab (2475) - Scotland
10. IM D V Prasad (2415) - India
11. IM Lanka Ravi (2375) - India
12. IM N. Sudhakar (2365) - India
13. Alexander Wohl (2280) - Australia
14. WGM Susan Arkell - England
15. Deborah Cooper - Wales

Local Players

1. Mohd Kamal Abdullah (2205)
2. WIM Audrey Wong (2020)
3. Mok Tze Meng (2000)
4. David Chin
5. Wendy Lai
6. Mohd Zaini Hamid

Any additional info is welcome and can be send to my email hairulov@gmail.com

Round 8 Corus : Wesley terrible blunder

Wesley So play against GM Frank Holzke - a 38 years old GM from Germany . Wesley who had a good game untill move 34 when he blundered terribly with 34.Qxc4 which cost him a piece and the game. Below are the game.


GM Wesley So(2627) - GM Frank Holzke (2524) [C78]
Corus C Wijk aan Zee NED Round 8, 25.01.2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Bc5 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.d4 Nxe4 8.Re1 Be7 9.dxe5 Nc5 10.Nc3 0–0 11.Bf4 Nxa4 12.Nxa4 d5 13.exd6 Bxd6 14.Bxd6 cxd6 15.Qd4 b5 16.Nb6 Rb8 17.Nd5 Re8 18.Rxe8+ Qxe8 19.Ne3 Qd8 20.Rd1 Rb7 21.Rd3 Rd7 22.h4 Qf8 23.h5 h6 24.c4 Rc7 25.Qb6 bxc4 26.Rxd6 Qe7 27.Rc6 Rxc6 28.Qxc6 Be6 29.Qxa6 Qb4 30.Qa8+ Kh7 31.Qe4+ Kg8 32.Qc2 Qe1+ 33.Kh2 Qa5 In diagram below, Wesley is a pawn up and his pawn majority on the queenside should gave him a big advantage . Move like 34.a4 giving back the pawn for tempo is correct for e.g 34...Qxh5+ 35.Kg1 Qa5 (35...Qe5 36.Qc3 Qxc3 37.bxc3 Kf8 38.a5 Bc8 39.Nxc4) and only now 36.Nxc4 Qc5 37.b3

34.Nxc4?? a terrible blunder. Probably Wesley missed black's next move 34... Qc7+ Now black will win a piece after 35.Kg1 Qxc4 36.Qxc4 Bxc4 37.b3 Bd5 38.f3 Kf8 39.Kf2 Ke7 40.Ke3 Kd6 41.g4 f5 42.Kf4 Ke6 0–1

Stonemaster Mini Rapid Tourney Final Result...My Mistake!

As all of you probably know, Stonemaster.info has already post the final result of the Stonemaster MINI Rapid Tourney which was held on 24th December 2008 at the Excell Chess Academy (ECA) OUG, Jalan Kelang Lama. When i went trough the final results, i spot a mistake in my final score. I actually score 4 points from 6 games but the final result show that i only collect 3 points. I sms Fadli Zakaria - the organiser and told about the mistake and Fadli check it immedietly. In a few minutes, Fadli confirm that there's a "mistake" and my claim is correct however the mistake is not on the organiser part but infact it is on my part !.... Why?.... because Fadli told me that i didn't check the final result and didn't made an official complain after the result was announced.

Fadli Zakaria is keying the players names during the registration

For me, Fadli has made the correct desicion. During the tournament he repeatly remind all the players that the arbiter desicion is final - even a mistake desicion ! What he probably means is that if there's a dispute, the arbiter will try their best to solve it according the rules and usually the desicion has to be made in a very short time. So every chess player have to understand and accept the arbiter desicion.

One of the chess mum who is happy to support her sons in this tourney!

To recall back the scenario after the last round, i and many of the participants is helping the organiser packing the chess set and clocks to prepare for the prize giving ceremony . Although i look briefly the final standings , i didn't pay very much attention on it because i actually play this tournament for fun and to support the organiser. 4 points usually give a reasonable chance to get the top 5 prize for the Pro category but probably my tie break is not good enough.

After Fadli explained the desicion to me, he gave a "compensation" for the "mistake" which is a free entrance fee for me in the next Stonemaster MINI tournamrnt ! Not bad huh !

About the games, in a quick time control tournament, it's almost impossible to recall back any of the game especially the games you lost :)... but there's certain position that i remember for example the two position below.

Hairulov - Jason Lim
Stonemaster MINI Rapid Tourney (Round 4), 24.01.2009

Below are the critical position arise in my 4th round game against Jason Ng. It have been about 10 years since we meet and play against each other. During the 90's, i always hang around with blitz guru and addicts such as Abdul Razak Saidin, Jamalul Husaini, the late Agus Salim, Rusdi Sidi , Jason and others at the Stof Dayabumi, Kuala Lumpur and at the Plaza Putra - an underground food, leisure, and entertainment complex below Dataran Merdeka . Jason speciality is in blitz so the time control use in this tourney suit his style best. Jason won the 5th prize in the amatuer category.

Jason Lim with his typical blue shirt

I was in severe time trouble in the critical position below . My queen is defending passively on the kingside, my rook lost connection against each other. To make thing worse, black heavy piece - the queen and the rooks is all in the ideal place. However i found a strong idea with...

1.b5!...Jason was quite shock with this move and praised it after the game. 1... axb5 2.a6 ! another freeing move. 2...bxa6 3.Rxc6 The idea is to create the dangerous passed c- pawn ! 3...e5?! A total bluff by Jason but i panicked at that time and play 4.g5 there's nothing wrong with this move but stronger is taking the pawn with 4.dxe5! Actually i was afraid of 4...d4 Threatening 5...dxe3 but white still got the upperhand after 5.Rc8+ Rf8 (5...Kh7 6.g5 hxg5 7.Qxg5 Qd3 8.e6 Ra7 9.Qd8 Kh6 10.e7) 6.Rxf8+ Kxf8 7.c6 Rf7 (7...Ke7 8.c7 Kd7 9.Rc1 Kc8 10.g5) 8.exd4 should win for white 4...R3f5?! 5.gxh6? Practicaly, i have lost all my advantage with this move. The correct move is 5.Rc8+! Rf8 6.Qxd5+ Kh8 7.Rxf8+ Rxf8 8.Qxe5 5...Qxh5 6.Rc8+ 6.Rg6 gave equal chance 6...Kh7 7.Qh2?? The desicive blunder. 7. f4 is nessacary though black still has the better game. Rg5+ 8.Kh1 Qf3+0-1 9.Qg2 Qxg2#

Below is one of my win.

Sarika Subramaniam - Hairulov
Stonemaster MINI Rapid Tourney (Round 6), 24.01.2009

In the position below, both of us had little time left but my position is clearly winning. Sarika could try to prolong the game with stuborn play for e.g 1.Kf2 gxf4 2.Rb7... but she made it short by playing...

1.Kg4?? "commiting harakiri (seppuku) " - according to Jax Tham 1...h5# checkmate 0–1



Dr.Wan Noorasmara (left) handing the prizes to Mr.Fadli Zakaria (photo from stonemaster.info )

Before i forget, i would like to record my appereciation to Dr Wan Noorasmara who sponsor the prizes for the tournaement. He unfortunately couldn't attend to the tournament because of his job commitment. His generousity is always appericiated by many of local chess fans.

2009 Stonemaster MINI Rapid Tournament Photo Report !

23rd January 2009 - Today i went ( and play!) in the 1st Stonemaster MINI Rapid Tourney for this year. The tournament were held at the Excell Chess Academy (ECA), OUG, Jalan Kelang Lama, Kuala Lumpur. The organiser of this tournament is Mr. Fadli Zakaria aka stonemaster . Excel Chess Academy is a chess centre own by Jax Tham - a well known chess coach/player.

The Organiser-Mohd Fadli Zakaria (left) and ECA owner - Jax Tham (right)

The tournament is categorise into two category :- - the Pro and the Amateur. The Pro is for player with National Rating (NR) 1651 and above or FIDE Rating 1751 and above. The Amateur is for player with National Rating 1650 and below or FIDE Rating 1750 and below.

The time control use is 10 minute per player with 6 round to play. The tournament start at about 2.45 pm and finish at about 5.30 pm. I decide to play in this tournament at a very last minute. This morning while discussing with my wife about our today outing plan, she told me that she didn't fell well and would like to stay at home. As a good husband i told her to take a rest before telling her that i actually want to play in the Stonemaster MINI tournament....and ....her answer is ...she doesn't mind. That's why i love you honey ! At around 11.15am, i sms Fadli Zakaria to register my name and in a few minutes he confirm my registration. How efisyen!

I arrived at the tournament area at about 1.30 pm and i didn't have much trouble to find the place thanks to Stonemaster.info and Gila Chess blog which provide the direction to ECA. Probably the only problem you will face is to find a parking lot. I took about 5 minutes to find one but in future probably i will take less time as i will be more use with the place.

After finding the suitable parking place, i easily spot the chess centre which is located on the 1st floor of the TMC Coffe Shop. However i did face a little problem to find a way to the 1st floor but after a few try and error attempt, i finally found the stair which is located at the side of the coffee shop.

Arriving at the tournament hall, Jax Tham and Fadli Zakaria welcome me as it is my first visit here. My first feeling about the place is it's quite similar with Total Chess - a famous chess centre during the middle 90's which was located at Petaling Jaya Old Town. The chess center was own by another famous chess coach - Joseph Toh. Unfortunately the chess centre has not operate anymore.

The ECA is originally a shop house and it have 4 rooms, a hall , a kitchen, a bath room and toilet. The place is almost entirely air condition and i think it could cater about 50 players at a time. According to the owner- Jax Tham, the place is available from 10 am to 10 pm daily and at certain day such as the New year countdown, the place will be available till dawn. You can even sleep there! Jax tham really hope that the ECA will flourish with chess activities.

Lim Kian Hwa- master of strategy over and... off the board !

Back to the tournament, there's about 40 participants ( i'm still waiting email from Fadli for the final results and the list of the players) . The notable name playing is among others, the first seed NM Kamal Abdullah, Sumant Subramaniam, the fast improving - Faizal Andin, I.R Lim Kian Hwa - a Sarawakian who is transiting in Kuala Lumpur before going to the Philipines for a vacation with his family. He mentioned that he leave his wife in KL doing what women always like to do - shopping... while he at the same time play in this tournament! I have a lot to learn from this otai (old timer)!

FM Mok Tze Meng (standing) watching the game.

Overall, i think the tournament is quite successfully considering that it was held during a long Chinese New Year holiday ( 24th - 27th February) where many people is expected to balik kampung! A number of parents turn up to support their daughter and son which is a good sign for local chess development. FM Mok Tze Meng also pay a visit and play few blitz game after the tourney end . There's more tournament will be held here and i hopefully i can be there too.

Corus 2009 Round 7 LIVE!

Round 7

Tonight Wesley meet World Girl Junior Champion - WGM Harika Dronavalli. Below are the game.

Analysed by Hairulov and Fritz 11

WGM Harika Dronavalli (2473) - GM Wesley So (2627)
Corus C, Round 7, 24.01.2009

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Be2 Bd6 8.g3 Nbd7 9.0–0 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nb6 11.Be2 e5 12.a4 a5 13.Bf3 0–0 14.Nxg6 hxg6 15.dxe5 Bxe5 16.Qb3 Qc7 17.e4 Rfd8 18.Be3 Bd4 19.Nd5 cxd5 20.Bxd4 Nc4 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Rfd1
dxe4 23.Bxe4 Nd2 24.Qe3 Qd6 25.Rac1 Qe7 26.Rxd2

Evaluation by Fritz shows 11, 26.Bxb7! which should provide white with a significant advantage after 26...Qxb7 (26...Qxe3 27.fxe3 Rab8 28.Rc7 ) 27.Rxd2 26...Rxd2 27.Qxd2 Qxe4 28.Qc2 Qb4 29.Qc3 Qxa4 30.Qxf6 Qd7 31.h4 Re8 32.h5 Qd2 33.Qc3 Qxc3 34.Rxc3 gxh5 35.Rc5 a4 36.Rxh5 Re1+ 37.Kg2 Rb1 38.Ra5 Rxb2 39.Rxa4 b5 40.Ra6 b4 41.Rb6 Rb3 42.Kh3 Rf3 43.Kg2 Rb3 44.Kh3 Rf3 45.Kg2 ½–½ Draw

Sumant and Mohd Irfan Win Stonemaster MINI Tourney 2009

Sumant Subramaniam (photo right) won the Pro category of the Stonemaster MINI Rapid Tourney held at the Excel Chess Centre, OUG, Jalan Kelang Lama, Kuala Lumpur . It is a 6 round rapid tournament with 10 minutes time control . Muhd Irfan Hakim (photo left) win the Amateur Category. The best lady prize won by Sarika Subramaniam.

Round 3, table 1 : NM Kamal Abdullah (right) vs Hairulov (left)

In round 3, yours truly who score maximum points after 2 round was paired against National Master (NM) Kamal Abdullah! You want to know the results ? ... the photo report and result will follow soon!

Commonwealth Chess Champion 1991 or 1992 in Kuala Lumpur/Bangi ?

As a build up for the 2009 Commonwealth Chess Championship which will be held in Kuala Lumpur this July, i will try to share some info about the past Commonwealth Chess Championship held in Kuala Lumpur in the early 90's. Unfortunately there's no ( so far) valuable info about the tournament in the Internet. According to Mr. Muhammad Arshad, the tournament was held in Bangi in 1991 but i think the tournament was held in 1992 because in my chess database, there's several games between local and international chess players held in 1992 at Kuala Lumpur. I would like to ask anyone who know or better still who participate or involve in organizing the tournament to share the details.

Below are one of a game held in Kuala Lumpur in 1992 which i found from one of my chess book. The game is between local player Azhari Mohd Noor and British player - Susan Arkell who is now better known as Susan Lalic ( She married with Bogdan Lalic ) .


Azhari Mohd Nor - Susan Arkell [B12]
?, Kuala Lumpur , 1992

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.f4 cxd4 6.cxd4 Qb6 7.Nc3 e6 8.Nf3 Nh6 9.Bd3 Bd7 10.Bb1 g6 11.0–0 Nf5 12.Bxf5 gxf5 13.Rf2 Rc8 14.Be3 Na5 15.Kh1 Nc4 16.Qe2 Be7 17.Rc1 0–0 18.Rg1 Kh8 19.g4 fxg4 20.Rxg4 Nxb2 21.Qxb2 Qxb2 22.Rxb2 Rxc3 23.Rxb7 Rxe3 24.Rxd7 Rxf3 25.Rxe7 Rg8 26.Rxg8+ Kxg8 27.Rxa7 Rxf4 28.Ra4 Kg7 29.Kg2 Kg6 30.Rb4 Kf5 31.a4 Rg4+ 32.Kf3 Rh4 33.Kg3 Re4 34.Kf3 Rf4+ 35.Kg3 Rf1 36.Kg2 Ra1 37.Kg3 Ra3+ 38.Kh4 Ra2 39.Kg3 h5 40.h3 Ra3+ 41.Kh4 Kg6 42.Rb1 Rxa4 43.Rd1 Ra3 44.Rf1 Rd3 45.Rf6+ Kg7 46.Rf4 Re3 47.Kxh5 Rxh3+ 48.Kg4 Rd3 49.Kh5 Rg3 50.Rf6 Rg1 51.Rf4 Rg6 52.Rf1 f6 53.Ra1 Rg5+ 54.Kh4 Kg6 55.Ra6 Kf5 56.exf6 Rg4+ 57.Kh3 Rg8 58.f7 Rf8 59.Ra1 Rxf7 60.Rf1+ Kg6 61.Rxf7 Kxf7 62.Kg3 Ke7 63.Kf3 Kd7 64.Ke3 Kc6 0–1

Corus 2009 Round 6 LIVE !

Round 6

Tonight, Wesley So meet Vassily Ivanchuk second - GM Leon Hoyos (photo right). Leon is a 20 years old from Mexico .

GM Wesley So (2627) - GM Leon Hoyos (2542)
Corus C, Round 6, 23.1.09

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 a6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.h3 g6 7.g4 Bg7 8.Bg2 0–0 9.Be3 Nc6 10.0–0 Nd7 11.a4 Nde5 12.b3 Bd7 13.Nde2 f5 14.exf5 gxf5 15.g5 Ng6 16.f4 h6 17.gxh6 Bxh6 18.Kh2 Kh7 19.Qd2 Rg8 20.Rad1 Qe8 21.Nd5 Rd8 22.b4 Rb8 23.c4 Qf7 24.b5 axb5 25.axb5 Nd8 26.Nb6 Be6 27.Nd4 Nh4 28.Bh1 Qh5 29.Qf2 Bf7 30.Nf3 Rg4 31.Ng5+ Bxg5 32.fxg5 Re4 33.Nd7 Ra8 34.Rxd6 Rxe3 35.Rh6+ Qxh6 36.gxh6 f4 37.Qxh4 Ra2+ 38.Rf2 1–0

Chess is so cruel...sometimes...

For every chess player, chess can be so cruel sometimes. A "good" example is an unfortunate blunder which occured in the 4th round of the Corus Group C tournament last Tuesday. In the game between ex-English prodigy - GM David Howell against Dutch GM - Friso Nijboer, the Dutchman blundered in a highly drawn position with his opponent having 6 seconds left!

To add more salt to the wound, Howell reveal later that he is about to offer a draw immediately if Nijboer has play the correct move. Below are the critical position !

GM David Howell (2622) - GM Friso Nijboer (2560)

Corus C, Round 4, 20.1.09

Black to play

In the position below, black can always sac his bishop to capture white's h-pawn. According to endgame theory, the position with a rook+knight vs rook is generally drawn. The only thing the defending side should do is to avoid his king being confined near the edge.

59... Rc3, 59...Ra3, 59...Rb3 and 59...Re3 will all lead to a draw but unfortunately the Dutchman play 59...Kg7?? 60.Rg6+ 0-1 black resign because he will lost the bishop on g4. what a tragedy !

How to think logically in chess

I have been invited by Mr Hairul to write some chess articles on his blog. As this is the first time writing, I would like to have some comments from all of the visitors to express your thoughts about my writings and what should I write. Your opinion is much appreciated. My first article is how to think logically in chess in which I hope it will help amateurs to below 2200 FIDE rated players. The game before you is a classic match between Arthur Yusupov and Nigel Short.
Arthur Yusupov or sometimes spelt Jussupow was once known as one of the best players in the world of chess. His real name is Artur Mayakovich Yusupov.He learned to play chess at the age of six and trained at the Young Pioneers' Palace in Moscow. He was a winner of the World Junior Chess Championship in 1977. This was also the year that he gained the International Master title, qualification as a grandmaster following in 1980. Second place at his first USSR Championship in 1979 (behind Geller). International tournament results in the next decade included first place at Esbjerg 1980, first at Yerevan 1982, equal fourth at Linares 1983, first at the Tunis Interzonal 1985, equal first at Montpellier Candidates 1985, and third at Linares 1988. He also won the 1986 Canadian Open Chess Championship.
In the early nineties, he returned to his Moscow apartment one day and disturbed some burglars. During the struggle that broke out, he was shot and considers himself lucky to have survived. Soon after, he decided to move to Germany, which has remained his home ever since. (Wikipedia)
The game that I would like to show you is one of his game at 1989 World Cup Barcelona. This time the man that he disturbed was the great GM Nigel Short :) and he was unable to survive after being shot badly.

The last move executed was 31.Rxd5, a real disturbance. When playing a strong GM and sacrifice has been made on the board, you will certainly ask yourself have I done anything wrong or as in mamak style “Aiyoyo yennade!” Your heart starts pumping rapidly and staring at the board unbelievably with both eyes wide open. I have observed some players who just can’t handle this kind of situation and starts loosing his mind and what did he does, yes a counter sacrifice nah 31..Qxb3 which he believe that he has done something wrong and badly needs to complicate matters.
My advice is stay calm, you are not dead yet, be rational, ask yourself is there any defence to this attack. Sometimes when we attack, we are very tempting to execute the move without calculating all the consequences. Ok let’s start looking back at the game, 31.Rxd5 has been played. What was his plan? The Rook on e8 is pinned so the candidate move A) 31..Rxd5 is out. You must be very discipline when calculating moves, if you believe the variation you calculated will not work, do not return or you will run out of time (Ask Petak64 for his advice) B) 31..Bxd5 32.Qxd7 Bc6 33.Qd3 This is better, black is a pawn down but has some compensation due to the bishop pair. What else C) 31..Qb7 32.Rxd7 Bxd7 attacking the Queen and bishop on b3 33.Qc4 Be6 and black is a piece up.Hu huh! I’ve found the answer bam! 31..Qb7 played and the clock pressed and got frustrated even more when your opponent played with a huge confident 32.Rdd2! Mission accomplished return to base. This is another typical mistake that a chess player fell into it. Don’t you think?
The correct way to handle this situation is not to calculate, calculate and calculate. The late GM Eduard Gufeld once said “DO NOT CALCULAAAAAAAAAAATE!” First understand the situation; your e8 and d7 rooks need extra defender. White’s Rook is attacked by the Rook on d7 and the Bishop on e6 which is for now only defended by the Bishop on b3. The Bishop on b3 is attacked by your Queen and only defended by the white’s Queen on a4. Can we convert all these stuffs to our advantage? State your answer _____________________
First problem, your rook, ask yourself, what if I defend the rook on d7 with Red8. At the same time I’m still attacking both white’s Rook and Bishop. It looks nonsense at the first time but trust me, this is the right way to think not just to calculate like the monster FRITZ.
Ok, only now you start to calculate the consequences which is fairly easy 32.Rxd7 Bxd7 harassing the Queen, she runs to c4 33.Be6 and a piece up, finish 0-1. Till we meet again ..... thank you for your time.

Play simple but not simpler....................... Luth Mikael®

Commonwealth Chess Championship 2009 will be held in Kuala Lumpur !?

According to Peter Long, unofficialy the 2009 Commonwealth Chess Championship will be held in Kuala Lumpur from 19-27 July 2009. This will certainly be a good development for Malaysian chess. For the past years, the Commonwealth Chess Championship has been held in India and it must have been an interesting attraction for the international players to play in other country such as Malaysia for this year.

This also will be a good opportunity for Malaysian to play against international GM's and IM's. I hope we will not miss this golden opportunity to organised such a strong international tournament.

This tournaments usually include strong GM's such as the always controversial personality...ex-Vice World Champion and ex-President of the Commonwealth Chess Champion - GM Nigel Short. How interesting it would be ...Peter Long organised the event and Nigel Short as the player.

The names of former champions is like GM Ian Rogers, GM Kevin Sparagett, GM Murray Chandler, GM Alexander Baburin, IM Gary Lane, and others well known players.

Round 5 : Corus 2009 LIVE

Don't forget to refresh this blog from time to time to see the latest update !

Round 5

Today the Corus 2009 proceed with round 5 after the rest day yesterday. Wesley So will meet GM Eduardo Iturrizaga (FIDE 2528) from Venezuela - the home of many Miss World and Universe. Venezuela is well-known for its successions in beauty pageants. Venezuela has 5 Miss World, 5 Miss Universe and 5 Miss International titles . For e.g - Venezuelan Miss World 2008 - Miss Dayana Mendoza (photo right) .......ok..ok ...before i go off topics... let's focus on the game. Unfortunately for Wesley , he will meet Mr.Venezuela tonight :)

GM Eduardo Iturrizaga (2528) - GM Wesley So (2627) [A00]
Corus C , Round 5, 22.01.2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 c5 6.d5 exd5 7.cxd5 Bb7 8.Bg2 Nxd5 9.0–0 Be7 10.Rd1 Qc8 11.a3 Nf6 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nc3 0–0 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.Rxd5 Nc6 17.Rad1 Rd8 18.Nd2 Ne7

19.Rd6? My friend - Mr.Fritz suggest a stronger move 19.Ne4! Nxd5 20.Nd6! Qa6 21.Bxd5 where black's rook at a8 and f7 pawn being attack ! White position is overwhelming !19...Rb8 20.Rxf6 !? an interesting exchange sacrifice by Eduardo. 20...gxf6 21.Ne4 d5 22.Nxf6+ Kg7 23.Nxd5 Qe6 24.Qc3+ f6 25.e4 Qe5 26.Qxe5 fxe5 27.Re1 Nxd5 28.exd5 Kf6 29.Kf1 b5 30.Re3 b4 31.a4 c4 Black will possibily create a passed pawn on c file which could decide the game. 32.Ke2 c3 33.b3 c2 34.Kd2 Rbc8 35.Kc1 Rc5 36.Be4 Rdc8 37.Re2 Rc3 38.Rxc2 Ke7 39.Kd2 Rxc2+ 40.Bxc2 Rc3 41.h4 Kd6 42.g4 Rh3 43.Be4 Rxh4 44.f3 Rh1 45.Kc2 Kc5 46.Kd2 Rh2+ 47.Kc1 Kd4 48.d6 Kc3 0-1 A nice win by Wesley !