Wang Yue slow down Carlsen

Top Chinese GM - Wang Yue (photo right) managed to slow down the 2009 Nanjing Pearl Spring Tournament leader - Magnus Carslen in round 3. Both player agreed to a draw in a bishop different colour ending. Carslen who beat Peter Leko and Veselin Topalov in the previous round still lead the tournament with 2.5 points after three rounds. Follow next is Wang Yue, Radjabov and Jakovenko with 1.5 points and surprisingly the tail ender consist by the two top player - Topalov and Leko - both with 1 point.

GM Wang Yue (2736) vs GM Magnus Carlsen (2772)

Round 3, 30.9.2009, Nanjing Pearl,

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. Rc1 Be6 7. c5 c6 8. Bd3 Bg4 9. Qc2 Nfd7 10. Bxb8 Nxb8 11. h3 Bc8 12. f4 b6 13. Na4 e5 14. dxe5 f6 15. exf6 Qxf6 16. Nf3 Qe7 17. Kf2 b5 18. Nc3 Na6 19. Qd2 Nxc5 20. Bb1 Kh8 21. b4 Nb7 22. Ne2 Nd6 23. Ned4 Nc4 24. Qd3 Bd7 25. h4 Rae8 26. Rce1 Qxb4 27. h5 Nd6

28. hxg6 Ne4+ 29. Kg1 h6 30. Rc1 Qb2 31. Qc2 Qa3 32. Nb3 c5 33. Re1 Bf5 34. Nh4

c4 35. Nxf5 35...Rxf5 35... cxb3? will be a serious mistake after 36. Rxh6+! Bxh6 (36... Kg8 37. Qc6) 37. Qc7 36. Nd2 Rxf4 37. Qd1 37. exf4 ?? would be a grevious mistake and will be punish with mate in three 37... Bd4+ 38. Re3 Qxe3+ 39. Kh2 Qg3# 37... Rf6 38. Nxe4 dxe4 39. Qd7 Qe7 40. Qxb5 40...Qe6?! probably better is take the g- pawn with 40... Rxg6!? 41. Qxc4?? Rxg2+ 42. Kxg2 Qg5+ 43. Kf1 Rf8+ 44. Ke2 Qg2+ 45. Kd1 Rd8+ and white have to give his queen with 46. Qd4 41. Rh4 Rf5 42. Qa4 Ref8 43. Rxe4 Qxg6 44. Re8 Rxe8 45. Bxf5 Qf7 46. Qd7 Qxd7 47. Bxd7 Rd8 48. Rd1 c3 49. Ba4 Rxd1+ 50. Bxd1 Be5 51. Kf1 Kg7 52. Ke2 h5 53. Kd3 h4 54. Bf3 Kf6 55. Kc2 Ke6 56. Kd3 Kf6 57. Kc2 Ke6 58. Kd3 1/2-1/2 A drawish different color bishop ending has arise.

Photo from chessbase.german site

Carlsen made his Jedi Master-Kasparov proud!

Norwegian wonder kid- Magnus Carlsen had a flying start at the 2nd Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament . After two round, the new Kasparov's Padawan scored the maximum two points by beating the third seed and world no.6th-Peter Leko in the first round. In round two, he ground down none other then World no. 1 – Veselin Topalov.

I guess that Carlsen recent announcement regarding his cooperation (coaching session ) with legendary ex- World Champion - Gary Kasparov has affected Carslen's opponents serious psychology "nightmare". Kasparov, beside his playing superiority, was well known as a player who has ( and still have!) a large number of deadly opening novelties (preparation) . Probably Carlsen's opponents worried that Carslen has the "privilege" to use some of it.

Chess Puzzle (12)

I watch an interesting online blitz game at Internet Chess Club (ICC) between Azerbaijani – IM Vasif Durarbeyli (photo left) against the veteran Russian – GM Andrei Kharlov. In that game Kharlov missed a winning move on move 26th. In that game Kharlov (photo right) missed a winning move on move 26th.

Try find the winning move for white. If you want to test your tactical ability, try it on your own first before asking for assistance... especially from your chess programme.

IM Durarbeyli Vasif (FIDE 2443) vs. GM Andrei Kharlov
(FIDE 2555) Internet Chess Club, 18.9.2009

White to move and win !

In the actual game Kharlov play 26.Qd2? which is not best. Try guess white's winning move

Chess Puzzle (11) Solution !

The answer for chess puzzle (11) is...

White to move and win !

1.Rd3! Black king is actually being "caged in a mating net. His escaped square on e7 and g7 is well guarded by white's bishop on f6. White plan to play Rh3-Rh8++ checkmate. Black can avoid it by giving material with 1...Re6 1...Nc8?? 2.Rh3! Nxa7? 3.Rh8++ mate 2. Rh3 Rxf6 3. Rh8+ Kg7 4.Rxb8 and black is down in material and will lost the game.

Anand-Topalov 2010 FIDE World Championship Match in Singapore?

Chessdom.com revealed that Singapore along with Bulgaria and Turkey has bid to host the Anand-Topalov 2010 FIDE World Championship Match . The bidding process is still open till 30th September 2009 and on 9th October 2009, FIDE will announced the country which win the bid. The match is scheduled to be held in April 2010. More about the bidding procedure at FIDE.com

I really hope that Singapore will win and probably local fan and i can be at Singapore to watch the historic world championship match!?

Chess Puzzle (11)

Try find the winning move for white. If you want to test your tactical ability, try it on your own first before asking for assistance... especially from your chess programme.

White to move and win !

Johor Closed 2009

Johor Closed 2009 will be held from 3-4 October 2009. Read the full detail here

"Losing" Together...

A chess game always ended in a win/lose or draw. When your opponent win - you lose; when your opponent lose -you win; and finally both of you draw a game...but wait....can both of you and your opponent lost a game ?

That's what happen in round 6 of the Zhejiang Lishui Xingqiu Open recently. Two Chinese player agreed to a draw without playing a single move. International Arbiter - Ignatius Leong declared both players to have lost their game!

Read the full article at FIDE.com here

Another interesting result is to lose and win your game at the same time!? (photo right)...wait...it can also ended in a draw :)

Hari Raya Open House Blitz Tournament

The Dato' Arthur Tan Chess Center will be hosting the Hari Raya Open House Blitz Tournament as follows:-

Date: Saturday 3 Oct 2009

Time: 12 - 7 pm followed by dinner (buffet) on the house.

9 (or 11 depending on entries) rounds Swiss followed by last eight knock out.

Prize

Winner (Champion) RM 400

Second RM 200

Third & Fourth (RM 100)

5th - 8th (RM 50)

Entry Fee: RM 20.00,

Open to all, and you are to be at the venue before 12.

Time Control 5mins+2seconds increment

Those who wish to bring along their Hari Raya cakes are welcome !!!

Lets get together for Hari Raya !!!!!!!!

Abdul Hamid Majid

DATCC

From The Archives - move, write or punch the clock first?

Since this blog being online a few years ago, many articles have been publish . There are many articles that i found still interesting and worth to be republish .

The article below was publish on 30th may 2007.

Every chess players have their own habits. One of it is writing the move first before actually move the piece/pawn and then punch the clock. The benefit of doing that is you can recheck the move before you launch it.

GM Nigel Short in one of his book said that writing the move first is just wasting time! I still remember one of my friend Nuruddin happen to write behind the score sheet not just the move but the whole variation!! Mohd Saprin Sabri , National player will write his move first and then hide it with the pawn – avoiding it to be seen by his/her opponent! After that he will recheck it before playing the move. But do you know what the rules say about it?

There is a questioned about writing move in advance being asked in Chesscafe.com to Geurt Gijssen, a respected a experienced arbiter .

"Question Dear Geurt, at a recent tournament in India one of the arbiters
issued a warning to a player for writing his move first and then making it. He
said that according to Article 8.1 it is forbidden to write the move in advance.
However, the player could not overcome his habit and was repeatedly
distracted by the arbiter. For what reasons was Article 8.1 instituted in the
first place? Thanks in advance for your reply, Raghunandan Gokhale
(India)..."

the answer can be found at http://www.chesscafe.com/text/geurt95.pdf

First Friday Classical Chess (October) 2009

Excell Chess Academy will organised the First Friday Classical Chess (October) 2009 chess tournament at Jalan Kelang Lama, Kuala Lumpur. The tournament will use the 90 minutes + 30 second increment time control.

For further details click here

Putrajaya Community Chess Tournament 2009 (photos)

Below is some of the photos taken by me at the 2009 Putrajaya Chess Community Tournament held earlier this month.

Yours truly(right) against Azlisha Aziz in the last round

2007 winner - Rizal Jusah(right) surprisingly lost to Azlisha in first round

Tournament arbiter Mr. Abdul latif (centre) watch the players play

HasidinAbdul Rashid - 4th place

Mohd Firdaus Ismail- 2nd place from Putrajaya

A "mini" interview with GM Negi Parimarjan

Thanks to Sirajuddin, my friends and i was invited to attend the Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysian Open (DATMO) official dinner on 24th August 2009. We turn up early and while waiting for the dinner to start, my friend Aziz Shukor and fellow blogger - Salleh (Gilocatur) wait outside the tournament hall and play some blitz games. While playing , the world 2nd youngest GM - Negi Parimarjan went to the tournament hall to have a look for next round pairing. My fellow blogger Salleh (Gilocatur) spontaneously ask him for a photo session and short interview with me and Parimarjan said ok. Actually i'm not ready at that time. Usually i will use digital recorder to record the conversation but bellow is what i recall.

Hairulov: When do you start to play Chess?

Parimarjan : My father friend teach me to play when i was four.

Hairulov:What are you studying now (academic)?

Parimarjan : I'm in 11 grade and study in Delhi

How many GMs in your country? ( ask by Aziz Shukor)

Parimarjan :Aah.. i think 19 or 20...

Hairulov:Do you know Mashafizul?

Parimarjan :Yes, i play him twice. I lost one and draw one.

Hairulov:Do you think he can be a GM?

Parimarjan :I'm not sure whether he play regularly. But i think he can if he play regularly.

Steve Davis play chess !

Former World Snooker Champion - Steve Davis love to play chess. He even wrote a chess book - Steve Davis Play Chess

You can read an interview with Steve Davis about his chess here

Did You Know?

Rustam Kamsky (father of Gata Kamsky) mentioned in an interview during the 1996 Karpov-Kamsky World Championship Match in Elista....

"....My plan is we find a clever, modest, stay-at-home girl from a good family 13 or 14 years old. The nationality does not matter. We make a contact with the parents, take her with us to the USA where she, along with Gata, will study at the University. A clever child from Russia is able to study in an American University. The system of education there has got many steps.
The girl will get education at our expense. If Gata and she fall in love during these years, I will not mind. I want to avoid bad and by chance encounters for my son as long as mistakes of youth...."

Mas Photo at the 2009 BDO Chess Tournament !

Below is Mashafizul photos by Harry Wierda at the 2009 BDO Chess Tournament .

Source : The official site

IM Mashafizul ( hidden) analyse his game with GM Igor Khenkin ( Mas won that game !) . You can also see FM Robin Van Kampen , GM Ian Rogers and Cathy Rogers and GM Pheng Zhaoqin - Dutch Women Chess Champion.

The Tournament Hall

IM Mashafizul vs FM Robin Van Kampen (right) . Noticed that Mas wear his employer - PETRONAS shirt and cap !

Mas with one of the kids during the drawing a lots.

The Man who stop Kasparov and Karpov was at the 2009 DATCC Team League Final Day!

Yes this article is quite late, however it's still important to note that on the 26th August 2009, Malaysian chess welcome two very important man (V.I.P) to attend the 2009 DATCC Team league final day .

Campo giving an inspiring speech to the DATCC team League participants

The two V.I.Ps are Dato' Tan Chin Nam - Malaysian chess father and Florencio Campomanes - ex- FIDE President ! "Campo" as many chess player normally call him held the highest post in FIDE from 1982-1995! He has large contribution in world chess development but many would remember him as the man who "stop" Kasparov and Karpov in the 1984 World Championship Final Match.

Campo (right) play against Dato'Tan Chin Nam (left)

Campo(left) who was hospitalised because of a car accident in Turkey play against visiting friend - Ali Nihat Yazici- Turkey Chess president at the hospital . Photo from chessbase.com

He is really a chess lover, you can read an interesting article about Campo at Chessbase.com here

2K 2009 (Kasparov-Karpov)

Former World Champions - Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov will play two exhibition match this year in Valencia and Paris. The first match in Valencia will start from 21st-24th September 2009 and the second match in Paris will be held on 11th-13th December 2009. Both of the tournament will consist 4 rapids and 8 blitz games.

I think the quick time control was chosen because nowadays both veteran players will find it hard to concentrate in longer time control especially after being inactive from quite some times. As you all know, Kasparov 46 has retired from competitive chess since 2005. He has occasionally play simultaneous and blitz games so he must be a little bit rusty. However recently he has train with Norwegian chess prodigy and no.4 on the world list - Magnus Carlsen for six month which would probably sharpen back his once fearsome chess ability.

Kaparov opponent- Anatoly Karpov 58, who is also seldom play this days will had a tough time considering his age disadvantage ( Karpov is 12 years younger then Kasparov * Correction- Kasparov is 12 years younger then Karpov!). Furthermore his terrible results recently didn't help much but psychologically however Karpov won the latest duels against Kasparov (2002) in New York!

All in all, i think this exhibition match will show whether Kasparov still have his old "touch" and if he does, probably we can expect a comeback from this guy...especially after his unsuccessful attempts to be the Russian President!

I read about Karpov on Chess Notes, which quote Karpov opinion about Kasparov in the book- Karpov on Karpov: Memoirs of a Chess World Champion :-

‘But Kasparov and I have nothing in common. We were formed in different eras, I in the year of social renaissance and the emancipation of the populace’s soul, and he in a time of stagnation. I came from the simple people and for a long time I remained one of them. He was singled out in childhood; elitism became an essential part of his world. For me chess was the end, for him it has merely been the means.’ (page 184)

The official site for the first match in Valencia is here (in Spanish) but i found one site that has better information and articles about the match here (in English).

The official site for the second match in Paris is not available yet but you can refer at europe-echecs.com (in France)

Testing Window Live Writer

Thanks to Andrew Ooi, now I'm  starting to use Window Live Writer to blog. This is my first experience using this tools so i will try it features.

The best thing about WLW is i can blog it offline and once there’s internet connection i can upload it. In short, i don’t have to be online all the time to write a post!

Chess Puzzle (10) Solution!

Below is the answer for chess puzzle (10).

GM Wang Yue (2738) - GM Leineir Dominguez (2721)

M-Tel Master, Round 1, 13.5.2009

White to move and win

In the actual game, white ( a super GM with 2700+ FIDE rated player) blunder with 64. b5?? and after 64... e1=Q 65. Rxe1 1/2-1/2 the game ended in a draw because both will queen after 65...Kxe1 66. b6 g3 67.b7 g2 68. b=Q g=Q

The winning move missed by Wang Yue is actually 64.Kd3! The reason is first white have to stop both black passed pawn from queening and then only advance his passed pawn on b- file for e.g 64...e=Q 65.Rxe1 Kxe1 66.Ke3! another important move. Now black 's king can't look after his g pawn 66...Kf1 67.Kf4 g3 68.Kxg3 and white b- pawn will queen and win the game.

Happy Eid ul Fitri

I would like to seek for apologies and wish all my Muslim readers a happy and joy full Eid ul Fitri.

Please drive carefully, don't forget to lock your house and please behave well- in the shout box! . Although the webmaster will be "unplug" for a few days starting from next week, i have schedule articles to be publish every day ...so you can still find a least one article each day ..... enjoy!

Hari Raya Classical Chess (Invitation) 2009

Excell Chess Academy will organised the 2009 Hari Raya Classical Chess (Invitation) tournament on 23-24 Septmeber 2009 at Excell Chess Academy, OUG, Jalan Kelang Lama, Kuala Lumpur.

For further details, click here.

Joseph Toh comment on drunken (grand) master incident

Local chess coach - Joseph Toh made a comment about the drunken (grand) master incident at the recently concluded - Calculta Open which stir the chess world . Below is his comment which was publish in chessbase.com:-

Joseph Toh, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Let me relate a personal experience that I was a guilty culprit for sleeping during a game. It was the last round of one of the major Swiss tournament in our country, and I was down with a flu during most of the event, and it was at its worst during this round. I heavily intoxicated myself with medications to withhold the fever just to be able to play this crucial game. During the game I was heavily wrapped up to protect from the cold air-conditioning and was dozing most of the time just able to open my eyes at the click of the old analog clock being pressed after my opponent's move. Since my opponent was also a slow player and not wanting to take advantage of my poor situation, I got the much needed rest during the game and was also very relaxed throughout for this very important game.

Through sheer luck or determination, I managed to win the game and was placed outright second, losing an only game to the eventual champion in the earlier rounds. Had anyone of my friends or the arbiters interfered, trying to be good Samaritans, I doubt things would had turned up as it was. All there is to say is, if a player can bodily get him/herself present at the board, leave them alone! One's own presence, mentality or physically, is the responsibility of oneself. Should one have felt otherwise, one would not have chosen to be there in the first place.

There is the saying, "Let sleeping dogs lie." Should one wake a sleeping chess player? An absolute resounding, "NO!"

Read the full chessbase.com article here

Joseph Toh is once an active chess player and now a chess coach. If i'm not mistaken, he once represent Malaysian in Asian Team tournament in Australia . During the 90's, he open a chess centre in Petaling Jaya called - Total Chess but the centre didn't last long.

IM Mashafizul at Banick Kahanec 2009...and breaking fast with three cup of coffee...

From left: FM Dominic Csiba, GM Sergey Krivoshey, Rozhodci Kysel, IM Pavel Simachek (Champion), IM Mashafizul ( with green PETRONAS cap!), GM Igor Stohl, IM Tobias Hirneise, FM Andreas Strunski, IM Peter Michalik, IM Marian Jurcik and GM Tomas Polak.

You can read the tournament final report ( in Czech!) here. By the way, if you are as hopeless as me to read in Czech... this tool might help you.

Below is one interesting quote i translate an edit ( which i hope i didn't misinterpret it!) from the final report . As you know, Mas played this tournament during Ramadan where all participating Muslim is refrain from eating, drinking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill natured; from dawn till sunset .

...."Mashafizul played very quickly, which often haunted his opponents. As Mas confessed, only Marian Jurčík forced him to break the Ramadan before their game finish. On move 12th ( 12.Qd5) of their game , Mas take a break and drink three cups of coffee...."

I hope i can get the story from Mashafizul himself later.........Selamat Hari Raya Mas!

Source: www.novoborsky

Chess Puzzle (10)

Try find the winning moves for white. If you want to test your tactical ability, don't ask for assistance, especially from your chess programme. But if you choose to do so... who knows huh?

White to move and win

In the actual game, white ( a super GM with 2700+ FIDE rated player) blunder with 64. b5?? and after 64... e1=Q 65. Rxe1 1/2-1/2 the game ended in a draw because both will queen after 65...Kxe1 66. b6 g3 67.b7 g2 68. b=Q g=Q

Try to find what white missed on move 64.

Talking about Grandmaster draw....

Lot have been said about the Edward Lee - Lim Yee Weng 4th game Malaysian Masters quarterfinal match which ended in a draw after just 11 moves. Interestingly more weird results occur recently in the last round game between 4th board Vietnam and Chinese player at the World Women Teams Championship in China .

Pham Bich Ngoc (2145) vs Huang Qian (2424)

World Women Teams Championship, Round 9, 11.9.09

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nc3 Nb6 8.

d3 c6 9. Be3 h6 10. Qd2 Kh7 11. Rac1 N8d7 12. b4 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Qc2 e5

15. Qc7 d4 16. Bd2 Nb6 17. Qxd8 Rxd8 18. Rc5 f6 19. Nh4 f5 20. f4 exf4 21. gxf4

Re8 22. Kf2 Re7 23. Rg1 Be6 24. Bh3 Bf7 25. Bxf5 gxf5 26. Nxf5 Bf6 27. Nxe7

Bxe7 28. Rc7 Nd5 29. Rxb7 Be6 30. e4 dxe3+ 31. Bxe3 Bc8 32. Bd4 h5 33. Rxe7+

Nxe7 34. Rg7+ Kh6 35. Rxe7 a6 36. Re8 Kg6 37. Bc5 1/2-1/2

Wait a minute. Isn't White winning here? She is three pawn up. Play might continue 37...Bb7 40.Re5 I think exchanging the rook with 40.Rxa8 Bxa8 is also winning although the different colour bishop can lead into a drawn game but with three pawn up.... i think white should still win. So why white agree ( actually she offered it!) to draw? Read the comment about the game in chessbase.com

Nigel Short Masterpiece !

Former Vice World Champion - Nigel Short has just return back to the FIDE 2700 "Super GM Club". Although some said he has past his prime, Nigel (photo right) still have the touch that once bring him glory in the chess world . Many still remember the Englishmen who once battle against legendary player - Garry Kasparov for the World Champion title in 1993. Nigel was rank 3rd in the World in the late 80's . However after his unsuccessful World Championship attempt, his career seems to fade away. But recently the Englishmen has produced a masterpiece at the Kalkota Open in India. See the game below.

Nigel Short vs M. Mchedlishvili

4th Kalkota Open, Round 10, 10.9.09

1. e4 c6 2. Ne2 d5 3. e5 c5 4. d4 Nc6 5. c3 cxd4 6. cxd4 Bg4 7. Nbc3 e6 8. Be3 Nge7 9. f3 Bf5 10. g4

I remember reading a chess article which Nigel said " Modern chess is too much concern with things like pawn structure. Forget it- checkmate end the game!" 10...Bg6 11. Nf4 a6 12. Rc1 h5 13. Bg2 hxg4 14. fxg4 Bh7 15. O-O Ng6 16. Nfxd5!!

The start of a series of brilliant sacrifice 16... Nh4 Black will be pressure endlessly if he accept the piece sac immediately with 16...exd5 for e.g 16... exd5 17. Qb3 Na5 18. Qxd5 Bg8 (18... Qxd5 19. Nxd5 Rb8 20. Nc7+ Kd8 21. Rxf7 Bg8 22. Bg5+) 19. Qe4 Rc8 20. e6 17. Bh1 Stronger is probably 17. Qb3! Ra7 18. Bh1 Ng6 17... exd5 18. Nxd5 Bg6? The big mistake. 18... Rc8 is necessary. Now Nigel unleash another brilliant sacrifice 19. Rxc6

19...bxc6 20. Nf6+ Another one...!20...gxf6 21. Bxc6+ Ke7 22. exf6+ Kd6 23. Qa4 Kc7 24. Rc1 Qd6 25. Bxa8+ Kb8 26. Qe8+

Black decide that he has seen it enough. Play might continued with 26...Ka7 but after 27.d5+, Rybka 3 said it's mate in 9 - maximum! 1-0 One can live forever with this game !

Nigel foto from chessbase.com

Mas lost to IM Peter Michalek

13 September 2009 - IM Mashafizul lost his round 9 game against IM Peter Michalik (FIDE 2439). With this lost Mas end his campaign in Banicky Kahanec, Slovakia with 4 points.

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	IM	SIMACEK Pavel	CZE	2499	6,0	25,00	0,5	4
2	IM	JURCIK Marian	SVK	2477	6,0	25,00	0,5	3
3	IM	MICHALIK Peter	SVK	2439	5,0	20,00	0,0	4
4	GM	KRIVOSHEY Sergei	UKR	2497	4,5	21,75	0,0	2
5	GM	POLAK Tomas	CZE	2507	4,5	21,25	0,0	2
6	GM	STOHL Igor	SVK	2543	4,5	19,75	0,0	1
7	FM	STRUNSKI Andreas	GER	2394	4,0	17,00	0,0	2
8	IM	MAS Hafizulhelmi	MAS	2416	4,0	16,50	0,0	3
9	IM	HIRNEISE Tobias	GER	2427	3,5	14,75	0,0	1
10	FM	CSIBA Dominik	SVK	2353	3,0	13,00	0,0	1

Source : chess-results.com