May 2010 FIDE Rating Release !

You can click the image for larger view or click here for complete list

Malaysia is in the 74th place in the May 2010 FIDE rating list which was release today.  The top 10th place was occupied by the same players from the previous list. IM Mashafizul (2419) remain as Malaysian no.1 and  same goes to IM Mok Tze Meng (2415)  who remain on no. 2.  FM Nicholas Chan (2373)  drop a hefty 25 points to remain on no.3 followed by FM Ooi Chern Ee (2346) who also remain on no. 4. FM Peter Long (2307) is now on no.5 followed by NM Ronnie Lim (2294) who gain  8 points to enter the `2300 club` for the first time. He  is now on  no. 6.  IM Jimmy Liew (2301) drop 14 points and is now on 7th place. NM Ng Tze Han (2282) is on 8th place followed by IM Lim Yee Weng (2248) in 9th place. Francis Chin (2223) remain  on  10th place.

Blackout in game 5 Topalov - Anand - Updated !

UPDATE ! : The organizing committee has issued an apologize  letter about last night electricity failure at the venue of the 5th game`s Anand - Topalov World Championship Final .

....`About an hour and a half into the game, and just as Mundell’s press conference had started, the electricity in the Military Club building in downtown Sofia where the Anand-Topalov games are played, went off.

The power supply was restored 13 minutes later as an emergency generator kicked in. The opponents continued the game after the brief pause, and Mundell’s press conference was completed after the electricity was restored.`.....

Read the full letter here

Source: novinite.com


Veselin Topalov -Viswanathan Anand 
World Championship Final, Game 5, 30.4.2010

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc45. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 c5 8. e4 Bg6 9. Be3 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. Bxd4 Nfd7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bxc4 a6 14. Rc1 Rg8 15. h4 h5 16. Ne2 Bd6 17. Be3 Ne5 ...and suddenly there is a blackout  in the playing hall in Sofia!!!!   

For the remaining of move , click here.

MCF Update - NEWLY Amended MCF Regulations for Participation in 11th Asean+Age-Group 2010

Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) has announced the newly amended MCF Regulations for participation in 11th Asean+Age-Group 2010. Click it  here for details.

3rd DATCC Team League - Round 5 Review

The 5th round of the 3rd DATCC Team Event was held last night  at the Dato Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Kompleks Wilayah , Kuala Lumpur . 

"The Clash of the Titans"

Team AU  vs KAM MAH : 2-2

The  highlight of the round is the match between two strong teams - AU vs KAMMAH. AU was strengthen by the first time appearance of their top player - FM Ooi Chern Ee. Ooi who seems to have a better position in the middle game (with extra pawn) somehow misplayed the position and let the always  resourceful -Nicholas to escape with  a repetition.

AU also welcomed their new title player - Candidate Master (CM) Mohd Fadli Zakaria who was recently awarded with the CM title. However , IM Jimmy Liew 'spoiled the party' by beating Fadli in a positional manoeuvre game.

On board 3, the meeting between two foreign player - Ian Udani (Philipines) and Amitpal Singh (India) saw the Filipino cash the full point.

On board 4, Abdullah Che Hassan sacrifice a piece for three pawn at early stage of the game. The sac looks  not quite sufficient for a winning advantage. Unfortunately for AU, Eng Chiam  failed to find the correct plan to utilize his extra piece advantage and in the end, Dollah manage to  build a strong fortress ( queen+ pawn vs rook+ 5 pawns)  to force a  drawn endgame.

Fairplay acts!

Nusa Mahkota Chess Club vs Excell Chess Team : 1.5-2.5

Watch Lim Zhou Ren (right) clock which shows  26 minutes left before his play his first move! (click the image for larger view)

My team -  Nusa Mahkota Chess Club was desperate to improve our standing but once again we failed to secure a match points - thanks to the match points system :(. Nusa's have lost three times in a row and two of it with a closed margin ( 1.5-2.5) against Excel and KAM MAH.

Lim Zhou Ren who is playing on board 1 for Excel team turned up late and  passed the 1 hour waiting  rule. However, Kamal and i decide that we should gain the point with honour and Kamal proceed to  play although Zhou Ren has less then 30 minutes before playing his first move. In the end, Kamal won the game after Zhou Ren missed a tactic.

On board two - Rizal who is not feeling well ( i had to buy panadol active fast for him ) lost to Kaushal Khandahar Sicilian a`la Zvjaginsev - 1.e4 c5 2.Na3 !?!.

On board three - Hashim who turn up late for the game, manage to make his  first move with 31 minutes left! Ken Wei  mentioned that he didn't plan to claim the 1 hour waiting rules if Hashim overstep the time limit. I was really pleased with this young boy attitude. This shows his fair-play spirit.

However the time deficit proved too much for  Hashim to handle and  he  lost on time against  Ken Wei's  Sicilian Dragon. Probably Ken Wei is a fan of the new movie How to train your dragon which i`ve just watch recently at Sunway Pyramid  TGV.


National Junior Master (NJM) - Tariq Amru choose to avoid Khair opening preparation and play 1.e4 d5 2.Nc3. However Khair quickly got a superior position but somehow  miss some move which could give him the winning advantage. After  a series of heavy piece been exchange, the game goes into a drawish position.

`Demolition Job`
Ad-Hoc - Gung Ho : 0-4

After Gung Ho secured three points from board 2,3 and 4, Yeap Joo Hock is the only man standing for Ad-Hoc. However, Gung Ho top board -  Law Zhe Kang did-not show any mercy and beat Yeap to complete the 4-0 demolition job.

`We missed the big one - so much...`

Think-Big vs Sea Horse : 2-2 (correction 2.5-1.5)

Think Big (left)  vs Seahorse (right)

Seahorse was blessed by the abseentes of Think Big "biggest thinker" - GM Ziaur Rahman. The local resident GM play in the Asian Continental at Subic, Philipinnes. Yeoh Li Tian was held by Farhan in a different colour bishop endings . NWM Tan Li Ting lost to Razief. Meanwhile, Yeoh's senior - NM Yeoh Chin Sing beat Afizan and on board 4 - Mohd Faizal Zakaria beat Way Yoke.

“An auditor is someone who arrives after the battle and bayonets all the wounded”

Pricewaterhouse vs CS Solution Ladies Team : 4-0

The "auditors" show that they really mean business against the  ladies team. They left nothing to the ladies , not even... a single rose. Four full points for Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

"Clash of generation" 
The First Saturday Chess Team vs Tan & Tan Chess Team : 2-2

There are at least , three  generation gaps  between both  teams. The 2-2 results shows that  the veterans still can teach the kids some useful lesson.

Host....

Black Pearl- DATCC : 3-1

Najib Wahab safe the host pride by securing the only point for DATCC team . Black Pearl should be glad that DATCC didn't  double charge  their car parking ticket for not giving a single points to the host :)

The Incredible Haq lead the way!

UKM - 17 Chess Club : 2-2

The board one battle saw The Incredible -  Haq beat the dangerous Ilhamuddin. Haq continue his excellent form at the recently concluded 2010 UKM Master. Against Ilham, Haq produced a nice in between move combination in the early stageof the game which caused his opponent  a lot of time. The best black can  do is to enter a worse ending a pawn down. In the end , Ilham had to called it a day.

Haq teammates however could only add a point  to make the total score 2-2.

3rd DATCC Team League - Round 6 Pairing

Round 6 Pairing

1. KAM MAH vs Excell Chess Team

2. Pricewaterhouse vs Think Big

3. Gung Ho  vs Team AU

4. Seahorse vs First Saturday Chess Team

5. CS Solutions Ladies Team vs Tan & Tan Chess Team

6. Black Pearl vs Nusa Mahkota Chess Club

7. 17 Chess Club vs Ad-Hoc

8. DATCC vs University Kebangsaan Malaysia


Source:  Abdul Najib Wahab
             DATCC


Standing After Round 5

1. Excell Chess Team 
2. KAM MAH
3. Think Big
4. Team AU
5. Pricewaterhouse
6. Seahorse
7. Gung Ho
8. Tan & Tan Chess Team
9. First Saturday Chess Team
10. Nusa Mahkota Chess Club
11. 17 Chess Club
12. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
13. CS Solutions Ladies Team
14. Black Pearl
15. DATCC
16. Ad-Hoc

Anand win Game 4 using Kramnik`s weapon... again!

Vishy Anand beat Veselin Topalov in game 4 last night and lead the match for the first time. The score is now 2.5-1.5 in Anand`s favour. Topalov after a promising and excellent start should now feel the pressure. It seems that Anand strategy to use a` la Kramik's approach against Topalov is working nicely. Starting from game 2, Anand had used Kramnik`s opening choice against the same opponent during the 2006 Elista World Championship Final  ( white - Catalan and black - Slav) and so far, Anand has score 2.5 points out of 3. Probably after this match end, a book titled How to beat Topalov by Kramnik would be a good idea for any chess book publisher !?

3rd DATCC Team League - Round 5 Results

The 5th round of the 3rd DATCC Team Event was held last night  at the Dato Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Kompleks Wilayah , Kuala Lumpur . Below is the results.

Round 5 Results

1. Team AU  vs KAM MAH  : 2-2


Board 1:  FM Ooi Chern Ee vs FM Nicholas Chan  : 0.5-0.5
Board 2:  CM Fadli Zakaria vs  IM Jimmy Liew : 0-1
Board 3:  Ian Udani vs Amitpal Singh  :  1-0
Board 4:  Yap Eng Chiam vs  Abdullah Che Hassan : 0.5-0.5

2. Think Big vs Sea Horse  :  2.5-1.5

Board 1:  Yeoh Li Tian vs  Ahmad Farhan : 0.5-0.5

Board 2:  NWM Tan Li Ting vs Mohd Razief  : 0-1

Board 3:  NM Yeoh Chin Seng vs  Afizan Kadir : 1-0 

Board 4:  Mohd Faizal Zakaria vs Wong Yoke  : 1-0

3. Nusa Mahkota Chess Club vs Excell Chess Team :  1.5-2.5

Board 1: NM Kamal Arifin  vs  Lim Zhou Ren : 1-0

Board 2:  Rizal Ahmad Kamak vs Kaushal Khandahar  : 0-1

Board 3:  Hashim Jusoh vs Tan Ken Wei  : 0-1

Board 4:  Mohd Khair Wahiduddin vs  Tariq Amru :  0.5-0.5 

4.  Pricewaterhouse Coopers  vs CS Solutions Ladies Team  :   4-0

Board 1:  Loo Pak Kwan vs  WCM Nur Nabila Azman : 1-0

Board 2:  Zach Han vs WFM Nur Najiha Azman  : 1-0 

Board 3:  Cheah Cheok Fung vs Camilia Johari  : 1-0

Board 4:  Chew Yaw Chong vs  NWM Roslina Marmono : 1-0

5. First Saturday Chess Team vs Tan Tan Chess Team : 2-2

Board 1:  Wong Jianwen vs  Bernard Ng :  0.5-0.5

Board 2:  Roshan Singh vs R. Subramaniam : 0-1

Board 3:  Tan Jun Feng vs Dato Tan Chin Nam  : 1-0

Board 4:  Tan Wei Hao vs  Lim Chong : 0.5-0.5 

6. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia   vs 17 Chess Club  : 2-2

Board 1:  Abdul Haq vs Nur Ilhamuddin  : 1-0

Board 2:  Lee Boon Ann vs  Ahmad Fadzil Nayan : 0-1

Board 3:  Mohd Amin vs  Muhd Syazwan Zulkifli : 0-1

Board 4:  Tan Yik Ping vs  : Muhd Firdaus Ahmad Johari : 1-0

7. Ad-Hoc  vs   Gung Ho  : 0-4

Board 1:  Yeap Joo Hock vs  Law Zhe Kang : 0-1

Board 2:  Tengku M Fauzi Tengku A Hamid vs  Andrian Choo : 0-1

Board 3:  Tan Wei Ting  vs  Khairool Anuar : 0-1

Board 4:  Hamid Majid  vs  : Mohd Fayadh 0-1

8.  Black Pearl  vs DATCC Chess Team  : 3-1

Board 1:  Nor Khairy Kamarudin vs  Abdul Najib Wahab : 0-1

Board 2:  Aid Farhan vs  Shamsuddin Sabri : 1-0

Board 3:  Ernesto Ramos vs  Varien Thien : 1-0 

Board 4:  Khairul Faizi vs Sirajudden  : 1-0

First draw and first `no handshake`for the match !

Topalov and Anand draw their third game  last night. The game had an interesting finish. Both players reach a dead drawn endgame and a threefold repetition occur. Because that Topalov has agreed to play under the Sofia Rule, he didn`t offer a draw to his opponent - Anand  but some spectator said he consult the arbiter about the drawn position. Anand probably playing a psychological move, also didn`t want to offer anything and keep playing. However the arbiter decide it was a drawn game finally and the players end the game without handshake. At the press conference, the players said they both forget to shake hand after the game ?!  Remember Short-Cheparinov no handshake incident!

You can read the no handshake incident at chessdom.com

Below is the 3rd game.

3rd DATCC Team League - Round 5 Pairing

Tomorrow (28th April 2010)  the 5th round of the 3rd DATCC Team Event will be held at the Dato Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Kompleks Wilayah , Kuala Lumpur . The game will start at 7.PM . Below is the pairing.

Round 5 Pairing

1. Team AU  vs KAM MAH

2. Think Big vs Sea Horse

3. Nusa Mahkota Chess Club vs Excell Chess Team

4.  Pricewaterhouse Coopers  vs CS Solutions Ladies Team

5. First Saturday Chess Team vs Tan & Tan Chess Team

6. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia   vs 17 Chess Club

7.   Ad-Hoc  vs   Gung Ho

8.  Black Pearl  vs DATCC Chess Team

Abdul Aziz Shukor - Yeoh Li Tian

Three months ago - Abdul Aziz Shukor create a sensation by winning the DATCC Weekender ahead of strong players like Abdullah Che Hassan, Justin Ong, Kamaluddin Yusof, Soon Wai Cheong and others. However  in the ongoing Nf6 Invitationl tournament, he suffered a ` tournament to forget syndrome`.  After 7 round, he has yet to collect a single points.

His bad performance is caused by the tedious organizing work for this tournament which  affect his performance badly. He also had to postpone some of his games to settle his younger brother wedding in Indonesia and recently his mother   had to be admitted to the hospital due to health condition.

In round 5, Aziz had a clear winning position against wonderkid - Yeoh Li Tian , but he somehow commit a series of blunders  in time trouble  and had to resign in the end.


Abdul Aziz Shukor (2012) - Yeoh Li Tian (1971)
Nf6 Invitational, Round 5, 25.3.2010

Analysed by Centaur (Hairulov + Fritz)

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. a4 According to FM Graham Burgess in his book The Slav (Gambit Publication), this move (5.a4) can be viewed as either a clumsy or an appropriate response to...a6. Whose pawn move will prove more useful or weakening? 4...Bf5 5... e6  is the main line. 6. cxd5 More accurate is probably 6. Qb3 for e.g 6... Ra7 7. g3 . White can also play a Catalan setup with 6. g3   6... cxd5 7. Qb3 7... Ra7 This is a  standard move of defending the b7 pawn in the Chebanenko Slav. Later, black can move this rook to d7 or c7 after playing b5. Black can however set a cute trap with 7... Nc6 8. Qxb7?? Na5! And the queen is trap. 8. Bf4 Nc6 Because of white 6th move, black can put his knight on this square which are more active compare to d7.  9. e3 e6 10. Be2 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfc1!? Aziz decide to focus on the queen side. 12...Na5 13. Qa2 I think 13.Qd1 will give more option for white`s queen later. 13...Qb6 ??

This is a serious blunder  which missed by  us  14. Nd2?  Fritz gave the stunning 14. Nb5 !! and black will lost after 14...axb5 (14... Raa8 15. Bc7) 15. Bc7 Qa6 16. axb5 winning  14... Raa8 Because of the standard manuever b5 is no longer avaible in the near future, black decide to activate his rook via the back rank. 15. h3 h6 16. g4 !? Aziz surprisingly play for the offensive in the king side. White can play a la Karpov manuver with 16. Bd1 Rac8 $15 17. Bc2  Exchanging black`s active bishop. 16... Bh7 17. h4 Consistent.17... Nd7 18. g5 hxg5 19. hxg5 Qd8?? Li Tian somehow missed Aziz strong reply....

20. Nxd5! exd5 21. Bc7 Li Tian miss this . Now he is a pawn down.21... Qe8 22. Bxa5 b6 Aziz told me that his praised this move because it reduce his pieces activities because after 23.Bc3 the bishop block his rook on c-file however the tin monster (Fritz)  gave 22... Bxg5 as a better try for black for e.g 23. Qxd5 Bxe3!? 24. fxe3 Qxe3+ and white have to be on the defensive. 23. Bc3 Bxg5 24. Qxd5 Qe7 25. Qf3 25. Nc4!? guarding the e3 square looks interesting. 25... Rad8?! Black give a free pawn. Better is 25... Nf6  26. Bxa6 White simply win a pawn  26...Nf6 27. Bb7 Qe6? 28. a5 Stronger is 28. Bb4! Rfe8 29. Rc6  And the b6 pawn will drop soon  29...Qg4+ 30. Qxg4 Nxg4 28... Nd5? 29. Re1?! 29. a6! and black will have serious problem to  handle the passed pawn. 29... Nxc3 30. bxc3 bxa5 31. Rxa5 Qh6 32. Qg2 Be7 33. Ne4 Rb8 34. Ng3? White should mantain his big advantage with 34. Bd5 34... Qb6 white queen fork both white`s rook and bishop  35. Rh5 Bg6! This in between move is better then the careless. Worse is  35... Rxb7? 36. Qh1 Bg5 37. Rxg5 winning  (37. Rxh7?! Bh6 38. Rxh6 gxh6 with better prospect for white)  or  35... Qxb7? may look interesting but has some grave disadvantages for e.g 36. Qh3 Bg5 37. Rxg5 winning  36. Be4 Bxh5 37. Nxh5 Qh6 38. Ng3 White has lost much of his advatage but the two connected passed pawn (c & d) is still his major asset. 38...Bf6 39. c4 Rb2 40. c5 Rb3 41. Nf5 Qh5 42. Ng3 42. c6! just pushing the pawn is probably stronger  42... Qh6 43. Qh2 Qxh2+ 44. Kxh2 g6 45. Bd5 Rc3?? An oversight by Li Tian. 46. Ne4 white is clearly winning   46...Bxd4 47. exd4 Rc2 48. Kg3 Kg7 

49. Rd1 49. Nd6 ! followed by Re7 and then push the c-pawn was the easiest way to win. 49... Rd8 50. Nd6 f5 51. Bf3 Rd7 52. Bc6??A blunder caused by time trouble. 52. Nb7 Re7 53. c6 f4+ 54. Kg4 Rxf2 55. Rc1 winning  52... Rxd6 Now black have survive  53. Ba4? 53. cxd6 and the game is equal after 53...Rxc6 54. d5 Rxd6 55. f4  53... Rc3+   54. Kg2 Rd8 55. Bb5??  According to Aziz he committed a series of blunders during the time trouble  55. d5 is the best try.

 55... Rxc5 Black is winning  56. dxc5 56. Be2 Rcd5  56... Rxd1 57. c6 Rc1  And white is lost. The c-pawn can`t progress. 58. Kg3 Kf6 59. Kf3 Ke5 60. Ke3 Rc5 61. Ba4 Kd6 62. Kf4?? Rc4+ And white will lose the bishop and the game. 0-1

Anand level the score!

Anand beat Topalov in game 2 last night to level the score. This is another decisive results which all fans are looking forward to. In game 1, Topalov beat the World Champ - Anand. The score is now 1-1. The empire has strike back !

Simul Under MAS`s Boeing 777 Aircraft !

Two siblings S. Subramanian, 12, and S. Nithyalakshmi, 10,- the son and daughter of Johorean - Sivanesan Subramanian,  gave a simultaneous display which was held under a MAS Boeing 777 Aircraft at the one of the Malaysian Airlines (MAS)  hangar!  The event was part of the recent Pintar Chess Programme .

Read the full article here

Source : The Star Online

Ron Coleman co-officiate the Anand-Topalov`s first game !

I noticed at chessvibes.com that one big muscular guy (very-very big) co-officiate the  first game of Anand-Topalov match last night. According to the site,  the man  who was just wearing a short and t-shirts in the middle of mans wearing formal entire ( including Prime Minister of Bulgaria - Boyko Borrisov) is Ron Coleman - a lagendary bodybuilder from USA.

I did some googling and found that Ron and the Bulgarian Prime Minister is opening of a new gym and bodybuilding centre in Dianabad, Sofia



If you like to know more about Ron , go to his  official site.

Photo above is from the 2010 Anand- Topalov official site 


Ron photo (left) from his official site

Topalov draw first blood!

The challenger - Veselin Topalov draw first blood after beating the defending champion - Viswanthan Anand in an excellent game which involve a stunning sacrifice by Topalov. Anand really didn`t have a single chance to recover after the sac and had to defend a decisive attack - to no avail .



Topalov is now leading the match 1-0. We will see whether Anand will took his revenge in game 2.



Video from the official site

Let The game Begin - 1 day + Two hours late :)

After the force majure saga affected the regaining World Chess Champion - Vishy Anand trips to defend his title in Sofia, FIDE has announced  that  the 1st game of the match will be postponed by 1 (one) day to start on Saturday, 24th April 2010. This is because Anand who eventually arrived to Sofia before the opening ceremonies after a merry go straight journey,  has resulted in an unfair position for World Champion Vishy Anand as he has not taken full benefit of the seven-days period (article 8.2 of our 2010 World Chess Championship Agreement) in order for him to acclimatize to the conditions and ensure that all his team will be organised to support him logistically and technically in the match.

A few days later , the host country has announced that the first game will be start two hours after the scheduled time because of  the previous arrangements that the Prime Minister and Head of the Organizing Committee Boiko Borisov has in Varna, a city at the other end of the country, on the north-east seaside.

 I think the match has already create a colourful start off the board so i  hope the players will produced the same over the board!

Naaaananana....if you can postpone, i can postpone too you know!

Update for all Kelantanese Chess Players !

To all Kelantanese chess players who is interested to play for their state in the upcoming National Closed, click Persatuan Catur Negeri Kelantan (PCNK) `s blog here

MCF Update !

Malaysian Chess Federation has announced the latest development on offers/proposals to the Malaysian delegation for the 11th Asean Age Group Chess Championship 2010 (4th-13th June 2010 in Philippines) + MCF &  First GM + Parents Dialogue Session

According to First GM`s blog, AirAsia  will provide up to 20 air tickets  for the players  that want to undertake the Asean training.

Fur further details, click MCF`s blog here

Shamshol Bahrin - Hou Yifan

Shamshol Bahrin (left) and World Women Vice Champion and 2010 KL Open champion - GM Hou Yifan (right)

 Hou Yifan was born in 1994. In that year Shamsol Bahrin (UiTM  student ) and i (UPM student )  played for our  university chess team. 16 years have passed and Hou Yifan is now a Grandmaster , Vice Women World Champion and recently won the 2010 KL Open. 

Photo from mindacatur.com

Kamal Arifin Champion Nf6 Tournament!

NM Kamal Ariffin is a champion for the first Nf6 Invitational Tournament even though there is one round left. He secure 7.5 points from 8 rounds. In Round 8, he drew with Shamsol Baharin. By winning this tournament, he is now crowned with the prestigious Nf6 Master tittle (NM) and eligible to participate automatically in the second Nf6 Master tournament

4 players tied for second place with 5 points each after Round 8. The standings are as follows:

Standing after round 8

1. NM Kamalariffin Wahiduddin 7.5/8
2. Kamaluddin Yusof 5/8
3. Mohd Saprin Sabri 5/8
4. Abdul Haq Mohamed 5/8
5. Yeoh Li Tian 5/8
6. Razali Hamzah 3/8
7. NM Yeoh Chin Seng 2.5/6
8. Shamsol Baharin Patahol Rahman 2/7
9. Najib Abdul Wahab 1/6
10. Abdul Aziz Abdul Shukor 0/5

Pairing for final Round (Round 9) are as follows:

Hamzah Razali 1675 - Yusof Kamaluddin 2166

Abdul Shukor Abdul Aziz 2050 - Sabri Mohd Saprin 2141

Mohamed Abdul Haq 2057 - Abdul Wahab Najib 0

Wahiduddin Kamalarifin 2119 - Yeoh Chin-Seng 2177 2

Yeoh Li Tian 1971 - Rahman Shamsol Baharin Patahol 0

It is interesting to note that the 4 contenders for second place will not face each other on the final round. So it is possible that all of them will tie after that final round!

Unc Aziz

Nf6 Invitational - Round 8 Results : Draw blues and Nf6 beat Ng6!

A Fide rated tournament - Nf6 Invitational Tournament is schedule  from 25th February 2010. The tournament will be held on every Thursday starting at 7.00 PM at the Dato Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Kompleks, Kuala Lumpur. The format is a single round robin with 1 hour 30 minutes + 30 seconds increment.

22nd April 2010 - Round 8 of the Nf6 Invitational (FIDE rated) Tournament was held on 7 pm  at the Dato Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Kuala Lumpur. The results  is as follow :-

Round 8 Results

1.  Kamaluddin Yusof  (2166) vs Yeoh Li Tian (1971)   : 0.5-0.5
2.  Shamshol Bahrin vs vs NM Kamal Ariffin  (2119)   : 0.5-0.5 
3.  NM Yeoh Chin Seng (2177) vs  Abdul Haq   : 0.5-0.5 
4.  Najib Wahab vs   Abdul Aziz Shukor (2012) - postponed
5.  Mohd Saprin Sabri (2141)   vs  Razali Hamzah (1675)   : 1-0

Take note that 3 out of 4 games were drawn and the only decisive game is between Saprin (Nf6) who beat Razali (Ng6)  :)

I was informed by Aziz that his mother is in the hospital for the past few days, i hope his mother will recover soon. InsyAllah. 

Persatuan Catur Negeri Kelantan`s blog!

I found a new chess blog called - Persatuan Catur Negeri Kelantan. The first post from this blog is about the selection for Kelantan representatives to the 2010 National Closed. The selection will be held on 14-15 May 2010. The top two winners will be sponsored ( transportation, accommodation, and allowance) for the National Closed.

I think this  is a good steps from Kelantan to ensure transparency in selecting players to represent their state.

3rd DATCC Team League - Round 4 Results

The 4th round of the 3rd DATCC Team Event was held last night at the Dato Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Kompoleks Wilayah , Kuala Lumpur .  Below is the results.

Round 4 Results

1. KAM MAH vs Think Big  : 3-1

2. Team AU vs Nusa Mahkota Chess Club    :  3.5 - 0.5

3. Excell Chess Team vs First Saturday Chess Team  : 4-0

4. Sea Horse vs Pricewaterhouse Coopers   : 2-2

5. 17 Chess Club vs CS Solutions Ladies Team  : 2-2

6. Gung Ho vs Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia   : 2-2

7. Tan & Tan Chess Team vs DATCC Chess Team   : 2.5-1.5

8. Ad-Hoc vs Black Pearl   : 2-2

3rd DATCC Team League - Round 4 Pairing

Tommorow (21st April 2010)  the 4th round of the 3rd DATCC Team Event will be held at the Dato Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Kompoleks Wilayah , Kuala Lumpur . The game will start at 7.PM . Below is the pairing.

Round 4 Pairing

1. KAM MAH vs Think Big

2. Team AU vs Nusa Mahkota Chess Club

3. Excell Chess Team vs First Saturday Chess Team

4. Sea Horse vs Pricewaterhouse Coopers

5. 17 Chess Club vs CS Solutions Ladies Team

6. Gung Ho vs Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

7. Tan & Tan Chess Team vs DATCC Chess Team

8. Ad-Hoc vs Black Pearl

Putrajaya Chess Fever 6-2010

As usual, a social chess gathering will be held on 20th April, 2010 (Tuesday) starting from 6 PM at Medan Selera Presint 9, Putrajaya ( in front Kompleks Kejiranan Precint 9) . This informal gathering is the sixth weekly gathering being held this year. It is open  for all chess lovers especially from Putrajaya chess community.

Chess lovers from other places are also invited  to joint and "test power" against local community. Kindly bring chess set and chess clock....and don`t forget to buy some drink/food....just to make sure the food stall owner  happy :)

Should Anand follow Gary Lineker !?

As every chess fan have already know, the defending champion – Anand has issued a postponement request  to delay the start of the 2010 World Championship Match against Topalov which was scheduled to start on 21st April 2010.

Anand who is scheduled to take a connecting flight from Frankfrut, Germany on 16th April 2010 to Sofia , Bulgaria was stranded at the airport because of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

However, i`ve read an interesting article about the  former England International Football striker – Gary Lineker (photo right)  and his family who experience a more or less same situation. They were on holiday in Tenerife, Spain  when a cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano forced the closure of British airspace. The Lineker`s flew from Tenerife to Madrid, then drove to Paris where he caught a Eurostar train to London to host a football Match of the Day. . (estimated distance between Tenerife and London is 1820 miles!)

The former footballer was so determined to make it back for the match round-up that he spent nearly 24 hours travelling, arriving in London just two hours before the show was due to start.

The latest new (at the time of writing this post) is the organizer of the Anand-Topalov World Championship Match has not accept Anand postponement request! read it here !

Should Anand follow Gary Lineker ?

Anand-Topalov World Championship Match Start With a Volcano!?

The long awaited Anand-Topalov 2010 World Championship Match start with a volcano!? Ok I just exaggerated, however the volcano did effect the start of the match . What I mean is the eruption of the  Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland on April 15, 2010  which  threw ash up in the European atmosphere and led to air travel disruptions  resulting to  the closure of airspace over most of Europe.

The funniest thing is on the same day when the volcano explode, I’ve read in many chess website that Anand has safely landed in Sofia. However a few days later, Chessbase.com publish an article mentioning that Anand and his team is officially ask for postponement because they are stranded in Frankfurt on their way to Sofia.

The question is who saw Anand in Sofia few days ago? Could it be his double? Is this part of Anand psychological gimmick?

You can follow the latest update about the controversy at Chessdom.com 

Haq beat IM Situru !

18th April 2010 - When i labelled him the Incredble Hulk ,  i really mean it. Yes, Abdul Haq has just created a sensation after beating Indonesian  IM - Nathannael Situru in round 7, UKM Master which was held this morning. Situru is no ordinary IM. I still remember he once beat GM John Nunn in the 1994 Moscow Olympiad. The Indonesian who is playing black, introduced a novelty (8...b4) in the Sicilian Najdorf , English Attack Variation where Nunn was re known as the specialist - and won the game!

Back to Haq victory, this win  boost his performance rating to 2309. An excellent achievement considering he is the lowest rated player  in this tournament. I think if he were told before this tournament that he will get 3 points in the final standings,  he would surely be satisfied. Now he got two more games against Indian player - Nirav Rajasuba (2183) in round 8 today and Akash Takur (2355) also from India in the last round tomorrow. I hope he will get the best out of it!


IM Nanthannael Situru (2358)  vs Abdul Haq (2057)
UKM Master, Round 7, 18.4.2010

Analysed by Centaur (Hairulov + Fritz)


1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nd4

    
Haq choose the delayed Bird Variation or can i called it a Berlin-Bird Hybrid Variation!? . The original version in Bird Variation is black play Nd4 on the third move (without 3.Nf6). This variation is an off beat variation but a good surprise against a much higher rated opponent especially in a `nothing to lose situation`. 5. Nxd4 exd4 6. d3 6. e5! Nd5 7. Qg4 c5  And black will have serious difficulty to develop his black square bishop.(7... Nb4 8. a3 Nxc2 9. Ra2 and the knight on c2 will be trap.) 6... c6 7. Ba4 d6 Theory recommend 7... d5 8. Bg5 dxe4 9. dxe4 Be7 10. e5 Nd5 11. Bxe7 Nxe7 12. Bb3 O-O 8. Bg5 Be7 9. Nd2  b5 9... Qa5!? attacking both white`s bishop on g5 and a4 is worth consideration because white will have to surrender his double bishop. 10. Bxf6 Bxf6  10. Bb3 Be6 11. Nf3 Qb6 12. h3 Bxb3 13. cxb3

White probably want to utilize the open c-file but it seems that it is black who benefit from it. Normal is 13. axb3 13... h6 14. Bd2 O-O 15. Qe2 White can also play the standard idea 15. Nh4 Rfe8 16. Nf5 Bf8  15... Rfc8 16. a4 bxa4 17. Rxa4 c5 18. e5?! 18. b4 !? is better. 18... dxe5 19. Qxe5 If 19. Nxe5 Qxb3 20. Rfa1 Qxb2 21. Rxa7 Qxa1+! sacrifice the queen for the initiative 22. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 23. Kh2 Bd6 19... Qxb3 20. Ra3 Qb7 21. Re1 Re8 22. Ra2 Qb3 Now white will lose his d3 pawn which give white a passed d-pawn. . White should have look back on his 13th move cxb3. 23. Rea1 Qxd3 24. Rxa7 Rxa7 25. Rxa7 Bf8 26. Qf4 Qb1+ 27. Kh2 Qxb2

Now black have another passed pawn on - c which connected with his d-pawn . 28. Ra6 Qb8 28... Ne4! Threatening Bd6 is stronger 29. g3 Qb7 30. Ra1 Bd6 29. Qxb8 Rxb8 30. Bxh6 gxh6 31. Rxf6 d3  Black connected passed pawn march into victory! 32. Rf5 Rd8  Preventing white from playing Rd5 33. Nd2 Rd4 34. Rf3 Bd6+ 35. g3 Bc7 36. Rf5 Ba5 37. Nf1 37. Nf3 also didn`t help 37... Bb4 38. Re5  (38. Nxd4?? 
a horrible slip d2 39. Nc2 d1=Q ) 38... c4 39. Rb5 (39. Nxd4?? d2) 39... d2 37... Bb4 Black prepares d2 38. Ne3 d2 39. Nd1 Re4 40. Rd5 Re1 41. Ne3  41. Nb2 praying for a miracle Rc1 42. Kg2  c4 winning. 41... Rxe3 !!

here's the full point and black resign because nothing can stop black from queening. 41... Rxe3 42. Rd8+ (42. fxe3 c4 43. Kg2 c3 44. Kf2 c2) 42... Kg7 43. fxe3 c4  0-1 White resign.

Abdul Haq vs FM Daniel Fernandez (UKM Master Round 4)

After three straight losses, Haq manage to draw against the young Singaporean FM- Daniel Fernandez. Daniel had already two IM norm under his belt and he finish on shared 4th - 7th  place in the strong Sydney International recently.

Below is Haq-Daniel 4th round encounter.

Abdul Haq Mohamad (2057) vs FM Daniel Fernandez (2299)
UKM Master, Round 4, 16.4.2010

Analysed by centaur (Hairulov + Fritz) 


1.e4  g6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bd3 This move is quite unusual. Probably Haq want to avoid main line. 5...d6 6. h3 Nf6 7. O-O O-O 8. a3 e6 9. Rb1 d5 Black decide to immedietly break the center.10. exd5 exd5 11. b4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 It`s clear that black is better. White pawn structure is a little bit lose with his isolated pawn on d3. 12...Bf5 13. d3 cxb4 14. axb4  

  
White pawn on d3 looks weak. 14...Qd7 14... a6 15. b5 Na5 16. g4 Nxc4 17. gxf5  15. Ne2 Nd5 16. b5 Na5 17. Bxd5 Qxd5 Black have the bishop pairs. 18. Nf4 Qd8 19. g4

  Haq (left) vs FM Daniel Fernandez (right)

19...Bd7 20. Bb2 f6?! Understandably, black want to keep his bishop pairs but the move 20...f6 does create a weak square on e6. 21. Nd4     

...and Haq exploit it immediately. 21... Qb6 22. Qf3 22. Qa4! threatening black`s knight on a5 and also threatening Qa2+ followed by Nfe6 22... a6 23. Qd5+ Rf7 24. Nfe6?! 24. Rfe1 Strengthening control over the e6 square is probably the correct move. 24... Bxe6 25. Nxe6 Qxb5 26. Qxb5  White can choose to mantain the  pressure along the a2-g8 diagonal with 26. Qa2!? 26... axb5 27. Nxg7 Rxg7 27... Kxg7  28. g5! 28. Bxf6 Rd7 29. Rxb5 Rxd3 30. Ra1 30. g5!? After the game i suggest the plan  of cementing the f6 bishop with g5 and then using  white`s rook(s) to penetrate on black`s 7th or 8th rank 30... Rd6 31. Bc3  31. g5 31... b6 32. Bb4 Rf6 33. Bc3 Rd6 34. Bxa5 bxa5 35. Rbxa5 Rxa5 36. Rxa5 h6 37. Ra7 g5 38. Kg2 Rf6 39. Kg3 Rf8 40. f3 Rf6 41. Ra4 Kg7 42. f4 gxf4+ 43. Rxf4 Rxf4 44. Kxf4  Kg6 45. h4 Kf6

46. Ke4 Ke6 47. Kd4 Kd6 48. Ke4 Ke6 49. Kd4 Kd6 50. g5 And the game will draw but white can test black endgame skills with 50. Kd3!? although with correct play black will still draw for e.g 50...Kd7 51.Kc3 Ke6 (51...Kc7?? would be a disaster 52.g5! hxg5 53.h5! and white win!) 52.Kd2 Kd6 etc.  50... hxg5 51. hxg5  Ke6 52. Ke4 Kf7 53. Kf5  White king can`t get into the key square (f6,g6,h6,f7,g7 or h7)  of  his passed pawn on  g5  so it`s draw  53...Kg7 54. g6 Kg8 55. Kg5 Kg7 56. Kh5 Kg8 1/2-1/2