Yeoh Li Tian - Nf6 Champion 2011

The Nf6 Chess Event conclude with youngster Yeoh Li Tian (photo left)  emerge as champion, finishing with the better tiebreak against NM Kamalariffin Wahiduddin. Both had 7 points which each losing a game, and drawing 2 games - one of the draw coming form their earlier encounter.

Kelantanese Nik Ahmad Farouqi came third with Kaushal coming in 4th. 

The tournament organizer, Abdul Aziz Abdul Shukor plans to hold a similar event next year which will be the event's third edition. MCF Secretary Gregory gave away the prizes to the winners.

DATCC, as the host for the event, congratulates all the winners and players for a successful tournament and hope to be a part of the same event next year.

Thank you and Warm Regards

Najib Abdul Wahab

Program Manager/Coordinator

Tel: +6016 338 2542

Email: najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com

Web: http://www.chess-malaysia.com

Blog: http://datcchess.blogspot.com

Abel Yap at The 2011 British Chess Championship!

GM Simon Williams.

Thanks to  my blog visitors who pointed out that a fellow Malaysian is playing at  The 98th British Championships which take place in Ponds Forge in Sheffield from 25th July to 6th August 2011.

The 21 years old player is Abel Yap Jinwei. Some of you may not no who Abel is but he was one of our national youth players during the early 2000's .

He was quite active back then and  i played with him in some local  tournaments  and one tournament  that i remember is  The 2005 Selangor Open.

However he was not seen in local tournament a few years later and  i guess  he must have been further studying in UK. I will try to contact him to get his latest development.

So far, Abel has score 2.5 points out of 6 and he will be in action in round 7 on Monday. (today is the rest day of the championship)

Meanwhile, below is  his game against GM Simon Williams (photo right) in round 3. Simon nickname is GingerGM and he has a nice website/blog here.

Abel Yap Jinwei (2029) - GM Simon Williams (2528)
British Chess Championship, Round 3, 27.7.2011

Analysed by Centaur (Hairulov+Houdini)

1.e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 Abel played the Grand Prick Attack of the Sicilian Defense. 5...e6 6. f5 Nge7 7. fxe6 fxe6 8. d3 d5 9. Bb3 b5 10. a4 b4 11. Ne2 Na5  

National Arbiter's Seminar - 16th to 18th September

Hi All

With the success of the recent FIDE Arbiter Seminar, MCF is taking another step forward with its national version of the same seminar to encourage and educate more locals on the rules and regulations that govern chess events and games.

The MCF version of the seminar will cover topics that are more suited for the local circuits by focusing primarily on FIDE Laws of Chess, Swiss Pairing and Tournament Organizing. The idea of the MCF seminar is to share the knowledge and learning that were gained during the FIDE Arbiter Seminar with other local arbiters, teachers, organizers, club members, associations including parents and players whom may not have the opportunity to join the FIDE session. .

Similar to the FIDE seminar, participants for the MCF seminar will also sit for a short exam on the final day of the seminar to gauge their understanding on the topics that were presented and discussed. Those who have done well in the exams will be conferred with appropriate titles and recognitions, and can look forward to earn the National Arbiter's title which MCF plans to introduce in the very near future. The MCF seminar will also provide better preparation to the participants should they want to pursue their ambition in becoming globally recognized FIDE Arbiters or International Arbiters.

One of the interesting feature of the MCF seminar is that it will also provides an optional 1 additional day for participants to learn and be trained on using the Swiss Manager program, one of the world's most popular pairing program used in many local and international chess events. Participants are advised to purchase their own Swiss Manager program prior to attending the training day, or download the DEMO version from the Swiss Manager website. Whilst the organizer may provide computers for the participants to practice, the units available may not be enough to go around for everyone. During the learning session, participants will be taught on how to download FIDE and MCF rating list, execute pairings including changing the pairings, keying in and correcting results, understanding tie breaks, printing and preparing tournament reports, and other relevant topics that will help the user to use the software effectively.

The entry fees for the 3 days seminar is RM200 per person of which RM50 shall be used towards MCF certification. For the Swiss Manager training program, the registration fees is RM80 per person. For the entire 4 days seminar, the total fees is RM280 per person. Participants are advised that the fees do not cover for lunch, accommodation or transport during the duration of the seminar. Those who are interested to take part in the Swiss Manager training program must have a solid understanding on Swiss Pairing program prior to participating in training program. Those who are interested to take only the Swiss Pairing program will be accepted at the discretion of the organizer with a higher fees imposed.

Those who would like to inquire more about the seminar, please contact Najib Wahab at +6016 338 2542 or email najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com

The proposed schedule for the seminar is as follows:

Thank you and Warm Regards

Najib Abdul Wahab

Program Manager/Coordinator

Tel: +6016 338 2542

Email: najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com

Web: http://www.chess-malaysia.com

Blog: http://datcchess.blogspot.com

Chess Puzzle (21) Solution and....secret of Inspirational play!?

Below is the answer for puzzle no. 21 

Mohd Zambri Syarif (KL) vs Azmi Othman (Selangor)

MAKSAK 2011, Round 4, 23.7.2011

White to move

Chess Puzzle (21).... from MAKSAK 2011

Below is beautifull game  from one of MAKSAK 2011 event. 

Mohd Zambri Syarif (KL) vs Azmi Othman (Selangor)

MAKSAK 2011, Round 4, 23.7.2011

1.e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bc4 e6 6. O-O Be7 7. d3 O-O 8. e5 Ne8 9. Kh1 g6 10. Bb3 Ng7 11. Ne4 Nf5 12. exd6 Nxd6 13. Nxc5 b6 14. Ne4 Bb7 15. Nxd6 Bxd6 16. f5 exf5 17. Bh6 Re8 18. Ng5 Re7  This position  deserved a diagram.

19. Rxf5!! A deadly and brilliant move by Zambri.  Black's position fall apart. 19...gxf5 20. Qh5 Ne5 

In time trouble Zambri   play   21. Nxh7 which is not the best move. Although Zambri eventually won the game, his opponent - Azmi  failed to find the best defense and later missed a brilliant resource which should turn the table.  

Guess what Zambri missed on move 21...

MAKSAK 2011 : Kuala Lumpur Retain Title!

2011 MAKSAK Champion - Kuala Lumpur
From left : Mohd Rizal Jusah, Shamsuddin Mat Isa, Rizal Ahmad Kamal (captain) , Hassan (Manager),  unidentified, Mohd Zambri Sharif, Yours Truly, NM Kamal Ariffin and Zul ( Head of delegation)

24th July 2011 - Kuala Lumpur retain the team chess title at the Kejohanan Catur, Dart dan Karom,  Majlis Sukan dan Kebajikan Anggota-Anggota Kerajaan (MAKSAK)  which was held from 22nd-24th July 2011  at Heritage Hotel, Ipoh, Perak. This year event is hosted by Perak.

Kuala Lumpur repeat their last year victory  in Kuala Lumpur. Interestingly the second to fourth place is also won by the same team as last year  - 2nd Terengganu, 3rd Sarawak and fourth  - Pahang.

Full report will follow soon....

MAKSAK 2011 - Kuala Lumpur lead!

23rd July 2011 - The MAKSAK Catur, Dart and Karom ( short form - CD-Rom !?) 2011 is being  held from 22nd -24th July 2011 in Ipoh, Perak. 13 Teams took part in this annual chess team event. Unfortunately, Kelantan, Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Sabah and Labuan didn't participate  this year.

Every team consist of  maximum  6 players   ( 4 + 2 reserve) and the time control is 45 minutes perplayer .

Selangor-Johor

Many strong and well known players took parts in this event such as NM Kamal Ariffin, Ismail Ahmad - former World Police Champion, Nor Azmi Mohd Noor, Hashim Jusoh, Law Zhe Kang, Rizal Ahmad Kamal, Taulani Tukiran, Abang Reduan, Lim Kian Hwa, Morsin Ahmad, Abdul Rahim Ramli, Mohd Zambri Syarif and many others.

Terengganu-Negeri Sembilan

 The tournament is being held at Heritage Hotel, Ipoh. This events is held in three days (22nd - 24th July).  The first day is preliminary stage where teams were divide into three groups ( A,B,C). Top two team of each groups plus two teams which is the best 3rd placing among the  groups proceed to the winner's  pools in the 2nd and 3rd day ( 18th July). The remaining teams play in the looser's pool.

Kuala Lumpur -Pahang

Below are the teams who proceed to winners pools and losers pools. 

(The team in bold qualified to the winner's pool.)

Group A

1. Kuala Lumpur
2. Johor
3. Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)   
4. Melaka

Group B

1. Selangor 
2. Terengganu
3. Perlis
4. Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM)

Group C

1. Sarawak
2. Pahang
3. Negeri Sembilan     
4. Perak
5. PENJARA

Going into the final round tommorow, Kuala Lumpur lead the winner's pool with 19.5 points. Kuala Lumpur who has already play their final round match  will have to wait the results between two of their main rival - Sarawak vs Terengganu tommorow.  The second place place Terengganu have to beat Sarawak 4-0 tommorow to win the tournament while Sarawak need to win at least 3-1 to get the second place. Sarawak has no mathematical  chance to win this tournament and second place is their highest possibility. 

Current Standing 

1. Kuala Lumpur  - 19.5 ( have complete all 8  rounds)
2. Terengganu - 16
3. Sarawak - 13.5
4. Johor - 12.5 ( have complete all 8  rounds)
5. Pahang - 11.5
6. Selangor - 10
7. Negeri Sembilan - 9.5
8. PDRM - 7.5

Final Round ( 24th July 2011)

Johor  vs Kuala Lumpur  : 1.5-2.5 ( this match has been played on 21st July)

PDRM vs  Negeri Sembilan

Sarawak vs Terengganu 

Pahang  vs Selangor 

The Kuala Lumpur team shows another sight of their strength !?

MAKSWIP 2011 : DBKL retain title!

Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) powered by NM Kamal Ariffin and Mohd Zambri Syariff in top two boards retain the 2011  Majlis Kebajikan dan Sukan Anggota-Anggota Kerajaan Wilayah (MAKSWIP) Team Chess Championship  held on 10th July 2011 at Bangunan RISDA , Jalan Ampang Kuala Lumpur.

KASTAM Diraja Malaysia  repeat their last year result when they finish in second place. The highlight of the tournament was produced by the dark horse team - Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (A) who is lead by ...yours truly in board 1. We finish in 3rd place - a huge improvement over last year when JPA finished in 10th!


15 teams took part in this 5 rounds swiss with 1 hours time control for each player. Every team consist of 5 player ( 4 + 1 reserve).

Final Ranking

1. DBKL
2.KASTAM
3.Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (A)
4.Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri
5.Jabatan Peguam Negara
6.PERKESO A
7.FRIM A
8.Bank Simpanan Nasional (B)

* i don't have the results of 9th-17th place but the rest of the teams is ( BSN A, PERKESO B, FRIM B, CIDB, JPA B, KASTAM B, KSN)

Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (A)  lost 1-3 to the champion DBKL (left)  in a thrilling round 3 clash.

My friend Rizal also report about the tournament. Click here

FIDE Arbiters' Seminar in Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA - RESULTS

The results of FIDE Arbiters' Seminar held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from  30th June - 4th July 2011 have been published in FIDE website.

Click here 

INSOFAR EVENTS POSTPHONE TO SUN. 18th SEPT. 2011

INSOFAR EVENTS POSTPHONE TO SUN. 18^th SEPT. 2011

1)  2^ND. ELITE OPEN FINAL

2)  JUNIOR PRESTIGE FINAL

3)  6^TH. JUNIOR SCHOLARSHIP         

     TOURNAMENT

On Sun. 10^th July 2011, players are encourage to play in

     -HillCrest Championship

or  -Perak Grand Prix Final

*Insofar apologise if any inconvenience    caused by the postphonement

Source: Mat Zaki Yeop

Chek Kin Keuw vs Muhammad Khairul Hafiz Bin Hassan : 2011 MASUM chess team event

I received an email from Chek Kin Keuw who want to share a game he played in the recently conclude 2011 MASUM team chess event held from 18th -30th June 2011 in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang Selangor.  


Below is the game annotated by Kin Keuw and yours truly. 

Chek Kin Keuw (NR1618) vs Muhammad Khairul Hafiz Bin Hassan(NR1763)

MASUM chess team event

Date: 27/6/2011

Time control : 1 hour 30 min

Analysed by Chek Kin Keuw and Hairulov+Houdini in italic

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 Hairulov: Black can return back the pawn for development with 3...Nf6 and play might continue with 4.e5 Nd5 5.cxd4 d6! to undermine white's center pawns 

4. Nxc3 The start of morra gambit (Sicilian Smith Morra Gambit ) 

4...Nc6 5. Nf3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7  It is my 1st time to play in this position