Notice

This blog has been initiated and manned by Council Member En Shafruddin for the past one year. To provide even more effective dissemination of MCF chess news the baton is now passed on to Hon Secretary Gregory Lau. It is the intention of MCF to create a more comprehensive website for the benefit of the Members and public in due course

10th Asean+ Age Group Championships 2009 held in Hui, Vietnam 6th June to 15th June 2009 - Results of our Malaysian participants

Nur Najiha Azman Hisham emerged Champion with 7 points in the 9-Round standard time control Girls U-10 category. Although it was a slim 1/2 point difference she had earlier beaten the second-placed Nguyen Thanh Thuy Tien in Round 6 to stamp her superiority in the age-group. Well done WFM Nur Najiha!

Meanwhile her elder sister Nur Nabila who lost to the eventual winner Indonesian WCM Medina Warda Aulia in Round 6 held on strongly thereafter to claim the Runner-up spot. She had earlier beaten third placed Mirano Mira in Round 7 to secure her position and the WCM title. Well Done!

Five other Malaysian players also participated in the Championships. Edward Lee played in the Open U-16 scored 5 1/2 points to secure 4th place in a field of 12 players. It was a commendable effort on his part - a win against Singaporean Christer Jon Aplin (2038), and to hold draws against the higher rated Vietnamese Nguyen Van Hai (2225) and Dan Duy Linh (2112). Amier Hamzah Mohd Zuhri who played in the Open U-8 however had a sort of chequered performance with 5 points and in 12th position out of 28. With more competitive experience he should be a force to be reckoned with in future. Others were Camilia Johari (Girls U-12) with 4 1/2 points and placed 11 out of 19 participants, Muhd Tariq Amru (Open U-20) with 3 points and placed 22/23 and Jerome Yong Lik Boh (Open U-12) with 3 points and placed19/21

For the record 6 Asean countries namely host Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Phillipines, Singapore and Malaysia, 4 other countries outside Asean ie Australia, Russia, India and Iran participated in the Championships.Other details can be obtained here

IGB - 6th Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess Championship 2009 - Entry Form

The annual Malaysian Chess Festival 2009 will again be celebrated this August 2009. Entry Form for the above Malaysia Open is now available 

Date : 21st - 28th Aug 2009

Venue : Bintang Ballroom, CitiTel Mid Valley

Closing Date : 10th Aug '09

Contact : IA Hamid Majid (tel +60340219576 or +60193158098) or Greg (+60129020123)

Details can be obtained in the attached Entry Form.

In addition MCF will at the same time organize the Malaysian Blitz Open and the Merdeka Team Rapid Chess Championship 2009, thus extending the period of the Festival to the 31st Aug 2009.

Malaysian Chess Championship 2009 - Final results

National Championship 2009

Round 9 saw an exciting and an unprecedented finish. It was a nightmare for Zhuo Ren when he could not muster enough fire power to penetrate Edward Lee's defence and let slip the title. It was also not to be on the other table where Abel Yap who was only 1/2 point behind the leader fell through against Abdullah. That was costly for him as he would have clinched the title outright. Evan Capel on the other hand expectedly won against his opponent. Zhuo Ren then had not just NM Edward Lee for company but also Evan Capel and Abdullah who also shared 7 points each.

 

This triggered a tiebreak, and a four-cornered double round robin was set into play to determine the one winner. Evan Capel played steadily but at the expense of NM Edward Lee, although the latter maintained composure thereafter ending up with just 1/2 point behind. Zhuo Ren's attacking flair lacked strong follow-through endings while Abdullah's grappling with time were costly for both of them. So the Piala Tun Hussein Onn goes to the Penang lad this year

Congratulations to NM Evan Timothy Capel ! 

National Women Championship 2009

Li Ting and the other leading women players however played to their strength. Although Renitha did catch up with the leader to share the same 7 1/2 points in the final round her loss to the eventual winner in Round 5 (Personal Encounter) sealed her second place position. 

In the picture is the winner receiving the Piala Tan Sri Sabbaruddin Chik from the MCF President Tan Sri Ramli.

Congratulations NWM Tan Li Ting !

Malaysian Chess Championship 2009 - Day 4

National Championship 2009

Barring any upsets Zhuo Ren is set to be crowned this year's NM. But Abel Yap second in line with only a 1/2 point behind is ready to take the slack. Likewise there are four other 6-pointers Evan Capel, Abdullah and Saprin (pic) or maybe NM Edward Lee, ready to stake claim on tie-break. Another consideration is the battle for second place which will qualify for participation in  the upcoming Malaysian Masters

Pairing Round 9

National Women Championship 2009

Li Ting is set to capture the NWM title to create a major upset in this category simply because she is not listed as a pre-tournament favourite. Her third round draw over Nabila probably gave her the impetus to go the distance. The final hurdle would be against another experienced player Haslindah (pic) with Renitha lurking over the shoulder should the leader lapse

Pairing Round 9

Notice: 

Tomorrow 3rd June 2009 will be the final Round 9 play (09:00hr to 13:00hr) and Closing /prize giving Ceremony is scheduled at 14:00 hr

Malaysian Chess Championship 2009 - Day 3

National Championship 2009

Zhuo Ren continues his fine run with two wins over Mohd Khair and Abdullah respectively. Another top Penang junior Evan (pic. right) will be  challenging him tomorrow. For the record the latter has not lost any game in this Championship so far, but instead drew twice with Abdullah and again with Saprin this morning. This will be an interesting first Board encounter  

Pairing Round 7

National Women Championship 2009

Li Ting leads with 5 1/2 points setting aside Renitha  and later this evening another strong player Winnie Hong. This is a fine run and timely for this relative unknown to step out of the shadows of the Klang Valley girls. Her next opponent NWM Alia is trailling by a point attributed to 4 drawn games, a situation the latter seemed to have repeatedly gotten into of late

Pairing Round 7