DATCC weekender: The Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre will organise the fourth DATCC super supreme rapid chess weekender tournament at their Wilayah Complex premises in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 26. Seven rounds, 25-minute time control. Entry fees: RM15 for players below 12 and RM30 for others. Details from Najib Wahab (016-338 2542,najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com) or Justin Kumar (018-396 0781,kjustin09@yahoo.com).
Perak grand prix: The Kampar leg of the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Perak grand prix chess tournament will be played at the Grand Kampar Hotel in Kampar, Perak, on Sept 26. Entry fees are RM25 for the open section, RM15 for under-16 players and RM10 for under-12 players. Members of Perak International Chess Association and players born in Perak pay RM5 less. To register, contact Yunus (013-390 8129), Sukumaran (012-525 2445) or Kamaruddin (019-431 6793). Details fromperakchess.blogspot.com
http://malaysianchessfederation.blogspot.com/
http://malaysianchessfederation.blogspot.com/
Malaysia chess festival
ReplyDeleteHere is a summary of all the events in this year’s Malaysia Chess Festival. All games will be played at the ballroom of Cititel Hotel:
> Datuk Arthur Tan Malaysia open: Fide-titled event, nine rounds, Sept 1-7, US$4,000 first prize, entry fees range from US$50 to US$200 depending on player’s rating.
> AmBank Malaysia chess challenge: Fide-rated event but player’s rating not to exceed 2200 points, nine rounds, Sept 1-7, RM2,000 first prize, entry fees range from RM75 to RM150 depending on player’s rating, 20% discount for players below 16.
> Merdeka national age group rapid open: seven rounds, Sept 5, medals as prizes, RM25 entry fee.
> Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng international seniors open: Fide-rated event, nine rounds, Sept 1-7, RM4,000 first prize, entry fees range from RM100 to RM400 depending on player’s rating.
> Astro Merdeka individual rapid open: seven rounds, Aug 28, RM1,000 first prize, entry fees are RM30 (adults) and RM20 (under-16 players).
> Astro Merdeka team rapid open: nine rounds, Aug 29-31, RM5,000 first prize, entry fees range from RM150 to RM375 depending on number of players in the team.
> Astro simultaneous chess display: Sept 3, 10 grandmasters and international masters against 250 players below 16, entry fee RM20 per player per Astro account.
> Malaysia blitz open: Sept 7, details to be announced later.
Details from Hamid Majid (% 019-315 8098, fax 03-4024 4337, aham@pc.jaring.my or aham4you@gmail.com).
UTP rapid chess
ReplyDeleteAs part of Universiti Teknologi Petronas’ convocation programme this year, there will be a national rapid chess open tournament at the main hall of the university’s campus in Tronoh, Perak, from Oct 9 to 10. The Malaysian Chess Federation and the Perak International Chess Association are the co-organisers with the university. Entry fees are RM35 for adults and players below 18, RM30 for players below 16, and RM25 for players below 12. Details from Saeksarn Sinnaso (saeksarnskill@gmail.com) or Wan Fatin Izyan (eyanzdaqpe@gmail.com).
Quah Seng Sun can be contacted at ssquah@gmail.com.
Because of the shift in the school holidays, the organisers of the Malaysia Chess Festival have also shifted the chess festival to accommodate more locals to play in some of the programmes.
ReplyDeleteThis year’s festival dates run from Aug 29 to Sept 7. All the traditional features are there: from typical one-day local rapidchess events to full-fledged international Fide-rated tournaments.
If you need to warm up your nimble mind and fingers before the big events start, the first item on the Malaysia Chess Festival calendar is the new one-day Merdeka individual rapid open tournament at the ballroom of the Cititel MidValley hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 28.
After that, you can then proceed to the traditional Merdeka team rapid open tournament. This event has a history going back some 30 years. It had its humble beginnings at the Wisma Belia before progressing to larger venues like the Putra World Trade Centre before finally finding its present home at the Cititel MidValley.
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2010/7/23/lifeliving/6700327&sec=lifeliving
Perak grand prix: The Slim River leg of the Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Perak grand prix chess tournament will be played at SMK Agama Slim River on June 27.
ReplyDeleteClosing date for entries: June 23.
To register, contact Yunus (013-390 8129), Hamisah (012-500 8723) or Ustaz Ismail (019-552 0391).
Further details at perakchess.blogspot.com
Stonemaster chess: The third Stonemaster amateur chess tournament will be played at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre, Wilayah Complex in Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Kuala Lumpur, on June 27.
For enquiries, contact Mohd Fadli Zakaria (014-231 2370 / email: seme_event@yahoo.com).
Telok Gong pro-am: Persatuan Penduduk Telok Gong will hold its pro-am tournament at Dewan Kampung Hamid Tuah in Telok Gong, Port Klang, on July 4.
Entries close on June 26.
To register, contact Zamri Sajari (016-277 5005) or Azhar Mohd Said (012-679 6193).
■ Quah Seng Sun can be contacted at ssquah@gmail.com.
Friday May 28, 2010
ReplyDeleteLong-running tourney
CHESS
By QUAH SENG SUN
The Selangor open chess tournament has been running without any interruption for a record 37 years.
EARLIER this month, I made an unplanned private day trip to Kuala Lumpur. One aspect of most of my unplanned trips is that one way or another, I find myself visiting the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre (DATCC) at the Wilayah Complex along Jalan Dang Wangi.
The place is such a magnet for me. It’s so conveniently located in KL that just about any chess player can visit it with ease. I was mildly surprised when I got there. The place had expanded. Occupying about twice the original floor space, the chess centre is now big enough to cater comfortably to any tournament with up to 120 players.
As luck would have it, the Selangor open chess tournament was going on that day when I visited the chess centre.
Good timing, I noted to myself, here was a perfect opportunity to see how the country’s longest-running chess tournament was being organised. This tournament has been running without any interruption since 1974, the year the Chess Association of Selangor (CAS) was formed.
That’s an unbroken stretch of 37 years. It’s a local achievement and I think this is mentioned in the Malaysia Book of Records, too. I remember having played in the first two editions of the tournament back in 1974 at the Royal Selangor Club, and in 1975 at a school in Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya. That school was used by the CAS for several years.
Today, the organisers are using the DATCC in Kuala Lumpur. I gathered from the playing list that there were 71 participants at this year’s event.
This was a reasonably big enough number for an event of this stature but I felt the organisers would have wanted to see more people taking part in their premier chess event.
Another thing that struck me about this tournament was that for the second year running, the Selangor open has been organised without any sponsorship deal. The prize moneys and the money for our expenses are being met mainly from the entry fees and partly from the association’s internal funds, I was told.
Well, it is a shame that the country’s longest-running chess event hasn’t been able to obtain any sponsor again. The association’s long-term sponsor pulled out last year, citing economic problems. But the tournament had to go on, so the CAS decided to use its internal funds.
This year, the sponsor must have pulled out again and left the association carrying their baby for yet another year.
However, the most impressive result was scored by 11-year-old Yeoh Li Tian who finished in joint fourth place with Loo Swee Leong, Muhd Syazwan Zulkifli and Tan Ken Wei.
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2010/5/28/lifeliving/6343412&sec=lifeliving
Chess workshops
ReplyDeleteWith the school holidays just around the corner, Polgar Chess Asia is organising several holiday chess workshops at Desa Sri Hartamas in Kuala Lumpur. Complete beginners with very little idea about playing chess can attend the beginners-level workshops from June 7-10 or June 14-15. Fees are RM280 per student.
For slightly more advanced players, there are workshops on learning strategies of attack and endgame fundamentals. The “strategies of attack” workshop is from June 7-8, while the “endgame fundamentals” workshop is from June 9-10. Fees are RM300 per student.
For more information, contact Louisa Yip of Polgar Chess Asia (03-2300 1680 or 019-258 6355).
Friday February 26, 2010
ReplyDeleteResident grandmaster
CHESS
By QUAH SENG SUN
Chess development in the country will be given a boost with the arrival of Bangladeshi grandmaster Ziaur Rahman.
THERE are a number of interesting chess activities coming up in the next two or three weeks.
First up is the news that we shall have Bangladeshi grandmaster Ziaur Rahman stationed here in Malaysia for the next one year. Ziaur is Bangladesh’s second grandmaster and the leading player in his country at present. He is expected to arrive on our shores sometime next week and will be based at the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre (DATCC) in Kuala Lumpur.
Why would we need a foreign grandmaster here in Malaysia? Well, it is to boost chess development in the country. We need someone who is experienced enough to be a catalyst to raise our game. Ziaur happened to be available and he was interested in the challenge.
Bangladeshi grandmaster Ziaur Rahman will be based in Malaysia for a year.
Moreover, he comes with good credentials. He is an active player in the regional chess circuit so he’s not one to rest on his laurels. He led Bangladesh at the Asian team chess championship in Kolkata last December, took part in an international chess event in Delhi in January, and made an impressive second-place finish in the Chennai open chess tournament this month.
Ziaur’s international rating of 2548 is high enough to suit Malaysia’s needs. We don’t need a super-GM here but we do need a professional who is strong enough to impart his knowledge and experience to our players.
Ziaur is a trainer at the Garry Kasparov School of Chess in Bangladesh and was the coach of the Bangladesh national women’s chess team. He has trained many junior players in his homeland and neighbouring India, and counts Sayantan Das, the current under-12 world chess champion who recently secured his first international master norm, as a notable student.
A comprehensive programme has been prepared to make full use of him during his time here. There will be various events and tournaments featuring Ziaur as the main man, with seminars and classes, including trips to reach out to all corners of the country.
Some of the activities planned will be individual chess sessions for serious players who want to improve their skill and understanding of the game, and group classes covering topics such as preparations for tournaments, opening, middle game and endgame techniques.
He’ll be giving chess seminars and training to suit all manner of chess enthusiasts, including parents, supporters, officials and organisers.
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ReplyDeleteSerious business
ReplyDeleteChess
BY QUAH SENG SUN
Training programme to groom young chess talents in the country.
BANGLADESHI grandmaster Ziaur Rahman (pic), who will be based in Malaysia for the next year or so, will soon be getting down to the serious business of training young chess talents in the country.
The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) has finalised a 15-month development programme stretching over six terms to groom young talents.
Each term of the MCF Young Talent chess development programme is self-contained and will last 30 days. Every programme will cover all aspects of chess training. These include assessment of a player’s capability and understanding of the game, an intensive study of the chess middlegame and endgame, and the important chess opening theory.
Ziaur will take the students through all the stages of chess preparation, identify their playing styles, their strengths and weaknesses, and look into areas of improving them. To achieve this, he will have a small group of local international masters to assist him during each term.
According to the MCF, the focus of the programme is to discover and develop junior chess talents in the country who are between eight and 14 years old as they represent the future of Malaysian chess. Nevertheless, older youths are welcomed, too.
The programme will run from this month until September next year. The first term is from July 24 to Aug 22 so that the first batch of students to finish the programme can also take part in the Malaysia Chess Festival scheduled for September.
There will be a fresh intake of students every term. The second term starts in September, the third term in November, the fourth in February next year, the fifth term in April and the sixth term in July. So there will be ample opportunities for readers to send their children to attend these intensive programmes.
The approach to each term’s programme is simple: group training for all students to learn the fundamentals of chess, and a personalised session during which the students are paired with the grandmaster or an international master who will take them through a more detailed study mode. This session will help the trainer fine-tune the student’s skills to the best advantage of his playing style and preferences.
At the end of the term, each student would have undergone a maximum of 68 hours of end-to-end chess improvement experience and learning.
The fee is capped at RM500, thanks to sponsors. Normally, such training programmes with grandmasters can easily cost between RM4,000 and RM6,000.
For enquiries or to request for the programme prospectus, contact Najib Wahab (016-3382542, najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com) or the MCF secretary Gregory Lau (012-9020123).