MSSNS State Finals @Rembau-N9, Begins TODAY!

( SMKA Dato Haji Abu Hassan Sail School Hall - Venue for the N9 State Finals in Rembau N9 )

( TKC U-15 Captain Amira Fathina bt. Amirul. One of only 2 Representative from TKC who qualified for the State Finals )

( Amira Fathina with the other Representative from TKC i.e. NurLiana whose Playing in the U-18 Category )

( Briefing cum Motivational Talk by Teacher I/C from Seremban prior to the start of Afternoon Round )

FINAL UPDATE @ 01/03/13
AF1: Player No.988. 3 WINS - 4 losses/7 Games.
Joint 28th on 3Points. 32nd after Tie-Breaker. Results, HERE

R1: lost
R2: WON
R3: Bd.15. B v. Nur Aimi Mohd jamsari @ Jempol, lost
R4: lost
R5: Bd.19. B v. Nur syafinaz matri @ Kuala Pilah, lost
R6: Bd.23. W v. Nur Hazwani Shamsul @ Port Dickson, WON
R7: Bd.18. WON


UPDATE 3: 27/02 (1045hrs)
Status @ 1 WIN & 2 losses/3
Called during EGM to update that she'd lost to a Malay opponent. Not exactly sure where she went wrong.

UPDATE 2: 26/02 (1800hrs)
Status @ 1 WIN & 1 loss/2
Called fm College Public Phone. Arrived back safely by around 4pm.
Fell asleep during the 2nd Round but still won. Voiced her frustration that she was actually winning in the 1st round but failed to consider opponent's bishop. Had KFC for lunch and jalan2 in the town in-between rounds.

UPDATE 1: 26/02 (1030hrs)
Status @ 1 loss/1
Amira called using her teacher's hp to wish hAnA good luck and informed that she'd arrived in Pedas Rembau after getting lost a few times along the way. She'd also lost the 1st Round to somebody who she didn't know came from which zone.

>>>>>>>
The MSSNS State Finals begins today.
The event will be held in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan.
Competition Schedule & Other Info HERE

Amira Fathina will be representing the Seremban zone in the U-15 category.
By now, she should have left college or is in Seremban already with the team and headed for Rembau.
If you're reading this Amira - Just Play Your Best. Hope to receive some updates tonight or via any N9 chess blogs.

MSSWP Chess 2013 - Bangsar Zone @Sri Hartamas, Begins TODAY!

LAST UPDATE @01/03/13

( SK Hartamas )


hAnA finished Runners-Up in the U-12 Individual event for Bangsar Zone.

( Amira Farhana bt. Amirul, Individual Competition - RUNNERS-UP U-12 Girls Category )

24th SELANGOR JUNIORS 2013, U-14 & U-10

It was a crowded venue for this year's Selangor Juniors Open.
Perhaps the next time the organisers can prepare adequate seating for spectators and also sell light refreshments to boost revenues.

I wanted to leave late i.e around 8.45-9am but after double-checking with the Event Info Sheet, it states Registration from 8-8.30AM and Round 1 starts at 9AM but the 9AM start never transpired be it in this or any other NR event I'd attended...the only exception might be The FIDE-rated 4th Penang Heritage City event in December last year, other FIDE-rated events and NAG competitions.
To be fair, a late start as compared to advertised times is the norm in chess events in Malaysia. I suppose (as a parent commented during SK Sri Hartamas Age Group last year), being 30minutes late in starting a chess event in Malaysia is considered good.Having said that, things would normally be on track again by the 2nd or 3rd Round.

Results HERE  and HERE(U-14) & HERE(U-10)
Blog Reports: HERE & HERE2.

hAnA
-------
Last Year she finished 13th out of 42 players in the U-10 Category. Results HERE.

However, this year she's playing in the U-14 category.
Though in a tougher group I consider this event a blessing as it's just the right prep prior to the Bangsar Zone competition, having been in hibernation for 3weeks since NAG 2013@UTP, Tronoh.

(Picture: Courtesy of Selangor Chess blog)

Seeded 34th out of 71 players, she finished 25th in the U-14 category and received an Achievement Cert for being 3rd in the U-12 category. I can see that she's visibly elated after also getting RM20 for Best U-12 in the Blitz competition on Saturday......a far cry when despite doing better than expected, she was a bit down after placing 6th in the recent NAG 2013 and missing out on a prize by just 1 slot. Hopefully, her good run continues in the Bangsar zone competition starting today.



cHEss pIRATE
----------------

Last Year,the cHEss pIRATE placed 27th out of 42 players with 3points ( Results HERE )

This year, despite being seeded 14th - he finished 16th out of 49players with 4points secured from 4Wins & 3 Losses - An improvement of 1point and 11places compared to 2012 results.



Footnote:
After the U-10 prize-giving ceremony was over and seeing his sister receive a Certificate of Achievement for the U-12 catgory, the cHEss pIRATE came over to me and I can see his eyes was a bit teary. I suspected why he was a bit teary and asked him - "Kenapa Faiz?". Before answering, he wiped the one or 2 tears first and trying to cover the fact that he was teary he said...." Faiz tak dapat hadiah! ".

...It's the FIRST time ever he showed some "sad emotions" for not winning. (Note: The only other time was during SK Sri Hartamas Age Group last year BUT that was coz he lost to the sis in the final round despite throwing an all-out assault to checkmate her ).

Pitied him and was trying to find ways to lift his spirits when an idea came to mind to compare against last year's 23rd Selangor Juniors results. Switched on the i-pad and browse through chess-results site. Hence, the results comparison outlined above. After explaining his performance and coupled with the fact that sis hAnA gave him her "angpow prize" of some stationery his spirits were lifted...by literally taking sugar from the fridge, Aarghhh!

In a way, though missing out on a Certificate of Achievement by 1 spot and even then by 1/2point in Tie-Breaker 1...I am glad this happened as I can see the....for a want of a better word "his wisdom" (Hikmah Allah) in the scheme of things.

Am hoping that the cHEss pIRATE "competitive spirit to excel" is born in this event as normally he is non-chalant as to whether he received any certificates and/or prizes. Perhaps this incident will be a good story to motivate him for next week's MSSKL Juniors U-9 category to be held at PKSC - Titiwangsa.

MSSKL Juniors Chess Open 2013 (KL Scholastic), Registered

Age Group events for the U-8 or U-9 category is not that common.
However, on 3 March 2013 there are 2 events being organised within a 5KM vicinity of each other I.e. The MSSKL Juniors 2013 at Pusat Kecemerlangan Sukan, Jalan Maran @Titiwangsa-KL which offers a U-9 category apart from U-12, 15 & 20 and the 24th Selangor Juniors Open@DCC Centre, Wilayah Complex-KL which offers the U-8 age group event in addition to U-12 & U-16.

Though initially inclined towards participating in the CAS event, the following phrase in the Event Info Sheet is hard to ignore and tipped my decision as to which event to sign up the kids for:-
" Additional benefits in the playing in this event
* Based on their performance, KL players who do well will be considered for this year's MSSKL State teams
* The top 6 KL players for each category will be given FREE entry into play the KL Junior Masters 2013 to be held on 16 & 17 March 2013."
Refer MSSKL JUNIORS 2013 INFOSHEET 

Hence, registered the kids via sms with Cikgu Sofi(019-3636293) for the event which is organised by the MSSKL.
Cikgu Sofi promptly replied to my SMS at 5:03pm confirming the kids participation and giving details of the payment mode.

Hopefully, it'll be a good birthday celebration for the cHEss pIRATE.

DCC Centre Opening & DCC Speedy Gonzales Blitz

The new-look DCC Centre is officially opened.
Had actually decided much earlier to become a member...mainly due to the many proposed competitions planned to be held there either by DCC itself or others like CAS & INSOFAR.
There are many packages available depending on one's situation. I Paid RM200 for the Family Package(Parents and 2kids).
More info on the Centre can obtained at the following:-
(1) www.chess-Malaysia.com OR,
(2) http://datchessconnections.blogspot.com/


Much changes have occurred since the kids participated in January's FIDE-rated DCC Golden Special (Read HERE).
For a start the colours are definitely more vibrant...the areas are partitioned well...and for me(and perhaps other parents escorting their kids) the library will be a good place to do my writing and catch with some work - hopefully a sofa and separate study table can be added.

...Having said that the finishing touches needs to be "ramped-up". Personally for me the priority would be in the following sequence:- Prayer Room, Members Lounge and of course the Parking Discount (as advertised). Perhaps a Notice Board and additional signages would help.

Blog Reports, HERE & HERE2

>>>>>>>
Opening Blitz
-------------
As part of the Centre's opening promo, those who signed up as members can play in the Opening Blitz FOC as opposed to paying RM15 Entrance Fees. Kids seemed happy to take part in their 2nd Blitz event after the post-2012 NJ Blitz at the same venue.

Decided to take part for 4 reasons:
(1)FOC
(2)to keep the kids happy/kids' challenge
(3)Never played in a Blitz event before; and

(4) More importantly, though the event is "casual" in nature - I need to "experience" competition environment.

As parents, we or rather I tend to be "picky" on kids in post-game analysis (if ever it's done) I.e. You should have move this or that, why didn't you move this piece or that, didn't you see a checkmate, pin, fork etc etc coming. All I can say to "competitive" parents (and as a reminder to myself)is that try playing yourself and then you'll have an inkling of what the kids are up against.

Results HERE.

Initially, when the first list came out my name was not in.
I thought...GOOD, can always tell the kids I wanted to play but since my name was not in the list - So what to do & of course put the blame on Najib! However, b4 I knew it - hAnA had already approached Najib about the name omission and informed Najib 'bout it. Perggghhhh!

More To Follow
> Personal Experience
More for the Younger Generation and Fast Thinkers, Playing against kids, Good Chat w opponents-Syawal / Azlan / Fadli, 1move draw


> Observations / Analysis
Playing against the kids will hurt the kids game!

3 Weeks Hibernation is OVER.

A week is a long time in politics....for chess players, 3-weeks in hibernation is like eternity.

After a 3-week hibernation ( Read HERE ), the kids are "awake" for another chess season. It is anticipated that the short season is from today till the end of MSSWP Chess event(s) in March.

First to be awakened is the eldest Amira Fathina - Being chosen to represent the Seremban Zone, she had to leave college by 7.30-8.00am to attend the Seremban Zone Centralised training at a School in Seremban which is just nearby to the site of her former college in Bukit Merbah. Apparently, 2 students from her college made it to the Seremban zone team I.e. Kak Lia(if I'm not mistaken) for the U-18 category and her (U-15 category).

Next to proceed to the "battlefront" is the normal trio of hAnA, the cHEss pIRATE and Ayah - attending the Opening Day Blitz at the newly renovated DCC at Wilayah Complex..

I consider the timing to be almost perfect as prep for hAnA's Bangsar Zone event starting on Monday at S.K.Seri Hartamas. So the prep for hAnA should be today's 15 rounds Speedy Gonzales Blitz, followed by the Selangor Juniors U-14 event the following day and finally the Bangsar Zone competition on Monday.

Kejohanan Catur Terbuka Wanita SelangorKU, Registered

UPDATE 1@ 01/03
The Women's ONLY event have been postponed to 24/03 to be held at the Shah Alam SUK building.
Details HERE

>>>>>>>
Details,CATUR WANITA SELANGORKU 2013

Women's ONLY chess competitions are very few and far in between.
So when the Stonemaster site promoted such an event I showed it to hAnA who agreed to participate without much hesitation.

More delightful was the fact that entrance fee is ONLY RM5.
So when Stonemaster Fadli turned up to participate in the DCC Speedy Gonzales Blitz, hAnA paid him the fee and registered for the event.

Should be a good father and daughter outing without the cHEss pIRATE who'll be following the Mum to ENSTEK.

Looking for DEBATE Coach!

I am presently looking for a Debate Coach.

Preference will be given to those:-
(1) WITH experience in the British Parliamentary debate style; and also,
(2) Elocution/Public Speaking contest format.
(3) A track record of coaching winners(Top 3) in any competition would be helpful.
(4) Familiarity with the Malaysian Debate Ratings will also be a plus point.

Students' AGE ranges from 6 - 15 years, with emphasis on the 15-year old.

Coaching VENUE will be around the Damansara-SELANGOR & TTDI-KL area.

Coaching TIMES will most probably be once or twice a month, during the weekends.

Present Manager used to be a debater as well and had won the Prime Minister's Trophy(Piala Perdana Menteri)for English Debate.

Email me at amfa177@gmail & c.c opportunities@ahmCREATES.com.my to register your Coaching interest.

NAG 2013, Summary

(cHEss pIRATE Playing on Board 1. Picture: Courtesy of Seni Percaturan blog)

A heavy early morning downpour enabled me to partially complete one of the 2 articles I'd intended to do during the self-imposed chess break.

Early INTENTION / PLANNING, HERE
TARGETS/KPI, HERE
NAG 2013 STORY, HERE & HERE2
Overall & Daily INCENTIVES, HERE
ARBITER Seminar, HERE


This is the second NAG competition that my Family and I are attending/participating in after last year's NAG in KL.

NAG 2013 event Quotes:-

(1)
" ...Faiz Penat! Kalau Faiz think lagi, Faiz punye brain Akan jadi kecik!"
Note: Having done an analysis of CP's 3rd Round game against Ryan, I'd discovered that he had offered Ryan a draw whilst 2 Knights and a Pawn up and he knows that he's winning. When queried why he'd drawn when he could have won - the above quote was his reply!

(2)
" You Can Take Away My Kingdom  
BUT, You Can Never Take My King "


Overall, despite the distance the venue itself for a first-timer like me is rather impressive and much better than NAG 2012 venue held at Wisma OCM - KL.

>>>>>>>
More to Follow(NOT sure when):-

EVENT ORGANISATION
MC...emm...could be better with her pronunciation.
Pairings - Nik responded well to my suggestion that Pairings for the U-8 Category should not be on top.
Montage during the closing ceremony was good and the first I'd witnessed in a chess event

STORY
Blown Tyre before Sg. Bernam. KM393

NATIONAL ARBITER SEMINAR
Trainer's Notes - Peter Long, HERE
Participant's Notes:
- Nasrul, HERE
- Cikgu Shamsuddin, HERE

Results & Prizes

Performance of Polgar Players:
HERE

CHESS BREAK, till 23 Feb.2013

The AMfa family (including Blogger) will be taking a break from all chess and chess-related activities until Saturday, 23rd February 2013.

After continuous participation since November 2012 starting with the Nf6 Challenger in TTDI-KL to 1st Summit Open@Subang Jaya, 18th Kepong Juniors, RSC Juniors@KL, Insofar Scholarship@Shah Alam and another RSC Juniors@Bukit Kiara in 2013 as well as participation in 3 FIDE-rated events i.e. 4th Penang Heritage City-Challenger Section, 5th NJCC & 2013 DCC Golden Special as a lead-up to NAG 2013@UTP-Tronoh, Perak....IT's Time that hAnA, the cHEss pIRATE and Ayah gets a well-deserved break to concentrate on academic and other Co-Curricular matters (for the kids) and for me, Book/Article/Script-writing as well as developing the newly set-up Islamic Finance Advisory business called QIBLAH CONSULTING.

This is especially so when the cHEss pIRATE said - , "...Faiz penat. Kalau Faiz think lagi, Faiz punye brain Akan jadi kecik!"..after the conclusion of the 3rd round at NAG 2013 when I queried him as to why he'd offered a draw whilst 2 Knights and a Pawn Up.



Next event will most probably be the advertised 15-rounds Blitz during DCC opening on Saturday, February 23rd.

Blog and Blogger will also be in hibernation till then...maybe I'll write a Summary Report on NAG 2013 for my own records/journal and Part 2 of Understanding Malaysian Chess Ratings as I'd promised Lim Tse Pin to do it after his email reply to my queries.


The only person that will be "active" is Captain Amira Fathina who will be involved in the MSSNS Inter-Zone chess championship in Negeri Sembilan.

See You All Again on 23 FEBRUARY 2013.

MSSNS Seremban Zone, U-15. 6 out of 7!

Whilst writing the previous post, Amira Fathina (who is the newly appointed U-15 Chess Team Captain) called home.

As per her normal non-chalant self, she said - "....Ayah, I made the team! Won all 3 games today....so I won 6 out of 7 rounds!"

Am assuming she made the Seremban Zone Team.

CONGRATULATIONS TKC U-15 Team Captain AMIRA FATHINA on your success in the Seremban Zone competition.


...Good week all around vis-a-vis chess for the family.

Discussion with 3 Teachers!!!

UPDATE FEB - After CNY:
It seemed despite the support of the teachers, the appeal to participate was not allowed by the PPD.
Guess exposure would have to come via other means.

>>>>>>>

Had a discussion with 3 teachers on an arising matter for the upcoming MSSWP competition.

Hopefully, matters can be resolved soon.

MSSNS Seremban Zone

Eldest just called to inform us that she'd played in the MSSNS Seremban Zone chess competition today.
The competition venue was the same as last year. I was quite surprised that she's playing in the Seremban zone as I'd assumed that she'll be playing in the Nilai zone.

She won 3 out of 4rounds, her only loss was to Priya...she seemed non-chalant about it though!
Before ending the tele-conversation, she informed us that there'll be 3 more rounds to be played tomorrow.

NATIONAL AGE GROUP CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2013 (NAG 2013), Begins!

BOYS U-08 Update & Results, HERE
GIRLS U-12 Update & Results, HERE2

( Amir Faiz bin Amirul, Receiving his 4th Place Prize from VIP on the UTP Stage )

( Amir Faiz Amirul, Showing his Certificate of Achievement for Finishing 4th in NAG 2013 )

FINAL UPDATE
The cHEss pIRATE placed 4th with 5 1/2points. The KPI I'd initially set (read HERE & HERE2 ) is achieved...and a bit more!
A more than 100% improvement in both points and position as compared to his maiden chess competition debut at NAG 2012 where he finished 18th with 2 1/2points. Last year, I had a "heart-stopping" moment when he was happy to offer a draw to an opponent after taking the Queen - This year, he had "mellowed down" slightly and offered a draw to an opponent despite being 2knights and a pawn up citing - "...his brain will get smalller, if he thinks further!". Who knows, if he had won the game instead of drawing it, he could have been placed 2nd or 3rd.

Despite finishing 4th and earning a slot in the Malaysian U-8Group Team(as per MCF Circular), the cHEss pIRATE played true to ratings.

In my opinion, His elder sister hAnA had a better tournament.
Despite not being placed in the top 4 to enable selection to the National U-12 Team, hAnA had performed better than I'd expected in her New Group(U-12 Girls) or the Group of Seasoned National Juniors or State Juniors who had played at the U-12 level last year as compared to hAnA who was playing in the U-10 Group in 2012.
From a lowly-ranked 14th, she placed 6th with 4 1/2 points. Along the way, she drew with a player rated 231points above her and defeated a player rated 193points better than her. Based on ChessResults her Performance rating for this event is 1351 (though I'm not sure how it was derived). Hopefully, she can carry this momentum to the Bangsar Zone - MSSWP Chess Competition.

UPDATE 6@03/02/13 - 0624hrs
Going into the 7th round, both hAnA & the cHEss pIRATE have 3.5points.
Both are placed 6th, hAnA is joint 6th whilst Faiz is 6th on his own.

hAnA is just 1/2 point away fm matching last year's points haul albeit in a much, much tougher group.
With the exception of the Penang player TDZ, everybody seemed to be canceling out each other in this "Group of Experienced National/State Players".
In the meantime, Faiz is already 1point better than last year's final point tally of 2.5points. Unless a spectacular collapse happens, He'll definitely improve on last year's 18th place finish. Will he get his mindcraft game??...Only his play...and mood, can answer this.

UPDATE 5@02/02/13 - 1324hrs

UPDATE 4@02/02/13 - 0944hrs

UPDATE 3@2345hrs - 01/02/13
Note: Having done an analysis of CP's 3rd Round game against Ryan, I'd discovered that he had offered Ryan a draw whilst 2 Knights and a Pawn up and he knows that he's winning. When queried why he'd drawn when he could have won - his reply, "...Faiz penat. Kalau Faiz think lagi, Faiz punye brain Akan jadi kecik!"....Aaaarggghhhh!

hAnA
R8, Bd.6: B v. UR - Vaiishanavi. WON
R7, Bd.2: W v. 1676 - Putri Munajjah (SGR). lost. Note: 2nd lost after SA Age Group,2012
R6, Bd.6: B v. 1395 - Ho Chen Ee (KL). WON. Note: lost to her in 5th NJCC
R5, BYE
R4, Bd.6: B v. 1259 - Khaw Ker Shean (PP)
R3, Bd.8: W v. 1191 - Raudhah(Kedah). WON, checkmate
R2, bd.6: B v. 1303 - Pavithra Thanabalan (SGR). lost Note: won against her in 5th NJCC
R1, Bd.4: W v. 1433 - Mok Shu Zing. Fighting Draw.

cHEss pIRATE
R8, Bd.2: B v. 1202 - Muhammad Alif (PHG). WON, in more than 50moves. The longest game he played in NAG, at more than 50minutes.
R7, Bd.4: W v. UR - Samuel Ho (PP). WON
R6, Bd.2: B v. 1242 - Tin Shan (PP). lost in 9moves
R5, Bd.3: W v. 1169 - Umar Shamsuddin (KL). WON, checkmate after 16moves in under 26minutes.
R4, Bd.1: B v. 1331 - Wong Zi Yue (KL). Lost, checkmate after blunder & 30moves in slightly under 30mins.
R3, Bd.2: W v. 1001 - Ryan Lee (PP). Draw, too tired to think even though 2 Knights and a pawn up.
R2, Bd.3: B v. UR - Vasanthakumar Vasuthevan. WON, Checkmate
R1, Bd.4: W v. UR - M.Amjad. WON, 3 Illegal Moves.

>>>>>>>
NAG 2013 Begins TODAY at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Tronoh Perak.
Considering that this is my maiden visit to UTP, I find the campus rather impressive.

The Opening Ceremony was officiated by Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib in his capacity as President of the Malaysian Chess Federation(MCF).