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).