Wednesday 30 April 2014

41st SELANGOR OPEN, Participating.

Event INFO & Players' LIST
RESULTS

(Round 2, 9AM Match on Labour Day@1st May. Pict.courtesy of Andrew Ooi)

 (CAUGHT in the ACT! Round 7, 3PM Match on Saturday@3rd May.
 Pict.courtesy of Andrew Ooi)


( IS THAT MOVE FEASIBLE? Round 7, 3PM Match on Saturday@3rd May.
Pict.courtesy of Andrew Ooi)


UPDATE 3 @02/05:
A win for CP and drawn game for hAnA & I.
After 5 rounds, Still have not lost to a primary school kid...unlike Penang Open 2013.

UPDATE 2 @01/05:
Day of Action all round literally...on and off the table.

Driving to the venue for the 3rd Round, saw lots of people congregating near Dataran Merdeka for a rally/demonstration. Many were wearing red shirts with the wordings "Anti TPPA" and/or "Against GST" or both. As I drove by from BNM to Jalan Raja Laut, I estimate the crowd to be between 1-3k......but when I saw the helicopter above, I knew that the crowd is more than 10k.

Then there was the unfortunate incident to my opponent who fell down and knocked her jaws against the table. She was crying and complaining of pain and I'd wanted to stop the clock to give some time for her to recover but the arbiter said "continue as usual"....emmm...need to check with LTP what is the actual FIDE ruling on matters like this. After some time, seeing that she was still crying and complaining of pain - suggested a draw. (Mental Note: Next Time need to remind CP not to "lean" on chair and/or check chair's condition and/or stack the cair).

Good morning for CP and as for me after the 3rd round, some semblance of dignity is still intact as have still not lost to a primary school kid compared to last year's Penang Open.

UPDATE 1:
All lost their 1st Round match.
CP was grinning when my Queen was trapped....then he himself lost to a DC.

>>>>>>>
Had registered the kids for the 41st Selangor Open mainly as preparation for the ASEAN+ Age Group in early June which will be held in Macao. What a pity that there's not many classical events in Malaysia and that there's not a later classical event in Malaysia to prep. before AAG.

Reluctantly, will also be participating as part of a dare with CP.
The challenge was simply - " Ayah cakap banyak. You don't even play in any tournament & komen orang main. I win NAG, you have to play in Selangor Open ". Had agreed to the dare thinking he won't win....fortunately or unfortunately depending on whose perspective, he won! Am sure that fella wants to see me thrashed and humiliated so that i'll refrain from commenting further on his games as he was not happy with some comments I'd made during NAG especially on the untested opening which he'd never used before and still won. Grrrr......

Next time, I  must give some thought before accepting any dare from CP.








CHESS WEBSITES

Was googling for CP & hAnA's chess games when I came accross a new site with some comments posted i.e. at "chess games.com"

(1) CHESSGAMES.COM
CP: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=149666

(2) CHESS DB
CP: http://chess-db.com/public/pinfo.jsp?id=5714729
hAnA: http://chess-db.com/public/pinfo.jsp?id=5714494


(3) WYCC 2013
 http://www.worldyouth2013.com/playerbio/1090

Monday 28 April 2014

1st NATIONAL Title & 6th Overall Title for AMIR FAIZ b. AMIRUL - CHAMPION, 2014 PMB NATIONAL AGE GROUP C.C. (NAG 2014), Boys U-8 Category.

( Amir Faiz receiving his NAG 2014 U8 Pewter Trophy )


Official Results:- HERE.

Finally, after a few "minor" titles in local competitions and one at state level Faiz managed to bag a National title albeit at Age Group level. Even more memorable is the fact that the NAG competition i.e. NAG 2012 was where he made his competition debut despite being advised not to compete by a few.

2 rounds played on the final day. Going into the penultimate Round 7, he had a chance of finishing at least in the Top 5 if he wins. I knew he had an advantage once he started doing Ultraman gestures and walking around to see other players. Going into Round 8 and the final round, was not really perturbed as target set (i.e. to improve from last year's results, Top 3 Finish) had already been achieved as worst case scenario he'll finish Runners-Up.

Amir Faiz finished the championship with 8 wins in 8 rounds and emerged as the Champion of the Malaysian NAG Boys U-8 category...his Sixth Title in total and his FIRST as a 7-year old kid as the last title won  (U-9 Boys Champion, MSSKL) on 28th February was just a few days short of his 7th Birthday on 3rd March.


( NAG 2014 Backdrop)

His winning the U-8 category ensured 2 additional privileges.
First and foremost, inclusion into the Malaysian Junior team at the U8 Age Group(and by default U7) level and secondly, just as important is that organisers will pick up the tab for his accommodation and/or food in certain events. Last year, there were 2 age group events that I'm aware of where the organiser picks up the tab for 1 official representative in each age group i.e. 9th Asian Schools C.C.in Sri Lanka (9th ASCC) and the World Youth C.C.in Al Ain, UAE (WYCC 2014).
Perhaps, another privilege that might be extended is to be part of the National Team in the annual Malaysia-Singapore friendly in the U-9 category as last year's U-8 winner played on the U-9 board.


Having said the above, one thing I "don't like" about his win was that without telling anybody he tried a new opening which he had never played before in any competition. He witnessed this opening during the recent KL International Open in the game between Indian GM Venkhatesh MR against eventual winner and Top 100 player GM Sergei Tiviakov. Even after being told not to experiment, he must have followed one of his "6 Brains" and went ahead to play the exact "same" opening albeit in a 2-move variation... and just to prove me wrong used it in the critical R7 game as well. Grrrrrrr.!

After his win, with his trademark smirk of being able to prove me wrong, he claimed his incentive... amongst others - computer timeAm going to be out of pocket until the next month(at least) to fulfill my end of the bargain fpr other incentives and need to forego some meals at restaurants as well as Teh Tarik sessions then....so be it!

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all teachers/coaches/trainers who had trained him over the years and made Amir Faiz's victory possible starting from the team of instructors at Polgar Chess Academy in Sri Hartamas namely Beverly, Josephine, Marcus, Dirk and FM Peter Long. Indonesian Fathurahman, AM Fadzil Nayan, Nik Ahmad Faroqi and Ismail Ahmad who had coached him at various camps, sessions or competitions.
Since early 2014, a Special Thank You goes to Louisa Yip and Peter Long for their kind gesture in providing a chess scholarship in terms of classes and coaching sessions at Polgar Chess Academy-Sri Hartamas. Our TQ also extends to S.K. Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (1) teachers namely Ustaz Rosdi, Cikgu Siti and Cikgu Fatin as well as Cikgu Inawarni, Cikgu Zita(PK Ko-Ku) and Headmistress Puan Juriah Jupri; MSSKL teachers led by Cikgu Shuhairi and Cikgu Shamsuddin who selected him to represent KL in the recent MSSM event in Kuching despite him being the 'baby' of the team. Apart from the KL teachers Sofi, Azman, Azha, Haji Syariff, Fizan, Lisa and Ustaz Khairul. Also KL team mates who had given him pointers, sparred with him and more importantly tolerated his behaviour from Centralised training until Kuching.

Not forgetting Lim Tse Pin  who "spoke" for Faiz after his winning The Summit competition last year and Gregory Lau who paved the way for his first international assignment by calling to inform that Faiz have been chosen to represent Malaysia in the 9th Asian Schools C.C. 2013 by virtue of his 4th place finish in NAG 2013 at UTP, Tronoh.

Apart from Louisa Yip and Peter Long for their kind gesture credit must also be given to other sponsors who had made contributions in cash  and in kind namely FISSAD (M) Sdn.Bhd, Sheikh Ghazali (Pak Arab), OPA, Dato' A.Wahab J.Sidek, MAS, Y.A.Bhg.Tun Dr.Mahathir Mohamad, Polgar Chess Academy, KL Chess Association (KLCA) and Pengarah Pelajaran KL. 

Last but never the least to - chess friends, relatives and family members - THANK YOU to all for making this victory possible. SPECIAL MENTION goes to eldest and hAnA who by not wanting and allowing him to play with you all a few years back, "triggered" his interest to learn how to play the game.

Congratulations again to AMIR FAIZ Amirul @ The cHEss pIRATE - CHAMPION, PMB NATIONAL AGE GROUP C.C., Boys U-8 Category. Hopefully, there'll be many more titles to come.


Sunday 27 April 2014

Best Overall Drama - " ZARA "

The Fourth former's won the English Drama competition.
They bagged both the Seniors and Overall title. Considering that as Third Formers they won the overall drama title last year, am not really surprised.

This year, Eldest was the scriptwriter as well as Queen Rania.

Well Done.

Good Day for the Family.

Saturday 26 April 2014

CP's Words of WISDOM - Compilation!

Got nothing better to do whilst waiting for the kids to finish Round 6.
 Hence, for laughs....compiled CP's Words of Wisdom.

Enjoy.....WaQAQA!

1) " Nothing but Useless "
Note: Uttered in S.K.TTDI (1) - AM
(Original 6th April 2014 BlogPOST)

2)  " Ayah, tell you a secret. Actually, I have 6 Brains. That's why it's very difficult for you to beat me! "
Note: Uttered at Home
(Original 5th March 2014 BlogPOST)

3) " Faiz tak nak buang masa dengan National-Rated players. I'll play better and start winning with FIDE (rated) players!"
 Note: Uttered at 6th NJCC in JB.
(Original 1st December 2013 BlogPOST)

(4) "...Faiz penat. Kalau Faiz think lagi, Faiz punye brain Akan jadi kecik!"

(Original 7th February 2013 BlogPOST)

Tun M Is/Was a Chess Patron to MCF or Some Chess Organisation?



(Should Have Placed a Chessboard & Played a Round with Tun...WaQAQA)

95% of the time my work and the kids' chess escapades do not clash and I try to ensure that it stays that way or schedules are adjusted and/or accommodated accordingly. Worst case scenario, i'll just delegate matters to the Islamic Estate Planner.

Yesterday, whilst doing an exclusive with Tun M somehow or rather one of his staff or somebody in the audience or was it my imagination - passed a remark that Tun M used to be or is a chess patron to MCF or some chess organisation. Interesting remarks - have to check with MCF officials whether this is true!

Took the opportunity to get him to sign a book for CP as well. Also enquired - how's the lil one doing?


Friday 25 April 2014

NAG 2014 Begins Today.





UPDATE 2:
End of Day 2; not to be 4 hAnA - body not holding up. Unable to recover from 1st day.
CP...." dok cari penyakit", swinging here and there to his detriment! Performance wise, could be better!

UPDATE 1:
End of Day 1, hAnA is obviously struggling with her health. CP seemed to have fully recovered.
>>>>>>>

The 2014 National Age Group Chess Championship commonly referred to as NAG 2014, begins today at UNITEN Bangi.

As per last year, the carrot dangled is that Top 4 finishers will be the official representative for Malaysia in Age Group competitions overseas. For most parents this will not mean much as they still have to pay for their own fare in overseas competitions, a case in point is the ASEAN Age Group. However, in certain competitions like the Asian Schools or the World Youth C.C. 1 official representative from each country will be given FOC Accommodation and food sponsored by the organisers.

If not for NAG, I would not have any reason to go to UNITEN and was pleasantly surprised with the campus layout and the view from the hotel room. Due to work commitments namely a VIP interview slotted much earlier, had decided to stay at the hotel a day earlier and was glad that it was a good decision due to the hotel being fully booked.

All the Best to all players.

( As per normal, Despite being at Board 1...His focus were elsewhere )
*Pict. Courtesy of Kids4Chess*

Thursday 24 April 2014

Kids on MC.......& Names Missing from Initial NAG List


At the family clinic for the 2nd time this week. Kids have been on MC for the past 2 days and hAnA had to miss 1 day of Diagnostic Test. 

Concurrently, thanks to friends Z & S - I was informed that their names are also missing from the initial NAG 2014 Players' List at Tse Pin's blog. A SMS to Greg and subsequent tele-conversation resolved the issue.

Am hopeful that both recovers soon for tomorrow's NAG...and even then they've not been getting much practice. Que Sera Sera!
Good thing that they've been registered for the AAG and there's the ratings(NR) to fall back to in the event of any "performance disruption"!

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Kasparov is in Town.

Garry Kasparov is in Malaysia.

Hopefully, lots of good things can happen to Malaysian chess during his 3-day visit as well as MCF being able to fill their coffers with sponsorship packages ranging from 15-60k if not more (read HERE. Hence, lack of finances  for the next 2-3 years should NOT be an issue.

Players in NAG 2014 would be able to catch a glimpse of him during Friday's opening ceremony at UNITEN (Info HERE ).

Just wondering, who from the Government(if any) and MCF(if any), Greeted him at KLIA this morning?

Monday 21 April 2014

1st Quarter 2014 MOB Debate Report, Out

The Debate competitons' 1st Quarter 2014 MOB Report is Out.
Refer HERE

Participated in the following:-
(1) Swinburne Sarawak(SSIDC)      JAN. @Kuching    - SARAWAK
(2) Lim Kok Wing     (LIDC)           FEB. @Cyberjaya - SELANGOR
(3) K.Yayasan Saad  (KYSDC)       MAR.@MELAKA

Scores & Position as per above sequence are:- 375@5 Rounds (48th out of 153), 462@6 Rounds (22nd out of 403) & 381@5 Rounds (12th out of 143) respectively.

Scores and placing are definitely much, much better than last year.

Only competition NOT in the report is the PPM in Melaka (aka Hari Kecemerlangan SBP - HKSBP, Peringkat Selatan) which falls under the purview of the Education Ministry. Her team broke for this event as well and qualified for the National level competition which is to be held in Kuala Terengganu in May, if I'm not mistaken.

Perhaps the chess fraternity can come out with a similar report as per debate's report on event management and not just be concerned about the ratings game.

AFS Intercultural Exchange Programme (Antara Budaya Malaysia

As per normal, she'll mentioned things non-chalantly...thinking I'm not paying attention.

This time it's this Inter-Culture programme she'd applied for last year and which they'd only contacted this year.
. Refer HERE

Pit stop at Dengkil R&R to reflect. Perhaps time for a study visit abroad!?

Sunday 20 April 2014

GOOD RESULTS.......BAD WARM-UP!


The kids took part in the KL Age Group today.
Initially, it was announced that the event will be a FIDE-rated event (Read BlogPOST ). However, it was "scaled down" to a NR event. When queried as to why it was only a NR event as opposed to the earlier announcement, a teacher said that it was mainly due to not many players having A FIDE-rating and/or FIDE ID...emmm...

Anyway, both kids managed a credible showing.......hAnA finished Runners-Up whilst The CP...to quote his own words verbatim got a "Nothing But Useless" bronze (after tie-break with another 6.5pointer) again in the U-12 category this time..the third time in as many competitions starting with the Selangor Juniors U-8 on 30th March and followed by Polgar Juniors U-10 the following week.

However, the main concern is that despite the decent results - I do not think that it was a good last event warm-up for NAG. In the first place the 15minutes time is hardly sufficient...compared to the longer time frame for NAG, many players struggled. Even CP who'll normally have loads of time left lost his 2nd round game due to time drop. Furthermore, had intended for them to practice notating their moves in prep.for NAG 2014 but due to limited time the Notation plans was also scrapped.

Having said that, it was not the organisers' fault  but rather a coincidence that this event was to be the final event before NAG 2014 as the initial dates have been postponed by MCF due to Kasparov's visit to Malaysia. All in the organisers did a good job as event (incl.Prize-Giving) was completed before 6pm and players got to spar for 8rounds rather than the normal 6 or 7 rounds. The venue was good and definitely.......much, much better than previous events organised by MSSKL Teachers at The Pusat Kecemerlangan Sukan near Tasik Titiwangsa.

On hindsight should have just registered both of them for the Open category so that they'll get good match practice rather than just decent results.

Having said that,

(TBC).

Thursday 17 April 2014

NEW NR for 2nd QUARTER 2014 (April - 15 July 2014)

Official 2nd Quarter 2014 NR released by Tse Pin, Refer BlogPOST

Based on the Male Players List (Refer 15 APRIL DOCS ),
CP with a NR of 1340 is ranked No.3,996 (Top 33.19@34%) out of 12,040 Male Players.
An improvement of 139 points and 22% compared to Jan.2014 statistics of 1201 and 56% respectively.

hAnA on the other hand with an improved NR of 1311 is ranked 699 (Top 17.34@18%) out of 4,031 Female Players (Female 15 APRIL 2014 LIST). An improvement of 47 points and 5% respectively compared to Jan.2014 statistics (15 JAN.2014 Female Players' LIST).

Both have bragging rights at home, one in terms of "Ratings" while the other one in terms of "Top %". However, CP is not happy with his sis for being in a higher percentile despite him having higher ratings that he deliberately closed my laptop.....WaQAQA!


Breakdown:-
(1) The cHEss pIRATE;
Gained 50.7438 rating points  from his first ever chess foray into Kuching and also debut Kejohanan Catur MSSM &  87.9339 points from Selangor Juniors U-8.

Hence, NET GAIN of  138.6777 Rating points. Round up, 139 points.
Therefore, his new NR is 1340.

Though tired due to late night arrival at home from Kuching the night before, participating in the Selangor Juniors bore fruits i.e. 88points from a third place finish after tie-break with 3 other players. Because Just as important if not more important in view of the new NR Selection criteria set by MCF is that the expected points drop due to participation in the FIDE-rated 2014 KL International Open C.C. can be "cushioned" by this points gain as I'm expecting around a 100 points loss from KL Open.

(2) hAnA
Despite taking part in 6 events, hAnA gained 47.193 points from the only NR event she'd participated i.e. Selangor Juniors U-12. Though why both the MSSKL Zone & State Finals' Team and Individual event is not a NR event is difficult for me to fathom.

Hence, NET GAIN of 47.193 ratings points. Round up, 47 points.
Therefore, her new NR is 1311.

Sunday 13 April 2014

41st SELANGOR OPEN, Registered.

UPDATE 2 @22/04:
Latest Players' List on 22/04 HERE (51pax, 2013 @73pax)

Entrance Fees (Discounted) Paid today via ARB cheque at MBB-TTDI, KL branch.
Latest Players' List HERE (40pax. 2013 @73pax).


UPDATE 1 @19/04:
Latest Players' List  HERE

>>>>>>>
Was in 2 minds whether to register the kids especially CP for the 41st Selangor Open.
Even eldest had argued " Ayah, you should give Faiz his childhood ". I suppose she's right as he's been doing chess non-stop for the past 2-3 months leaving his other desired activities like Badminton,  Fencing and Archery in the back burners . First there was Bangsar Zone-Team & Individual event in February followed by March's chess month i.e. KL State Finals...followed by 2 weeks of Centralised Training for MSSM, 8 days in Kuching for the MSSM and finally 8 days for the KL Open.....not forgetting a few Rapid events in between like the Shah Alam Age Group, KL Juniors U-18, Selangor Juniors U-8 and Polgar Juniors U-10.

However, taking into account that classical events are few and far in between (next would most probably be the Malaysian Open in  September) added with the fact that they'll have some longer time matches practise from NAG and in view of June's ASEAN+ Age Group participation in Macao S.A.R had decided to register them anyway by sending an email to LTP.

Anyway, have never taken part in the Selangor Open so why not!?
Most probably will be in "hibernation" mode after the Selangor Open...see how matters develops!?

Saturday 12 April 2014

2014 KL INTERNATIONAL OPEN C.C. - CP's Reflections

( Final Day of KL Open. Picture taken Just prior to start of Final Round )

Playing in the 2014 KL International OPen C.C. was a historic event for CP.......and some of it were for the wrong reasons.

Fact 1:
At an average FIDE rating of  2113, the STRONGEST event he had ever entered.

Note: Previous strongest Open tournament he'd played was the 2013 AMBank Amateur Open at an average rating of 1492. Whilst the Penang Open-Challenger Section in 2013 and 2012 was rated 1366 and 1401 respectively. The NJCC(Boys) rated 1459 and 1563 in 2013 and 2012 respectively.

Fact 2:
FIRST Time he had played an International Master(IM) player I.e. IM Borsos Brogdan (2247) from Ukraine.

Note: Only other titled player he had played before was FM Y.Modi from South Africa during the World Youth Chess Championship(WYCC) 2013 in Al Ain, UAE.

Fact 3:
At 2247, the IM is also the HIGHEST Rated  player he's played against.

Note: Previous highest rated player he'd played was 2089 during the DCC Golden Special in January 2013.

Fact 4:
First time he had played in a tournament WITHOUT recording any win.
He had 4 opportunities to secure a win but only converted half of it.
After R8, he was finding shelter under a table in the hotel lobby ....for want of better words - contemplating his poor performance.

Note: Previous worst was during the 2012 NJCC in KL where he recorded only a win and finished last in the field. In a game he'll always remember, he managed his only win despite being a Queen down. Even in his debut tournament i.e. 2012 NAG he'd managed to record a few wins.

Some of CP's opponents during the 2014 KL Open. Pictures courtesy of Blogger Andrew Ooi.

( Round 1: IM Borsos Bogdan, 2247 - UKRAINE )

( Round 2: W. Poompong, 2078 - THAILAND )

(Round 3: Tan Jung Feng, 1911 - KL )

(Round 4: Greenwood Martin, 1587 - ENGLAND )

(Round 5:Lim Ming Xian, 1729 - KL )

(Round 6: Sagar Siya, UR - INDIA )

(Round 7: Arif Alauddin Wafi, UR - KL ) 

(Round 8: Mukhriez Shah, UR - Selangor )

Pictures of CP during the 2014 KL Open, courtesy of Andrew Ooi:

(Round 1)

(Round 3)

(Round 4)

(Round 7)

CP & Indian Prodigy FM Aravindh Chithambaram at the 2014 KL International Open

( CP & FM Aravindh. Taken Just after the Prize-Giving Ceremony )

There were many highlights for CP playing in the 2014 KL Open.....strongest event ever, playing against an IM for the first time, highest rated player played thus far etc. etc.

Another highlight was the opportunity for CP to "hang out" with upcoming Indian prodigy FM Aravindh Chithambaram, who secured his 2nd GM Norm (...and 5th IM norm) at the KL Open.

FM Aravindh's story HERE

Hopefully, CP can take a few cues from Aravindh.

Friday 11 April 2014

PUBLIC SPEAKING Workshop, Attending.

Was looking forward to some downtime over the weekend after a hectic week of work and being involved with the 2014 KL Open when eldest informed that she'd registered for a Public Speaking programme to be held at KDU.

Apparently, the "carrot" dangled by MIDP is the opportunity to represent Malaysia at International Public speaking events.

Wednesday 9 April 2014

TV3 Shoot @TTDI




A TV Shoot to feature chess was done at TTDI for a TV3 weekly programme called "Banananana".

Was made to understand that the programme will be aired in the morning of Sunday, 4th May 2014. I suppose players taking part in the 41st Selangor Open and Shah Alam Rapid event will miss it.



Read 13 NOV.2012 BlogPOST.

Tuesday 8 April 2014

KL Age Group, Registered!

Just registered for the KL Age Group which will be held on 20th April at the JPWP-KL off Jalan Duta. KL players who'd participated in the  recent MSSM at Kuching, Sarawak and brought back 6 Gold medals and change are given free entry into the competition as part of their reward.

Looking forward to a last good warm-up event before NAG...5 days later.

POLGAR JUNIORS 2014 (NR), The Supposed Last Prep.B4 NAG 2014!


 ( CP Happy despite finishing 3rd on Tie-Break in U-10 category & getting a "Nothing but Useless" - Bronze. )

( hAnA, finishing 9th in U-12. Prize given by Top 100 GM Sergei Tiviakov )

( Picture courtesy of Andrew Oi )

Kids played in the NR event i.e. Polgar Juniors yesterday which was held at the same venue of the 2014 KL International Open C.C.  Event INFO & PLAYERS LIST

The event was supposed to be the last warm-up event prior to the National Age Group C.C. (NAG 2014) which was supposed to be held immediately after the 2014 KL Open i.e. 12-14 April...that was before MCF in its infinite wisdom decided to reschedule the event to 25-27 April at UNITEN Bangi (Event INFO) to coincide with Kasparov's visit to Malaysia.

( Round 6 v. Chan Kim Yew, U-12 )

hAnA played in the U-12 Open event  and finished in the Top 10 with 4 Wins and 2 Losses over 6 rounds, an improvement compared to last week's Selangor Juniors position but not necessarily in terms of opponents' strength. Last week in the Selangor Juniors they played over 7 rounds and hAnA secured 4 1/2points

( U-12 Results. hAnA finished 9th )

CP was registered to play in the U-10 event for a few reasons namely:-
(1) Did not want to "spoil" his classical game in the midst of the KL Open
(2) Prepare for NAG 2014 by playing him against tougher players as opposed to the U8 players;
(3) xxx
Had actually, wanted to register him for the U-12 event but decided not to do so as I'd assumed he'll be tired after the 1st 3rounds. On hindsight, since this was not the last event before NAG I should have just registered him for the U-12 event.

(Diajeng Theresa, CP's opponent. Also playing in KL Open & played in WYCC2013 Girls U-10)
*Picture courtesy of Blogger Andrew Oi*

(U-10 Round 6 & Final Match
v. Selangor MSSM U-12 Team Board 2 Player & WYCC 2013 U-8 Team Mate)


Had to leave early just before Round 5 to send eldest back to College. Wished I was there for the final round when the pairings were published. The IEP said that a few people watched the Round 6 match played by CP on Board 2. She was rather bemused that CP was not focused on his game and was not only looking at other boards but was also walking to other parts of the playing venue to look or search for god knows what. 



After losing to a girl i.e. Indonesian  Diajeng Theresa Singgih  (WGM Irine's sister) who was in Al-Ain for the WYCC 2013 as well but winning against Selangor's MSSM U-12 Team Board 2 player and getting the Bronze Medal (after Tie-Break, 2nd & 3rd had the same points) - " Do You Think Bronze Medal Is Nothing But Useless, CP?"
(CP's Words of Wisdom - Read BlogPOST http://amfachess177.blogspot.com/2014/04/nothing-but-useless-cps-words-of-wisdom.html


(Prize Winners with Top 100 GM i.e. GM Sergei Tiviakov)


Sunday 6 April 2014

" NOTHING but USELESS " - CP's Words of Wisdom!


" NOTHING but USELESS "

Been meaning to write this post for quite some time but have been rather busy catching up with work after the Kucing sojourn and since last week final prep. in organising the 2014 DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah KL International Open C.C. at OCM Hotel - KL (...in pursuit of an IO norm!).

Today, I have to write this first before my notes on the Polgar Juniors.

Last Monday.....or was it Tuesday???....most likely Tuesday because Monday was a holiday for the KL Chess Team as a reward for returning with 6 Golds from MSSM Kuching(31st March 2014 BlogPOST ). Anyway, the day is not as important as the story.

The Islamic Estate Planner went to see CP's school teachers to discuss a few matters and handover the chess medals and Certificates of Achievements won by CP. The medal from Sarawak and Selangor Juniors U-8 medal. Medals/certificates will the be "re" presented again during the weekly assembly.

One of the lady teacher praised and congratulated CP for winning the medals. Instead of saying "Thank You", his response - "...Bronze medal(s) are NOTHING but USELESS." I am sure that a few jaws must have dropped. Would have liked to see the facial expressions of everyone there. Alahai Faiz....where did you get this idea???!

Friday 4 April 2014

1st Ever Game against an International Master (IM)

( Playing Black v. IM from Ukraine )

( IM Borsos Bogdan, 2247 - UKRAINE )

(Pictures courtesy of Blogger Andrew Oi)

CP played his first ever game against an IM i.e. IM Borsos Bogdan (2247) from Ukraine.
Good experience Hopefully, next time he'll lasts longer than 2hours.

0 - 0 - 2 against Ukrainians. First was during WYCC 2013 at Al Ain. One fine day, he'll beat a Ukrainian.

Refer Round 1 pairing HERE

Note: Previous highest player played was 2089 during DCC Golden Special in January 2013.







KL International Open C.C. 2014, Begins TODAY

UPDATE 2:
GAMES

UPDATE 1:
Pairings Out, Check HERE

CP have been paired to play against a Ukrainian player.





>>>>>>>

The 2014 KL Open begins today....in what I believe to be the strongest Open event held in Malaysia for a couple of years i.e 2113.

All in there are 88 players, representing 19 nationalities.

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Klang Valley Events Galore - April 2014

Events galore in April. Klang Valley players preparing for NAG can take part in the following:-

4 - 11: KL International Open @ OCM Hotel, KL (FIDE-rated)
Players LIST

6: Polgar Juniors @OCM Hotel, KL
Event INFO
Players LIST

5-6: Klang Parade C.C. @Klang - SELANGOR
Event INFO

20: KL Age Group @JPWPKL, Jalan Duta

25-27: NAG @UNITEN, Bangi - SELANGOR

30 - May 4: 41st Selangor Open @ Wilayah Conplex - KL (FIDE-rated)
Event INFO


2014 DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah Kuala Lumpur International Open Chess Championship, Organising.

Event INFO
2014 KL International Open Fb Page

The IEP met with Class Teacher & PK Ko-Kurikular yesterday to get approval for CP to participate. The HM had earlier given verbal approval before the school holidays. Should be good exposure and experience for him in his toughest event yet at 2096 (refer HERE ). Previous toughest event would be either AMbank(1492) or, Penang Open-Challenger(1366) in 2013.

If all goes well, hopefully can get my second IO norm after December 2013 IO Seminar.
Created a new blog for my IO norms & IO pursuit, HERE