6th NJCC 2013 - Chocolates!

A first at any competition we've been to - Customised " Event Chocolates ".

Thank You and Well Done to the Organisers.

CATUR 3C, Registered & Withdrawn.

Event INFO.

Had registered the kids and myself a few weeks back for the event today in Subang Jaya organised by Cerdik Catur Enterprise. Events organised by CCE are normally well run and offer many prizes and kids seemed to do well in CCE's events.

However, since they were tired and complaining - I gave them 2 options; either take part in 3C event or go for classes....to which they chosed the latter.

WORLD Debate Selections (World Schools Debating Championship) Begins Today!

UPDATE 2 @ 07/12:
There will be 3 rounds of debates conducted today. In between there'll be classes.

UPDATE 1 @ 06/12:
Around 200 aspiring debaters shortlisted from the usual suspects I.e. Boarding Schools all over Malaysia and Day Schools in the Klang Valley turned up. There were a few absentees...perhaps due to the east coast floods or school holidays generally.

There were 2 exams conducted, one of which is on general knowledge.


>>>>>>>
Event INFO
Earlier Post, HERE

The Selection process for World Schools Debate in 2014 starts today at IIUM, PJ.
I felt a sense of deja vu when sending Amira and her friends as I'd used to study at the Management Centre in IIUM PJ from 1995-1998...just before the main campus moved to Gombak. Many years earlier I'd debated against the then SMAWiP (Sekolah Menengah Agama Wilayah Persekutuan) before they moved to Labu, NS due to IIUM taking over the location.

The selection process is to pick the Malaysian representatives for the 2014 competition.
Eldest said they are required to sit for exams today.

All the best to Amira and the rest.

6th NATIONAL JUNIOR C.C. 2013 (6th NJCC) - A Summary.

Event INFO
Official RESULTS:- OPEN.  &. GIRLS
Event Reports:- Peter Long, Ed Fong, Raymond & KL Chess Association(KLCA)


Last Year's 5th NJCC in KL SUMMARY

Overall, in terms of venue and participation I would have to say that this year's NJCC is much better than last year's event. In terms of players' participation there were 93 players (68 Boys & 25 Girls) compared to xx players ( xx Boys & 19 Girls) in 2012.

The kids individual performance can be summarised as follows:-

If in NAG 2013 (Report HERE), hAnA had a better performance then the cHEss pIRATE...I would say a slight performance reversal occurred in JB.

hAnA
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hAnA improved her points tally by 1.5points to 4.5points compared to last year's meagre 3.
Having said that, despite her points improvement she finished at 15th place as opposed to her 13th
place starting rank. Though 4.5points was shared with another 3 players (Position 12-15), the bye received in round 5 did not help her cause. As such, target of a Top 10 finish was not met.

Concurrently, from the National Ratings perspective She also did not play as per ratings -
She'd lost to 2 players rated lower than her and drew with 2 players also rated lower. Her only result of note is her draw with a Penang player rated 1471(156rating points higher than her).

A 4.5pts haul next year (w/o a Bye) & a Top 10 finish  is the minimum target for now.


CP
----

Starting from last year's bottom place Finish with a measly 1 point...THEORETICALLY The cHEss pIRATE  should improve. And improved, he did!

From a National Ratings perspective - he played slightly better than ratings.
He beat the only person paired against him who is rated lower. Against 3players rated higher than him - he drew 2(1258 & 1437) and won 1(1275). Most notable result was in Round 7 when he drew against a player rated 222 points more than him I.e. 1437.

He had the good fortune of playing against "stronger" players rated  1549(R1), 1374(R2), 1431(R5), 1437(R7), 1507(R8) & 1546(R9). Hopefully, he's learnt from playing them. We had the biggest laugh though in post-game analysis when 2 players tried to do a 3 or 4 move checkmate...to their detriment. I believe they are Johor boys coz I've not seen them before.

Hopefully, he can further improve his points tally next year to at least 3.5pts.

SUGGESTIONS

As players participating in National events in 2013 are required to get the go ahead from the respective state chess associations, One suggestion for the organisers is for them to list the State Associations the players are from.

Furthermore, for an event calling itself "National" - the lack of Malaysia and State flags on display and perhaps the singing of the national anthem leaves much to be desired. 

...Going into the 9th & Final Round of 6th NJCC 2013 @JOHOR BAHRU

Going into the 9th and Final Round of the 6th NJCC in JB:-
(1) hAnA has 3.5pts & ranked 18th out of 25 players.
hAnA's PERFORMANCE UPDATE

(2) The cHEss pIRATE has 3pts & ranked 51st out of 68 players.
CP's PERFORMANCE UPDATE


Compared to last year's 5th NJCC held in DCC, KL (Read HERE) - hAnA improves her points count by at least 1/2 point. However, the objective given to her of a top 10 finish is very unlikely. On hindsight, perhaps I should have listened to her protest of not wanting to play in an event during her birthday.


The cHEss pIRATE on the other hand improves his points tally by 2 points compared to the single point earned last  year as the Youngest participant albeit in bottom position. This year, I believe he's still the Youngest participant and he'll finish around his 59th ranking place if not better and will most certainly avoid the last place finish. Having said that, a mid-table finish is also unlikely.


As for me, the "pricey" JB stay is starting to make a dent on the wallet and coupled with the wet weather.......am looking forward to head for home soonest possible.

CP's Words of Wisdom!!! Part 2.

CP's words of wisdom, Part 1  - HERE (during NAG 2013).

The day started with a glimmer of hope, CP was awake around 6AM and wanted to take his shower.

Then during the first round, he was actually 1 knight up against a NR 1500++ player before 2 blunders in 4 moves cost him the game after playing for more than 1 hour. On my side, I was just relieved that he's not the first one to lose or finish his game.

Had hoped for a better performance against the xx ranked player during the 2nd round in the afternoon but it was all over after 35minutes.

After 2 rounds and 2 losses in the 6th NJCC, I asked The CP - "When are you going to start winning?"

His reply left me speechless for a while. Whilst playing a game on the iPad he said nonchalantly -
 " Faiz tak nak buang masa dengan National-Rated players. I'll play better and start winning with FIDE (rated) players!"

Huh??? Young Man, (he was already giving me his trademark smirk) - even if you win the next 2 or 3 games in a row I don't think you'll play against any FIDE-rated players.

HiGHEST Competition Venue, Ever.

Located on Level 35 of the Capital Square Office Tower block, the venue for the 6th NJCC is the highest ever competition venue for both hAnA and the CP.

The view from level 35 is rather  engaging as one can see 2 countries I.e. Malaysia and Singapore.
The only downside, Internet connection is almost non-existent.

 ( CIQ Complex )

 

( View of JB and Singapore )

 ( Amansari Hotel, 15mins Walk )

Prior to this the highest competition venue for the  kids would have to be a tie between DCC at Wilayah Complex and Insofar Chess at AMPAC, Shah Alam.......though the CP did pointed out that he did play chess at 35,000feet or so ( Read HERE ) - to which I replied that it's not a competition.