Oh What a Night!

And what a night last night was. It was worth staying up to follow our sweet victory over the Georgians. Right now I got this song playing in my head right. All we  need now is for  Ilham to re-pen the lyrics accordingly :)

Round 9 will see Malaysia up against mighty Russia. Yes, the one that produced so many world champions and great players like Morozevich, Kramnik, Svidler etc.

Russia is currently in second place having been over-taken by Armenia in round eight. They beat Kazakhstan 3-1 while Armenia white washed England to take a half point lead. Malaysia is tied for 5-7th placing with 18 points.

Russia will be out for full points to catch up with Armenia. And they are seeded first and have two grandmasters on the first two boards. It will be an upset to even get one point from them. I think it is good that we meet such a strong team in the pen-ultimate round rather than the last round. A loss now can be a blessing in disguise. It will give us an easier team in the final round.and a chance to finish in a good position with a big win.

Whatever happens in the next two rounds, our boys , JianWen, Li Tian, Elgin, Eng Chiam and Roshan, can hold their heads high. They have achieved more than what can be expected of them.

On another note, Li Tian is now sharing third placing on his second board. The unfortunate news is that one of them is the Russian whom he will have to beat (or draw) today to keep his personal medal hopes alive.