Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Penang wins 2016 Inter-state Championship

The 2016 Inter-State Chess Championship was held at M.S. Garden Hotel in Kuantan, Pahang from 25th-28th November. The Open tournament had 14 teams and played a six round Swiss while the Womens had only six teams and a round-robin replaced the Swiss.

This tournament has always been hotly contested between Selangor  (FM Nicholas Chan, FM Lim Zhuo Ren, IM Jimmy Liew, Marcus Chan and NM Kamal Abduallah) and Penang (Looi Xin Hao, FM Wong Yinn Loong, IM Ooi Zhi Yang, Tan Khai Boon and NM Ng Tze Han). This time, the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association (Lye Lik Zang, IM Mas Hafizul, Zaidan  Zulkipli, CM Ng Jen Sheng and, WFM Tan Li Ting) secured the services of IM Mas Hafizul and they were seen as possible contenders. In a bizarre move, they put youngster Lye Lik Zang on board one instead of IM Mas and I believe this to be a mistake which eventually put them out of contention. If Lye Lik Zang was on third or fourth board, K.L. would have a fighting chance for the championship.

In round 3 , Kuala Lumpur lost narrowly to Selangor.


The match between Penang and Selangor was in round 4 and this was clearly going to decide the championship. Nicholas Chan lost a winning game to Looi Xin Hao while I was caught in the opening by new IM Ooi Zhi Yang. The other two boards were losing for Selangor as well but the Penang players surprised by offering draws to secure the match.


Kuala Lumpur was paired with Penang in the fifth round and they had to win to get back into contention for the championship. In order to move IM Mas to first board they had to rest Lye Lik Zang. IM Mas was held to a draw and they had to be satisfied with a 2-2 result.






In the womens event, it was also clear that Selangor and Penang will be competing for the championship. The two met in round four and the former beat the latter narrowly to decide the first place.



The final crosstable -



Tuesday, November 22, 2016

33rd National Age Group: Malaysians performance

The  33rd National Age Group Championships 2016 from 19th to 22th November organized by Singapore Chess Federation(SCF) saw a number of Malaysian participants. Below are the results of the players.




The best performer is Cheah Kah Hoe who came 2nd in the Under 12 Open. Soo Sheng Yin took 3rd placing in the Girls Under-10.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

33rd National Age Group in Singapore

455 players from 9 countries are pitting their wits in the 33rd National Age Group Championships 2016 from 19th to 22th November organized by Singapore Chess Federation(SCF).
The event takes place at Bartley Secondary School and sponsored by the QCD Group.
A total of 8 major age group titles are up for grabs ranging from the Under 8 to the Under 20 age categories.


The  33rd National Age Group Championships 2016 is now on-going from 19th to 22th November 2016. Organized by the  Singapore Chess Federation(SCF) and held at Bartley Secondary School. The QCD Group is sponsoring the event. A total of  8 major age group titles from the Under 8 to the Under 20 age categories are being contested.

I found it rather interesting that the championship is not limited to Singaporeans but open to all nationalities. There are reportedly 455 players from 9 countries. Malaysia has 20 players in all the categories. The best performers after three rounds are Emir Rasyid in the Under-10, Cheah Kah Hoe in Under 12 and Soo Sheng Yin in the Girls Under 10. All three have full points of 3/3.



Friday, November 18, 2016

2016 National Scholastics Announced

The 2016 National Scholastics will be held from 3-4 December 2016 at Putrajaya. More details below

VENUE: Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah, presint 1, Putrajaya

ORGANISER: Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF)
Co-Organise : Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah Putrajaya ( SGE)
: Institut Kemajuan Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (IKIAM)
: Perbadanan Putrajaya
: Majlis Belia Kawasan Putrajaya

SPONSOR: Pihak Berkuasa Kemajuan Pekebun Kecil perusahaan Getah (RISDA)

FORMAT: 25 mins + 10s (9 Rounds)

Contact: En. Sophian 011 3950 5981 ( nationalscholastic@malaysiachess.com )

Entry Fees : RM 50

Payment: Persekutuan Catur Malaysia
CIMB PWTC Current Account: 8000649725

There are several age categories: Open U09, U11, U13, U15, U17 (+Best Girls). Medals and cash prizes are awarded to the 1st-10th placing and for Best Girl in each category.

Please note that the closing date is 29th November 2016. This is part of the Selection Policy for the Asian Schools or World Schools Championships for 2017.

To find out more, click here

Thursday, November 17, 2016

A lesson in attack

A training game against one of my students. The student gives the teacher a lesson in attacking.

I am playing black against this young boy.


16. a5

A positional move from a young student. I had only expected him to defend the d-pawn.

16...Nxd4 ?!

Already a mistake according to the computer. 16... Nxe3 17. Qxe3 was better
for white according to him but I begged to differ. 

17. Bxa6 Bxa6 18. Bxd4 O-O 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Qd4+ f6

20... e5! 21. fxe5 Bxf1 22. Ng4 c5 (22... Be2 23. e6+ f6 24. exd7 Bxg4?  25. Nxf6 Rxf6 26. axb6 surprisingly leaves black helpless. 23. Qe3 g5 24. Kxf1 Black stands better although this was
difficult to evaluate over the board. 

21. Rd1 Rf7 22. Nd6

This looked attractive although I was more worried of (22. axb6 Qxb6 23. Qxb6 Nxb6 24.
Rda1 Bb7 25. Rxa8 Bxa8 26. Ra6 Rb7 27. Nc5 Rb8 28. Ra7+ winning

 22... Re7 23. Ng4 Rf8 24. Rg3

Very unpleasant position for black after this.

24... Kh7 25. f5! exf5 26. Nxh6 !! f4

26... Kxh6 27. Nxf5+Kh7 28. Qh4+ Kg8 29. Rxg6+ Kf7 30. Rg7+ Ke8 31. Rxe7+ Kd8 32. Qh7 Bc8 33. Qg7 is also hopeless. 

27. Nhf5 fxg3

27... Re5 28. Qxf4 Rxf5 29. Qxf5 ! pointed out by white afterwards.

28.Qh4+ Kg8 29. Nxe7+ Kg7 30. Qxg3 Ne5 31. Ndf5+

31. Nxg6 would have ended it too.

31... Kf7 32. Nxg6 1-0




Thursday, November 10, 2016

French Defence: Positional Understanding

IM Jimmy Liew is one of Malaysia's foremost expert on the French Defense. He will be talking about postional understanding, pawn structures, good/bad squares etcs. Seats are limited. Kindly confirm early.

Date: 13/11/2016
Time: 11am - 1pm
Venue: DATCC, F-3A-09 Starparc Point, Jalan Taman Ibu Kota, Taman Danau Kota, Setapak, K.L.
Fee: RM30 per person
Trainer: IM Jimmy Liew Topic: French Defense: Positional understanding.


Please bring your own chess set, notebook & chess clock (if available)