Ukraine drew their match with Israel to win the 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk. Russia 1 took the silver also drawing their match with Spain.
Israel takes the bronze on tie-break. Hungary have the same match-points by beating Poland but they lose the bronze on game points.
The womens tournament is won by Russia 1 who beat the Russian second team. They were convincing as they won all their eleven matches. China is clear second after beating Ukraine 3-1. Poland and Georgia ties for the third spot after drawing each other 2-2. It looks like Poland will take the bronze on tie-breaks. This means Georgia which have always done very well in the women olympiad goes home empty handed.
Showing posts with label Khanty-Mansiysk Chess Olympiad 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Khanty-Mansiysk Chess Olympiad 2010. Show all posts
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Final Round live commentary
Live games are here
All games still jockeying for position in the opening.
Board 1 Al Sulaiti Ali - IM Mas Hafizulhelmi
Black transposes to a Benko Gambit which white decline. Here is a struggle for the queen-side squares - b5 and c4. Whoever can control these squares better will have the advantage.
Live games show Mas lost? Don't know why but sometimes the live relay has problems and errors. Hope it is a mistake.
Board 2 IM Mok Tze-Meng - Bukhalaf Khalil
Black cannot do much with his broken king-side pawns. Mok now have space advantage and potentially strong bishop on g2.
Mok must win this to win the match. If the black queen leave the f5 square then Nf5+ will win the f6 pawn (and the game).
Board 3 Ayyad Maher - FM Long Peter
White's tenth move 10.e4 is rather unusual in this position. He weakened the d-pawn voluntarily. Black should equalize now with 15...Nxe5 16. dxe5 Qc7 and exchange the light-square bishop. White will have the weak e-pawn and slightly worse bishop in an ending.
Now 17. Rd7 can be answered with Rfd8 pinning the rook.
Peter got a good position in a Q+B V Q+B ending
Peter has a better ending but it is not winnable
Peter agrees to draw. Up to Mok now. Mok may have something now.
Board 4 FM Ayyad Husain - Gregory Lau
13...e4 14. Nd2? inviting e3 and white have to capture. Instead 14. Nd4 to answer 14...e3 with 15. f3. White's position looks bad now.
Nice tactic from Greg, 23.Nd5 winning.
Greg finishing brilliantly. 25..Kxf8 26. Qd8+ Re8 27. Bg7+ Kg8 28. Qxe8+ mate
Summary:
Greg winning, Peter drawing, Mas has lost. Mok has to win his game to take the match.
Mok is winning so we win the match by the narrowest margin, 2.5-1.5
Our women's team also secured a win through Nabila and Mi Yen who both won and Roslina draw. Nabila beat a Women Grand Master.
All games still jockeying for position in the opening.
Board 1 Al Sulaiti Ali - IM Mas Hafizulhelmi
Black transposes to a Benko Gambit which white decline. Here is a struggle for the queen-side squares - b5 and c4. Whoever can control these squares better will have the advantage.
Live games show Mas lost? Don't know why but sometimes the live relay has problems and errors. Hope it is a mistake.
Board 2 IM Mok Tze-Meng - Bukhalaf Khalil
Black cannot do much with his broken king-side pawns. Mok now have space advantage and potentially strong bishop on g2.
Mok must win this to win the match. If the black queen leave the f5 square then Nf5+ will win the f6 pawn (and the game).
Board 3 Ayyad Maher - FM Long Peter
White's tenth move 10.e4 is rather unusual in this position. He weakened the d-pawn voluntarily. Black should equalize now with 15...Nxe5 16. dxe5 Qc7 and exchange the light-square bishop. White will have the weak e-pawn and slightly worse bishop in an ending.
Now 17. Rd7 can be answered with Rfd8 pinning the rook.
Peter got a good position in a Q+B V Q+B ending
Peter has a better ending but it is not winnable
Peter agrees to draw. Up to Mok now. Mok may have something now.
Board 4 FM Ayyad Husain - Gregory Lau
13...e4 14. Nd2? inviting e3 and white have to capture. Instead 14. Nd4 to answer 14...e3 with 15. f3. White's position looks bad now.
Nice tactic from Greg, 23.Nd5 winning.
Greg finishing brilliantly. 25..Kxf8 26. Qd8+ Re8 27. Bg7+ Kg8 28. Qxe8+ mate
Summary:
Greg winning, Peter drawing, Mas has lost. Mok has to win his game to take the match.
Mok is winning so we win the match by the narrowest margin, 2.5-1.5
Our women's team also secured a win through Nabila and Mi Yen who both won and Roslina draw. Nabila beat a Women Grand Master.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Round 11 pairings for Malaysia
| Open | ||||||
| 89 | Bahrain (BRN) | Rtg | 85 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | |
| Al Sulaiti Ali | 2134 | IM | Mas Hafizulhelmi | 2422 | ||
| Bukhalaf Khalil | 0 | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | |||
| FM | Ayyad Maher | 2160 | FM | Long Peter | 2302 | |
| FM | Ayyad Husain | 2165 | Gregory Lau | 2159 | ||
| Women | ||||||
| 72 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | 73 | Egypt (EGY) | Rtg | |
| Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | Elansary Eman | 1836 | |||
| WCM | Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 | WGM | Mona Khaled | 2103 | |
| Marmono Roslina | 1933 | WIM | Basta Sohair | 2030 | ||
| Fong Mi Yen | 1905 | Elgohary Fayrouz | 1820 | |||
Our mens team field the same players as in the last round. I wondor why. Peter was more effective on fourth board and should deliver something. Combined with Mas and Mok power, the match should be sealed. Now both third and fourth board are weakened.
Womens team plays Egypt who is sporting a WGM on second board! Strange.
Final Round 11 on Sunday 3rd October
The final round of the 2010 Chess Olympiad will start tomorrow (Sunday 3rd October). All the top teams are looking around them trying to figure out what they can achieve and what the rest will try for.
A win could move you up twenty places, a draw perhaps ten and a loss...well you don't really want to know what a loss will do to your placing.
Yes, it does not get tougher than the last round. This is the last chance to get your best placing throughout the tournament or to secure it. Your final placing will be in the history books - better known as OlimpBase - for all future generations to see and admire (or laugh at). This is the last round or as I like to call it, the "money" round.
In the women's olympiad, Russia 1 has already secured the gold. They won an incredible ten matches i.e every round. On the first table Russia 1 play the Russian second team. So what will happen here? Will there be a fight or will they "lose" to Russia 2? We will be watching.
China, Ukraine, Poland and Georgia join Russia 2 in the race for the silver and bronze medals. China plays Ukraine and needs only a draw to secure the silver on tie-breaks.
In the Open section, Ukraine leads with seventeen match points. They are folowed by Russia 1 (16 match points) and Israel (16 match points).
Ukraine plays Israel. Ukraine needs only a draw to secure the gold. The Israelis have a chance at bronze if they draw.
The final round will start earlier as per tradition. The round will start at 11:00 AM local time and 1:00 PM Malaysian time.
A win could move you up twenty places, a draw perhaps ten and a loss...well you don't really want to know what a loss will do to your placing.
Yes, it does not get tougher than the last round. This is the last chance to get your best placing throughout the tournament or to secure it. Your final placing will be in the history books - better known as OlimpBase - for all future generations to see and admire (or laugh at). This is the last round or as I like to call it, the "money" round.
In the women's olympiad, Russia 1 has already secured the gold. They won an incredible ten matches i.e every round. On the first table Russia 1 play the Russian second team. So what will happen here? Will there be a fight or will they "lose" to Russia 2? We will be watching.
China, Ukraine, Poland and Georgia join Russia 2 in the race for the silver and bronze medals. China plays Ukraine and needs only a draw to secure the silver on tie-breaks.
In the Open section, Ukraine leads with seventeen match points. They are folowed by Russia 1 (16 match points) and Israel (16 match points).
Ukraine plays Israel. Ukraine needs only a draw to secure the gold. The Israelis have a chance at bronze if they draw.
The final round will start earlier as per tradition. The round will start at 11:00 AM local time and 1:00 PM Malaysian time.
Round 10 Malaysia draws Wales
| Open | ||||||
| 85 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | 118 | Wales | Rtg | |
| IM | Mas Hafizulhelmi | 2422 | 1-0 | FM | Jones Richard S | 2373 |
| IM | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | 1-0 | Bennett Alan | 2154 | |
| FM | Long Peter | 2302 | 0-1 | CM | Jones Iolo C | 2294 |
| Gregory Lau | 2159 | 0-1 | Young Alan | 2009 | ||
| Women | ||||||
| 75 | Chile (CHI) | Rtg | 72 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | |
| Abarca Gonzalez Damaris | 1991 | 0-1 | Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | ||
| WFM | Toro Pradenas Maria Jose | 1951 | 1-0 | WCM | Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 |
| Jorquera Cabello Valentina | 1970 | 1-0 | Wahiduddin Nurul Huda | 2020 | ||
| Cortes Arias Mariela | 1772 | 0-1 | Fong Mi Yen | 1905 | ||
A round of mixed fortunes for our men and women.
The men team could only draw with Wales which only seeded 118th position. Mas and Mok managed to save some honor after both Peter and Greg lost.
Peter had what looked like a superior position but suddenly collapsed. Fatigue probably. Did he really overlook Bxf2?
Greg blundered in time trouble overlooking white's Ne4. I really did not expect that from him.
Mens team plays Bahrain in the last round, a very weak team (well, we are standing below the 100th position at the moment). If they win the match (and why not) they will improve on the last olympiad where we were 96th.
Womens Team plays Egypt. The good news is that Alia won her last game and makes her WIM norm. That is according to me. It's up to the team captain or manager to work that out.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Round 10 live commentary
For live games go here
Board 1 IM Mas Hafizulhelmi - FM Jones Richard S
Board 2 Bennett Alan - IM Mok Tze-Meng
Mok plays his Modern Defence with 6..Ne4 which results in a weak pawn aftr 7. Nxe4 dxe4. I think he played this before probably in Turin Olympiad if not mistaken.
Mok sacrifices an exchange for two pawns. I do not see a clear winning plan for Mok.
8:28 PM: Mok has created a mating net out of nowhere! Nice. White forced to give a piece to stop mate.
Board 3 FM Long Peter - CM Jones Iolo
Peter plays his English Opening.
Peter has pressure on his opponent position. He will probably convert it.
Board 4 Young Alan - Gregory Lau
A French for Greg and white gambits a pawn with 6. h4. If you do not know the line, you can get into trouble very easily.
Greg declines to win the pawn, in this line his king goes to f8 and he gives up option of castling.
Greg finally grabs the pawn but he will be under pressure from the open lines and his uncastled king will be a source of worry for him.
Greg takes the e-pawn - he has to - otherwise his position will be permanently cramped. Now he just need to survive. Both players in time trouble now as they have to reach the 40th move.
8:30 PM: Greg in his element now in time trouble. I mean he is better in time pressure than his opponent.
8:41 PM: Looks like I spoke too soon. Greg blundered horribly 31...Rh8??
Summary:
7:49 PM: Things are not going well. Nobody have a clear plus yet. Greg is in great danger as he has not solved his king-side problem, the rook remains on h8. Peter appears to be losing some pawns. Mok does not look like he can make something of his position.
8:11 PM: Right now the only one who have chances of winning is Mok, by virtual of his totally imbalanced position. Peter might be lost to be followed by Greg. I can hardly bear to watch this.
8:31 PM: Peter is lost now. Mok and Greg turning their game around. Mas starting to show his class. Maybe a 2.5-1.5 win or 3-1 even.
8:42 PM: We have to depend on our experienced duo to draw this match now.
10:00 PM: Malaysia draw with Wales 2-2
Women's game:
Alia has some advantage (more active pieces).
Alia about to win a pawn! She choose the wrong way to win the pawn and lost it back. Now her win is slipping away
Today's good news is that Alia's opponent managed to blunder and lose rook for knight. Alia with R v B winning ending now!.
10:35 PM: Alia wins
Board 1 IM Mas Hafizulhelmi - FM Jones Richard S
Board 2 Bennett Alan - IM Mok Tze-Meng
Mok plays his Modern Defence with 6..Ne4 which results in a weak pawn aftr 7. Nxe4 dxe4. I think he played this before probably in Turin Olympiad if not mistaken.
Mok sacrifices an exchange for two pawns. I do not see a clear winning plan for Mok.
8:28 PM: Mok has created a mating net out of nowhere! Nice. White forced to give a piece to stop mate.
Board 3 FM Long Peter - CM Jones Iolo
Peter plays his English Opening.
Peter has pressure on his opponent position. He will probably convert it.
Board 4 Young Alan - Gregory Lau
A French for Greg and white gambits a pawn with 6. h4. If you do not know the line, you can get into trouble very easily.
Greg declines to win the pawn, in this line his king goes to f8 and he gives up option of castling.
Greg finally grabs the pawn but he will be under pressure from the open lines and his uncastled king will be a source of worry for him.
Greg takes the e-pawn - he has to - otherwise his position will be permanently cramped. Now he just need to survive. Both players in time trouble now as they have to reach the 40th move.
8:30 PM: Greg in his element now in time trouble. I mean he is better in time pressure than his opponent.
8:41 PM: Looks like I spoke too soon. Greg blundered horribly 31...Rh8??
Summary:
7:49 PM: Things are not going well. Nobody have a clear plus yet. Greg is in great danger as he has not solved his king-side problem, the rook remains on h8. Peter appears to be losing some pawns. Mok does not look like he can make something of his position.
8:11 PM: Right now the only one who have chances of winning is Mok, by virtual of his totally imbalanced position. Peter might be lost to be followed by Greg. I can hardly bear to watch this.
8:31 PM: Peter is lost now. Mok and Greg turning their game around. Mas starting to show his class. Maybe a 2.5-1.5 win or 3-1 even.
8:42 PM: We have to depend on our experienced duo to draw this match now.
10:00 PM: Malaysia draw with Wales 2-2
Women's game:
Alia has some advantage (more active pieces).
Alia about to win a pawn! She choose the wrong way to win the pawn and lost it back. Now her win is slipping away
Today's good news is that Alia's opponent managed to blunder and lose rook for knight. Alia with R v B winning ending now!.
10:35 PM: Alia wins
Ukraine maintains lead
I have been concentrating too much on the Malaysian results that I forgot to mention the "real" tournament.
Ukraine maintains its lead despite Ivancuk losing his first game (to Mamedyarov) yesterday. They lead with sixteen match points a slim one match point margin. Next is Russia 1 and France (!) with fifteen match points each. This could be France best outing so far, but it remains to be seen if they can maintain because today they have to face Ukraine!
Israel, China, United States are not far behind with fourteen match points a piece.
Some crucial matches are on today. Ukraine versus France, China plays Russia 1, United States square off with Israel.
Sergey Karjakin is in great form for Russia 1 with 7/8 and undefeated with a performance rating of 2957. Quite amazing. If he were still playing for Ukraine, it could possibly be over as far as the gold is concerned. Unfortunately for them , he changed his federation to Russia.
The entire Russia 1 team has only lost two games. Former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov has drawn all his seven games so far.
So many games to follow. I have to watch Alia's game as well to see whether she will achieve her norm.
Ukraine maintains its lead despite Ivancuk losing his first game (to Mamedyarov) yesterday. They lead with sixteen match points a slim one match point margin. Next is Russia 1 and France (!) with fifteen match points each. This could be France best outing so far, but it remains to be seen if they can maintain because today they have to face Ukraine!
Israel, China, United States are not far behind with fourteen match points a piece.
Some crucial matches are on today. Ukraine versus France, China plays Russia 1, United States square off with Israel.
Sergey Karjakin is in great form for Russia 1 with 7/8 and undefeated with a performance rating of 2957. Quite amazing. If he were still playing for Ukraine, it could possibly be over as far as the gold is concerned. Unfortunately for them , he changed his federation to Russia.
The entire Russia 1 team has only lost two games. Former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov has drawn all his seven games so far.
So many games to follow. I have to watch Alia's game as well to see whether she will achieve her norm.
Round 10 board pairings for Malaysia
| Open | ||||||
| 85 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | 118 | Wales | Rtg | |
| IM | Mas Hafizulhelmi | 2422 | FM | Jones Richard S | 2373 | |
| IM | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | Bennett Alan | 2154 | ||
| FM | Long Peter | 2302 | CM | Jones Iolo C | 2294 | |
| Gregory Lau | 2159 | Young Alan | 2009 | |||
| Women | ||||||
| 75 | Chile (CHI) | Rtg | 72 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | |
| Abarca Gonzalez Damaris | 1991 | Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | |||
| WFM | Toro Pradenas Maria Jose | 1951 | WCM | Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 | |
| Jorquera Cabello Valentina | 1970 | Wahiduddin Nurul Huda | 2020 | |||
| Cortes Arias Mariela | 1772 | Fong Mi Yen | 1905 | |||
Its a bird! Its a plane! Its ....Super Sub!
"Super Sub" is Mas references to Greg in round eight when Greg saved Malaysia much embarrassment. Khai Boon gets a rest but no such luck for either Mok or Peter.
We should have no problems scoring some match points in this round.
The women will have a balanced match with Chile who is seeded 75th. Alia will have to win her game to get her first WIM norm. A draw will leave her having to win against an opponent with a 2400+ rating in the last round. It is now or never for her.
Round 9 results for Malaysia
| 89 | Andorra (AND) | Rtg | 2.5-1.5 | 85 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg |
| GM | De La Riva Aguado Oscar | 2521 | 1-0 | IM | Mas Hafizulhelmi | 2422 |
| FM | Simonet Marc | 2277 | 0.5 | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | |
| FM | Garcia Raul | 2236 | 1-0 | FM | Tan Khai Boon | 2160 |
| Santamaria Vicens | 2085 | 0-1 | Long Peter | 2302 | ||
| Women | ||||||
| 72 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | 01-Mar | 19 | Netherlands (NED) | Rtg |
| Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | 0-1 | GM | Peng Zhaoqin | 2400 | |
| WCM | Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 | 0-1 | IM | Lanchava Tea | 2342 |
| Wahiduddin Nurul Huda | 2020 | 0.5 | WIM | Schut Lisa | 2288 | |
| Marmono Roslina | 1933 | 0.5 | WIM | Van Weersel Arlette | 2174 | |
Both teams crash to defeat. Mens team lost narrowly to Andorra. Mas is not his usual self and lost too easily. Both Khai Boon and Mok Tze Meng again showed they are not prepared in the opening. Mok only drew against a player he should be expected to beat on ratings alone. Khai Boon blundered a pawn in the opening and as they say, the result was never in doubt.
Peter played his usual Reti/English setup and won rather easily, in fact I think he is the first to finish. What he showed is interesting and should be of value to others and those who will play in future olympiads. You do not have to do anything special to beat weaker players. Just playing to your strength is enough. It also helps that he is a positional player and not rely on too much tactics which can rebound on you.
Both the senior women players showed why experience matters when they drew their games to give Malaysia a point against a strong Dutch team.
Alia did not have a worse middle-game position but time trouble and inexperienced lead to a defeat. A draw would have given the young girl her first WIM norm. But she stands very good chances because a win in the next round will be sufficient for the norm.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Round 9 live commentary
My prediction for this round, 2.5 - 1.5 in Malaysia favour
Follow the moves here
Just got home and things looks expected.
Board 1 GM De La Riva Aguado Oscar - IM Mas Hafizulhelmi
Mas has lost a pawn and in a bad way now. He should be losing.
Mas exchanges into a rook ending where he will be two pawns down. Still it is the best chance for draw.
Board 2 IM Mok Tze-Meng - FM Simonet Marc
Black plays the French and Mok choose the Tarrasch. 8. c4 is a bit unusual. Normally white will play against the isolated black q-pawn but now the pawn will be exchanged. 8.dxc5 is the normal move.
Slightly better for Mok, hopefully he can do something because Khai Boon is lost.
7:58 PM: Mok ended with opposite colored bishops and unlikely to win now
Board 3 FM Garcia Raul - Tan Khai Boon
Khai Boon plays Benoni Defence. 10...Nh5 instead of castling lost him a pawn. It looks very bad for him.
Actually Khai Boon is very lost and he can resign except being a team tournament, he cannot just give up as it is bad for morale of the team-mates.
Board 4 FM Long Peter - Santamaria Vicens
Peter looks like having a good position. Black is in trouble for example if 13...Bg6 14. e5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Bxb7 wins.
Summary:
Khai Boon is lost, Peter is winning. Mok has an optical advantage - looks good for him, winning is another matter. Mas in a bad way. Looks like we are losing 1.5-2.5
8:02 PM: Khai Boon resigns, Peter wins.
8:14 PM: Mok draws 1.5-1.5 for both teams now. Mas might hold his position for a draw.
8:42 PM: Looks like Mas lost on time. Malaysia loses 1.5-2.5
Board 1 Alia - GM Peng
Good news here. Alia is holding her own against the GM. Maybe even slightly better game for her.
If she can draw this game, her WIM norm chances are very good.
Alia's position is better than I first thought. The grandmaster should be sweating now ....
26. Ba1 and 27. Rh4 with strong attack
Black plays 26...Qf8. If 26...b5 to trap the bishop , she could run into 27. Qh6 with Rh4 to follow. White has a strong attack with 27.Rh4 now
Both sides very short of time now and still a long way to go to move 40. Someone is bound to make a losing mistake.
White should play 30 Qd3 now to avoid the bishop on a6 being trapped by ...b5
It looks like a draw in this game will give Alia the norm already.
White made mistake with 30.Be2 allow black to take control of the c-file with 30...Rbc8. Now black has the advantage
Both reaches the 40 move. Alia down a pawn now and black pieces become active. Black should win now.
Black missed some easy wins. Now Alia might have a chance. 59...Kg6 60.Qd3+ could be a perpetual.
Too bad she blundered and lost now.
Roslina playing good in time trouble...
Follow the moves here
Just got home and things looks expected.
Board 1 GM De La Riva Aguado Oscar - IM Mas Hafizulhelmi
Mas has lost a pawn and in a bad way now. He should be losing.
Mas exchanges into a rook ending where he will be two pawns down. Still it is the best chance for draw.
Board 2 IM Mok Tze-Meng - FM Simonet Marc
Black plays the French and Mok choose the Tarrasch. 8. c4 is a bit unusual. Normally white will play against the isolated black q-pawn but now the pawn will be exchanged. 8.dxc5 is the normal move.
Slightly better for Mok, hopefully he can do something because Khai Boon is lost.
7:58 PM: Mok ended with opposite colored bishops and unlikely to win now
Board 3 FM Garcia Raul - Tan Khai Boon
Khai Boon plays Benoni Defence. 10...Nh5 instead of castling lost him a pawn. It looks very bad for him.
Actually Khai Boon is very lost and he can resign except being a team tournament, he cannot just give up as it is bad for morale of the team-mates.
Board 4 FM Long Peter - Santamaria Vicens
Peter looks like having a good position. Black is in trouble for example if 13...Bg6 14. e5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Bxb7 wins.
Summary:
Khai Boon is lost, Peter is winning. Mok has an optical advantage - looks good for him, winning is another matter. Mas in a bad way. Looks like we are losing 1.5-2.5
8:02 PM: Khai Boon resigns, Peter wins.
8:14 PM: Mok draws 1.5-1.5 for both teams now. Mas might hold his position for a draw.
8:42 PM: Looks like Mas lost on time. Malaysia loses 1.5-2.5
Board 1 Alia - GM Peng
Good news here. Alia is holding her own against the GM. Maybe even slightly better game for her.
If she can draw this game, her WIM norm chances are very good.
Alia's position is better than I first thought. The grandmaster should be sweating now ....
26. Ba1 and 27. Rh4 with strong attack
Black plays 26...Qf8. If 26...b5 to trap the bishop , she could run into 27. Qh6 with Rh4 to follow. White has a strong attack with 27.Rh4 now
Both sides very short of time now and still a long way to go to move 40. Someone is bound to make a losing mistake.
White should play 30 Qd3 now to avoid the bishop on a6 being trapped by ...b5
It looks like a draw in this game will give Alia the norm already.
White made mistake with 30.Be2 allow black to take control of the c-file with 30...Rbc8. Now black has the advantage
Both reaches the 40 move. Alia down a pawn now and black pieces become active. Black should win now.
Black missed some easy wins. Now Alia might have a chance. 59...Kg6 60.Qd3+ could be a perpetual.
Too bad she blundered and lost now.
Roslina playing good in time trouble...
Round 9 board pairing for Malaysia
| 89 | Andorra (AND) | Rtg | 85 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | |
| GM | De La Riva Aguado Oscar | 2521 | IM | Mas Hafizulhelmi | 2422 | |
| FM | Simonet Marc | 2277 | IM | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | |
| FM | Garcia Raul | 2236 | Tan Khai Boon | 2160 | ||
| Santamaria Vicens | 2085 | FM | Long Peter | 2302 | ||
| Women | ||||||
| 72 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | 19 | Netherlands (NED) | Rtg | |
| Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | GM | Peng Zhaoqin | 2400 | ||
| WCM | Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 | IM | Lanchava Tea | 2342 | |
| Wahiduddin Nurul Huda | 2020 | WIM | Schut Lisa | 2288 | ||
| Marmono Roslina | 1933 | WIM | Van Weersel Arlette | 2174 | ||
The men is taking no chances and field their top four players.
Our women will have a very difficult task to match with the Netherlands who are seeded 19. The team - especially Alia who is in line for a norm - have nothing to lose so any points they can score will be considered a success
Round 9 pairing for Malaysia
Round 9 pairs the men against Andorra who have a GM on first board. After the experiment yesterday which give everyone some anxious moments in the match, I am sure neither Mok nor Mas will ever rest again. They will play the remaining three games.
The big question is whether to rest Khai Boon. His game is not matured and when he loses it is without any fight. He just loses.
Peter Long is very steady so far. He does not win often but he don't lose often either. He is on fifty percent with two wins, four draws and two losses.
And what of Gregory Lau? Last night he turned hero for Malaysia by winning a crucial last game to give Malaysia the match points. I already said much earlier that he is not that bad. He cannot hold against stronger opponents but against similar strenght or lower than him, he can be effective.
Read Rationality take on the round. I did thought the match was lost at some point.
If I were to decide, I will rest Khai Boon and see how Greg fares again. Not that I trust Greg skill more, but I trust Khai Boon less. Greg should have equal chance against the Andorrans.
The women team also won last night and surprisingly get to play against Netherlands. Netherlands have Chinese grandmaster Peng Zhaoqin on board one and IMs on all other boards. They are in the top twenty seeding.
It turns out they only have eight match points same as Malaysia. Actually it means our women are doing quite well! Other Asian teams with the same points are Philippines and Singapore.
The big question is whether to rest Khai Boon. His game is not matured and when he loses it is without any fight. He just loses.
Peter Long is very steady so far. He does not win often but he don't lose often either. He is on fifty percent with two wins, four draws and two losses.
And what of Gregory Lau? Last night he turned hero for Malaysia by winning a crucial last game to give Malaysia the match points. I already said much earlier that he is not that bad. He cannot hold against stronger opponents but against similar strenght or lower than him, he can be effective.
Read Rationality take on the round. I did thought the match was lost at some point.
If I were to decide, I will rest Khai Boon and see how Greg fares again. Not that I trust Greg skill more, but I trust Khai Boon less. Greg should have equal chance against the Andorrans.
The women team also won last night and surprisingly get to play against Netherlands. Netherlands have Chinese grandmaster Peng Zhaoqin on board one and IMs on all other boards. They are in the top twenty seeding.
It turns out they only have eight match points same as Malaysia. Actually it means our women are doing quite well! Other Asian teams with the same points are Philippines and Singapore.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Round 8 winning round for Malaysia
| 114 | Sri Lanka (SRI) | Rtg | 1.5-2.5 | 85 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg |
| Perera W C C | 2016 | 0-1 | IM | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | |
| Koggala W S V K | 2026 | 1-0 | Tan Khai Boon | 2160 | ||
| Weerawardane R | 2165 | 0.5-0.5 | FM | Long Peter | 2302 | |
| Anuruddha G C | 2144 | 0-1 | Gregory Lau | 2159 | ||
| Women | ||||||
| 81 | United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Rtg | 1.5-2.5 | 72 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg |
| WIM | Saleh Nora Mohd | 1906 | 0-1 | Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | |
| WFM | Al-Zarouni Kholoud Essa | 1890 | 0-1 | WCM | Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 |
| WIM | Al-Harmoudi Mona | 1821 | 0.5-0.5 | Marmono Roslina | 1933 | |
| WFM | Al Ali Amna Nuaman | 1752 | 1-0 | Fong Mi Yen | 1905 | |
Both men and women won their matches by the same score 2.5-1.5.
Mok won and Peter drew what could have been a losing game when he lost an exchange. Things were not looking good when Khai Boon found himself mated.
This left the last game by Gregory who had to win to secure the match. This he did after some inaccurate play from his opponent and Malaysia narrowly squeaked past a team which normally we should easily beat.
Our women also did very well to beat United Arab Emirates who on paper were the favourite to win the match. Alia and Nabila won their games and Roslina held the draw to give Malaysia the match.
A very good day indeed :)
Round 8 Malaysia live commentary
Follow the live games here
My prediction is 4-0 for Malaysia!
Board 1 Perera W C C - IM Mok Tze-Meng
Mok gets another black, no prizes for guessing the opening.
Ah...Mok surprises everyone and plays 1...e5. The game goes into a Two Knights Defence but Mok plays 5...Ne4 instead of the normal 5...d5. Is it a prepared line or he just do not know the opening?
7:37 PM: Mok is piece up so no surprises here.
Board 2 Tan Khai Boon - Koggala W S V K
5.Nbd2 is not exactly the best way to play this position. White gets problems on the e1-a5 diagonal and lose some control over the centre.
6.e4!? can we really give pawns like this in the opening? 6...Nxe4 7. b4 Qxb4 looks ok for black. 8. Rb1 is good for white
7:37 PM: Wow what happened here? Khai Boon has queen for two rooks.
8:26 PM: After exchanging of minor pieces, the rooks will have control of the game. Khai Boon may be already lost here.
8:31 PM: 29...Bc3 is a winning move. 30. Qxc2 Bd4+ wins the white queen.
Board 3 Weerawardane R - FM Long Peter
Peter uses a Blumenfeld Gambit, a form of Benko Gambit where white does not immediately accept the pawn. They have now reached the starting position of the Blumenfled. Black will use his strong pawn centre to compensate for the sacrificed pawn.
Peter has a perfect Blumenfeld, can expect him to score today.
7:34 PM: Peter has strong attack but exchange down. But he should be winning already.
7:46 PM: Peter settles for a draw. It turns out that 43...Nf3+ is not working because 44. Rxf3 Rxf3 45. Bxe4+ is check!
Board 4 Gregory Lau - Anuruddha G C
This looks like the most even contest judging from their ratings. I think Greg can pull this one off. He's not that bad a player. I think.
This line in the Fianchetto Variation with ..Bg4, black aims to attack the d4 pawn and weaken it. White has to play accurately. Black can follow up with ...Nd7 and sometimes ...e5 to attack the pawn.
7:36 PM: This do not look good at all. The white king is a bit exposed due to g-pawn exchanged off.
8:33 PM: 40...Nxa4 and Greg is in trouble. 41. Nxc7 Nc3 should be close to winning for black.
8:49 PM: 41...Rc8 not the best. White now back in the game , 42. Rxc5 Nxc5 43. Nd5 with chances.
9:00 PM: Greg missed his chance. After 42...dxc5 he should have tried 43. Qg4 Rxc7? 44 Rb8+ Kg7 45. Qd7+ winning!
9:17 PM: Greg actually have a winning position now!
Summary:
7:38 PM: Both Peter and Mok should win. Greg might lose due to king position. Khai Boon is not so clear.
7:47 PM: Peter just drew. Now pressure on the other three to deliver two points.
8:14 PM: Mok clearly winning now. Gregory still in some trouble and likely to remain so. Mok's opponent resigns, 1.5-0 to Malaysia now
8:27 PM: Khai Boon can only hope for a draw at best. Which means Greg must win now for Malaysia to win the match.
8:34 PM: At this point I have to say we will lose the match 1.5-2.5
8:46 PM: Khai Boon loses. 1.5-1.5 now
9:18 PM: Strangely we will win this match 2.5-1.5, as Greg is winning
My prediction is 4-0 for Malaysia!
Board 1 Perera W C C - IM Mok Tze-Meng
Mok gets another black, no prizes for guessing the opening.
Ah...Mok surprises everyone and plays 1...e5. The game goes into a Two Knights Defence but Mok plays 5...Ne4 instead of the normal 5...d5. Is it a prepared line or he just do not know the opening?
7:37 PM: Mok is piece up so no surprises here.
Board 2 Tan Khai Boon - Koggala W S V K
5.Nbd2 is not exactly the best way to play this position. White gets problems on the e1-a5 diagonal and lose some control over the centre.
6.e4
7:37 PM: Wow what happened here? Khai Boon has queen for two rooks.
8:26 PM: After exchanging of minor pieces, the rooks will have control of the game. Khai Boon may be already lost here.
8:31 PM: 29...Bc3 is a winning move. 30. Qxc2 Bd4+ wins the white queen.
Board 3 Weerawardane R - FM Long Peter
Peter uses a Blumenfeld Gambit, a form of Benko Gambit where white does not immediately accept the pawn. They have now reached the starting position of the Blumenfled. Black will use his strong pawn centre to compensate for the sacrificed pawn.
Peter has a perfect Blumenfeld, can expect him to score today.
7:34 PM: Peter has strong attack but exchange down. But he should be winning already.
7:46 PM: Peter settles for a draw. It turns out that 43...Nf3+ is not working because 44. Rxf3 Rxf3 45. Bxe4+ is check!
Board 4 Gregory Lau - Anuruddha G C
This looks like the most even contest judging from their ratings. I think Greg can pull this one off. He's not that bad a player. I think.
This line in the Fianchetto Variation with ..Bg4, black aims to attack the d4 pawn and weaken it. White has to play accurately. Black can follow up with ...Nd7 and sometimes ...e5 to attack the pawn.
7:36 PM: This do not look good at all. The white king is a bit exposed due to g-pawn exchanged off.
8:33 PM: 40...Nxa4 and Greg is in trouble. 41. Nxc7 Nc3 should be close to winning for black.
8:49 PM: 41...Rc8 not the best. White now back in the game , 42. Rxc5 Nxc5 43. Nd5 with chances.
9:00 PM: Greg missed his chance. After 42...dxc5 he should have tried 43. Qg4 Rxc7? 44 Rb8+ Kg7 45. Qd7+ winning!
9:17 PM: Greg actually have a winning position now!
Summary:
7:38 PM: Both Peter and Mok should win. Greg might lose due to king position. Khai Boon is not so clear.
7:47 PM: Peter just drew. Now pressure on the other three to deliver two points.
8:14 PM: Mok clearly winning now. Gregory still in some trouble and likely to remain so. Mok's opponent resigns, 1.5-0 to Malaysia now
8:27 PM: Khai Boon can only hope for a draw at best. Which means Greg must win now for Malaysia to win the match.
8:34 PM: At this point I have to say we will lose the match 1.5-2.5
8:46 PM: Khai Boon loses. 1.5-1.5 now
9:18 PM: Strangely we will win this match 2.5-1.5, as Greg is winning
Round 8 board pairings for Malaysia
| Open | ||||||
| 114 | Sri Lanka (SRI) | Rtg | 85 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | |
| Perera W C C | 2016 | IM | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | ||
| Koggala W S V K | 2026 | Tan Khai Boon | 2160 | |||
| Weerawardane R | 2165 | FM | Long Peter | 2302 | ||
| Anuruddha G C | 2144 | Gregory Lau | 2159 | |||
| Women | ||||||
| 81 | United Arab Emirates (UAE) | Rtg | 72 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | |
| WIM | Saleh Nora Mohd | 1906 | Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | ||
| WFM | Al-Zarouni Kholoud Essa | 1890 | WCM | Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 | |
| WIM | Al-Harmoudi Mona | 1821 | Marmono Roslina | 1933 | ||
| WFM | Al Ali Amna Nuaman | 1752 | Fong Mi Yen | 1905 | ||
Mas takes a rest and allow Gregory Lau to see his first action. There is little risk for Sri Lanka cannot possibly pose any problems to our team.
The women play an interesting team , United Arab Emirates, that features two international masters and two FIDE masters. However their ratings do not reflect their titles. I suggest the girls forget about those two letters and go all out for the win.
On the main event, Ukraine has emerged top dog. They lead with thirteen match points, one ahead of Russia 1. Today the two teams meet in a "Clash of the Titans". Kramink versus Ivanchuk on board one will be one to watch. Ivanchuk has scored 100% in his games so far.
Armenia , two time winner in the last two olympiads, only managed eleven match points - two full points behind. There is still hope yet for them if Russia manages to take down Ukraine.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Round 7 Malaysia loses to IPSC
| Open | ||||||
| 86 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | 1-3 | 72 | ICSC (ICSC) | Rtg |
| IM | Mas Hafizulhelmi | 2422 | 0-1 | GM | Gruenfeld Yehuda | 2464 |
| IM | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | 0-1 | IM | Collutiis Duilio | 2447 |
| Tan Khai Boon | 2160 | 1-0 | Klasan Vladimir | 2393 | ||
| FM | Long Peter | 2302 | 0-1 | Parfenov Pavel | 2242 | |
| Women | ||||||
| 106 | Pakistan (PAK) | Rtg | 0-4 | 74 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg |
| Nida Mishraz Siddiqui | 1796 | 0-1 | WCM | Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | |
| Wasif Zenobia | 0 | 0-1 | Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 | ||
| Begum Ghazala | 0 | 0-1 | Marmono Roslina | 1933 | ||
| Shakir Ayman | 0 | 0-1 | Fong Mi Yen | 1905 | ||
A number of unwanted firsts today :)
Mas lost his first game. First 1-3 score. First time that Khai Boon won and the rest lost! Ok, enough already.
Bright side from the women's - they shut out Pakistan 4-0.
Round 7 Malaysia live commentary
Follow the moves here
Well, I just got back home and things have really started heating up.
Board 1 IM Mas - GM Gruenfeld Yehuda
Mas has pawn majority on the queen-side. He has a weakness on b4 though. Black d6 pawn is weak but white cannot attack it. I would rate tihs as equal.
8:11PM: This game looks like going to be drawn due to perpetual check. Mas will not dare to move his king to h3.
8:21 PM: Black declines the perpetual, he is trying for win
8:24PM 40. f3 is a nice tactic from black, maybe missed by Mas. ...f2+ queens the pawn.
Board 2 IM Collutiis Duilio - IM Mok Tze Meng
It is another Mokdern! Dont he get tired?
After 10...e5, black will be left with a isolated e-pawn which will be the cause of his problems later.
Ah...Mok plays better than me here. 11...f5 solves the problem of the e-pawn.
Mok has two strong bishops. White just played the trick 21. Bc2, 21..Qxc4? 22. Rxe6 Rxe6 23. Rxe6 Qxe6 24. b4 chasing the knight and threaten to pin the queen with 25.Bb3
Mok living on the edge ; 21...Kf7!?
25. Ne4 looks like a very good move. 25...Be5 26. Nd6+! Qxd6 27. Rxe5 with clear plus for white.
8:08PM: Mok is now in trouble on the long black diagonal. He could get mated or lose material soon.
Board 3 Tan Khai Boon - Klasan Vladimir
Khai Boon reaches a standard position in a Semi-Slav.
14. f4 is not a good idea. The pawn is better on f3 to support the e4 pawn and shut out the black queen bishop.
Opposite sides castling with black opting for queen-side. Khai Boon chances for attack on the queen-side is better as the b-file already opened.
24. Rxf4 is not the correct way to re-capture. 24. Qf5+ followed by 24. Qxf4 is better.
Watch out for 24...Qe3 by black now. Black opts for 24...Be7. What's wrong with 24...Qe3 threatening 25...Rd2
Now 26. Qe6 Qc6 27. Bf3 idea 27...Qxe5 28. Rxb7+!
7:36 PM: I'm not very good at predicting Khai Boon's moves :) 26. Qg6 goes for the g-pawn at the cost of allowing the black queen to come alive. 26..Qe3 27. Re4 Qxc3 28. Qxg7 Rde8 (only move) and now 29. exf6 black can just answer 29...Qxf6. Hope Khai Boon did not overlook this.
8:08PM: Black played 26..Qc5? effectively letting white off the hook and getting into a difficult position as well
Board 4 Parfenov Pavel - FM Peter Long
White avoids a Benko by declining to play c4. But Peter plays ...b5 anyway.
White sacrifices his b2 pawn, but I do not see why black cannot accept. 6...Qxb2 7. Nxa4 Qb4+ 8. c3 Qa5 is possible. White has to prove he has some compensation for the pawn.
White is giving pawns left and centre. Peter two pawns up now but king-side un-developed and king in the centre. Despite knight exchanges, it still looks dangerous for Peter.
7:40 PM: Peter gives back a pawn (its almost forced) and now his king will be exposed in the centre. This is not good.
8:28PM: Peter is lost now. His opponent actually missed the simpler win with 40. Rf5
Summary:
Mas and Khai Boon still in opening stage, not clear yet what will happen. Mok has solved his opening problem and can look forward to a middle-game struggle. Peter grabs a pawn. It is still too early to say if white can exploit the black queen position. Personally I prefer black.
This looks like it can become an interesting match. All our players have chances to win (or lose depending on how you look at it :)
8:12PM: At this stage, I predict Mas to draw, Mok and Peter to lose and Khai Boon to win.
8:20PM : Mok just lost followed by Mok. Looks like Mas is also lost so its over.
8:45PM: Ladies team will win 4-0 against Pakistan
Well, I just got back home and things have really started heating up.
Board 1 IM Mas - GM Gruenfeld Yehuda
Mas has pawn majority on the queen-side. He has a weakness on b4 though. Black d6 pawn is weak but white cannot attack it. I would rate tihs as equal.
8:11PM: This game looks like going to be drawn due to perpetual check. Mas will not dare to move his king to h3.
8:21 PM: Black declines the perpetual, he is trying for win
8:24PM 40. f3 is a nice tactic from black, maybe missed by Mas. ...f2+ queens the pawn.
Board 2 IM Collutiis Duilio - IM Mok Tze Meng
It is another Mokdern! Dont he get tired?
After 10...e5, black will be left with a isolated e-pawn which will be the cause of his problems later.
Ah...Mok plays better than me here. 11...f5 solves the problem of the e-pawn.
Mok has two strong bishops. White just played the trick 21. Bc2, 21..Qxc4? 22. Rxe6 Rxe6 23. Rxe6 Qxe6 24. b4 chasing the knight and threaten to pin the queen with 25.Bb3
Mok living on the edge ; 21...Kf7!?
25. Ne4 looks like a very good move. 25...Be5 26. Nd6+! Qxd6 27. Rxe5 with clear plus for white.
8:08PM: Mok is now in trouble on the long black diagonal. He could get mated or lose material soon.
Board 3 Tan Khai Boon - Klasan Vladimir
Khai Boon reaches a standard position in a Semi-Slav.
14. f4 is not a good idea. The pawn is better on f3 to support the e4 pawn and shut out the black queen bishop.
Opposite sides castling with black opting for queen-side. Khai Boon chances for attack on the queen-side is better as the b-file already opened.
24. Rxf4 is not the correct way to re-capture. 24. Qf5+ followed by 24. Qxf4 is better.
Watch out for 24...Qe3 by black now. Black opts for 24...Be7. What's wrong with 24...Qe3 threatening 25...Rd2
Now 26. Qe6 Qc6 27. Bf3 idea 27...Qxe5 28. Rxb7+!
7:36 PM: I'm not very good at predicting Khai Boon's moves :) 26. Qg6 goes for the g-pawn at the cost of allowing the black queen to come alive. 26..Qe3 27. Re4 Qxc3 28. Qxg7 Rde8 (only move) and now 29. exf6 black can just answer 29...Qxf6. Hope Khai Boon did not overlook this.
8:08PM: Black played 26..Qc5? effectively letting white off the hook and getting into a difficult position as well
Board 4 Parfenov Pavel - FM Peter Long
White avoids a Benko by declining to play c4. But Peter plays ...b5 anyway.
White sacrifices his b2 pawn, but I do not see why black cannot accept. 6...Qxb2 7. Nxa4 Qb4+ 8. c3 Qa5 is possible. White has to prove he has some compensation for the pawn.
White is giving pawns left and centre. Peter two pawns up now but king-side un-developed and king in the centre. Despite knight exchanges, it still looks dangerous for Peter.
7:40 PM: Peter gives back a pawn (its almost forced) and now his king will be exposed in the centre. This is not good.
8:28PM: Peter is lost now. His opponent actually missed the simpler win with 40. Rf5
Summary:
Mas and Khai Boon still in opening stage, not clear yet what will happen. Mok has solved his opening problem and can look forward to a middle-game struggle. Peter grabs a pawn. It is still too early to say if white can exploit the black queen position. Personally I prefer black.
This looks like it can become an interesting match. All our players have chances to win (or lose depending on how you look at it :)
8:12PM: At this stage, I predict Mas to draw, Mok and Peter to lose and Khai Boon to win.
8:20PM : Mok just lost followed by Mok. Looks like Mas is also lost so its over.
8:45PM: Ladies team will win 4-0 against Pakistan
Round 7 board pairings for Malaysia
| Open | ||||||
| 86 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | 72 | ICSC (ICSC) | Rtg | |
| IM | Mas Hafizulhelmi | 2422 | GM | Gruenfeld Yehuda | 2464 | |
| IM | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | IM | Collutiis Duilio | 2447 | |
| Tan Khai Boon | 2160 | Klasan Vladimir | 2393 | |||
| FM | Long Peter | 2302 | Parfenov Pavel | 2242 | ||
| Women | ||||||
| 106 | Pakistan (PAK) | Rtg | 74 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | |
| Nida Mishraz Siddiqui | 1796 | WCM | Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | ||
| Wasif Zenobia | 0 | Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 | |||
| Begum Ghazala | 0 | Marmono Roslina | 1933 | |||
| Shakir Ayman | 0 | Fong Mi Yen | 1905 | |||
Mas gets another grandmaster, his fourth. Earlier I thought that a grandmaster norm was already impossible due to the low ratings of some of his opponents. However I found a clause in the regulations - "A player may ignore his game(s) against any opponents he has defeated, provided he has met the required mix of opponents, and provided that this leaves him with at least the minimum number of games as in 1.41, against the required mix of opponents. Nonetheless, the full cross-table of the event must be submitted." .
What this means is that Mas can drop the two lowest rated opponents he has defeated provided that he plays all eleven rounds. Based on his current score, he is therefore still on track for a grandmaster norm. He has already played two low rated players. So he will need to continue meeting 2400+ players. This is where the team factor comes in. If the team keeps losing, they will meet lower ranked teams and the ratings will not be high enough.
Based on some of my calculations, Mas needs at least three out of the last five rounds to have a chance, plus the opponent's rating should be sufficiently high.
For the record, no player for the mens team has ever made even an IM norm in the history of our participation in the olympiads.
For the women's team, Roslina steps in to replace Nurul Huda. The strategy is to give all the newcomers as many games as possible for exposure and the two older players alternating. Quite sensible.
Round 7 Malaysian pairings
After their 4-0 win yesterday, our men is paired with the ICSC (which stands for International Committee for Silent Chess). This is quite a good team with one grandmaster and two international masters. After the easy round yesterday, our players will be thoroughly tested again.
Two years ago we lost to the IPCA (International Physical Disabled Chess Association) . That team featured four international masters and we lost narrowly 1.5-2.5. This time IPCA has grandmaster Thomas Luther - the same Luther who was in Malaysia for the K.L. Open recently .
Olympiads traditionally is a competition amongst nations. Then FIDE started admitting teams like IBCA (Blind Association), IPCA and ICSC. This teams have an unfair advantage. They can pick the strongest players from any country as long as they belong to that particular association. What next? A team of chess problem composers? Maybe I can form an assocation of right-handed chess players and submit a team for the next olympiad.
Meanwhile our women meet Pakistan who only have a single rated player. It is a certainty the women will be able to gain back some match points.
Two years ago we lost to the IPCA (International Physical Disabled Chess Association) . That team featured four international masters and we lost narrowly 1.5-2.5. This time IPCA has grandmaster Thomas Luther - the same Luther who was in Malaysia for the K.L. Open recently .
Olympiads traditionally is a competition amongst nations. Then FIDE started admitting teams like IBCA (Blind Association), IPCA and ICSC. This teams have an unfair advantage. They can pick the strongest players from any country as long as they belong to that particular association. What next? A team of chess problem composers? Maybe I can form an assocation of right-handed chess players and submit a team for the next olympiad.
Meanwhile our women meet Pakistan who only have a single rated player. It is a certainty the women will be able to gain back some match points.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Malaysian men wins 4 - 0, Women loses to Ecuador
| Open | ||||||
| 85 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | 4-0 | 118 | San Marino (SMR) | Rtg |
| IM | Mas Hafizulhelmi | 2422 | 1-0 | Berardi Giancarlo | 0 | |
| IM | Mok Tze-Meng | 2416 | 1-0 | CM | Grassi Enrico | 2053 |
| Tan Khai Boon | 2160 | 1-0 | Cecchetti Roberto | 1930 | ||
| FM | Long Peter | 2302 | 1-0 | CM | Righi Ezio | 2116 |
| Women | ||||||
| 72 | Malaysia (MAS) | Rtg | 1-3 | 38 | Ecuador (ECU) | Rtg |
| WCM | Bakri Alia Anin Azwa | 1904 | 1-0 | IM | Fierro Baquero Martha L | 2368 |
| Nur Nabila Azman Hisham | 1829 | 0-1 | WIM | Vasquez Ramirez Rocio | 2227 | |
| Wahiduddin Nurul Huda | 2020 | 0-1 | WIM | Moncayo Romero Evelyn | 2127 | |
| Fong Mi Yen | 1905 | 0-1 | Romero Echeverria Abigail | 2058 | ||
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