Chess is Chess team members

Although we did not win any prizes in the Merdeka Team, it felt good to play together with friends some of whom I have known for over thirty years. Let me introduce my good friends and team members.

Chin Seng is a former national champion. After winning the championship he realized he could never top that. Thereafter he hatched Operation Beyond Sky ("li tian"), whereby he will conquer the (chess) world by proxy. This culminated in the birth of his son, Li Tian.

As a sixteen year old boy, I wandered into the Penang Chess Association one day. Chuah Heng Meng was one of the first chess player I met then. We became friends immediately. He can be called Mr. Penang because you can always see him every Friday night and Sunday afternoon at the old Hooi Lye Association at Kimberley Street where the Penang Chess Association had it's meetings. In the late seventies and into the eighties, we practically kept the playing sessions going between the two of us. Some days it would only be him and me, with a chess board and clock, churning out tens of blitz games.

One Sunday a boy of about ten wearing shorts and slippers came to the Hooi Lye premises accompanied by his father. Even at this age, Eric Cheah was quite independent and quickly became a permanent fixture at the club. Once he competed in the Asian Juniors which was held in Kuala Lumpur. The tournament was held in an empty shop-lot in a new shopping centre (if memory serves, this would be the Wilayah Kompleks where DATCC chess league was played recently). One day Eric was late for the round and running at full speed towards his table forgot about the glass front of the shop-lot. He crashed right through. Miraculously he only sustained only minor cuts. To this day he still have the scars from this accident.

Chess is Chess results

Board 1 Jimmy Liew 6.5 / 9
Board 2 Yeoh Chin Seng 5.5 / 9
Board 3 Chuah Heng Meng 4.5 / 9
Board 4 Eric Cheah 4 / 9

Indonesian Dream Girls versus Chess is Chess!

Round 4 of the Merdeka Team Rapid saw Chess Is Chess team pitted against Indonesian Dream Girls, a team of young highly attractive girls from (where else?) Indonesia. The girls were quite a handful and we only managed to win 2.5-1.5.

Yeoh Chin Seng drew while Chuah Heng Meng lost on third board.




(Pictures courtesy of Collin Madhavan)

Astro Merdeka Rapid Round 1

Observed this game from the first round of the Astro Merdeka Rapid Team Championship between Irman and one Mohamed Sirajuddin. Nothing spectacular except that the player of the black pieces looked like eight or nine years old. Irman himself was a promising junior once, a long time ago.

White had about a minute left while black still had almost five. White had just played 1. Rh4 trapping the black queen and fully expecting to win the game. Out of desperation, black played 1...f6. The knight cannot move due to ..Qxf3+ so 2. Rxh5 fxg5 3. Qxg5 Bxf3+ 4. Rg2 Bxh5 5. Rg3 Rxf2 6. Qe7 Rcf8 7. Qxe6+ Kh7 8. Rh3 Rf1+ 9. Kg2 R8f2+ 10. Kg3 Rf3+ 11. Kh4 Rf4+ 12. Kg3 and White could not escape the perpetual checks.

There is an interesting winning try for black on his eigth move. 8...cxd4!



9. Kg1 Rf1+ 10. Kg2 R8f2+ 11. Kg3 d3 12. Qd7 d2 and white must lose heavy material example 13. e6 Rf3+ 14. Kg2 d1=Q

White's best plan is 9. Qd7 d3 10. Rxd3 (10. Qxd3 loses the queen after 10...Rf1+ 11. Kg2 R8f2+ 12. Kg3 Rf3+) 10... Bf3+ 11. Rxd3!

If white does not give up the rook immediately, 11. Kg1?? Rg2+ 12. Kh1 (12.Kf1 Bc6+ winning the queen) Rxb2+ 13. Kg1 Rg2+ 14. Kh1 Rxa2+ 15. Kg1 Rg2+ 16. Kh1 Rg3+ is even worse.


10...R8xf3 11. e6 Rxb2 12. Kg1 Rc3 13. Qd1

The queen is helpless against the two rooks as she must constantly guard the back rank mate.

13...Re3! 14. Qc1 (14. Qf1 to answer 14...Rxe6 with 15. Qh3+ loses to 14...Rxa2 followed by 15...Rae2 ) 14...Rbe2 15. Qc4 Rxe6 16. Qh4+ Kg8 17. Qd8+ Re8 18. Qd5+ Kh7 with a winning ending for black