When Rationality speaks (or writes) I am all ears. Mainly because he has a way of writing what about my own deepest thoughts - some that I will not (or dare not?) share openly.
His latest post with his (her?) trade-mark biting sarcasm , understanding of human psychology and just plain in-your-face attitude.
You want to know why everyone is interested in who you really are? It is because deep down, everybody knows you are right and admire - even if grudgingly - your guts to tell it like it is.
And by way of throwing in more confusion into the mix. Everybody is guessing Gregory,Peter Long, Joseph Toh, Christi Hon, Lim Yee Weng and even Collin Madhavan (heaven forbid) and a host of other names. But nobody has ever mentioned me. Why not? I can be Rationality. Maybe it is Rationality writing this and not Jimmy. Think about it, guys.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Ukraine wins
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.
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.
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.
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