My book reviewed in British Chess Magazine

A short review in British Chess Magazine.

Book is available from me directly. Contact me at cmliew@gmail.com for a copy

New Zealand Championship: Chan Kim Yew vs Mark Noble

Chan Kim Yew best result against an opponent rated ELO 2241

MMU Invitational 2016

The MMU Invitational 2016 was held last Sunday at the MultiMedia Universiti in CyberJaya. This was a 7 round tournament with 20 minutes for each player. First prize was a respectable RM500 but only about forty plus players were in attendance possibly due to the poor publicity.

The tournament was won by Muhd Syakir Shazmeer Azhar on better tie-break from Sumant Subramaniam. I was third though leading in the final round, lost to the eventual champion.

Here are a few interesting positions.

Zaidan-Jimmy, Round 4

The game ended quickly

Jimmy-Sumant , Round 

Black got impatient and played recklessly.

20.... f5?! 21. exf5 Bxd5 22. Bc4 Bxc4 23. Nxc4

Better move was 23. Qxc4+ Kh8 24. Ne4 winning . The threat of Nxd6 and Ng5 is unstoppable.

23... Qc6 24. Bg5! 

It took me a while to realize this move was totally winning.

24... Nf6

Black also took a lot of time here. 24... d5 25. Ncxe5 Qb7 26. Bxe7 Rxe7 27. Qd3 is a clear pawn 

25. Bxf6 

The clearest win given by my computer is 25. Ncxe5 dxe5 26. Qc4+ Kh8

27. Nxe5 and black can resign

25... gxf6 26. Ne3 Qxa4 27. Nd5 Bd8 28. Nd2 Qd7 29. Ne4 Qxf5 30.

Nxd6 Qg6 31. Nxe8 Qxe8 32. f4 Ng6 

There is a nice win if black plays 32... Nd7 33. Qg4+ Kh8 34. Nc7 Bxc7 35. Rxd7 and the mate on g7 wins another piece.

33. h4 Qf7 (33... Ra7 34. h5 Nf8 35. fxe5) 34. h5 Nf8 35. fxe5 fxe5 36. Qg4+ 

36. Qxe5 Qf2+ 37. Kh3 is winning but I did not want to create any

chances for Black since I was short of time.

36... Kh8 37. Rf1 Qg7 38. Qe4 Ra7 39. Rf5 Nd7 40. Rdf1 Qh6 41. Kg2 Qd6 42. h6 Qxh6 43. Rxe5 Qd2+ 44. Rf2 Nxe5 45. Qxe5+ Rg7 46. Rxd2 1-0

Finally the last round game that decided first place.

Muhd Syakir-Jimmy Liew, Round 7

White is better in this endgame but the game ended after another three moves!

 32... Kd6 ?? 33. Bb4
Ouch!
33...Ke6 34. Re2+ 1-0

The final rankings.

3rd ASEAN Chess Championship

The 3rd ASEAN Chess Championship is now in progress in Indonesia in Jakarta from 21-30 December 2015. The championship is open to players from ASEAN countries which are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.  However only five countries sent representatives. The rating requirement is 2300, but those who do not meet this requirement can play in  the Challengers section. There is also a Women's championship held at the same time.

There is an interesting prize for the winners of the Open and Women. The champion will be receive a GM and WGM norm respectively. In case there is a tie up to three (!) IM and WIM titles will be awarded. This means the winner will automatically become IM/WIM straight away. This is relevant for our players as none of them are IM/WIM yet.

This year's open drew 12 participants  and will be a 11 round all-play-all. There are three grandmasters and six IMs so even if one does not win the championship international master norms are attainable (not grandmaster since there four grandmasters will be required for 11 rounds). For the open the  magic number is 6.5 points from the 11 rounds and for the Women, it will be 7.5 points.

Malaysia has sent three representatives. Yeoh Li Tian in the open and Nabila and Najiha in the Women's. Five rounds have been played so how are our players doing?

Open standings after round five

 Surprisingly none of the grandmasters are in the lead. Li Tian is actually in the joint lead with 3.5/5. There is another six rounds to go so its too early to celebrate.

Women standings after round five

Nur Nabila has three points with four draws and  a win while her sister , Najiha, has two points coming from four draws and  a loss.

Yeoh Li Tian (picture from Chessdom)

Here is Li Tian's win over Myanmar top player rated at 2414.

At the 7th IIUM Open

I noticed a Facebook post about the IIUM Chess Invitational Championship and immediately signed up to play. This is a rapid tournament and I really needed some practice in this format. On checking my GPS, I found IIUM is in Gombak. I figured IIUM might stand for International Islamic Universiti of Malaysia or something like that. But the road signs were rather confusing (it states UIAM instead).

Anyway, it was a pleasant early morning ride for me and I found the university using my trusty mobile phone's GPS.

On sitting down at the board for the first round, I noticed the clock showed twenty minutes. Great, I have even less time for my aging brain.

I was clearly going to be in a lot of trouble in this tournament judging from the first round where I blundered a piece in a winning position. I switched to blitz mode and managed to flag my opponent.

My second round reached this position

Jumis Hasibin - Jimmy Liew

Although a pawn down, the poor position of the white king is enough for compensation.

28....Re1+ 29. Kc2 Re2+ 30. Kd3 

After 30. Kb1 black has nothing better than to keep checking. White tries to win thinking his two passed pawns give him the better winning chances. However I saw some possibilities for myself.

30....Rxa2 31. h4 Rb2 32. Ke4 

32. Kc4 is answered by 32...a5 and 33 Rc2+

32....Rxb3 33. g4 Rg3 34. g5 b3 35. Rh8 ??

35. Rf7 was the only move to stop the pawn but Black retains better chances.

35... Ka5

The engine shows the simple win with 35... Rg4+ 36. Kxe5 (36. Kf5 Rb4 -+) 36... Ka5 37. Rb8 Kxa4 ! This is the unexpected move. The rook dominates the white king-side pawns and neither can
push forward. 38. Kf5 Rb4 and queens with check. 39. Rxb4+ Kxb4 40. g6 b2
41. g7 b1=Q+ 42. Kf6 Qh7 43. Kf7 a5 44. Kf8 Qf5+ 45. Ke8 Qg6+ 46. Kf8 Qf6+ 47.
Kg8 a4 wins easily.

36. Kxe5 Kxa4 37. Kf4 b2 38. Rb8 Rb3 39. Rxb3 Kxb3 40. g6 b1=Q 41. h5 Qb2 42. h6 Qf6+ 0-1

Replay below

In the fourth round my opponent played a dubious combination.

Ng Jen Sheng  - Jimmy Liew

18. Nxe5?? Bxe5 19. Rd8+ Ka7 20. Rxa8+ Kxa8 21. Rd8+ Ka7
22. Bxf7 Bxc3 23. bxc3 Nxe4 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Bxe8 Nf6 26. Bh5

Better 26. Bf7 Nxg4 Black is still winning but with minor pieces on, more care is needed. The text
move allows liquidation into a won pawn ending for black.

26... Kb6 27. Kd2 Ka5 28. Kd3 Kxa4 29. Kc4 Nxh5 30. gxh5 Ka3? 

I miscounted the moves. The ending is easily won after 30... a5 31. h3 Ka3 32. Kd5 Kb2 33. Ke6 a4 34. Kf7 a3 35. Kxg7 a2 36. f6 a1=Q

31. Kd5 Kb2 32. Ke6 a5 33. Kf7 a4 34. Kxg7 a3 35. f6 a2 36. f7 a1=Q 37. f8=Q Qg1+ 38. Kxh6 Qxh2 39. Qb4+ Kxc2 40. Qxb7 Qd6+ 41. Kg5 Qe5+ 42. Kg6 Qe6+ 1/2-1/2

Replay below

The sixth round was a disaster. I effectively lost a piece after 14 moves.

Kamalarifin Wahiduddin - Jimmy Liew

14....Bh4?? 15 f3 and now 15....Nf6 16 g3 traps the bishop on h4.

I won the last game through some luck...my opponent displaced a piece which is penalized by loss of the game. My final score was 5.5/7 good for 7th place!

DATCC Open Invitation

Knowledgeable chess players and fans should have known that the Dato Arthur Tan Centre in Wilayah Kompleks has closed down. The good news is DATCC has relocated to new premises in Setapak.

Chess fans and players are invited to its Open Day this coming Sunday 29th November. A blitz tournament will be held in conjunction with the opening. Further details below:

Date: Sunday, 29 November 2015 - Time: 4 – 7pm.

Opening: 4:30 - Makan: 4:45 – 5:30 - Blitz Tournament: 5:30– 7:00

Add: F-3A-09 StarParc Point, (opposite Setapak Central), Jalan Tmn Ibu Kota,Tmn Danau Kota, 53300 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

2015 Malaysian Chess Festival

The 12th edition of this Festival ended Sunday. As in past years, the players were treated to a sumptuous dinner followed by the prize ceremony.

I partipated in the KLK Seniors section as in past years. I have always come second but this year was a stronger field with two grandmasters and a strong IM from Indonesia. My final placing was 5th good for the Best Malaysian prize.

The winner was Dimitry Kayumov, also a previous champion. This year there was stiff challenge from Russian GM Fominyh and IM Ronny Gunawan from Indonesia. In the end Kayumov drew with both and won the rest of his games for a 8/9 score. Fominyh came in second as he was held to a draw from Filipino Bagamasbad Efren. Ronny Gunawan took the third placing with solid play despite being away from serious competition for over twenty years.

In round six I bungled this won ending.

Jimmy Liew - Dang Tat Thang

I was down to increments and continued poorly. The simple win is to defend the f-pawn and advance with the king, 39. Rh4 Ke7 40. Kc3 Ke6 41. Kd4 Kf5 42.
Rh6 and white will pick up the queen-side pawns. I thought I played a clever move.

 39. e6  Expecting to pick up Black's b-pawn.

39... a6 Totally overlooked by me. The win is more difficult now as pawn exchanges on the king-side is now inevitable. The line is 41. exf7 Kxf7 42. Rh7+! Kg6  (If the king goes to the back rank he is cut off forever and will lose) 43. Ra7 b4 44. Rxa6+ Kf5 45. a4! Maintains a pawn for an easy win.
Black's pawns on c4 and b4 are easily blocked by the white king.

40 f5?? After this the draw is secured for black.

41... fxe6 42. fxe6 b4 43. axb4 (43. a4 Nc5 44. Rc8 Nxa4 45. Rxc4 Kxe6 is an easy draw. )
43... Nxb4+ 44. Kc3 Nd5+ 45. Kxc4 Nf4 46. Ra8 Kxe6 47. Rxa6+ Ke5 48. Ra1 Ke4 and white no longer can win.

The Malaysian Open was won by Jahongir Vakhidov. He has been playing here for a number of years as an untitled player but is now a full fledged GM.  He won the first four rounds but slowed down in the last three with consecutive draws. This allowed a number of players to catch up and he only won on tie-break.

It is clear that Malaysian players are streets behind the rest in the region. This is more glaring in the Challengers section where the top two seeds are locals but they could not challenge the unrated Filipinos and Indonesians. Philippines swept most of the top prizes.

The only bright spot I could see was local lass Ho Chen Ee, rated a lowly 1461 scored 6/9 against mostly higher rated players to finish 18th and gain a whopping 160 ELO points.

Full chess results:

Malaysia Challenge

Malaysia Open

KLK Seniors

Writing the Veresov

When I was offered to write a book on the Veresov for Everyman Chess, I had no idea how much time I was committing myself to this book. After all I had been playing the opening all my life; so how difficult could it be? I only started examining the Move by Move format after signing the contract. This is a question and answer format pioneered by Everyman Chess which is quite different to any chess book I have encountered.

All in, it took a year to get a first draft out and another four months before the book was ready for publication.

So what goes into producing an opening book? Roughly the steps I went through were:

1. Sieve through as many games as possible from various sources.
2. Decide which games were suitable for inclusion. It did not matter who the players were or what format it was played under (blitz, rapid, online etc), as long as I thought it was of some value to readers.
3. Going through my own analysis and notes for inclusion.
4. Structuring the chapters. I started with less common lines before moving on to the main lines.
5. I mainly did all the work in Chessbase and using an external program to engine-check the games and analysis.
6. Finally, transfer everything from Chessbase to Microsoft Word
7. Prepared the List of Games at the end of the book. This was very trying because as I checked my work, I kept making changes and everytime  I had to update the page numbers for every game!

Still , it was a great experience and I learned a lot about writing on chess openings. So much that I have contracted on a second book!

Copies of the book can be purchased from me directly by contacting me at cmliew@gmail.com or cmliewjimmy@yahoo.com. Alternatively my mobile is 6019-6571628. The book is priced at RM98 plus RM10 for postage.

Lessons on rigging the deck

First, read Peter Long's article today.

I can confirm that a part of Peter's accusations at MCF is true.

The MCF President and his men are trying to keep those affiliates who are known to be "unfriendly" away from the coming elections and according to Peter, one of the tactics will be to suspend these affiliates thereby preventing them from voting at the coming AGM.

I know at least one affiliate which is eager to pay up whatever is outstanding. The MCF President and Secretary thwarts this by just refusing to issue any invoice. Attempts to contact them are just ignored.

At the last election in 2013, the President and his entire committee were allowed to vote. This is unprecedented and unheard off. The normal practice is for all MCF council and committee to be discharged from their positions at the start of election process. They thus have no further roles to play in the proceedings unless they are also the official delegate for an affiliate.

The votes from the President's men helped to beat off his challenger at that AGM. The big mistake by the challenger and his supporters were to allow this illegal voting to happen. They should have just walked out even though it meant the incumbent would retain his presidency. That way they could have challenged the election process in court.

It is a fact that the majority of the committee will support the incumbent as they either owe their positions to him or stand to benefit from their positions and wants to continue in office. This explains why the recent appointments and  shuffling in positions. It is merely to beef up their vote bank. If you are appointed to your position by the President it is likely that you will want to see that same President in place for the next two years, so you will vote accordingly.

Saving Malaysian Chess

My favourite TV series is Game of Thrones which is based on the books written by George R. R. Martin. One often repeated saying in the series is “Winter is coming”, a reference to the dark and difficult times that will come after summer ends. In this fantasy world, seasons lasts years not months.

This is Sam, one of the main characters in GOT, I kind of taken a liking to his character, though Mr. Martin keeps killing off characters whom the viewers starts identifying with , with startling regularity. It is quite annoying. Thankfully, Sam has survived till the end of season five.

Anyway, winter may be coming in Season 6 for Game of Thrones but Malaysian chess has already been entrenched in this “winter” for many years.

A few years ago I wrote a piece on the future of Malaysian chess.

That was five years ago. Till today I see nothing has changed, Malaysian chess is still floundering and regressing. In my post above I argued that the Malaysian Chess Federation is to be blamed and its leadership should be held accountable.

What has the current MCF President done to promote the game? The answer is Nothing. So why does one so desperately cling on to this post that does not come with any obvious benefit other than the title of President? He is not a chess lover nor a chess player as far as we know.

What contributions did he make to Malaysian chess since becoming President? The federation’s finances are still in a mess. For a while our players were even taken off the FIDE Elo Rating List due to our federation being in arrears (this has since been rectified). Every two years MCF have to go hat in hand looking for someone to pick up the tab for sending a team to the Chess Olympiads. In 2014 MCF only managed to get enough money to send a men’s team. Our women’s team which had participated in 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk and 2012 Istanbul were left out.

The federation has effectively been running on auto-pilot for many years. Recently I read a interesting piece of news here.

If I remember correctly, only the posts of Treasurer, Secretary and Auditors are appointed positions. The rest are elected during the AGM every two years. Basically the MCF committee has now started electing themselves to different positions without holding any EGM. I am unsure if this is constitutional but this year is an election year so why start shuffling positions when we are just a few months short of an AGM in an election year.

The reason I am writing this post is that I have been informed that Dato’ Tan Chin Nam, who has stayed out of the Malaysian Chess Federation since stepping down in 2005 in favor of the current incumbent, Tan Sri Ramli bin Ngah Talib, has decided to return as MCF President. When I heard this news I did a double-take. I had to check with my source that I had heard him correctly.

My first thoughts. Why is Dato’ Tan making a comeback to the President post? And what will he bring with him to the table?

It cannot be denied that the man has very deep pockets but this is not his most best qualification for the post of President. He has a deep love of the game. It is common for him to play at least one game daily. He makes it a point to be updated on what is going on in the world of chess locally as well as internationally. He is genuinely trying to promote the game not only amongst chessplayers but also others who depends on chess part-time or full-time like arbiters and coaches.

He has good intentions but what else? MCF like any other organization, cannot function as well without funds. Dato’ Tan understands this very well and has promised not only to ensure that MCF have the necessary finances to function and promote the game. The state affiliates will not be left out but they will also benefit. I have the privilege of chatting with him on more than a few ocassions and he has shared some of his plans with me over the past year. 

In the works are plans to hold nation-wide series of Grand Prix style tournaments and possibly IM/GM tournaments. There are plans to set up a chess center in Mid Valley Megamall which will be used for chess training and also act as the Malaysian Chess Federation office. It will also be a place for chess lovers to come together to socialise and play chess.

The question is whether there will be a new invigorated Malaysian Chess Federation after the forthcoming elections. A federation that can put forward looking policies in place and a rejuvenated chess program. Or will we see the same tired faces re-elected and we all continue to wither in this “chess winter”?