In round six, he won a game against a strong grandmaster with some neat tactics.
The Chinese super GM Wang Hao is the top seed but is not doing well with only five points.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Indian sensation leads Abu Dhabi Masters
The Masters section of the Abu Dhabi Festival is in its eight round. A young Indian IM is leading the field which includes 32 grandmasters. IM Murali Karthekeyan rated at 2462 has six points after drawing two games and winning five beating four grandmasters in a row. His current performance is 2830!
In round six, he won a game against a strong grandmaster with some neat tactics.
The Chinese super GM Wang Hao is the top seed but is not doing well with only five points.
In round six, he won a game against a strong grandmaster with some neat tactics.
The Chinese super GM Wang Hao is the top seed but is not doing well with only five points.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Susan Polgar interviews Olympiad winners
Here is an press conference held by Susan Polgar for the Open winners. Good questions being posed by reporters and our players and officials should take note of the answers and comments from the Chinese team , we could learn something.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Tromso Olympiad Final Results
The Tromso Olympiad will be remembered for China's first ever gold and the failure of Russia, Ukraine and Armenia to win any medals.
In the Open, the silver went to Hungary on tie-break. A great send-off for GM Judit Polgar who had just announce her retirement. A deserving final olympiad for a great player and classy lady. The big surprise was India taking the bronze, again on tie-break ahead of Russia. A great success for the Indians who are playing without their best player, Anand. The team performed fantastically and only lost two games. Their fourth board , GMAdhiban played every game without loss.
In the Women Olympiad, Russia took gold ahead of China (silver) and Ukraine (bronze).
Board Prizes
Board prizes are awarded to the players with the highest performance on their boards. The most closely watched is the Open Board 1 which was won by Veselin Topalov, even after losing to Vladimir Kramnik.
Note China's Yu Yangyi performance on board three, an unbelievable 2912!
Malaysian results
Both Malaysian team lost all games in the final round, the men's to Norway and our women's to Australia. This was a tragedy for our girls as they were leading Category "C" before the final round. A draw would still have given them the bronze but the Australians were too strong. The only two consolations was Azhar Puteri Rifqah Fahada gaining the WFM and WCM norms with her 6/9 score and the team finished in 54th position out of a seeding of 78th.
The men's team finished in 72nd position better than the seeding of 103rd. A good result but still, a bit of a distance from the previous Istanbul olympiad where we finished in 64th position.
In the Open, the silver went to Hungary on tie-break. A great send-off for GM Judit Polgar who had just announce her retirement. A deserving final olympiad for a great player and classy lady. The big surprise was India taking the bronze, again on tie-break ahead of Russia. A great success for the Indians who are playing without their best player, Anand. The team performed fantastically and only lost two games. Their fourth board , GMAdhiban played every game without loss.
Board prizes are awarded to the players with the highest performance on their boards. The most closely watched is the Open Board 1 which was won by Veselin Topalov, even after losing to Vladimir Kramnik.
Note China's Yu Yangyi performance on board three, an unbelievable 2912!
 |
| Open Board Prize Winners |
 |
| Women Board Prize Winners |
Malaysian results
Both Malaysian team lost all games in the final round, the men's to Norway and our women's to Australia. This was a tragedy for our girls as they were leading Category "C" before the final round. A draw would still have given them the bronze but the Australians were too strong. The only two consolations was Azhar Puteri Rifqah Fahada gaining the WFM and WCM norms with her 6/9 score and the team finished in 54th position out of a seeding of 78th.
The men's team finished in 72nd position better than the seeding of 103rd. A good result but still, a bit of a distance from the previous Istanbul olympiad where we finished in 64th position.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Judit Polgar announces retirement
A piece in ChessBase about Judit Polgar's retirement from chess. Lots of mixed emotions I have now.
Round 11: Malaysian Women's
I have not been following our Malaysian women's team as there are just too many interesting matches and games in every round. I only knew that they were doing very well. I have just checked their progress and very happy to report their success.
The team has scored 12 match points (same as the men) and lies in 40th position. A very good result as they are original seeded 78th. In the olympiads, there are rating categories with trophies for gold, silver and bronze. Malaysia is leading Category C and a win will give them the gold. For the record, our women's won the bronze in the 2012 Istanbul olympiad.
The fifth board, Azhar Puteri Rifqah Fahada, is making her first olympiad appearance, and very successfully too. Losing only one game in eight matches, she has 6/8 and a 2105 rating performance. This means that she has the chance to get one WFM norm with a good result in the final game. The years of hard work that she has put in is finally paying off.
In the final round, the team meets Australia.
The team has scored 12 match points (same as the men) and lies in 40th position. A very good result as they are original seeded 78th. In the olympiads, there are rating categories with trophies for gold, silver and bronze. Malaysia is leading Category C and a win will give them the gold. For the record, our women's won the bronze in the 2012 Istanbul olympiad.
The fifth board, Azhar Puteri Rifqah Fahada, is making her first olympiad appearance, and very successfully too. Losing only one game in eight matches, she has 6/8 and a 2105 rating performance. This means that she has the chance to get one WFM norm with a good result in the final game. The years of hard work that she has put in is finally paying off.
In the final round, the team meets Australia.
Round 11: Malaysia meets Norway!
The final round of the Tromso Olympiad will continue on Thursday, 14th August 2014 as today is a rest day. History awaits Malaysia as we are drawn to meet Norway! As the home team, Norway is always playing on the third boards and their matches are always covered on their local TV stations. Our boys will be in the limelight in the final round.
I hope Carlsen will play and give our IM Lim Yee Weng a chance of a life-time to play with a world champion in a proper tournament. Carlsen lost to Ivan Saric in the 10th round so he may not take another risk to lose more rating points.
China is poised to make history as she has a one point lead over second placed Hungary. China plays Poland which has done much better than its original ranking. They beat Bulgaria in the 10th round. A draw may be enough for China to take gold on tie-breakers as they have beaten their nearest rival, Hungary.
The Chinese team have been outstanding on all boards. They only lost one game (Wang Yue against Leko)! GM Ding Liren and GM Yu Yangyi making their first olympiad appearance is the revelation of the tournament. They are not that known on the world stage, although they are familiar names in Asia. Ding Liren is performing at 2801 while Yu Yangyi is at a staggering 2902 and this shows that China fully deserves to be at the top.
Hungary meets Ukraine for a shot at the silver. Ukraine must win to have any medal prospects. Top seed Russia meets third seed France and this is also another possible medal match. All in all, this will be a most exciting finish to the Tromso Olympiad.
I hope Carlsen will play and give our IM Lim Yee Weng a chance of a life-time to play with a world champion in a proper tournament. Carlsen lost to Ivan Saric in the 10th round so he may not take another risk to lose more rating points.
China is poised to make history as she has a one point lead over second placed Hungary. China plays Poland which has done much better than its original ranking. They beat Bulgaria in the 10th round. A draw may be enough for China to take gold on tie-breakers as they have beaten their nearest rival, Hungary.
The Chinese team have been outstanding on all boards. They only lost one game (Wang Yue against Leko)! GM Ding Liren and GM Yu Yangyi making their first olympiad appearance is the revelation of the tournament. They are not that known on the world stage, although they are familiar names in Asia. Ding Liren is performing at 2801 while Yu Yangyi is at a staggering 2902 and this shows that China fully deserves to be at the top.
Hungary meets Ukraine for a shot at the silver. Ukraine must win to have any medal prospects. Top seed Russia meets third seed France and this is also another possible medal match. All in all, this will be a most exciting finish to the Tromso Olympiad.
Round 10: Malaysia draws Switzerland!
Our Men's team has just completed their games against Switzerland and the surprise result was a draw!
In this match, strangely all black players won!
On first board, IM Lim Yee Weng jumped on a mistake by GM Pelletier and suddenly his bishops became too menacing. Yee Weng finished with winning tactic starting with 25...Bxf2+. The same also happened on third board when IM Georgladis weakened his king-side with the f4 push and again Yit San crashed through the white king-side. This draw puts Malaysia on 12 match points same as the Istanbul team but with an extra round to go. A final round win will put this team on a best ever placing in any olympiad.
In this match, strangely all black players won!
On first board, IM Lim Yee Weng jumped on a mistake by GM Pelletier and suddenly his bishops became too menacing. Yee Weng finished with winning tactic starting with 25...Bxf2+. The same also happened on third board when IM Georgladis weakened his king-side with the f4 push and again Yit San crashed through the white king-side. This draw puts Malaysia on 12 match points same as the Istanbul team but with an extra round to go. A final round win will put this team on a best ever placing in any olympiad.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Round 9: Leaders clash
At the Tromso Olympiad in Norway, two leaders have emerged at the pen-ultimate round with 15 match points. China will play against France in what may be a gold medal match.
A few teams are still in contention for medals amongst them are one of the favourites Ukraine currently a point behind. Ukraine meets another 14 pointer, Azerbaijan.
Malaysia team continues with a good run by drawing the higher rated Tajikistan 2-2. Both the bottom boards won. Fadzil had the good fortune of winning a piece after his opponent blundered in the early middle-game. Fong Yit San's impressive victory over IM Jamshed Isaev gave Malaysia the other point.
Malaysia has reached 11 match points , just one short of the points obtained in the last Olympiad. With two more rounds to go, the current team have good chances of improving. However in this 10th round, the team has to deal with a strong Swiss team. We have met Switzerland in Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 scoring one point and also at Turin 2006 where we scored a shock 2.5-1.5, IM Mas beating GM Korchnoi on the first board.
At time of writing the games are in progress and it is still too early to predict what will happen.
A few teams are still in contention for medals amongst them are one of the favourites Ukraine currently a point behind. Ukraine meets another 14 pointer, Azerbaijan.
Malaysia team continues with a good run by drawing the higher rated Tajikistan 2-2. Both the bottom boards won. Fadzil had the good fortune of winning a piece after his opponent blundered in the early middle-game. Fong Yit San's impressive victory over IM Jamshed Isaev gave Malaysia the other point.
Malaysia has reached 11 match points , just one short of the points obtained in the last Olympiad. With two more rounds to go, the current team have good chances of improving. However in this 10th round, the team has to deal with a strong Swiss team. We have met Switzerland in Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 scoring one point and also at Turin 2006 where we scored a shock 2.5-1.5, IM Mas beating GM Korchnoi on the first board.
At time of writing the games are in progress and it is still too early to predict what will happen.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Round 8: China leads
China is the sole leader after eight rounds of the Tromso Olympiad. They convincingly beat Azerbaijian 3-1 in the match yesterda. Will China lift the trophy this year? This could happen as the favourites, Russia and Armenia, all past winners are almost out of contention for medals.
Malaysia had another good round beating a weak Pakistan 3-1, although the positions after two rounds of play did not indicate such a result. Fadzil Nayan came through with a win despite opposite colored bishops and Yee Weng took care of IM Lodhi on first board.
Malaysia will now play Tajikistan in the ninth round, one of their strongest pairings since the first round.
Malaysia had another good round beating a weak Pakistan 3-1, although the positions after two rounds of play did not indicate such a result. Fadzil Nayan came through with a win despite opposite colored bishops and Yee Weng took care of IM Lodhi on first board.
Malaysia will now play Tajikistan in the ninth round, one of their strongest pairings since the first round.
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Round 7: Malaysia beats Nigeria 4-0, Russia in shock
In the seventh round of the Tromso Olympiad, the Malaysian men beat Nigeria 4-0. Everyone won smoothly as the Nigerians offered little resistance. Malaysia is now in 65th position with 8 match points and extra-ordinary result.
However there is still four more rounds to go. In the eight round Malaysia will meet Pakistan. The Pakistanis are seeded 159, but this is due to their having three unrated players and they are not weak. On paper it looks like Malaysia have another chance to win their fifth match but the opponents cannot be under-estimated.
Their were two leaders at the start of round seven. The surprise is that neither are the heavy favourites, who are finding this olympiad unusually tough. Cuba lost 1.5-2.5 to Azerbaijan despite Domingo Lenier beating Mamedvyrov. Azerbaijan is now in the sole lead with 13 match points.
The biggest shock is Russia's demolition by the Czech Republic 1-3. Both their top boards lost their games.
Another big surprise is Carlsen losing to Germany's Arkadij Naiditsch. All other games were drawn so Norway has lost 1.5-2.5 to Germany.
China, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and surprise Romania are in second spot with twelve points.China will meet the leader ,Azerbaijan , in round eight.
However there is still four more rounds to go. In the eight round Malaysia will meet Pakistan. The Pakistanis are seeded 159, but this is due to their having three unrated players and they are not weak. On paper it looks like Malaysia have another chance to win their fifth match but the opponents cannot be under-estimated.
Their were two leaders at the start of round seven. The surprise is that neither are the heavy favourites, who are finding this olympiad unusually tough. Cuba lost 1.5-2.5 to Azerbaijan despite Domingo Lenier beating Mamedvyrov. Azerbaijan is now in the sole lead with 13 match points.
The biggest shock is Russia's demolition by the Czech Republic 1-3. Both their top boards lost their games.
Another big surprise is Carlsen losing to Germany's Arkadij Naiditsch. All other games were drawn so Norway has lost 1.5-2.5 to Germany.
China, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and surprise Romania are in second spot with twelve points.China will meet the leader ,Azerbaijan , in round eight.
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