35th Selangor International Open Chess Tournament - The Invitation

The Chess Association of Selangor invites local and international chess players to participate in our longest running 35th Selangor Open. Due to space constraint we may have to just accomodate up to 80 players only.Please preregister at our email address or submit your application to our sponsor Royal Selangor, Petaling Jaya office.

Persatuan Catur Selangor menjemput pemain catur tempatan dan luar negara mengambil bahagian di Catur Terbuka Selangor yang ke 35, pertandingan catur bertaraf antarabangsa paling lama diadakan di Malaysia. Oleh kerana tempat yang terhad kepada tidak melebehi 80 peserta di harap membuat pendaftaran awal melalui email atau menghantar terus borang penyertaan kepada penganjur, Royal Selangor cawangan Petaling Jaya.

35th Royal Selangor International Open Chess Championship from 30th April to 4th May

The Champion for this 9 rounds FIDE-rated event will receives RM 2,200 cash plus Royal Selangor Pewterware. The event: 30th April to 4th May 2008 @ Royal Selangor HQ, Setapak Jaya, Kuala Lumpur.

Entrance Fee for CAS Members only >> RM 70, while Others >> RM 110.

For pre-registration, please send an email to selangorchess@gmail.com

10th CAS Second Quarter Allegro on 6th Apr [Wilayah Complex]

CAS will continue to organise this one day self-funded tournament. For the matter, CAS has increased the total prize fund to RM 1,900 for the two categories to be contested as compared to RM 1,800 on offer during the First Quarter edition on 24th Feb 2008 despite making no less than RM 700 losses.

Category 1 will offers 10 main cash prizes plus 3 best U12 prizes. While, Category 2 offers 10 main prizes plus 3 best Girl's prizes.

According to CAS officials, it may comes a day when CAS will retire this event from the Association calendar if the numbers of participants registered are constantly below 100 pax where only a small percentage is actually the Association members. For the record, CAS needs at least 120 pax in combined of 2 categories for this event to break even.

Category 1 is open to chess players with NATIONAL RATING 1400 AND ABOVE ONLY. While, Category 2 is open to chess players with NATIONAL RATING BELOW 1400. As for non-rated participants, adult and Under-18 have to join Category 1 and Category 2 respectively.

Beginning 2008, CAS will be introducing an exclusive offer to parents with children. Now, any parent who sign-up as CAS member will also see your children (non CAS member) to be entitled to the benefit of lower entrance fee.

For those who wish to take part in this event, please email your name and category to selangorchess@gmail.com before 4th Apr 2008 for pre-registration.

NAG 2008 Medal Tally

This year National Age-Group has come to an end on Wednesday. Unlike last year, there will not be another round of competition among the prizewinners in each category. There are two main reasons for the change and this year format is very likely to be used as the format for National Age-Group in future.

The first reason is the event is now running using the standard time just like any International event (minus the 30 seconds increment from move 1). The second reason is that more rounds have been added to accommodate for a better result especially for the top 4 in the standing.

For your general information, a good swiss pairing tournament must have at least minimum rounds based on the number of players per category plus 2 additional rounds. Meanwhile, a very good tournament will be required to have minimum rounds plus 3 additional rounds.

So for a group that has maximum of 32 players, then 5 rounds would be the minimum rounds required. While, group that has maximum of 64 players will has 6 rounds as the minimum rounds.

This year Championship is conducted over 8 rounds which means most groups have minimum rounds + 2 rounds, while some groups which has smaller turn-out is enjoying minimum rounds + 3 rounds.

After a grueling 3 days of competition, the medal tally as follows:
Selangor >>> (6 gold - 0 silver - 4 bronze)
KL >>>>>>>>> (2 gold - 5 silver - 4 bronze)
Malacca >>>> (1 gold - 0 silver - 0 bronze)
Johor >>>>>> (1 gold - 0 silver - 0 bronze)
Penang >>>>> (0 gold - 3 silver - 2 bronze)
Kedah >>>>>> (0 gold - 1 silver - 0 bronze)
Perak >>>>>> (0 gold - 1 silver - 0 bronze)

Selangor for the first time in recent years has been so dominant in chess. Congratulation to Selangor. With the statistic, Klang Valley players have contributed 80% of the medal tally. Kedah and Perak have made some in-road to the Championship.

A separate selection tournament for the top 4 players in each group will be held at Wilayah Complex on 13th and 14th March at Wilayah Complex for players to vie for a place in this year World, Asian, and Asean Age-Group. The outcome of this selection competition is not related to the concluded NAG and will not affect the status of prizewinners in the NAG 2008. Any qualifier who has no intention to compete in any of the 3 events need not join the selection. Their seat will be offer to the next in-line based on the NAG 2008 result.

National Age Group Chess Championship 2008 Ends

1. Under-8 Girls >>> Puteri Rifqah Fahada of Selangor has lived up to expectation as reported after 2 days of competition to win her last 2 games on Day 3 with a total of 7.5 points to deliver a gold medal for Selangor. Maisarrah Noor Akbar of Kuala Lumpur had to settle for a silver medal even though she won her last 2 rounds to finish with 7 points. Puteri Munajjah, younger sister of the champion, has grabbed the Bronze for Selangor when she won on tie-break score over Nithyalakshmi Sivanesan of Negeri Sembilan who also scores 5.5 points.

2. Under-8 Boys >>> Kuala Lumpur players Tan Yong Zhao and Danish Hamzah Al-Hadi Noor Akbar had won all the games on Day 3 to finish the event with 7.5 points. However, the former extended the tie-break points from 1.5 points after 6 rounds of competition to 2.5 points at the end of the competition. Edwin Tan of Selangor has to settle for Bronze after collecting 6 wins and two losses against both players.

3. Under-10 Girls >>> Nur Najiha of Selangor has lived up to expectation as reported after 2 days of competition to win her last 2 games on Day 3 with a total of 7.5 points to deliver a gold medal for Selangor. Wendy Tan of Kuala Lumpur won her last two games to grab the Silver. While, Ee Sun-Xin of Selangor could not recover in time from her overnight Championship game lost to Najiha when she lost to Tan Jia Yun of Penang in Round 7. However, she bounces back by crafting out a victory against second seed Nurul Aina of Kuala Lumpur in the last round. She won the Bronze for Selangor on tie-break count over Tan Jia Yun and Camilia Johari.

4. Under-10 Boys >>> Yeoh Li Tian of Selangor too has lived up to expectation as reported after 2 days of competition to win his last 2 games on Day 3 with a total of 7.5 points to deliver a gold medal for Selangor. The surprise silver medalist Aron Teh of Perak (who lives in Taiwan now together with his parents) defeated Kuala Lumpur hopeful Muhd Aziz Farhan Noor Akbar and Shreyes of Pahang in Day 3 to finish with 7 points. His only lost is to Yeoh in Round 4. His victory against other established players in his category may be seen as a surprise to many in our chess community but personally I’m aware of his ability and talent since last year when he join one of the CAS events during his holiday in Malaysia and has corresponded with his parents via emails to see if the boy can come back to Malaysia to compete in the Championship. Muhd Aziz took the Bronze.

5. Under-12 Girls >>> Nur Nabila Azman Hisham has delivered the gold medal for Selangor by winning all 8 games in the competition. She is the only player in this year edition to obtain a perfect score. Fairuz Hamizah of Kedah has maintained her 2nd position as reported at the end of Day 2 by defeating Hoh Tjin Hui of Penang in the last round. Her only lost is to Nabila. While, Hoh won the bronze for Penang on tie-break count over Najihah of Kelantan and Yap Ern Yee of Kuala Lumpur.

6. Under-12 Boys >>> Tan Wei Hao has won a gold medal for Kuala Lumpur when he won his last 2 games encounter against Roshan Singh of Selangor and Jeff Tan of Kuala Lumpur. His Championship looks like over when Jeff lost to Elgin Lee of Penang in Round 7 to maintain a half point lead over him although he has a superior lead on tie-break count. The last round encounter had pitted Elgin against Albert Ang of Kuala Lumpur who is also trailing Elgin with half point and has an inferior tie-break count on Board 1. While, Board 2 saw Tan against Jeff who is already out of contention after his lost to Elgin. Tan clinched his victory over Jeff and has to wait anxiously for 1 hour to see the outcome on Board 1 that played till the end of 3 hours. Tan will be crowned as champion if Elgin cannot win against Albert. Finally, Albert, a fellow Academy student like Tan, has managed to hold his game against Elgin and thus make Tan the new Champion. Tan was the U-10 National Champion last year. His achievement has emulated his senior, Fong Yip Siang, who won the National U-10 title in 2003 and National U-12 title in 2004 under the guidance of Malaysian Chess Academy.

7. Under-14 Girls >>> Alia Anin Azwa Bakri of Malacca had unexpectedly managed to pip Latifah Kaisyah of Kuala Lumpur on tie-break count when the latter cannot win her last game against Hoh Tjin Li of Penang where she only manage to draw. With the unexpected turn of event, this put both players at 6 points from 7 games. Selangor Winnie Hong won her last two games against Pahang top rank player Sarika Subramaniam followed by defeating Selangor top rank Amira Syahmina to finish with 5 points.

8. Under-14 Boys >>> This category has a major upset. As reported at the end of Day 2, this category is likely to belong to Penang since they have 3 out of 6 players in contention for the title. In Round 7, Evan Timothy of Penang on Board 1 with half-point lead over the field drew with Defending Champion Muhd Syakir of Selangor, and Keok Kai En of Penang too drew with his opponent on Board 2. While, Low Jun Jian of Selangor and Patrick Lim of Penang won on Board 3 and 4 respectively to join Evan and Keok as the joint leaders entering into the last round. The last round had pitted Patrick against Keok on top of the table clash. Both Penangites had an early draw which proven to be their biggest blunder! Syakir and Nabil on Board 2 & 3 who is the tournament 1st and 2nd seeded players eventually defeat their respective higher score opponents to create a situation where 5 players tied with 6 points from 8 games. On tie-break count, it is surprising that Muhd Syakir emerge as Champion, followed by Keok and Patrick.

9. Under-16 girls >>> Renitha of Johor had to wait anxiously when she could only drew both her games on Day 3 and ended up with 6 points to tie with Ong Choon Yong of Penang when the latter won both her games. Renitha looks joyful when she learnt that she had beaten Ong on tie-break count by a mere 1 point. Nurul Akila Rohizan of Kuala Lumpur ended the event with a Bronze.

10. Under-16 Boys >>> The situation in this category is similar to the Girls U-16, where overnight leader Edward Lee of Selangor drew both his games on Day 3 against the City boys Izz and Lim Zhuo Ren. Another city boy,Tan Ken Wei, took full advantage of the situation to close the gap by winning the last 2 rounds and ended up having the same score as Lee. Lee is so lucky to have won the title on tie-break count to give Selangor its 6th gold medal and make Selangor the most successful state in Malaysia for this year National Age-Group. Both Tan and Izz finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Coach Lim Trainees Have Ruled the National U-12 For Six Years In A Row

Once again, Coach Lim has proven his ability to provide effective and successful guidances for children to become National Champion via Chess Training Excellence Programme aka CTEP. [Updated on 15th Apr 2010] Coach Lim has produced 6 National Champions in U-12 Boys Category from 2004 to 2009.

In 2004, Fong Yip Siang (his maiden student)of Selangor had captured the U12 Boys title, the baton was passed on to Muhd Izz Saifuddin of Kuala Lumpur in 2005, followed by Chiang Ye-John of Selangor in 2006, [Updated on 15th Apr 2010] Yeap Eng Chiam of Kuala Lumpur in 2007, and Tan Wei Hao of Kuala Lumpur in 2008 and 2009. [Updated on 15th Apr 2010] For some privacy reason, Yeap name was not listed until recently.

[Updated on 15th Mar 2012] After a lapse of two years, Coach Lim has done it again. In 2012 edition, Tan Yong Zhao of Kuala Lumpur has captured the National Boys U-12 Chess Champion title. With Tan's latest success, Coach Lim has produced 7 National Boys U-12 Champion in a span of 9 years!

Coach Lim wishes to congratulate all the Champions mentioned above on their successes and wish all of them have a greater success in their working careers when they grown up.

Last but not least, Coach Lim Tse Pin who is also an International Arbiter aka IA has created two records in Malaysia Chess history i.e. 1) 6 years In-A-Row National Championship Records; 2) The Most Numbers of Champions Ever Produced in a Single Category of NAG.

A national chess champion (proven track record many times over) can be born with 2 to 3 years of continuous chess training.

NAG 2008 Round 8 Updates

Round 8 (Girls) - The top three boards in action:

Under-08 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Puteri Rifqah [seeded 1st] vs Catherine Khaw Hui Yang [seeded 9th] >> White Won
2. Maisarrah [seeded 5th] vs Mindy Tan Wei Ting [seeded 6th] >> White Won
3. Siti Khadijah Sabirin [seeded 16th] vs Nithyalakshmi [seeded 2nd] >> Drew

Under-10 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Nur Najiha [seeded 4th] vs Kelly Lim [seeded 4th] >> White Won
2. Tan Jia Yun [seeded 10th] vs Wendy Tan [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
3. Nurul Aina [seeded 2nd] vs Ee Sun-Xin [seeded 8th] >> Black Won

Under-12 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Pavitranayagi [seeded 2nd] vs Nur Nabila [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
2. Fairuz Hamizah [seeded 7th] vs Hoh Tjin Hui [seeded 3rd] >> White Won
3. Yap Ern Yee [seeded 10th] vs Nurliyana Zulkifli [seeded 8th] >> Drew

Under-14 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Latifah Kaisyah [seeded 3rd] vs Hoh Tjin Li [seeded 9th] >> Drew
2. Alia Anin Azwa [seeded 1st] vs Nur Fieqah [seeded 14th] >> White Won
3. Amira Syahmina [seeded 2nd] vs Winnie Hong [seeded 4th] >> Black Won

Under-16 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Renitha Narayanan [seeded 4th] vs Lee Lee Yin [seeded 9th] >> Drew
2. Nurul Atiqah Rohizan [seeded 3rd] vs Chin Yuen Sue [seeded 6th] >> Drew
3. Ong Choon Yong [seeded 7th] vs Lau Hui Ting [seeded 13th] >> White Won

Round 8 (Boys) - The top five boards in action:

Under-08 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Ian Teh [seeded 10th] vs Danish Hamzah [seeded 2nd] >> Black Won
2. Amier Hamzah [seeded 4th]vs Tan Yong Zhao [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
3. Tan Xu Zheng [seeded 8th] vs Edwin Tan [seeded 6th] >> Black Won
4. Eng Ying Xuan [seeded 18th] vs Kabir Singh [seeded 13th] >> White Won
5. Muhd Zulfikri [seeded 3rd] vs Wong Yinn Long [seeded 25th] >> White Won

Under-10 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Tang Wei Kit [seeded 23rd] vs Yeoh Li Tian [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
2. Shreyes Subramaniam [seeded 7th] vs Aron Teh [seeded 4th] >> Black Won
3. Muhd Aziz Farhan [seeded 2nd] vs William Lee [seeded 6th] >> White Won
4. Subramanian Sivanesan [seeded 5th] vs Ooi Yen Hoe [seeded 49th] >> White Won
5. Mohd Faizal Roslan [seeded 3rd] vs Low Hong Ben [seeded 9th] >> Black Won

Under-12 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Elgin Lee [seeded 6th] vs Albert Ang [seeded 4th] >> Drew
2. Tan Wei Hao [seeded 3rd] vs Jeff Tan [seeded 7th] >> White Won
3. Muhd Irfan [seeded 12th] vs Daniel Iskandar [seeded 1st] >> White Won
4. Tan Soon Keat [seeded 63rd] vs Low Jun Keat [seeded 2nd] >> Black Won
5. Fikri Saleh [seeded 8th] vs Roshan Singh [seeded 14th] >> Black Won

Under-14 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Patrick Lim [seeded 15th] vs Keok Kai En [seeded 17th] >> Drew
2. Low Jun Jian [seeded 3rd] vs Muhd Syakir [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
3. Muhd Nabil [seeded 2nd] vs Evan Timothy [seeded 5th] >> White Won
4. Joshua Teo [seeded 9th] vs Nicholas Lee [seeded 8th] >> Black Won
5. P'ng Ren Chi [seeded 16th] vs Lee Jing Yao [seeded 22nd] >> Drew

Under-16 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Edward Lee [seeded 4th] vs Lim Zhuo Ren [seeded 1st] >> Drew
2. Muhd Tariq [seeded 13th] vs Tan Ken Wei [seeded 3rd] >> Black Won
3. Gavin Fong [seeded 7th] vs Muhd Izz [seeded 6th] >> Drew
4. Faeznor Razali [seeded 12th] vs Sumant Subramaniam [seeded 2nd] >> White Won
5. Fong Yip Siang [seeded 11th] vs Mark Siew [seeded 33rd] >> White Won

NAG 2008 After 6 Rounds

1. Under-8 Girls >>> Puteri Rifqah Fahada of Selangor has taken a half point lead over the field. With 2 rounds remaining, two of her strongest rival i.e. Nithyalakshmi Sivanesan and Nur Faqihah Aminuddin were no longer in contention for the Championship title. Maisarrah Noor Akbar of Kuala Lumpur is now her nearest rival but is unlike to catch Puteri since they had met and the latter won. This category is likely to win by Selangor through Puteri.

2. Under-8 Boys >>> Tan Yong Zhao of Kuala Lumpur drew his 5th round encounter with the Danish Hamzah Al-Hadi Noor Akbar. This category is likely to be a race to the finishing line that can be separated by tie-break bearing any upset to them in remaining round. Tan holds 1.5 points lead in tie-break. Muhd Zulfikri Sulkifly is already out of contention for the Championship title. This category goes to Kuala Lumpur.

3. Under-10 Girls >>> Wendy Tan Li Ting of Kuala Lumpur had suffered a shocking defeat at the hand of Ee Sun-Xin of Selangor in Round 5. In an earlier round, she can manage only a draw against Nur Najiha of Selangor. With this result, it is unlikely for her to win the Championship. On the other hand Nur Najiha has taken a one point lead over the field by defeating her compatriot Ee in Round 6. Meanwhile, Nurul Aina Akmar Rohizan lost 2 consecutives rounds to Najiha and Wendy that put her out of Championship reach. This category is likely to win by Selangor.

4. Under-10 Boys >>> Yeoh Li Tian of Selangor has taken a half point lead over the field. He drew with Muhd Aziz Farhan Noor Akbar of Kuala Lumpur in Round 6. With the result, Yeoh has only Faizal Roslan to clear whom he is playing this morning. Bearing any upset, this category is likely to win by Selangor through Yeoh.

5. Under-12 Girls >>> Nur Nabila Azman Hisham of Selangor has taken a full point lead over the field. She had defeated one of her strongest rivals i.e. Hoh Tjin Hui of Penang. Fairuz Hamizah has consolidated to 2nd place behind Nabila with wins against Pavitranayagi and Tang Kar Khei of Penang This category is likely to win by Selangor through Nabila.

6. Under-12 Boys >>> Top seed Daniel Iskandar Arif Noor Akbar of Kuala Lumpur is out of Championship contention after losing his Round 5 & 6 encounter against Elgin Lee of Penang and Jeff Tan of Kuala Lumpur. Second seed Low Jun Keat of Selangor picks up 3 wins to place him back into Championship contention. While, third seed Tan Wei Hao of Kuala Lumpur drew two of his games yesterday to trail the new leader Jeff and Elgin by half a point. These 2 players are playing each other in a mouth watering encounter. No clear indication yet which state will win this title.

7. Under-14 Girls >>> Alia Anin Azwa Bakri of Malacca had suffered a shocking defeat at the hand of Latifah Kaisyah of Kuala Lumpur. After 5 rounds, the latter hold a half point lead over the field of 14. The number of rounds played in this category has been reduced to 7 at the start of the Championship. Second seed Amira Syahmina Zullkafli of Selangor is already out of contention for the championship since she only managed half point from her encounter with Alia and Latifah. Bearing any slip-up by Latifah, this category goes to Kuala Lumpur.

8. Under-14 Boys >>> After losing unexpectedly in Round2, Muhd Syakir Shazmeer Azhar of Selangor is back in contention thanks to many draws in Round 5 & 6 by players at top boards. He is half point behinds two unexpected new leaders from Penange namely Keok Kai En and Evan Timothy Capel. Muhd Nabil Azman Hisham of Sleangor championship campaign is all over after losing to Syakir and drew against Joshua Teo yesterday. Low Jun Jian championship quest is still on track with the helps from other players who split point in the Round 5 & 6. Keok is having 1 point advantage on tie-break over Evan where 2 of them are enjoying half point lead over the field. Keok created an upset in Round 4 against Low. However, he cannot extend his gain further because he could manage only a draw in the next 2 rounds. Evan won 4 games in a row followed by two draws against Keok and Low. This category is likely to goes to Penang since they have 3 out of 6 players who are still in contention for the Championship.

9. Under-16 girls >>> Nurul Akila Rohizan of Kuala Lumpur had suffered a 5th round lost to Renitha of Johor which means her Championship quest is most likely to be over. Latifah Syamimi of Kuala Lumpur picks up 2 wins and a draw yesterday to be placed 4th. Just like Akila, her Championship campaign is likely to be over unless she can stop Renitha whom she is playing in Round 7. With the resuls so far, Renitha is likely to win this category and gives Johor the gold medal.

10. Under-16 Boys >>> Lim Zhuo Ren of Kuala Lumpur has obtained two more draws in Round 5 & 6. With this result he is unlikely to defend his title. He is trailing the sole leader, Edward Lee of Selangor by 1 full point. Sumant championship quest is over with the lost against Izz of Kuala Lumpur. Meanwhile, Izz himself has consolidated to 2nd place and the Championship title is very likely going to be decided in the morning with him taking on Edward. Just like Lim, Tan Ken Wei Championship quest is likely to be over with the lost against Edward in Round 4. No clear indication yet which state will win this title but the title either goes to Kuala Lumpur or Selangor. Some mathematical chances for Penang via Gavin Fong.

After 6 rounds, the Championship Quest by states: Selangor - 4 golds, Kuala Lumpur - 2 golds, Penang - 1 gold, Johor - 1 gold. Fight for Championship is still open for other 2 categories.

NAG 2008 Round 7 Updates

Round 7 (Girls) - The top three boards in action:

Under-08 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Siti Khadijah Sabirin [seeded 16th] vs Puteri Rifqah [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
2. Maisarrah [seeded 5th] vs Khaw Ker Lee [seeded 14th] >> White Won
3. Nithyalakshmi [seeded 2nd] vs Puteri Munajjah [seeded 4th] >> White Won

Under-10 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Camilia Johari [seeded 5th] vs Nur Najiha [seeded 4th] >> Black Won
2. Tan Jia Yun [seeded 10th] vs Ee Sun-Xin [seeded 8th] >> White Won
3. Wendy Tan [seeded 1st] vs Chua Yee Ler [seeded 3rd] >> White Won

Under-12 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Nur Nabila [seeded 1st] vs Farah Amirah Farizal [seeded 12th] >> White Won
2. Nurliyana Zulkifli [seeded 8th] vs Fairuz Hamizah [seeded 7th] >> Black Won
3. Tang Kar Khei [seeded 4th] vs Hoh Tjin Hui [seeded 3rd] >> Black Won

Under-14 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Amira Syahmina [seeded 2nd] vs Latifah Kaisyah [seeded 3rd] >> Black Won
2. Teh Kai Wen [seeded 10th] vs Alia Anin Azwa [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
3. Winnie Hong [seeded 4th] vs Sarika Subramaniam [seeded 5th] >> White Won

Under-16 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Renitha Narayanan [seeded 4th] vs Latifah Syamimi [seeded 2nd] >> Drew
2. Chin Yuen Sue [seeded 6th] vs Nurul Akila [seeded 1st] >> Drew
3. Lee Lee Yin [seeded 9th] vs Ong Choon Yong [seeded 7th] >> Black Won

Round 7 (Boys) - The top five boards in action:

Under-08 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Edwin Tan [seeded 6th] vs Danish Hamzah [seeded 2nd] >> Black Won
2. Tan Yong Zhao [seeded 1st] vs Muhd Zulfikri Sulkifly [seeded 3rd] >> White Won
3. Amier Hamzah Mohd Zuhri [seeded 4th] vs Tan Xu Zheng [seeded 8th] >> Black Won
4. Sean Hshi [seeded 23rd] vs Ian Teh [seeded 10th] >> Black Won
5. Ang Zhen Wei [seeded 12th] vs Eng Ying Xuan [seeded 18th] >> Black Won

Under-10 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Yeoh Li Tian [seeded 1st] vs Mohd Faizal Roslan [seeded 3rd] >> White Won
2. Aron Teh [seeded 4th] vs Muhd Aziz Farhan [seeded 2nd] >> White Won
3. Subramanian Sivanesan [seeded 5th] vs Shreyes Subramaniam [seeded 7th] >> Drew
4. Tang Wei Kit [seeded 23rd] vs Ooi Zhi Yang [seeded 18th] >> White Won
5. Leong Zhi Chen [seeded 13th] vs William Lee Kah Howe [seeded 6th] >> Black Won

Under-12 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Jeff Tan [seeded 7th] vs Elgin Lee [seeded 6th] >> Black Won
2. Low Jun Keat [seeded 2nd] vs Albert Ang [seeded 4th] >> Black Won
3. Tan Soon Keat [seeded 63rd] vs Tan Wei Hao [seeded 3rd] >> Black Won
4. Chong Yan Meng [seeded 25th] vs Muhd Irfan [seeded 12th] >> Drew
5. Daniel Iskandar [seeded 1st] vs Deon Low [seeded 21st] >> White Won

Under-14 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Evan Timothy [seeded 5th] vs Muhd Syakir [seeded 1st] >> Drew
2. Keok Kai En [seeded 17th] vs Joshua Teo [seeded 9th] >> Drew
3. Lee Jing Yao [seeded 22nd] vs Low Jun Jian [seeded 3rd] >> Black Won
4. Lim Chin Shen [seeded 4th] vs Patrick Lim [seeded 15th] >> Black Won
5. Muhd Nabil [seeded 2nd] vs Muhd Zuhairi [seeded 13th] >> White Won

Under-16 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Muhd Izz [seeded 6th] vs Edward Lee [seeded 4th] >> Drew
2. Gavin Fong [seeded 7th] vs Lim Zhuo Ren [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
3. Tan Ken Wei [seeded 3rd] vs Faeznor Razali [seeded 12th] >> White Won
4. Tan Yik Shen [seeded 25th] vs Muhd Tariq [seeded 13th] >> Black Won
5. Justin Ong [seeded 5th] vs Fong Yip Siang [seeded 11th] >> Drew

NAG 2008 Round 6 Updates

The names in Bold & Italic are likely to become the game that decides the Championship.

Round 6 (Girls) - The top three boards in action:
Under-08 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Puteri Munajjah [seeded 4th] vs Puteri Rifqah [seeded 1st] >> Drew
2. Nur Faqihah Aminuddin [seeded 3rd] vs Maisarrah [seeded 5th] >> Black Won
3. Nithyalakshmi [seeded 2nd] vs Wong Yi Chee [seeded 18th] >> White Won

Under-10 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Ee Sun-Xin [seeded 8th] vs Nur Najiha [seeded 4th] >> Black Won
2. Nurul Aina [seeded 2nd] vs Wendy Tan [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
3. Kelly Lim Pei Ying [seeded 7th] vs Camilia Johari [seeded 5th] >> Black Won

Under-12 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Hoh Tjin Hui [seeded 3rd] vs Nur Nabila [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
2. Fairuz Hamizah [seeded 7th] vs Tang Kar Khei [seeded 4th] >> White Won
3. Nurliyana Zulkifli [seeded 8th] vs Umairah Natasya [seeded 11th] >> White Won

Under-14 Girls (White vs Black) [To be played on 12th March 8.30 AM]
1. Amira Syahmina [seeded 2nd] vs Latifah Kaisyah [seeded 3rd] >>
2. Teh Kai Wen [seeded 10th] vs Alia Anin Azwa [seeded 1st] >>
3. Winnie Hong [seeded 4th] vs Sarika Subramaniam [seeded 5th] >>

Under-16 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Renitha Narayanan [seeded 4th] vs Chin Yuen Sue [seeded 6th] >> Drew
2. Latifah Syamimi [seeded 2nd] vs Nurul Akila [seeded 1st] >> Drew
3. Ong Choon Yong [seeded 7th] vs Joanne Lim [seeded 12th] >> White Won

Round 6 (Boys) - The top five boards in action:
Under-08 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Danish Hamzah [seeded 2nd] vs Tan Xu Zheng [seeded 8th] >> White Won
2. Eng Ying Xuan [seeded 18th] vs Tan Yong Zhao [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
3. Edwin Tan [seeded 6th] vs Sean Hshi [seeded 23rd] >> White Won
4. Kabir Singh [seeded 13th] vs Muhd Zulfikri Sulkifly [seeded 3rd] >> Black Won
5. Ian Teh [seeded 10th] vs Ang Zhen Wei [seeded 12th] >> White Won

Under-10 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Muhd Aziz Farhan [seeded 2nd] vs Yeoh Li Tian [seeded 1st] >> Drew
2. Aron Teh [seeded 4th] vs Subramanian Sivanesan [seeded 5th] >> White Won
3. Ooi Zhi Yang [seeded 18th] vs Mohd Faizal Roslan [seeded 3rd] >> Drew
4. Shreyes Subramaniam [seeded 7th] vs Ang Zhen Yuan [seeded 27th] >> White Won
5. Chew Esheng [seeded 14th] vs Tang Wei Kit [seeded 23rd] >> Black Won

Under-12 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Tan Wei Hao [seeded 3rd] vs Elgin Lee [seeded 6th] >> Drew
2. Daniel Iskandar [seeded 1st] vs Jeff Tan [seeded 7th] >> Black Won
3. Low Jun Keat [seeded 2nd] vs Julian Koh Tze Xian [seeded 10th] >> White Won
4. Albert Ang Keliang [seeded 4th] vs Derek Poon [seeded 13th] >> White Won
5. Fikri Saleh [seeded 8th] vs Tan Soon Keat [seeded 63rd] >> Black Won

Under-14 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Low Jun Jian [seeded 3rd] vs Evan Timothy [seeded 5th] >> Drew
2. Keok Kai En [seeded 17th] vs Lee Jing Yao [seeded 22nd] >> Drew
3. Joshua Teo [seeded 9th] vs Muhd Nabil [seeded 2nd] >> Drew
4. Muhd Syakir [seeded 1st] vs Wong Hao [seeded 12th] >> White Won
5. Patrick Lim [seeded 15th] vs Samuel Chan [seeded 7th] >> White Won

Under-16 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Edward Lee [seeded 4th] vs Justin Ong [seeded 5th] >> White Won
2. Lim Zhuo Ren [seeded 1st] vs Tan Ken Wei [seeded 3rd] >> Drew
3. Muhd Izz [seeded 6th] vs Sumant Subramaniam [seeded 2nd] >> White Won
4. Leong Manwyn [seeded 31st] vs Gavin Fong [seeded 7th] >> Black Won
5. Nor Izzudin [seeded 8th] vs Tan Yik Shen [seeded 25th] >> Black Won

NAG 2008 Round 5 Updates

Round 5 (Girls) - The top three boards in action:

Under-08 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Puteri Rifqah [seeded 1st] vs Nithyalakshmi [seeded 2nd] >> White Won
2. Siti Khadijah Sabirin [seeded 16th] vs Puteri Munajjah [seeded 4th] >> Black Won
3. Wong Yi Chee [seeded 18th] vs Maisarrah [seeded 5th] >> Black Won

Under-10 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Wendy Tan [seeded 1st] vs Ee Sun-Xin [seeded 8th] >> Black Won
2. Nur Najiha [seeded 4th] vs Nurul Aina [seeded 2nd] >> White Won
3. Camilia Johari [seeded 5th] vs Nurulhana Syuhada Sulkifly [seeded 6th] >> White Won

Under-12 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Nur Nabila [seeded 1st] vs Nurliyana Zulkifli [seeded 8th] >> White Won
2. Hoh Tjin Hui [seeded 3rd] vs Pavitranayagi [seeded 2nd] >> White Won
3. Tang Kar Khei [seeded 4th] vs Farah Amirah Farizal [seeded 12th] >> White Won

Under-14 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Sarika Subramaniam [seeded 5th] vs Latifah Kaisyah [seeded 3rd] >> Black Won
2. Alia Anin Azwa [seeded 1st] vs Olivia Madhavan [seeded 7th] >> White Won
3. Vickie Hong Wee Ki [seeded 6th] vs Amira Syahmina [seeded 2nd] >> Black Won

Under-16 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Nurul Akila [seeded 1st] vs Renitha Narayanan [seeded 4th] >> Black Won
2. Chin Yuen Sue [seeded 6th] vs Ong Choon Yong [seeded 7th] >> White Won
3. Latifah Syamimi [seeded 2nd] vs Lee Lee Yin [seeded 9th] >> White Won

Round 5 (Boys) - The top five boards in action:
Under-08 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Tan Yong Zhao [seeded 1st] vs Danish Hamzah [seeded 2nd] >> Drew
2. Muhd Zulfikri Sulkifly [seeded 3rd] vs Edwin Tan [seeded 6th] >> Black Won
3. Tan Xu Zheng [seeded 8th] vs Ian Teh [seeded 10th] >> White Won
4. Sean Hshi Loong Comben [seeded 23rd] vs Benjamin Lee Kah Teng [seeded 9th] >> White Won
5. Eng Yin Xuan [seeded 18th] vs Radharamana R. Ganesan [seeded 7th] >> White Won

Under-10 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Subramanian Sivanesan [seeded 5th] vs Muhd Aziz Farhan [seeded 2nd] >> Drew
2. Yeoh Li Tian [seeded 1st] vs Chong Wui Foong [seeded 10th] >> White Won
3. Mohd Faizal Roslan [seeded 3rd] vs Cheong Yi Yao [seeded 16th] >> White Won
4. Leong Zhi Chen [seeded 13th] vs Aron Teh [seeded 4th] >> Black Won
5. Mohd Sirajuddin [seeded 11th] vs Shreyes Subramaniam [seeded 7th] >> Black Won

Under-12 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Elgin Lee [seeded 6th] vs Daniel Iskandar [seeded 1st] >> White Won
2. Tan Wei Hao [seeded 3rd] vs Chong Yan Meng [seeded 25th] >> White Won
3. Muhd Irfan [seeded 12th] vs Jeff Tan [seeded 7th] >> White Won
4. Roshan Singh Ajeet Singh [seeded 14th] vs Low Jun Keat [seeded 2nd] >> Black Won
5. Lee Yong Quan [seeded 15th] vs Albert Ang Keliang [seeded 4th] >> Black Won

Under-14 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Evan Timothy [seeded 5th] vs Keok Kai En [seeded 17th] >> Drew
2. Wong Hao [seeded 12th] vs Low Jun Jian [seeded 3rd] >> Black Won
3. P'ng Ren Chi [seeded 16th] vs Muhd Syakir [seeded 1st] >> Drew
4. Nicholas Lee Kim Hua [seeded 8th] vs Patrick Lim [seeded 15th] >> Drew
5. Yeoh Tze Chow [seeded 20th] vs Joshua Teo [seeded 9th] >> Black Won

Under-16 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Sumant Subramaniam [seeded 2nd] vs Edward Lee [seeded 4th] >> Drew
2. Justin Ong [seeded 5th] vs Lim Zhuo Ren [seeded 1st] >> Drew
3. Tan Ken Wei [seeded 3rd] vs Lim Wei Kang [seeded 9th] >> White Won
4. Muhd Tariq Amru [seeded 13th] vs Muhd Izz [seeded 6th] >> Black Won
5. Gavin Fong [seeded 7th] vs Tan Yik Shen [seeded 25th] >> Drew

NAG 2008 Round 4 Updates

Round 4 (Girls) - The top three boards in action:
Under-08 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Maisarrah [seeded 5th] vs Puteri Rifqah [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
2. Nithyalakshmi [seeded 2nd] vs Khaw Ker Lee [seeded 14th] >> White Won
3. Puteri Munajjah [seeded 4th] vs Teh De Zen [seeded 17th] >> White Won

Under-10 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Nur Najiha [seeded 4th] vs Wendy Tan [seeded 1st] >> Drew
2. Ee Sun-Xin [seeded 8th] vs Camilia Johari [seeded 5th] >> White Won
3. Nurul Aina [seeded 2nd] vs Chua Yee Ler [seeded 3rd] >> White Won

Under-12 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Fairuz Hamizah [seeded 7th] vs Nur Nabila [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
2. Nurliyana Zulkifli [seeded 8th] vs Hoh Tjin Hui [seeded 3rd] >> Drew
3. Pavitranayagi [seeded 2nd] vs Choo Jing Xin [seeded 14th] >> White Won

Under-14 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Latifah Kaisyah [seeded 3rd] vs Alia Anin Azwa [seeded 1st] >> White Won
2. Amira Syahmina [seeded 2nd] vs Olivia Madhavan [seeded 7th] >> Drew
3. Teh Kai Wen [seeded 10th] vs Sarika Subramaniam [seeded 5th] >> Black Won

Under-16 Girls (White vs Black)
1. Ong Choon Yong [seeded 7th] vs Nurul Akila [seeded 1st] >> Drew
2. Nurul Atiqah [seeded 3rd] vs Renitha Narayanan [seeded 4th] >> Black Won
3. Lim Shuang Yuing [seeded 17th] vs Chin Yuen Sue [seeded 6th] >> Black Won

Round 4 (Boys) - The top five boards in action:
Under-08 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Ian Teh (Malaysian who lives in Taiwan) vs Tan Yong Zhao [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
2. Danish Hamzah [seeded 2nd] vs Amier Hamzah [seeded 5th] >> White Won
3. Ang Zhen Wei [seeded 12th] vs Muhd Zulfikri Sulkifly [seeded 3rd] >> Black Won
4. Edwin Tan [seeded 6th] vs Muhd Nurhafiz[seeded 22nd] >> White Won
5. Kabir Singh [seeded 13th] vs Tan Xu Zheng [seeded 8th] >> Black Won

Under-10 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Aron Teh (Malaysian who lives in Taiwan) vs Yeoh Li Tian [seeded 1st] >> Black Won
2. Muhd Aziz Farhan [seeded 2nd] vs Mohd Faizal Roslan [seeded 3rd] >> White Won
3. William Lee [seeded 6th] vs Subramanian Sivanesan [seeded 5th] >> Black Won
4. Shreyes Subramaniam [seeded 7th] vs Tang Wei Kit [seeded 23rd] >> White Won
5. Muhd Fikri Farizal [seeded 8th] vs Ang Zhen Yuan [seeded 27th] >> Drew

Under-12 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Daniel Iskandar [seeded 1st] vs Lee Yong Quan [seeded 3rd] >> White Won
2. Muhd Irfan [seeded 12th] vs Tan Wei Hao [seeded 3rd] >> Drew
3. Elgin Lee [seeded 6th] vs Chong Shao Hong [seeded 26th] >> White Won
4. Chong Yan Meng [seeded 25th] vs Jeff Tan [seeded 7th] >> Drew
5. Low Jun Keat [seeded 2nd] vs Deon Low [seeded 21st] >> White Won

Under-14 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Low Jun Jian [seeded 3rd] vs Keok Kai En [seeded 17th] >> Black Won
2. Joshua Teo [seeded 9th] vs Evan Timothy [seeded 5th] >> Black Won
3. Muhd Syakir [seeded 1st] vs Muhd Nabil [seeded 2nd] >> White Won
4. Lim Chin Shen [seeded 4th] vs Wong Hao [seeded 12th] >> Black Won
5. Yap Seng Fei [seeded 6th] vs P'ng Ren Chi [seeded 16th] >> Black Won

Under-16 Boys (White vs Black)
1. Sumant Subramaniam [seeded 2nd] vs Justin Ong [seeded 5th] >> Drew
2. Edward Lee [seeded 4th] vs Tan Ken Wei [seeded 3rd] >> White Won
3. Geeneish Sivalingam [seeded 3rd] vs Lim Zhuo Ren [seeded 1st] >> Black Won uncontested. Geeneish had pull-out from the Championship due to health reason.
4. Muhd Izz [seeded 6th] vs Wee Zhao Liang [seeded 15th] >> White Won
5. Hoh Tjun Yee [seeded 14th] vs Gavin Fong [seeded 7th] >> Black Won

NAG 2008: After 3 Rounds

1. Under-8 Girls >>> Puteri Rifqah Fahada from Selangor has no problem disposing all her opponents so far. While, Nithyalakshmi Sivanesan (2nd seed) had suffered a shock defeat at the hand of Maisarrah Noor Akbar of Kuala Lumpur (5th seed) in Round 2. Meanwhile, Nur Faqihah Aminuddin (3rd seed)had suffered two consecutives losses at the hand of players from Penang and Trengganu. She is considered out of the Championship race. Maisarrah has established herself as of the new favourites in this event.

2. Under-8 Boys >>> Tan Yong Zhao from Kuala Lumpur too has no problem disposing all his 3 rounds opponents. The same goes to Danish Hamzah Al-Hadi Noor Akbar. However, Muhd Zulfikri Sulkifly lost in Round 2.

3. Under-10 Girls >>> Wendy Tan Li Ting from Kuala Lumpur won all her first 3 games. Meanwhile, Nurul Aina Akmar Rohizan had dropped half point to Camilia Johari (5th seed) and Chua Yee Ler lost in Round 2 to Ee Sun-xin of Selangor.

4. Under-10 Boys >>> Yeoh Li Tian, Muhd Aziz Farhan Noor Akbar and Mohd Faizal Roslan won all their 3 matches respectively.

5. Under-12 Girls >>> Nur Nabila Azman Hisham of Selangor Hoh Tjin Hui of Penang won all their 3 games but Pavitranayagi Jayamurthey lost her third round encounter to Fairuz Hamizah Ahmad Fuad.

6. Under-12 Boys >>> Daniel Iskandar Arif Noor Akbar and Tan Wei Hao of Kuala Lumpur won all 3 games, while, Low Jun Keat lost to Lee Yong Quan from Kuala Lumpur.

7. Under-14 Girls >>> Alia Anin Azwa Bakri of Malacca is the sole leader after 3 rounds. She defeated her nearest rival Amira Syahmina Zullkafli in Round 3, while Latifah Kaisyah only manage a draw against Winnie Hong of Selangor after winning the first 2 rounds.

8. Under-14 Boys >>> Muhd Syakir Shazmeer Azhar of Selangor had lost unexpectedly to Patrick Lim of Penang in Round 2. Muhd Nabil Azman Hisham only manage a draw against Wong Hao of Penang in Round 2. With these unexpected results, Low Jun Jian who is fresh from his Selangor U-16 title where he won last weekend has established as the hot favourite to win this event.

9. Under-16 girls >>> Nurul Akila Rohizan of Kuala Lumpur has lived up to the top billing so far by winning all her three encounters including a win against her sister, Nurul Atiqah, in Round 3. She is also the sole leader after Latifah Syamimi unexpectedly dropped one game and drew another game which theoretically has made her Championship Quest somehow difficult.

10. Under-16 Boys >>> Lim Zhuo Ren of Kuala Lumpur came late to the tournament venue for his Round 1 encounter and can only secure a draw in that round. He won his next 2 games and must continue to win the rest of his game to stage a successful comeback in the Championship. His two other strongest rivals namely Sumant Subramaniam of Pahang and Tan Ken Wei of Kuala Lumpur have cleared all the 3 rounds with perfect score.

NAG 2008: Pre-tournament Analysis

The pre-tournament favourites for each category based on their
National Rating March 2008 release is as follow:

1. Under-8 Girls >>> Puteri Rifqah Fahada from Selangor (1368) > She has been given the top billing (de facto) as defending champion. The 2nd seed is Nithyalakshmi Sivanesan from Negeri Sembilan who is 50 rating points higher at 1418 rating, while the 3rd seed is Nur Faqihah Aminuddin with 1292 points.

2. Under-8 Boys >>> Tan Yong Zhao from Kuala Lumpur (1328) > He is 1 rating point higher than Danish Hamzah Al-Hadi Noor Akbar. He is also from Kuala Lumpur. While, Muhd Zulfikri Sulkifly of Selangor is the 3rd seed.

3. Under-10 Girls >>> Wendy Tan Li Ting from Kuala Lumpur (1558) > Her rating is even higher than last year champion (Nur Nabila Azman Hisham who has moved up to Under-12). Both 2nd and 3rd seed also from Kuala Lumpur, namely Nurul Aina Akmar Rohizan and Chua Yee Ler.

4. Under-10 Boys >>> Yeoh Li Tian from Selangor (1611) > Our latest prodigy who is placed 4th in the world in Under-8 category last November in Turkey. His nearest rival is Muhd Aziz Farhan Noor Akbar from Kuala Lumpur, a new star in the making, with 1575 rating points. The 3rd seed is Mohd Faizal Roslan of Kuala Lumpur.

5. Under-12 Girls >>> Nur Nabila Azman Hisham from Selangor(1643) > She is simply stronger than anybody in her category. Pavitranayagi Jayamurthey from Kuala Lumpur and Hoh Tjin Hui are seeded 2nd and 3rd respectively.

6. Under-12 Boys >>> Daniel Iskandar Arif Noor Akbar from Kuala Lumpur(1584) > He is likely to receive a fierce challenge from Low Jun Keat from Selangor and Tan Wei Hao from Kuala Lumpur together with 3 other challengers whose rating is less than 100 points away.

7. Under-14 Girls >>> Alia Anin Azwa Bakri from Malacca (1669) > She is the defending champion for this category. Her nearest rival is Amira Syahmina Zullkafli from Selangor and Latifah Kaisyah from Kuala Lumpur.

8. Under-14 Boys >>> Muhd Syakir Shazmeer Azhar from Selangor (1685) > He will be facing an uphill task to dend his title because two other players namely Muhd Nabil Azman Hisham and Low Jun Jian have rating higher than him. Both are Selangor players, too.

9. Under-16 girls >>> Nurul Akila Rohizan from Kuala Lumpur (1549) > She is likely to receive fierce challence from 4 other contestants. Latifah Syamimi and Nurul Atiqah Rohizan will be the 2nd and 3rd seed respectively. All Kuala Lumpur players.

10. Under-16 Boys >>> Lim Zhuo Ren from Kuala Lumpur (1876) > He is defending the title he won last year and expected to receive fierce opposition from the top 9 pre-seeded players. This category is also the most interesting category to follow.

Top seed for the Championship: 5 Contestants from Kuala Lumpur, 4 Contestants from Selangor, and 1 Contestant from Malacca.

National Age Group Chess Championship 2008 Begins

Today marks the beginning of the 3-day chess championship at OCM Indoor Sports Arena, KL which ends on 12th March 2008. Children from all over Malaysia will be taking part in this annual event that will be used as a basis of selection for Malaysia representatives to World Youth Chess Championship, Asian Youth Chess Championship and Asean Age-Group Chess Championship.

This year edition is sponsored by MASTERSKILL College of Nursing and Health. MASTERSKILL was established with the noble mission of becoming the premier college in providing holistic education in Nursing and Allied Health in the national and international health care industry. Mr. Edmund Santhara, CEO of MASTERSKILL, who is the recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Award for 2007 is a passionate chess player himself.

Initially, MCF (the Organiser of the event) had projected at least 700 children will be taking part in this event when it was first announced back in early January without having the knowledge that it will be immediate after the GE. With many people from Klang Valley had returned back to their respectives states for the GE and coupled with 11th hour pull-out of a sizable group of children from Penang, we see a total of 336 children taking part in 10 categories contested namely U-08 Boys, U-10 Boys, U-12 Boys, U-14 Boys, U-16 Boys, U-08 Girls, U-10 Girls, U-12 Girls, U-14 Girls, U-16 Girls.

This year edition is an upgrade version from last year edition. This year, MCF has decided to conduct the event using the same time control (90 minutes per player) as the MSSM tournament and to be played over 8 rounds. Unlike last year, there will be no Preliminaries in Swiss format followed by Final in round robin format. The event itself for this edition will be considered as Final. The Champion of each category will be crowned as 2008 National Junior Champion for their respective category.

However, the top 4 achievers in each Age-Group are required to play a round-robin on 13th and 14 March at The Chess Network, Wilayah Complex, KL. The Champion will be selected to represent Malaysia in World Youth Chess Championship, 1st runner-up to Asian Youth Chess Championship, and 2nd runner-up to Asean Age-Group Chess Championship. There is no title representation for the Champion in this round-robin event.

As the Chief Arbiter for this event, I wish all players have a nice and pleasant tournament outing..........

10th CAS First Quarter Allegro on 24th Feb [Wilayah Complex]

Not so long ago where there exists very few tournaments in Klang Valley due to economic turmoil which had resulted in drastic cut in sponsored-tournaments. CAS has championed the chess movement in Klang Valley by introducing a series of 1-day self-funded Allegro concept where tournament is to be held on quarterly basis to keep the chess movement in Klang Valley active and alive.

More importantly, people in chess community can meet-up with each other on a regular basis via tournaments. For the record, CAS incurred losses for this event in the earlier years. Well, it was a sacrifice and commitment that CAS made for the chess community in Klang Valley.

Without realising, CAS will be organising the Allegro for ten consecutive years. So, what is the different between now and then? Now, there are so many weekend tournaments organise by various chess organisations. Organisers with corporate or government sponsorships have started to compete in the prize fund offered for one-day tournament to lure more chess players into their tournaments. This move is good for players and Malaysian Chess but at the expense of lesser prize fund tournaments that will eventually no longer in favour.

CAS will maintain the continuation of this self-funded tournament as long as there are still a decent number of chess players who support the event. For the matter, CAS has increased the total prize fund to RM 1,800 for the two categories to be contested. Category 1 is open to chess players with NATIONAL RATING 1400 AND ABOVE ONLY. While, Category 2 is open to chess players with NATIONAL RATING BELOW 1400. As for non-rated participants, adult and Under-18 have to join Category 1 and Category 2 respectively. It may comes a day where CAS will retire this event when the objective of conducting this event is no longer in existent.

In 2008, CAS will be introducing an exclusive offer to parents with children. Now, any parent who sign-up as CAS member will also see your children (non CAS member) to be entitled to the benefit of lower entrance fee, as though he / she is a CAS Member too.

For those who wish to support the ojectives of the existent of this event, please email your name and category to selangorchess@gmail.com before 22nd Feb 2008 for pre-registration for this event.