The Spirit of Selangor Open Tournament

Source take from CAS website:

Here comes again another milestone celebrating Selangor Open Chess Tournament for 39 consecutive years in running which also known as "Royal Selangor Open Chess Tournament" since 1983 until 2008. This tournament may not be able to last until today if not for the strong corporate support from Royal Selangor in sponsoring this event.

Selangor Open has been accorded the longest running tournament in Malaysia by The Malaysia Book of Records in 2000. Since its inception in 1974, this event has attracted foreign participations from countries like Russia, India, England, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Uzbekistan, New Zealand, and many others.

Foreign players continue their total domination in this event by winning the first six editions with Indonesian IM Dr. Max Wotulo winning thrice. The foreign domination only came to an end when IM-to-be Jimmy Liew won the 7th edition. As a result from Jimmy win, the year 1980 was marked as a significant year to be remembered for our local players and signal the beginning of a new era of chess development in Malaysia. Nevertheless, Ajai Choudhry continued back foreign domination when he won the 8th edition. However, Jimmy again came to the rescue of local players when he wrested back the title in the following year before losing it to Englishmen IM David Goodman in the 10th edition.

Jimmy began his supremacy by virtue of his IM strength by then to win for 4 consecutive years from the 12th to 15th edition before lost back the title into foreign hand. This time it is IM F. Mirabeau who won the 16th edition. Nevertheless, Jimmy won another two times i.e. 19th and 26th edition to become the "best of the best" among the winners by winning a record of 8 times in 38 editions.

In the 1990s, we saw the emerging of Mok Tze Meng who won in the 17th, 18th, 23rd, 24th and 30th edition to become the next best player after Jimmy with a record of 5 wins so far. Other local winners are Nicholas Chan (31st, 36th, 37th, 38th edition), Lim Yee Weng (25th & 35th edition) Peter Long (20th edition), Nor Azmi (21st edition), Mohd. Kamal Abdullah (22nd edition), Anas Nazreen Bakri (32nd edition) and Lim Chuin Hoong (34th edition).

In the year 2000 when CAS is celebrating its 27th Selangor Open, again we saw another set of total foreign domination. This time was the Philippines led by GM Eugene Torre, GM Antonio Rogelio, Ronaldo Nolte, and IM Rico Mascarinas. Meawhile, our local representatives are four-time winner Mok Tze Meng and one-time winner Lim Yee Weng together with a string of national players.

With the participation from the four Filipinos in the 27th Selangor Open, once and again it has shown that the Selangor Open event has never failed to capture the attention of foreign chess players. No wonder the Selangor Open has been dubbed as the de facto Malaysia Open over the years that are without the Malaysia Open being organise. Lets Selangor Open to continue its spirit and tradition into the future generations.

While, the 28th edition saw participation came from both local and Singaporean players only. Mohd Saprin Sabri emerged winner for the first time. Next, the 29th edition won by Fikrul Saifuddin, an Indonesian whom many local players regarded him as the strongest non-FIDE rated chess player in the country at that time.

The 31st edition saw participation from Brunei National Champion AK Hira, Selangor Open winner Mok Tze Meng (5 championships) and Saprin, National Champions Siti Zulaikha and Nicholas Chan, and many other top national players. After a gruelling 9-round, CAS is very please to see the moment of waiting for a home-grown youngster, FM Nicholas Chan, to become the Selangor Open champion has finally arrived. He left the country shortly after that to pursue his study in medicine. Upon returning back to Malaysia, he went on to win the title three years in-a-row from 2009 to 2011.

The achievement of Chan is a best way to show the success of CAS Chess Training Excellent Programme which started as a brainchild of two people i.e. Mrs. Jackie Wong and former top-ranked National player Peter Long. While, Lim Tse Pin is assigned as the chief engineer to carry out this project in 1996 as part of his maiden assignment since joining the Association Council. By 2006, this programme had completed 10 editions successfully and churned out many national champions and age-group champions. Nevertheless, this programme will never exist in the first place if not for strong corporate support from Royal Selangor. A big thank you to Royal Selangor for 26 years support.

CAS has continued to organise the 36th and 37th edition with her own funds at a cost of using one-quarter of available fund that was built since 1983. At the going rate, CAS funds will be wiped out completely by 2015.

In 2011, CAS has made a pledge to the chess community to seek for donations. A donor who wishes to remain anonymous has stepped forward to rescue the 38th edition by donating RM10,000/=. As for this year edition, the same donor has pledged to underwrite any shortfall from the on-going fundraising exercise for this event. We at CAS are thankful to all donors who have contributed towards continuity of this event as the longest running tournament in Malaysia.

39th Selangor Open: Latest enrolment

Source taken from CAS website,

Good News! IM Jimmy Liew, our country first International Master, has confirmed his participation in the 39th Selangor Open.

Jimmy has won the most number of times in Selangor Open history. He first won the title on the 7th edition in the year 1980, and his second title on the 9th edition. 3 yrs later, he won it again, by then has also added an IM title under his belt. He continues to win the title for the next 3 years.

This make him the first person to win the Selangor Open for 4 years in-a-row, a New Championship Record (that still standing until today) was set that surpasses the record of 3 years in-a-row set by IM Dr. Max Wotulo in 1977.

4 years later, Jimmy once again added the 19th edition to his collection of glittering silverware oops .... should be called pewterware since Royal Selangor is THE Sponsor from 10th edition to 35th edition. In 1999, Jimmy once again had captured the 26th Selangor Open and has extended his own winning record to 8 times.

This could well be a National Record for The Most Number of Wins ever recorded in a Single Chess Championship.

39th Selangor Open: Registered Players (Updated 20 Apr 2012)

Information taken from CAS website.

The registration with payment received by the Organiser for 39th Selangor Open as of 20th April 2012:

1. Koh, Sian Kuan Bausch
2. Lim, Ming Kang
3. Lim, Ming Xian
4. Zulkipli, Zaidan
5. Ng, Wei Kiang
6. Abdul Shukor, Abdul Aziz
7. Liew, Chee-Meng-Jimmy
8. Maarof, Aid Farhan
9. Muhd Nadzri, Muhd Zulhairi
10. Ramos, Ernesto
11. Mohd Taib, Khairul Faizi
12. Ramsit, Masrul
13. Badrol Hisham, Syazwan Fikri
14. Abdul Rahman, Muhd Ridzuan

Reminder: For those who wish to take part in this event, registration with payment made by 23 April 2012 will entitle you to a RM 30 discount. Please email your details as per entry form to selangorchess@gmail.com. We will advise you on the mode of payment. Thank you.

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For more info on 39th Selangor Open, click here.

A list of players who have pre-registered their names with the Organiser as follows:
1) Kong, Dak Nam
2) Harun, Bustaman
3) Mappa, Saharuddin
4) Latif, Saleh
5) Hamzah, Razali
6) Ajeet Singh, Roshan Singh
7) Ajeet Singh, Kabir Singh
8) Lim, Kian Hwa
9) Udani, Ian
10) Yusof, Kamaluddin
11) Wahiduddin, Kamalarifin
12) Wan Razali, Wan Aizuddin
13) Ting, Shih Chieh Alfred
14) Othman, Khairunnisa Izzati
15) Abdul Hamid, Hamidah
16) Shah, Mohd Irwan
17) Ding, Tze How Dilwen

MSSWP: Sentul Zone (Primary Schools)

Once again, SJK(C) Kepong 2 has conquered the Sentul Zone by making a clean sweep of 4 Golds from the 4 Individual Categories. Also, they won 3 more Silver and a Bronze from the Individual Categories. So, this gives them a total of 4G-3S-1B from Individuals.

On top of that the Boys from the School has emerged as Champion Team with a ruthless 19 points from 20 games. This make the "Big Three" schools in KL {i.e. SJK(C) Lee Rubber and SK (L) Methodist} goes into the final with an identical 19 points from their respective zone. It is a record of sort in MSSWP history. As for the Girls team, they bring back a Bronze for the school.

The finale of medal distribution >> SJK(C) Kepong 2 won 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze Medals from 6 categories contested. They had outperformed their own record of 5 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze achieved in last year edition. Could this achievement also a record breaking feat in MSSWP at Sentul zone level? Will try to find out from MSSWP Officials.

Well done, SJK(C) Kepong 2!!!

For your info, SJK(C) Lee Rubber is the current record holder for MSSWP with 6 Gold - 1 Silver - 0 Bronze. They achieved this spectacular result in this year MSSWP Keramat Zone.

Lastly, a big thank you to the Organisers aka Teachers (Cikgu Azwan and the team) for uploading the result very fast. I always like their efficiency.

CAS Calendar 2012

Source from CAS website,

After 5 hours of Council Meeting on last Tuesday, CAS is pleased to announce that we will get active again in the chess scene despite lacking in manpower and funding for all activities that will be organised from this year onwards.

We hope the chess community can lend a big support in our events. All dates are confirmed. The infosheet for the 39th Selangor Open can be obtained from here.

Pick this info from CAS website,
Updated 24th March 2012: The Selangor Juniors for U12 and U16 originally on 17th June will be rescheduled to another suitable date since there is another tournament for Juniors that will take place in KL. The event was advertised to public much earlier, however, CAS Council is unaware of that development. CAS always committed in honouring the policy of "No clash on tournament dates based on whoever announce event first".

39th Selangor Open [1st May to 6th May 2012]

Source taken from CAS website,

CAS is pleased to announce that Selangor Open, a FIDE-rated and National-rated event, will be held from 1st May to 6th May 2012. There is a change in the schedule format if compares with previous years. It is to accomodate more working adults and school going children to take part in this event.

The first 2 rounds will be played on 1st May (Labour Day). Rd 1 @ 2PM followed by Rd 2 @ 7PM. As for Rd 3 to Rd 5, it will start at 7PM on each following day. Then, Rd 6 and Rd 7 on 5th May (Saturday) followed by Rd 8 & Rd 9 on Sunday.

CAS hopes this schedule will be able to attract more people from chess community to support this self-funded event (as of today). The main prize for this event has been extended to top 15 (instead of top 10 winners). Also, CAS is offering top 3 teams (Gold medals, Silver medals and Bronze medals) for IPT/School category. Each IPT/School must send 4 players to be eligible for the prizes.

Entries with payment receives by 23rd April shall entitled to RM 30 discount. In addition, a further 20% discount shall be given to IPT/Schools that send at least 4 players.

CAS hopes all chess bloggers / coaches / academies / associations in Malaysia can lend the support to advertise this Oldest Chess Event in Malaysia in chess blogs and share with as many chess friends as possible to make this event a success.


For better viewing, you can click on the respective image followed by right-click on the image to save it as a picture file. Then, use any image viewer software on your pc to view the enlarged version.

NAG 2012: Under-18 Boys Final Result

In this category, the fight was so intense that many different possibility could have happened if Wong Jian Wen could only manage to draw. Example: Eng Chiam and Nabil win, then 3-way playoff; Eng Chiam and Yit San win, then Eng Chiam will be Champion under P/E table score; Eng Chiam wins but Board 2 draws, then Eng Chiam wins on P/E against Jian Wen; Eng Chiam draws, then Jian Wen wins. So, which version actually took place? The answer was the fourth one. So, Wong Jian Wen is the new U18 Champion.

The complete results as follows:

NAG 2012: Under-16 Boys Final Result

As expected, Roshan Singh Ajeet Singh is the new Under-16 Champion. According to reliable source came from the Arbiters, his opponent three-time National Age Group Champion Tan Wei Hao was leading in material so there might be a 3-way playoff possibility. However, the latter had miscalculated a position and handed the game to Roshan.

Meanwhile, 2nd seed Tan Jun Feng had a very poor outing in this event where he only obtained 5 points from 8 games. Fikri Saleh (seeded 5th), Suniil Kalivanan (seeded 6th) and Low Jun Keat (seeded 7th) too had a bad outing.

The full results as below:

NAG 2012: Under-14 Boys Final Result

William Lee was expected to lift this title by winning his last round, however he only managed a draw. This open up the possibility of a playoff if Cheong Jie Yao, a very much improved player in term of fundamental understanding after attending a 2 full day School Holiday CTEP Camp conducted by Coach L mid last year, can defeat Noor Azam who is higher rank than him. It did happen. A playoff of 2 games was arranged where William got 1.5 points from 2 games, so William Lee is the new U14 Champion.

The full results as below:

For better viewing, you can click on the respective image followed by right-click on the image to save it as a picture file. Then, use any image viewer software on your pc to view the enlarged version.

NAG 2012: Under-12 Boys Final Result

This category has produced a spectacular end result. Before the start of the final round, many parents, players and experienced arbiters too were expecting Teh De Juan to cruise away the title easily since he had 1 point advantage with 7 points from 7 games into the last round and paired against an opponent who is seeded only 6th and 117 rating points lower than him. Actually, I knew this category was far from over.

Why? Teh and his teammate from Penang were sitting on Table 1 and 2 respectively against Coach L students. If both Coach L students can win their respective game, it will forced a 3-way playoff (at the very least). As the clock ticks away, all players in this category had finished their games except these 2 boards. At that moment, position was equal on Board 1, while Emir was leading a pawn on Board 2. The playoff seem to be a reality after all. Alas, he miscalculated and had to agree with a draw which effectively ends his Championship hope. Moment later, news came that Tan Yong Zhao was leading a pawn in an opposite colour Bishop which Teh didn't know how to defend it. The rest was history.

This may be a lucky venue for Tan as he was up at the stage again to receive the Challenge Trophy for the second time after 4 years lapse.

Meanwhile, top seed and hot favourite Ng Jen Sheng did not really recover from his Round 1 lost to Ngew Wai Kit, a student of Coach L, where he finishes at 11th place with 6 points after conceeding two draws in the process.

For the record, Coach L students won this Category Seven times in the last Nine years.

The complete results as follows:

For better viewing, you can click on the respective image followed by right-click on the image to save it as a picture file. Then, use any image viewer software on your pc to view the enlarged version.

NAG 2012: Under-10 Boys Final Result

A big upset was created in this category. As many were expecting top seed, Wong Yinn Long, to win this event with ease. He lost unexpectedly in Round 7 to his teammate, Tan Jun Ying. With this lost, he loses his title too if both players end on same points. That is exactly what happen, so Tan Jun Ying is the U-10 Champion.

The full results as follows:

NAG 2012: Under-08 Boys Final Result

Both Lye Lik Zang and Ng Shi Yang have stamped their mark on Under-08 field by finishing 1-2 and far ahead the rest of the field. On the other end, it was a disappointing outing for Chew Zhi Qi who finished at 9th, despite finishing 2nd behind Lye in Nat. Scholastic U-7 late last year. Another high rank player, Dinessh, had failed to finish in top 10.

The full results as below:

NAG 2012: Under-8 Girls (Pre-tournament favourites)

Here is the top five players according to National rating Jan 2012 release:-

1) Goh Jie Yi (DC) 1301 PENANG
2) Nur Faiqah Aminuddin 1176 SEL
3) Zainoor Ikmal Munirah Mohd Noor 1118 SEL
4) Chua Yee Ling 1116 KL
5) Evelyn Tan Eng Thong 1103 KL

NAG 2012: Under-18 Girls (Pre-tournament favourites)

Here is the top five players according to National rating Jan 2012 release:-

1) Sarika Subramaniam 1644 PAH
2) Hoh Tjin Li 1626 PENANG
3) Olivia Madhavan 1586 KL
4) Nur Farihah Aminuddin 1349 SEL
5) Ainur Najihah Zulkifli* 1093


Under-8 Girls top 5 players' list will be released later tonight.

NAG 2012: Under-16 Girls (Pre-tournament favourites)

Here is the top five players according to National rating Jan 2012 release:-

1) Nur Nabila Azman Hisham 1730 SEL
2) Tang Kar Khei 1556 PENANG
3) Hoh Tjin Hui 1513 PENANG
4) Natasha Kavina Sundra Rajoo 1293 KL
5) Nabilatul Nadia Junaidi 1272

NAG 2012: Under-14 Girls (Pre-tournament favourites)

Here is the top five players according to National rating Jan 2012 release:-

1) Tan Li Ting (DC)* 1791 KL
2) Camilia Johari 1748 KL
3) Nur Najiha Azman Hisham 1722 SEL
4) Anis Fariha Saleh 1601 SEL
5) Ee Sun-Xin 1519 SEL

NAG 2012: Under-12 Girls (Pre-tournament favourites)

Here is the top five players according to National rating Jan 2012 release:-

1) Nithyalakshmi Sivanesan 1654 NS
2) Teh De Zen 1546 PENANG
3) Nur Faqihah Aminuddin 1448 SEL
4) Melanie Koo Wei Wei 1427 KL
5) Khaw Ker Lee 1378

NAG 2012: Under-10 Girls (Pre-tournament favourites)

Here is the top five players according to National rating Jan 2012 release:-

1) Zainoor Ikmal Maisarah Mohd Noor 1367 SEL
2) Lum Ting Fang 1306
3) Nurul Farhana Halim Shuhaimi 1274
4) Khaw Ker Shean 1247 PENANG
5) Chua Jia-Tien 1187 PENANG

NAG 2012: Under-18 Boys (Pre-tournament favourites)

Here is the top five players according to National rating Jan 2012 release:-

1) Muhd Nabil Azman Hisham (DC) 1989 SEL
2) Wong Jianwen 2032 KL
3) Yeap Eng Chiam 1972 KL
4) Fong Yit San 1874 PRK
5) Low Jun Jian 1836 SEL

NAG 2012: Under-16 Boys (Pre-tournament favourites)

Here is the top five players according to National rating Jan 2012 release:-

1) Roshan Singh Ajeet Singh 1794 SEL
2) Tan Jun Feng* 1784 KL
3) Tan Wei Hao 1732 KL
4) Liew Ken Yew 1693 KL
5) Fikri Saleh 1667 SEL