KUCHING, HERE I COME!

'Belon' yang membawa aku ke Kuching.

Aku baru sahaja check in di Hotel Borneo setelah selamat tiba di Kuching pada jam 1:05 petang. Bersama-sama anakku Fikri, dan anak Azhar MS, Irfan, tujuan ke Kuching adalah untuk menyertai Pertandingan Catur Terbuka Sarawak yang akan bermula pada malam ini.  Kejohanan bertaraf FIDE ini bakal disertai 70 pemain catur dan dijalankan sebanyak 9 pusingan.

Kali terakhir aku berada di Kuching adalah beberapa tahun yang lalu. Aku dan sekeluarga telah datang bercuti selama seminggu. Pernah juga aku bertugas selama dua minggu di Airport Kuching sewaktu pemasangan sistem komputer.

Ketika di hotel, aku berasa amat terkilan kerana gambar-gambar di kamera digitalku yang belum sempat disalin ke komputer telah hilang (terdelete) rupanya. Ini kemungkinan besar disebabkan kamera digital tersebut melalui scanner sewaktu check in untuk boarding. Aku berasa sangat ralat kerana tidak pula aku salin dahulu di rumah malam tadi. Apakan daya ia telah berlaku. Hilang sudah gambar-gambar Fikri dan Anis ketika menerima trofi Tokoh Membaca (Nilam) yang diadakan semalam di sekolah mereka. 

INDIA! The Powerful Chess Force

India won 4 gold medals in the recently concluded 2008 World Youth Chess Championship in Vung Tau, Vietnam. It shows how India has become a dominant force in chess. Furthermore, Viswanathan (Vishy) Anand had just defended his World Chess Title few days ago.

WYCC2008 - The Champions

Open 18 - IM Ivan Saric (Croatia) 8/11
Girls 18 - WGM Valentina Golubenko (Croatia) 9/11

Open 16 - IM Adhiban (India) 9/11
Girls 16 - WFM Nazi Paikidze (Georgia) 9/11

Open 14 - Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (India) 9/11
Girl 14 - WIM Padmini Rout (India) 10/11

Open 12 - Sayantan Das (India) 9.5/11
Girl 12 - Zhai Mo (China) 8.5/11

Open 10 - Jan-Krysztof (Poland) 9.5/11
Girls 10 - Aleksandra Goryackina (Russia) 9/11

Open 8 - Tran Minh Thang (Vietnam) 10/11
Girl 8 - Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan) 10/11

Nama Jalan

Saya pernah terbaca satu artikel di PENDAPAT@sinar berkenaan isu penukaran nama Jalan Alor kepada Jalan Kejora. Dan saya amat bersetuju dengan pendapat penulis betapa kita sangat suka menukar nama jalan terutamanya nama jalan yang berbahasa Inggeris. Pada pandangan saya, apalah salahnya nama-nama jalan yang telah ujud sebelum waktu kemerdekaan dikekalkan. Ini adalah kerana nama-nama tersebut mempunyai nilai-nilai sejarah yang tersendiri. 

Ketika saya berjalan-jalan di kota Singapura beberapa tahun yang lalu, didapati nama-nama jalan dari zaman silam masih digunakan. Ini memudahkan saya mengimbau kisah-kisah sejarah yang pernah berlaku sebelum ini. Berdasarkan kepada nama-nama jalan yang disebutkan dalam beberapa buah buku memoir yang dibaca seperti Meniti Lautan Gelora, biografi politik Pak Said Zahari  dan Memoir Samad Ismail, saya bisa menyelusuri jalan-jalan di Singapura dan membayangkan apa yang telah berlaku beberapa dekad yang lalu.

Apatah pula jika nama sesuatu jalan itu telah popular dan sudah terkenal seperti Jalan Alor. Dilaporkan bahawa laman portal gergasi Yahoo menyenaraikan 900,000 jawapan untuk carian mengenai Jalan Alor. 

NOV Local Chess Tournaments

1) 31 Okt - 3 Nov, Jumaat - Isnin - Sarawak Open Chess Championship (FIDE-rated): 9 pusingan, 90 minit 

2) 2 Nov, Ahad - 14th Kepong Juniors Open @SKJC Kepong (nationally-rated) : 6 pusingan, 30 minit

3) 9 Nov, Ahad - 2nd KEC (Klang Executive Club) Chess Open : 7 pusingan (postponed)

4) 16 Nov, Ahad - UIA Chess Open : 7 pusingan, 25 minit

5) 16 Nov, Ahad - Royal Selangor Club (RSC) Chess Festival : 8 pusingan, 25 minit

6) 23 Nov, Ahad - Kejohanan Catur Terbuka INTEC, UITM Seksyen 18 Shah Alam

7) 30 Nov, Ahad - Pertandingan Catur Terbuka GERAK KHAS di Melaka : 7 pusingan, 25 minit

My Round 7 Game

16. ... Qe8

The above is my round 7 game at the 2nd UPSI Chess Open againts one of the IPT's player. I missed the move to fork my opponent's queen and rook. At least I can get back a pawn when my opponent capture my pawn on e6 square. Instead my next move was g4. Is there anyone who also does not see the move as what I did in the game?? :)- 

Update on Sarawak Open from SCA's President

Dear chess friends,

With two more days to the closing date, the FIDE-rated and National-rated 2008 Sarawak Open have received 69 entries: 32 from Kuching, 12 from KL, 6 from Brunei, 8 from Sabah, 5 from Singapore, 1 from Johor, 3 from Miri, 1 from Sarikei and 1 from Sibu.

Among them, there are 23 FIDE-rated players:

1. FM Mok Tze Meng Kuching 2308
2. Yee Soon Wei Brunei 2235
3. Amir Fahkry bin Hj.Sulaiman Brunei 2233
4. FM Fernandez Daniel Howard Singapore 2212
5. Kamaluddin Yusuf KL 2184
6. Abdullah Che Hassan Johor 2125
7. Ismail Ahmad KL 2106
8. Abg.Mohd.Reduan Kuching 2083
9. Nik Ahmad Farouqi KL 2081
10 NM Edward Lee Kim Han KL 2054
11 Masrin b.Erowan Sabah 2032
12 Kueh Yan Chew Kuching 1977
13 Lim Kian Hwa Kuching 1964
14 Morsin Ahmad Kuching 1941
15 Tan Ken Wei KL 1937
16 Ahmad Afiq Afyfy Kuching 1929
17 Faeznor Razali Kuching 1927
18 Johnharry Pereira Singapore 1926
19 Lim Zhuo Ren KL 1871
20 Japeri Reduan Kuching 1854
21 Mark Ho En-Tian Singapore 1836
22 Danielle Ho En-Huei Singapore 1738
23 Draup, Abang Azman Kuching 1714

I will be requesting gilachess to post the locality map of the Tournament venue - Ultimate Professional Centre. Please browse gilachess site if you need help to get there.

Regards,
Lim Kian Hwa
President, Sarawak Chess Association
(016-8603180)

My Results @2nd UPSI Chess Open

Saya sungguh gembira kerana prestasi permainan di Kejohanan Catur Terbuka UPSI Ke Dua agak memberansangkan. Saya menang 3 dan seri 1 menentang pemain-pemain unrated.  Kesemua game yang saya tewas kepada pemain-pemain national rating 1500 ke atas adalah buah hitam. Saya memberi tentangan sengit kepada Khair Wahiduddin (1714), adik NM Kamal Arifin, di pusingan kedua. Tetapi beliau masih belum tandingan saya. 

Kemudian lawan saya di pusingan keempat, game pertama pada hari kedua, kedengaran mengeluh dengan serangan saya. Tetapi dengan kehebatannya bertahan dan ending saya yang masih lemah, beliau berjaya menewaskan saya. Beliau yang memiliki rating 1655 dan merupakan jaguh di kalangan pemain-pemain 17ChessClub adalah Sahir Sarifdin.

Di pusingan keenam, sekali lagi dengan bermain buah hitam saya berjaya memberi tentangan sengit kepada pemain yang memiliki rating kebangsaan 1520. Nama beliau adalah Norazwan Kamaruzaman  merupakan pemain catur dari Utara tanahair. Nampaknya saya masih belum berjaya untuk menewaskan pemain-pemain rated. Tetapi prestasi permainan memang sangat meningkat. 

Berikut adalah detail game saya di Kejohanan Terbuka UPSI Ke Dua.

Pusingan 1, Meja 32, Saleh Abd Latif vs Amaluddin Bebakar (1-0)P

Pusingan 2, Meja 12, Mohd Khair Wahiduddin [1714] vs Saleh Abd Latif (0-1)

Pusingan 3, Meja 26, Saleh Abd Latif vs Azrul Aminurrasyid Abu Bakar (1-0)

Pusingan 4, Meja 15, Sahir Sarifdin [1655] vs Saleh Abd Latif (1-0)

Pusingan 5, Meja 23, Saleh Abd Latif vs Ibrahim Amat (1-0)

Pusingan 6, Meja 16, Norazwan Kamaruzaman [1520] vs Saleh Abd Latif (1-0)

Pusingan 7, Meja 24, Saleh Abd Latif vs Umi Hani Ahsan (1/2 - 1/2)

Sukan Yang Telah Terpinggir Dari Masyarakat Kita

Dalam kelesuan dan keletihan bermain catur selama dua hari di UPSI, cuti umum pada hari ini aku ambil peluang bersantai di rumah setelah ke Mydin membeli groceri. Aku begitu tertarik dengan satu artikel di Kosmo yang bertajuk Novel Sukan Bantu Pupuk Minat tulisan Alias Ismail. Di antara intipati artikel tersebut ialah beberapa pandangan ahli akademik dan pakar sejarah, Prof. Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim. 

1) Sistem pendidikan sudah tidak lagi mengutamakan sukan. (Aku amat bersetuju sekali dengan pendapat ini. Kebanyakan ibubapa lebih mementingkan bidang akademik demi masa hadapan.)

2) Sistem pendidikan yang lebih menjurus dan berorientasi kepada Amerika Syarikat, sedangkan sebelum ini lebih dipengaruhi British. (Aku kurang bersetuju dengan pandangan ini kerana Amerika Syarikat juga mementingkan sukan. Banyak biasisiwa yang disediakan kepada atlit-atlit. Cuma di Amerika Syarikat sukan sudah terlalu komersil.) 

3) Sebelum ini terutamanya di awal negara memperoleh kemerdekaan jabatan kerajaan seolah-olah mewajibkan kakitangannya bersukan dan perlu menubuhkan kelab sukan sendiri. (Banyak faktor yang membantutkan mereka untuk bersukan seperti kesesakan lalu lintas, window shopping, mengambil anak-anak, buat part time dan sebagainya.)

4) Kakitangan awam yang komited dan berbakat dalam sesuatu jenis sukan sentiasa diberi penghormatan.

5) "Selagi fokus kita terhadap kejayaan dalam peperiksaan awam terlalu tebal, selagi itulah kita memanjangkan barah kehidupan."

6) "Kita terlalu bergantung kepada satu dahan iaitu kejayaan akademik, dan disilau dan dilemaskan oleh kerlipan dan arus sonsang dunia hiburan."

Sungguh mendalam maksud kata-kata tokoh pengkritik sukan tersebut. Semua pihak perlu mengambil peranan dan menggembeling tenaga dalam mengembalikan kegemilangan sukan yang pernah dikecapi oleh negara kita di waktu lalu. Pemimpin-pemimpin dan peneraju kelab-kelab sukan di negara ini perlu bersatu hati untuk memajukan sukan. Kepentingan diri perlu dielakkan. Perbalahan sesama sendiri tidak kira atas apa jua alasan perlu dihindarkan.

"MAJULAH SUKAN UNTUK NEGARA!"

To Tanjung Malim for 2nd UPSI Chess Open Tournament

Just crossed the river arriving in Perak.

This morning at around 8:45 am my children and I are driving to Tanjung Malim, 75 kilometer away from home. The reason of our journey is to participate in the 2nd UPSI Chess Open. Actually Tanjung Malim is located in the border of Selangor and Perak. Therefore, the town is divided into two separated by a river. UPSI is a university, being promoted from a college few years back. Actually, it is an old instituition where many teachers have been produced since few decades ago. 

The turnament is a 7-round 45-minute time control. Today, there will be 3 rounds, while the other four will be tomorrow. In the first round, I play white on table #32. I won when my opponent did not show up. Both my kids also won their respective games.  There are 80 participants in Open category and 39 others in school category.

2008 WYCC - 6th Round Final Results & 7th Round Pairings

In Open 10 category - Li Tian won, Aron drew.  Li Tian so far scored 4 and 1/2 points while Aron has 2 and 1/2 points. Li Tian is the highest scorer among the Malaysian players.

In Girls 10 category, Najiha won againts a Slovakian player whereas Camilia had a nother draw againts a Russian player.  Good so far, no lost. The former has 3 and 1/2 points while the latter has 2 and 1/2 points.

In Girls 8 category, playing black Puteri Rifqah lost to Zhou Qiyu on Board 7. Syill she has 3 points. 

In Open 12 category, the lone Malaysia player Elgin drew to score 3 points.

Both Syakir, Open 14 category, and Justin Ong, Open 16 category, should be proud enough to draw with their higher rated opponents. Both also scores 2 and 1/2 points each.

Alia, playing in Girls 14 category also drew to score 3 points.

Tomorrow is a rest day. All Malaysian players should relax their tired minds to face their other opponents in Round 7. Based on the pairing above, Justin Ong has the toughest opponent. While the rest has better chances to score another point. ALL THE BEST! Enjoy your games in Vung Tau and make our country proud.  

WYCC2008 Focus - IRAN

Iran as far as I know is not strong in chess. But following and analyzing the on-going WYCC2008, I noticed that Iran has a strong squad. 34 young Iranians are participating in different categoris. Ten of them have 2000+ FIDE rating. Nine others have between 1800 - 1900 rating. Except one who has 1700 rating, the other fourteen are not rated yet. Among the 34 players, one is FM and three are WFMs. It is a shock for me when our best bet Li Tian was defeated by an unrated Iranian player in the first round.

Maybe we can learn how chess is booming in Iran after it was banned in the early Islamic Revolution. It is amazing to know the fact that there are many young Iranian chess players have 2000+ Elo ratings. I also noticed that half of the fourteen unrated players are Under 8. Meaning that Iran has exposed internationally their young talents very early. From just having 3 IMs befor 1979, now it has 2 GMs and 5 IMs.

2008 WYCC - 5th Round Final Results & 6th Round Pairings

Only two Malaysian players lost in the fifth round today - Aron and Syakir. Syakir lost to much higher rated player, 2200. Aron lost to a Pinoy.

Both Camilia and Nabila played againts Russian players today. The former drew while the latter won. Up to the fifth round, both Li Tian and Nabila scored 3 and 1/2 points. Azhar's daughter, Puteri Rifqah got 3 points so far. 

In the sixth round tomorrow, both Syakir and Justin Ong will play againts much higher rated opponents.  Meanwhile, Nabila will play againts a WFM from Colombia on Board 5. The other players have better chances to win. Anyway, GOOD LUCK again to all of them. Be confident and believe in yourself!!

... 2.10 am ...

Saleh 2, Wak Eddy 0

Wak Eddy lost the first game playing white.

This afternoon, me and Wak Eddy played two games of chess. We have not been playing againts each other for a long time. Eventhough I won before, this time I won convincingly. Moreover, now I am much quicker than before in moving the pieces.

In the second game, I played white using the Queen Gambit Declined opening.

It was hard for Eddy to defend my attack as per above picture.

After Wak Eddy moved Ka5, my knight moved to c4, i.e. Nc4,  square and forked his queen. Along the way, he sighed many times he he he ...

Wak Eddy resigned after I moved Qd8+.

Then 2 - 0 for me. I won both games convincingly. So the time spent in tournaments and studying world champions' games has paid off.

My next mission is to win againts another office mate of mine, Mohidin where I always lose to him.

2008 WYCC - 4th Round Final Results & 5th Round Pairings

It is about 1 o'clock. My eyes are really heavy he he ... The 4th round results and 5th round pairings just came up. Good news for the boys camp. No lost at all. Only Elgin drewn with a Kazakhtan player.  It is a sweet victory for Syakir for defeating much higher-rated opponent (2074 compared to his 1844 FIDE rating).

It is quite sad for the girls camp. Puteri could not continue her winning momentum when lost to a local player. Only Nabila won. The rest lost their games.

For the fifth round, Elgin, Syakir and Justin Ong will play higher-rated opponents. Both Li Tian and Eu Wen winning chances is higher.  For the girls, only Nabila will be meeting much tougher Russian opponent, Tereshechkina Maya, the number 4 ranking. 

GOOD LUCK! to all Malaysian players. Make our country proud and known to the international stage. As for me, I need to go to bed now. Asta Manyana!! 

... 1:25 am ...

2008 WYCC - 3rd Round Final Results & 4th Round Pairings

The final 3rd round results of the Malaysian players.

The 4th round pairings of the Malaysian players.

Two of our players - Camilia and Alia, will be playing againts Fide Master. This is a very good exposure. It will be sweeter if they can beat them. MALAYSIA BOLEH!! Puteri and Alia are leading the way for our contigent to get the medals.

2008 WYCC - 3rd Round Results

Li Tian drew with Nguyen Ngoc Minh Tri from Vietnam on Board 14 while Eu Wen lost to his Vietnamese opponent. In Open 12 category, our player Elgin Lee Kah Meng playing black won againts an England player. 

Puteri drew her game againts another Vietnamese player on Board 2. Thus, she has collected 2 and 1/2 points so far. Both Najiha and Camilia add another 1/2 point each when they met each other in the third round.

Results for other players are not published yet as per now 3:30pm.

Justin lost to a Mexican player, Rojas Alarcon Julian Antonio. He will play againts a Republic South Africa player, Naidu Sayen, in Round 4 at 5:00pm today.  (Updated at 4:15pm)

It is good news. Alia won her third round againts an Australian player named Sally Yu. In Round 4 this afternoon, she will play againts an Iranian WFM Ghazal Hakimifard on Board 11 playing black.  Hopefully she can beat her. Go Alia! Go. (Updated at 4:26pm)

Syakir lost his third round game to Gaehwiler Gabriel. In the fourth round, he will be playing white againts a Norwegian player, Hansen Pal Andreas. Let's pray for his win. (Updated at 4:34pm)

2008 WYCC - 2nd Round Results

For the boys, the results today are the opposites of yesterday. All who lost yesterday won today. Li Tian, playing white, won againts an Indian player. Both Syakir and Justin defeated Kenyan players. Eu Wen could not upset the first seeded Iranian player whereas Elgin lost to a Vietnamese player.

For the girls, Puteri is the only one who has perfect score so far. Today playing on Board 2, she beats Sakalli Esin from Turkey. Except for Alia who drew with a Vietnamese player, the other girl players lost their games. Najiha lost to an Indian player, Najiha was defeated by a Serbian player while Camilia could not outplay the fifth seeded Bulgarian player, Vasova Mariya.

Let's pray for all the players to win the third round tomorrow.

Except for Syakir and Justin who will play againts much stronger opponents, the others will have about equally strong opponents. It is just unfortunate for both Camilia and Najiha who have to play againts each other.

GOOD LUCK!! MAKE MALAYSIA PROUD!!

1st Round Result of Malaysian Players at 2008 WYCC

The girl players started off good when four of them won their first rounds. Puteri, Camilia, Nabila and Najiha won their first round game. Alia drew her first round game. Amazingly, Najiha beats a Woman Fide Master from Peru. Hopefully, tomorrow she can beat Sunyasakta Satpathy, seeded eight, from India. For the Malaysian boy players, only Elgin managed to draw. Syakir and Justin lost their first round games. As for Li Tian and Eu Wen, their game results are still not published. Congratulation to winners, and Come on! Focus on next games! to those who have lost.

Just checked the results for Open 10 category. Yeoh Li Tian was defeated by his opponent. Whereas Eu Wen won. Tomorrow, he will play againts the first seeded player from Iran, Mousevi Seyed Khalil. Meanwhile Li Tian will play againts Harshal Shahi from India. GOOD LUCK for all Malaysian players for tomorrow's second round.

 

Puteri Rifqah Fahada Azhar vs Janet Peng [CAN] (1-0)

Camilia Bt Johari vs Shah Sita [KEN] (1-0)

Nur Najiha Hisham vs WFM Rosales Pierina [PER] (1-0)

Nur Nabila Azman Hisham vs Terbe Zsuzsanna [HUN] (1-0)

Alia Anin Azwa vs Pes Eleonora [ITA] (1/2-1/2)

Lorpari Zangeneh Shahin [IRI] vs Yeoh Li Tian (1-0)

Aron Teh Eu Wen vs Sinyanskiy Maxim [RUS] (1-0)

Bryan Tan Kwang Shing [SIN] vs Elgin Lee Kah Meng (1/2-1/2)

Meskovs Nikita [LAT] vs Muhammad Syakir Shazmeer Azhar (1-0)

FM Jorczik Julian [GER] vs Justin Ong Way (1-0) 

My Kids Results at Pearl Point Tournament

Fikri vs Wendy on Board 2 in Round 6.

[Bd33] Fikri Saleh vs SC Mohd Adam Eiman (1-0)

[Bd24] SS Wong Chai Ray vs Fikri Saleh (0-1)

[Bd04] Fikri Saleh vs Shreyes Subramaniam (1-0)

[Bd06] SJ Dinesh vs Fikri Saleh (1/2-1/2)

[Bd04] Fikri Saleh vs LR Chong Yan Meng (1-0)

[Bd02] LR Wendy Tan Li Ting vs Fikri Saleh (1-0)

[Bd06] Fikri Saleh vs LR Jeff Tan Jun Feng (0-1)

Not being rated in the tournament and ranked #33  in the starting list of the total 102 players competing in Under 12 category, Fikri won his first two rounds againts non nationally-rated opponents. In Round 3, he met Shreyes Subramaniam, the champion of 2008 Kuala Langat Chess Tournament. This time, he defeated the player whose current national rating is 1480.

In next round, he drew with Dinesh. Then he defeated a Lee Rubber player, Chong Yan Meng with national rating of 1412. Fikri who is nationally rated 1402  could not continue his winning momentum againts Wendy Tan Li Ting (nat. rating 1513)  and Jeff Tan Jun Feng (nat. rating 1455) of Lee Rubber in Round 6 and Round 7 respectively.

With 4 and 1/2 point, Fikri could not get into the Top 10 performers in such competitive chess tournament.

Anis vs Nurul Aina Akmar on Board 6 in Round 6.

[Bd30] SC John Chen vs Anis Fariha (0-1)

[Bd21] Anis Fariha vs SS Lee Chee Yin (1-0)

[Bd01] K2 Tan Wei Hao vs Anis Fariha (1-0)

[Bd22] Anis Fariha vs SS Tan Li Wen (1-0)

[Bd16] Tristen Dutta vs Anis Fariha (1-0)

[Bd18] Anis Fariha vs Nurul Aina Akmar (0-1)

[Bd26] SS Hew Wei Chen vs Anis Fariha (0-1)

Anis with national rating of 902 (as per July 2008), started off the tournament well when she won two in a row.  In the third round, she had to play againts the top seed Tan Wei Hao (1633), a MSSKL player, on the top board and lost. In the next rounds, she managed to win two games and lost the other two.  With 4 points she is placed 32nd out of 102 competitors in Under 12 category. Five other SKBJ players also scored the same point - Affan, Aina Farzana, Nur Faqihah, Mohd Ishraf and his sister Sharmine.

Congratulation to the organizers who managed the event and made it happen. As for me, I have learnt something :

1) It is very important to provide the organizer a player's rating because it is important in the pairing of the Swiss system

2) It is also very important to know the tie-breaks being used in a tournament because in a very competitive one it will play important role in deciding the winners. 

My Results at Pearl Point Chess Open

Me vs Wan Muhammad Fadzli.

Today I was among 28 players participated in the Pearl Point Chess Open. The tournament plays Swiss 7 rounds with 25 minute time control. I won two games but without hardship because my opponents had left home.

In the first round, I played againts NM Edward Lee (nat. rating 1903) with white. Then, my opponent was Mohd Fadli Zakaria aka stonemaster with nat. rating 1766. I played white againts him. Playing black, my next two opponents were Mat Zaki Yeop (1427) and Subramaniam Demudu (1511) respectively. I was quite happy by giving a good fight. Though my national rating is below 1000, with only few mistakes especially during the middle game toward the endgame my games seem to improve a lot. I was very quick in the opening too. 

I even may get a draw againts Encik Zaki with perpetual check. But since I go for a kill, I just gave my shot. When playing Mr Subramaniam, eventhough I have more time since he was a bit late coming to the board I lost to him. My brain has had enough after working hard in the first three rounds. Moreover, I haven't had my lunch yet.

In round six, I have an opportunity against Wan Muhammad Fadzli. But I could not exploit it. I was playing white and quite aggressive. Overall, I am happy with my performance. Less blunders and silly mistakes I made. 

Another entry about the tournament can be accessed at http://stonemaster.info/

'Orangutan' opening??

Today, after attending a hariraya open house at Bukit Jelutong my family and I drove to the national library. The borrowed books returned and new books borrowed. Then, we drove to Times Square. We spent some time at Borders book shop. Chess books are my favourite looking. One of the chess books that really struck me is play 1 b4! by Yuri Lapshun and Nick Conticello.

It is quite an uncommon chess opening. The name of the opening itself is a bit unique. Besides known as 'orangutan', it is also called The Sokolsky Opening. When I went back home, I search the chessgames.com for Yuri Lapshun games. I found two of his games in US Open 2001 using such opening. He won both games.

Whoa! It's past midnite already. I really need to go to bed. Tomorrow, my kids and I will be playing in Pearl Point Chess Tournament at Jalan Kelang Lama. 

My Kids' Chess Results at Kuala Langat Chess Tournament

Fikri playing againts Shreyes, the eventual champion on the first board.

Rd Tbl 

 1    5     Fikri Saleh vs Aina Farzana Azemin      (0-1)

 2    23   Saiful Amirul Syafik vs Fikri Saleh       (0-1)

 3    14   Fikri Saleh vs Nur Huda Yasmin           (1-0)

 4    8    Thasvindran Surendren vs Fikri Saleh (0-1)

 5    5    Fikri Saleh vs Qistina Johari                   (1-0)

 6    3    Mohd Noor Azam vs Fikri Saleh            (0-1)

 7    1     Fikri Saleh vs Shreyes Subramaniam   (0-1)

Winning 5 games in a tournament in local chess tournament especially in Under 12 category normally will entitle a chess player in the Top 10 spot. But in this tournament, Fikri just managed to get 11th place. Such is an indicator how competetive the Kuala Langat Chess Tournament is.

One of the reasons is because Fikri was defeated by schoolmate, Aina Farzana, as early as in the first round.  And in the last and important round, Fikri could not win againts Shreyes where had he win it he will be in the Top Three spot. 

Anis was playing againts Nuriman Yahaya from Kedah.

Rd Tbl 

 1    15   Nur Nabila Ahmad Pandi [1235] vs Anis Fariha (0-1)

 2    21   Anis Fariha vs Harith Abd Rahman [1186]         (1-0)

 3    10   Muhd Nuriman Yahaya [1191] vs Anis Fariha   (1-0)

 4    19   Nur Hazimah Sudiro [1181] vs Anis Fariha         (0-1)

 5    12   Anis Fariha vs Farah Amirah Farizal [1230]      (0-1)

 6    14   Anis Fariha vs Qistina Johari [1193]                    (0-1)

 7    24   Muhd Haziq Ahnaf [1136] vs Anis Fariha           (1-0)

Anis started the tournament convincingly when he won two in a row. But in the third round, she was defeated by Nuriman Yahaya from Jaffolea Chess Club of Kedah. She won the next round but lost all three after that to higher-rated players.

NEXT LOCAL CHESS TOURNAMENTS

What a chess festival for local chess players! Every weekend has a tournament. In fact, on several weekends there are more than one. The prize is also sometime very encouraging. Some of them are nationally-rated. SO, ENJOY!!

1) 19 Okt 2008, Ahad - Pearl Point Chess Open @ Jalan Kelang Lama : 7 pusingan, 25 minit

2)  25 - 26 Okt, Sabtu - Ahad - 2nd UPSI Open @Tg Malim (nationally-rated) : 7 pusingan, 45 minit

3) 31 Okt - 3 Nov, Jumaat - Isnin - Sarawak Open Chess Championship (FIDE-rated): 9 pusingan, 90 minit 

4) 2 Nov, Ahad - 14th Kepong Juniors Open @SKJC Kepong (nationally-rated) : 6 pusingan, 30 minit

5) 9 Nov, Ahad - 2nd KEC (Klang Executive Club) Chess Open : 7 pusingan

6) 16 Nov, Ahad - UIA Chess Open : 7 pusingan, 25 minit

7) 16 Nov, Ahad - Royal Selangor Club (RSC) Chess Festival : 8 pusingan, 25 minit

My Result in Kuala Langat Chess Open

warming up session ...

In the Kuala Langat Chess Open held last Sunday, I just managed to win 3 games againts non-rated players whereas I lost the other four playing againts higher rated players. Unfortunately, I was playing black againts these players. I am a bit happy with my white. I need to imrpove futher when playing black. The game that I am quite happy when playing black is when I was playing againts Puteri Rifqah in Round 5, where I lost on ending. In Round 3, I was very hasty and too aggresive.

In the tournament I was ranked 80th out of 135 chess players in the Open category. Some players are from Kedah, Perlis, Pahang, N Sembilan, Pahang and Terengganu. With the 3 wins, I was placed 88th. Nice number huh! LOL! Below is my round details:

I was playing ...

Black againts Faizal Andin (ranked # 13, rat. 1749) in Round 1

White againts Muhd Asyraf (ranked # 114) in Round 2

Black againts Iskandar Rashid (ranked # 39, rat. 1540) in Round 3

White againts Tee Jun Xiang (ranked # 132) in Round 4

Black againts Puteri Rifqah Fahada (ranked # 47, rat. 1499) in Round 5

White againts Zaimah Abdullah (ranked # 135) in Round 6

Black againts Mohd Safri Ilias(ranked # 25, rat. 1642) in Round 7

Yahaya Ahmad

Many of my chess friends were participating like Yahaya Ahmad from Kedah, Rashid Jamaludin from UPSI, Wak Zunaidi from Tg Karang and others. Just Wak Faizul was not playing. Unfortunately, I did not play againts them especially Yahaya and Rashid. I would love to because I want to revenge my earlier defeats he he he .. Yahaya beats me in previous Royal Selangor International Open while Rashid beats me at Cochrane.  Watch you guys !!!

Ke Banting Hari Ini

Water Fountain di hadapan Tesco Bandar Baru Sungai Emas, Banting.

Pagi ini aku ke Tesco, Banting bersama-sama anak-anakku dan seorang rakan SKBJ mereka, Affan Amrish. Hari ini ada pertandingan catur. Pertandingan diadakan di AIM Tesco Commercial Hall. Perjalanan dari rumahku ke tempat pertandingan adalah sejauh 50 kilometer. 

Sudah agak lama juga sebenarnya aku tidak ke Kuala Langat. Aku sudah lupa bila kali terakhir aku ke Pantai Morib yang terletak di daerah ini. Juga telah bertahun-tahun rasanya aku ke Sijangkang ke rumah rakan sekolah di suatu hariraya. Dan sudah 15 tahun rasanya aku ke stadium Jugra menonton konsert Ella. 

Masa berlalu tanpa disedari. 15 tahun lalu aku baru berumur 25 tahun dan masih single, sekarang aku sudah berkeluarga dengan 3 orang anak. Anak sulung pula baru lepas peperiksaan UPSR.

Gejubus

Mungkin ramai yang tidak pernah mendengar perkataan 'gejubus'. Bagi aku yang membesar di kampung berjirankan orang-orang Jawa perkataan ini sememangnya sudah sinonim. Gejubus bermaksud menyediakan makanan secara bergotong royong. Sewaktu aku di kampung dahulu terutamanya semasa remaja, aku memang selalu bersama-sama jiran sekampung bergejubus bila ada kenduri-kendara. 

Kenapa aku bercerita pasal gejubus hari ini? Sebab aku baru saja terbaca di Sinar Harian tentang aktiviti tersebut di Bagan Nakhoda Omar (BNO), Sabak Bernam. BNO merupakan sebuah pekan kecil dan perkampungan yang tidak jauh dari kampungku Sungai Tengar. Masih segar dalam ingatan ketika aku masih bersekolah rendah dan berumur 11 tahun, aku dan beberapa rakan sekampung pergi ke pantai BNO dengan berbasikal. Kami berbasikal sejauh kira-kira 5 kilometer. 10 kilometer untuk pergi dan balik.  Pada ketika itu, di hujung tahun 1970an, memang tidak banyak kereta di jalanraya. Apatah lagi kampungku itu berada di penghujung sebelah utara negeri Selangor.

Yang menariknya ialah apa aktiviti kami di pantai BNO itu. Sebenarnya kami ke sana untuk mencari kerang. Ya, memang betul mencari kerang. Di zaman kanak-kanakku aku selalu berbasikal berbatu-batu dan mencari kerang. Di pantai BNO yang berlumpur itu memang banyak kerang. Seharian aku dan rakan-rakan mencari kerang. Bila balik ke rumah pada sebelah petangnya, ibubapaku sungguh marah kepada aku. Jenuh aku menerima leteran mereka.

Begitulah di antara cebisan memori zaman kanak-kanakku di kampung. Berbasikal sejauh 10 kilometer sudah menjadi lumrah bagi kami. Selain ke pantai mencari kerang, selalunya aku dan rakan-rakan sekampung atau sepersekolahan akan ke kampung-kampung jiran seperti Kampung Jawa, Sungai Ayer Tawar dan Parit Baharu untuk berlawan bola sepak. 

Beraya ke Ipoh

'Clock Tower' Kampar

Petang semalam selepas solat Asar aku dan dua orang birasku memandu kereta masing-masing membawa keluarga masing-masing dan kedua-dua ibubapa mertua kami ke Ipoh iaitu ke rumah makcik isteriku iaitu adik perempuan bapa mertuaku. Dari Simpang 5, kami memandu melalui Sungai Besar, Sabak Bernam, Teluk Intan, Langkap, Mambang Di Awan, Kampar, dan Gopeng. 

Ketika melalui bandar Kampar, anak perempuanku telah mengambil gambar 'clock tower'. Kalau anda perasan nama bandar ini sama dengan nama etnikku. Menurut arwah bapaku, nama bandar ini adalah bersempena dengan nama etnikku yang di antara terawal menghuninya. Ramai orang-orang Kampar yang telah berniaga dan membuka kedai di sini. Cerita arwah ayahku, Haji Abdul Latif yang lahir sebelum 1920 dan banyak mengetahui sejarah-sejarah negara ini, memang boleh diterima pakai. Di antara faktor-faktornya, beliau merupakan seorang yang sangat kuat ingatan, suka membaca dan banyak bergaul dengan orang-orang lama. Di samping itu, beliau juga telah banyak merantau dan berjalan ke pelusok negara.

Beliau bersekolah rendah di Teluk Intan di awal tahun 1930an. Menurutnya, beliau pertama kali datang ke Malaysia dari Kuok, Bangkinang di Sumatera pada hari kelahiran ibuku yang juga merupakan sepupunya. Tetapi malangnya aku tiada maklumat tentang nama sekolah tersebut. Kemudian beliau menuntut di Gunung Semanggul, Ehya Al Sharif, dan Ustaz Abu Bakar Bakir merupakan salah seorang tok gurunya. Dari kajian dan telahanku berdasarkan maklumat-maklumat yang ku ketahui, beliau dan beberapa rakan Kampar yang lain seperti Engku Rahim merupakan di antara murid-murid terawal di situ.   

Sambutan Syawal 2008

Keletah Fahim bersama datuk dan 'uwo'nya.

Fikri bersalam raya dengan datuknya.

Anak-anak bandar, Fahim dan Ezzah, di hadapan bendang.

Fikri dan Anis bersama sepupu mereka Ezzah.

1 Syawal pada tahun ini, 2008, jatuh pada 1 Oktober bersamaan hari Rabu. Setelah menunaikan solat sunat Aidil Fitri di surau Pekan Simpang 5, acara maaf bermaafan seluruh ahli keluarga pun berlansung. Pada tahun ini aku sekeluarga berpakaian sedondon warna keungu-unguan. Anak-anakku bersama-sama sepupu-sepupu mereka gembira mendapat duit raya dari datuk, 'uwo' panggilan nenek di kalangan kami orang-orang Kampar, pakcik dan makcik mereka.

Sesudah itu kami ke rumah 'uwo' isteriku atau moyang bagi anak-anakku. Rumah beliau berada di kawasan sawah padi atau lebih dikenali 'bendang' di kalangan orang-orang tempatan. Maka bertemu pula anak-anakku dengan dua pupu- dua pupu mereka. Bertemu bukan selalu, hanya setahun sekali. Begitulah adat berziarah di bulan Syawal yang seharusnya terus diamalkan.

Pada raya kedua, aku dan kedua-dua anak lelakiku, Fikri dan Fahim, menyertai rombongan 'baraan' raya dari rumah ke rumah. Lebih 20 buah rumah yang diziarahi. Kepada mereka yang tidak pernah mendengar perkataan ini, perkataan 'baraan' berasal dari bahasa Jawa. Ia bermaksud kunjungan atau ziarah ahli kariah kampung beramai-ramai ke rumah-rumah. Sebelum menjamu selera bacaan doa akan diaminkan beramai-ramai. Ini merupakan satu budaya masyarakat kita yang perlu dikekalkan turun menurun. Ia satu budaya yang bersesuaian dengan ajaran Islam itu sendiri. Bagi kanak-kanak, apa yang paling menggembirakan mereka ialah ketika mendapat 'ang pow' raya. 

Di kampungku sendiri iaitu di Jalan Sultan Sungai Tengar, aku juga menyertai acara baraan ini dari aku berusia kanak-kanak sehinggalah ke zaman bujangku. Sewaktu kanak-kanak, kami hanya menaiki basikal. Setelah remaja kami bermotosikal pula. Sungguh indah pengalaman tersebut. Begitulah budaya manis di kampung yang telah semakin luput di bandar-bandar. 

Dalam menyambut Syawal di kampung, aku dan anak-anak tidak lupa untuk praktis catur di waktu senggang. Apatah lagi banyak pertandingan catur dalam bulan Oktober ini. Semoga kami akan lebih berjaya nanti.