Chess ... Chess ... Chess

What a hectic couple of weeks for GiLoCatur. Juggling between work and chess activities during the weekends.

24 Jan 2010

GiLoCatur and family were busy at Jeram (Kuala Selangor) Chess Open. The three kids and GiLoCatur participated in the national-rated event of seven G/25 rounds . Both adik "Fahim" and kakak "Anis" played in the Under 12 section while abang "Fikri" was in the Under 18 group. Meanwhile, GiLoCatur himself was among the Open category participants. How's the performance? Both Fikri and Anis managed to be among the winners. Fahim, as usual, still play very fast. A long way to go for him. As for GiLoCatur, not bad at all, in fact had positive rating difference. And had a good game against WCM Nabila.

The above picture was candidly taken by Ng6 while GiLoCatur just arrived at the venue of Jeram Chess Open.

25 to 27 Jan 2010

In Monday morning, GiLoCatur drove to Muar for an outstation. Had three sparring sessions with Zullghafari Suparmin who stay and work there. We also had chit chat, discussion and knowledge sharing that relate to chess. We are really "gilocatur" or chess maniacs. GiLoCatur has yet to write and post entry about our chess sparring.

GiLoCatur was in front of Muar's landmark at night. Muar is a big town located in Johor. It is about 2-hour drive or 200 kilometers from GiLoCatur's house in Shah Alam.

30 & 31 Jan 2010

GiLoCatur was at KL Junior Chess Championship. All the kids were participating in the tournament held in Cochrane Sports Excellence Center. Five age group categories were contested by about 180 Malaysian junior chess players. The youngest one, Fahim, was among the Under 10 Boys category. He was supposed to play in Under 8 Boys. The only daughter, Anis Fariha, tops the Under 12 Girls category. But due to certain circumstances like spending much time on tuition for the UPSR exam this year, she could not win the gold medal. The other important factor that affected her performance during the tournament is coming late for the second day and the crucial fourth round. Not her fault though. It is the mistake of GiLoCatur himself for not strong enough to handle the hectic schedule. Fortunately, the eldest one Fikri was offered a draw by his opponent even though he had time deficit. The fourth round and the first game of the 2nd day started at 8.30am. Fikri arrived at his board at around 9.05am which means that he had less than 30 minutes left. He cruised through the tournament in his Under 14 Boys age group section with 4 wins and 2 draws to claim the first spot. He was very happy for his performance. But he must continue practicing and learning to improve his ratings and achieve the target.

Fikri received his champion medal and winning certificate from Muhammad Arshad, the secretary of Terengganu Chess Association and a chess blogger of http://caturterengganu.blogspot.com/

1 to 3 Feb 2010

GiLoCatur once again went outstation to Muar. If in the previous week GiLoCatur stayed at Classics Hotel, this time around GiLoCatur stayed at Muar Traders Hotel. The latter is preferred because it is situated near a river which is very peaceful at night. Moreover it is not in the cramped downtown or city center. This time, GiLoCatur had only two chess sparring sessions with Zullghafari, one of GiLoCatur's chess buddies. One at the hotel lobby having about seven 10-minute blitz games and the other at MacDonalds. [ Jika Ng6 buka satu cawangan di MacD Bangsar, GiLoCatur lak buka cawangan di MacD Muar he he ... ]. GiLoCatur will write a dedicated entry for activities and attractions in Muar next time.

6 & 7 Feb 2010

During this coming weekend, there will be four chess tournaments:

1) KL Chess Grand Prix - the first leg

Organizer : KLCA and Polgar Chess Asia

Venue : Royal Selangor Club, Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur

Format : G/45, six rounds

Click here, for further details.

2) First Saturday Chess Classics (FSCC) - month of February

Organizer : Jax Tham and Excel Chess Academy (ECA)

Venue : ECA, OUG Jalan Kelang Lama, KL

Format : G/90 + 30 seconds, six rounds

Click here for further details.

3) MMU (Multimedia University) Open

Organizer : MMU Chess Club

Venue : MMU, Bukit Beruang, Melaka

Format : G/45, six rounds (may change)

Click here for further details.

4) SMK Seri Putera Open

Organizer : PICA and Chess Club of SMK Seri Putera

Venue : SMK Seri Putera, Ipoh, Perak

Format : G/20, six rounds

Click here for further details.

(Registration deadline : tomorrow! 4 Feb 2010)

Four chess tournaments in one weekend? Two in KL and one each in Melaka and Perak. WOW! What else Malaysian chess players and community have to do? Just select one of the four tournaments and enjoy playing chess. Show your support by participating in the local chess tournament. Let's put chess in the limelight in the country and improve the quality.

As for GiLoCatur and the kids, where we will be playing? Come back again to find out. :)-