Swensen's (Merdeka) Age Group Rapid Open - Under 14 Winners

Since GiLoCatur does not have the final ranking and results for Under 14 category, just check out below photos snapped by GiLoCatur's 9-year-old son, Fahim Al-Faqeh.

Winners for U14 Open category

Winners for U14 Girls category
Anis Fariha on the most right

Swensen's (Merdeka) Age Group Rapid Open - Under 10

There was a slight change in the info as per reported earlier regarding the top seeds in the U10 category. Wong Yinn Loong was actually playing in the U12 category. So, the MSS Selangor L12 player, 10-year-old Yee Jian Yang became the top seed followed by Ng Jen Sheng who is rated at 1501.

So, who emerged the winner in this category? Jian Yang was defeated by Lau Matthew from Singapore in the final round. With 5/6 points and Buchholz tie break of 24.5, he was placed sixth. Meanwhile, Jen Shen stopped another Singaporean player named Lew Zhi Hong from winning one-two placings.  

Fahim (left) vs Jian Yang (right) in the fifth round
On his left is Jen Shen (yellow jacket)

Fahim (above picture), GiLoCatur's youngest son, took part in this event. Seeded 14th, he won all his first four rounds. In the fifth round, he lose to Jian Yang at the top table. Even though he won the final round and had 5/6 points, he was not on the podium since the winners medal is only for the top seven placings. Fahim was among ten players who scored 5/6 points but had lower tie break. He was placed tenth. 

Even though there were 12 Iranian and 7 Singaporean youngsters took part in the U10 category, Fahim played against only one of them. In the second round, Fahim played black against Singaporean Kow Jonathan. The match was the longest for him and among the last ones to finish. It was unfortunate for Fahim to not play against the Iranian youngsters as this will give him different experience, exposure and perspective.

Below is the final ranking of the top 20.

U10 category Top 20 Final Ranking

To view the complete final ranking list, go to this link.

Swensen's (Merdeka) Age Group Rapid Open - Under 8

The sixth seed, 1342-rated Chua Jia-Tien emerged top after scoring 5.5/6 points in the Under 8 category of the 2nd Swensen Age Group Rapid Open last Sunday. Jia-Tien had the same points with the top two seeds, Tan Jun Ying and Muhammad Faqih Aminuddin from Shah Alam but had higher tie break.

Three players were paired out meaning only 74 players were participating. There were 8 Iranians and 3 Singaporeans took part in the event. Six of them were in the top 20 final ranking as shown below.

Below is the final ranking of the top 20.

U8 category Top 20 Final ranking 

Click here for the complete final ranking.

Swensen's (Merdeka) Age Group Rapid Open

It is about an hour past midnite of Sunday, 21st August 2011. Today at 9.00am, the 2nd Swensen's Age Group Rapid Open will begin. GiLoCatur prefers to call it the Merdeka Age Group. Such is the only event GiLoCatur's children take part in this year Malaysian Chess Festival. It was the same last year. Last year, GiLoCatur's daughter did not take part due to UPSR examination. But this year, she will participate in Under 14 age group. Since Fikri is busy preparing for his PMR exam this year, he will miss the event. Nine-year-old Fahim, GiLoCatur's youngest child, will play in Under 10 category. Last year he was among nearly sixty players who took part in Under 8 category. Fahim scored 5 points and was  ranked eleventh overall.

Let's check some statistics and info regarding the participants.

Under 8 category

total participants = 77 players including several from Iran and Singapore

the top 3 seeds:

1. Tan Jun Ying
2. Muhammad Faqih Aminuddin
3. Goh Jie Yi

Last year, the total number of players in this category is only 57. So, this year it is 20 more.

Under 10 category

total participants = 136 players including several from Iran and Singapore

the top 3 seeds:

1. Wong Yinn Loong
2. Yee Jian Yang
3. Ng Jen Sheng

Fahim is seeded 15th. The number of participants this year is almost double than last year which is 78. What GiLoCatur observes regarding the ratings of the top 3 seeds, this year is higher than last year, 1500s to 1400s.

Under 12 category

total participants = 91 players including several from Iran and Singapore

the top 3 seeds:

1. Zelesco Carl (Australia)
2. Tan Tze Lin Tommy (Singapore)
3. Tan Yong Zhao

Last year there were only 53 participants in this event. The top two seeds are foreigners. The Malaysian players can test against the Australian top seed who has ELO ratings of 2013.

Under 14 category

total participants = 58 players including several from Iran 

the top 3 seeds:

1. Shreyes Subramaniam
2. Javanshir Omid (Iran)
3. Mohammadi Kiarash (Iran)

Anis who is seeded fifth in this category may have the chance to play against the Iranian players. This category attracted only 34 players last year.

Under 16 category

total participants = 13 players including several from Hong Kong and Iran 

the top 3 seeds:

1. Lee T H Bryan (Hong Kong)
2. Vinton Wong Hsien Loong
3. Sarika Subramaniam

This category attracts the least number of participants. Only two more this year compared to last year. Can the Malaysian players stop Bryan Lee from Hong Kong being the champion? Just wait until the age group championship completes.

So, in short, this year edition attracts many more participants. Hopefully, the number will be higher next year. See you at the Cititel BALLROOM in about 7 hours.