The people behind the success! - Paul Truong

GiLoCatur came across to a salutation to chess parents in Paul Truong's facebook as per below. GiLoCatur agrees strongly with him. It is true to GiLoCatur and wife. It is also true to all the Malaysian chess parents. 

GiLoCatur, wife and our children at MSSM 2013 Taiping

Thus, GiLoCatur hopes and prays that the chess playing children especially GiLoCatur's children - Fikri, Anis Fariha and Fahim Al-Faqeh, not to forget their parents especially when they are successful.

"The people behind the success! 

When the fans see young phenoms in chess, they are in awe of their talents. What they do not realize is success does not come without an incredible amount of sacrifices by their families, especially their parents.

I can name quite a few examples, first with Susan, then her sisters some years later. Their parents gave up everything to help the girls. Same with Vishy Anand, Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Hou Yifan, Wesley So, Ray Robson, Le Quang Liem, Illia Nyzhnyk, and now with some of the younger ones like Jeffery Xiong, Sam Sevian, Kayden Troff, and many more.

I never saw these players (at a younger age) without one of their parents accompanying them to event after event and paying for everything from coaching lessons to travelling & tournament expenses, etc. Yet these parents would never ask for anything in return. They offer their children unconditional love and support.

It is great to see someone like Illia Nyzhnyk sending most of his chess winnings in the US since he attended Webster University back home so his parents can buy an apartment in a better & safer location. It is also sad to see some youngsters not appreciating what their parents have done for them.

To all the super parents, I salute you!" - Paul Truong in facebook

Paul Truong - souce: wikipedia

THANK YOU, PAUL TRUONG!

Kejohanan Catur MSSM 2013 (Part 5)

In the Under 15 Girls (P15) Teaml category, WPKL looks set to defend its Gold medal. As per GiLoCatur understanding, even Perak who will challenge WPKL in the final round wins by 4 - 0, WPKL will still be the champion  since its TB2 will still be higher. The Board 2 match up between Pulau Pinang and Selangor is crucial. It may determine both 1st and 2nd runner up in the category. Selangor led by Anis Fariha must win by 2 1/2 -1 1/2 at least to secure the second position.   

P15 - Team

 In the Individual event of Under 15 Girls (P15), Selangor may get its Gold medal through Nur Najiha who is currently the leader with full 5/5 points. A draw is enough for her to become the champion. Her opponent is her Selangor team mate, Puteri Rifqah. On Board 2, Nur Sabrina Aliya from Pahang will challenge Li Tomg  (should be Li Ting, typo error. thanks to the reader who just highlighted about it. corrected on 30/03/13, 1.10pm) from WPKL.

P15 - Individual

It is an interesting battle in the Under 15 Boys (L15) Team category. Pulau Pinang which is the current sole leader with nine (9) match points is paired against Selangor which shared match points with WPKL. WPKL is hoping Selangor to win over PP to give it the chance to become the champion. For sure, PP will defend its Gold medal and does not let Selangor spoil their victory. What the outcome will it be? Let's wait until the sixth round is over.

L15 - Team

In the Individual L15 category, Selangor is hoping its player, Li Tian, to provide a Gold medal. He is currently the sole leader with full 5/5 points. Subramanian of Negeri Sembilan will be Li Tian's final opponent in the 2013 MSSM chess competition. Meanwhile, Harleiff Haniff will be the best bet for WP Putrajaya to win the Top 3 medal. He plays black against Ahmad Zahir of Perlis.

L15 - Individual

GiLoCatur's medal prediction for Under 15 category >>>  SEL - 2, PP - 1 & WPKL - 1 Gold medals.

Blogging from Panaroma Hotel, Taiping

Kejohanan Catur MSSM 2013 (Part 4)

The 2013 MSSM chess championship is going to end soon. The final sixth round will begin in about seven hours. So, how is the standing so far? Let's begin with the Under 12 category.

In the Individual L12, Amier Hamzah of WPKL is currently the sole lead. He is in the better position to contribute the Gold medal to his state team. He is paired against Hazid Ekquan of Pahang at the top board. While Yinn Long of Pulau Pinang will play white against Selangor player, Praghashkumar of Selangor at Board 2.

L12 - Individual 

 In the Team L12 event, Pulau Pinang has two match points advantage over WPKL. The former will play against Terengganu while WPKL will be challenged by the host team, Perak. A draw is enough for PP to grab the Gold medal in this category. 

L12 - Team

In the Individual P12 category, Pulau Pinang is leading through its player named Teh De Zen. She edged Selangor player, Puteri Munajjah, in the fifth round. In the final round, De Zen is paired against another Selangor player, Maisarah while Puteri Munajjah will be challenged by Amy Halida. 

P12 - Individual

P12 - Team

In the P12 Team event, it is the battle between WPKL and PP. Both teams have same match points. WPKL has the advantage since its TB2 (Tie Break 2) is 1.5 points more than PP. 

GiLoCatur's prediction for the Under 12 category, WPKL - 2 Golds, PP - 2 Golds!

Kejohanan Catur MSSM 2013 (Part 3)

The MSSM chess championship is halfway. Three rounds had completed. Three more rounds to go. So, what's happening? Is Selangor or Wilayah Persekutuan KL (WPKL) or Pulau Pinang on right track winning their targeted Gold medals? Let's take a glimpse on the results thus far.

Under 12 Team

In the Boys section, WPKL team was the champion for the past two years. But this year, based on the list of players, GiLoCatur predicts that Pulau Pinang (PP) will become the champion. The actual results thus far, both WPKL and PP are the only teams which won all their three rounds. In other words, both teams have the perfect 6 six (6) match points. But WPKL is leading the group because it has better game points  i.e. full twelve (12) game points compared to PP. In the fourth round these two teams will play each other. What is the result gonna be? A win by either team or a draw?

In the Girls section, PP is the defending champion. If they win this year, it will be a hat trick. But at the moment, PP is trailing WPKL two (2) game points even though both teams have same six (6) match points. Like in the Boys section, WPKL and PP will also play each other in this category. In GiLoCatur's opinion, both teams have equal chance to win. 

How about the Selangor (SEL) team especially in the Boys section where GiLoCatur's son is playing? After losing to PP in the third round, SEL needs to win the next three rounds in order to be on the podium. Its fourth round opponent will be Pahang.

Under 15 Team

In the Boys section, WPKL is leading right now with maximum match points. PP as the defending champion was held to a draw by Johor. While Selangor could only get half point playing againts WPKL in the third round. In the battle of top two boards in the fourth round, WPKL will play PP while Johor will play Selangor.

In the Girls section, the Selangor team had also the same results as its Boys team playing against WPKL. Both WPKL and PP are the current leaders in this category. Their fourth round match up will be a tough battle. GiLoCatur strongly believes that the winner will emerge as the champion.

 Under 18 Team

In the Boys section, both WPKL and PP are the current leaders. WPKL defeated Selangor while PP defeated WP Labuan with the same score of 3 1/2 to 1/2. Yet another WPKL and PP match up in this category.

In the Girls section, PP is the sole leader. Both Kelantan and Selangor are trailing half point. PP will play against Selangor while WPKL will be challenged by Kelantan.

It will be tense battle in the team event especially to both WPKL and PP. They will play against each other in all categories except P18.

GiLoCatur has to sign off now to get rest for the fourth round in less than six hours. As in Spanish, "asta manyana" or see you tomorrow.

- Room 450, Panorama Hotel, Taiping

Kejohanan Catur MSSM 2013 (Part 2)

Alhamdulillah, this year all the three of GiLoCatur's children are taking part in the MSSM chess championship. Two of them - Anis & Fahim, are playing for Selangor while their elder brother, Fikri, is with Wilayah Persekutuan KL team. All of them are playing in the team event in their respective category. Fikri in Under 18 Boys or L18. Anis in Under 15 Girls or P15. And Fahim in Under 12 Boys or L12. 

Like last year, Anis is leading her team on Board 1. Two of her team mates last year - Ee Sun Xin and Nurul hana Syuhada Sulkifly, are still with her. Her new team mate this year is Nur Anisah Salihin. In the first round, Anis and her team mates faced Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan. 

Anis Fariha - Selangor P15 Team

Fikri and his other three team mates - Tan Jun Feng, Liew Ken Yew and Albert Ang Keliang, has to defend their Gold medal last year. If last year, Fikri was playing on the last board, this year he plays the third board. Fikri and his L18 team played against Kelantan in the first round. Can Fikri and his team mates win Gold medal again this year? We'll know by Friday afternoon.

Fikri - WPKL L18 Team

Fahim makes his debut appearance in the MSSM chess competition this year edition. He plays the third board like his elder brother. His team mates are Yee Jian Yang, Emir Rusyaidi Bin Ahmad Nazari and Ahmad Danial Aqil Bin Salihin. Their first round opponent was WP Labuan. Last year, the Selangor L12 team won the Bronze medal. Can Fahim and his team mates emerge as the champion this year? They can if able to beat both Pulau Pinang and Wilayah Persekutuan KL. 

Fahim Al-Faqeh - Selangor L12 Team

Most gracious to Allah, all the three children of GiLoCatur won their respective matches. Furthermore, all their teammates won too. It means that they won convincingly with the score of 4 - 0. Hopefully, the winning will continue in Day 2 on which two rounds will be played. 

Good Luck, my beloved children! And HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY, Fahim!

GiLoCatur @Room 450, Panorama Hotel

Kejohanan Catur MSSM 2013 (Part 1)

25th March 2013, Taiping - The MSSM chess championship for 2013 edition kicked this afternoon. GiLoCatur and wife left home at Shah Alam at around 8.00 o'clock in the morning. We arrived at Taiping located in Perak state three hours later. We drove around Taiping town looking for the hotel for the stay and cake shop. Fahim's 11th birthday is today. He wanted to have a birthday celebration with his Selangor team mates. Before that both GiLoCatur and wife stopped by at Taiping Perdana Hotel, the venue of the championship. Below are few photos that GiLoCatur snapped while at the hotel.

the hotel's name

the championship banner or bunting

the tournament hall ready for the first round

the waiting area outside the tournament hall

Selangor Chess Contingent Trains Hard for MSSM 2013 Taiping!

Train... Train... Train...

Focus... Focus... Focus...

"Tahun ini kita jadi juara lagi dan menang lebih banyak pingat emas,  BOLEH?" PT Selangor

WP Chess Contingent Is Ready To Taiping, Perak

"Sekurang2nya KL menang 6 pingat emas, BOLEH?" PT KL

Pemain2 MSSKL 2013 sedang mendengar amanat PT

Ready to flag off from Pusat Kecemerlangan Sukan Cochrane ...

Catur MSSKL Satu Lagenda!!!

2013 MSSM Chess Championship Is Here

It is about two hours into Sunday, 24th March 2013. GiLoCatur believes that all the state chess contingents had arrived in Taiping, Perak. The first round of the championship will kick off at 2.30pm on Monday, 25th March 2013. This year edition will be the fifth for GiLoCatur to be part of. The first one was the year 2009 edition held in Kelang, Selangor. It was in that edition that GiLoCatur's only daughter, Anis Fariha, made her maiden appearance in the MSSM chess championship. Alhamdulillah, this year all the three of GiLoCatur's children - Fikri, Anis and Fahim, will take part in the championship. It will be the first time that all of them are in the championship. And it will also be the last time. The reason is because Fikri will play for the last time in the MSSM chess championship since he is in Form 5 this year.  

2013 MSSM chess championship logo

Following closely the championship for the last five years, GiLoCatur can conclude that there are three states  namely Selangor (SEL), Pulau Pinang (PP) and Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (WP) that dominate the championship. Let's take a look at the Gold medal tally for the last two years - 2012 amd 2012. Basically, there are six Gold medals up for the grab in both Individual and Team events each meaning the total number of Gold medals are twelve (12).  

In 2011, the three states mentioned above won ten out of the total twelve Gold medals. WP won four (4) while both Pulau Pinang and Selangor won three (3) each. The other two Gold medals were won by Kedah and Melaka. The former won U12 Boys Individual category while the latter won U18 Girls Individual category. While Selangor won all its Gold medals in the Individual events, Wilayah Persekutuan won all its Gold medals in the Team events.

In 2012, both Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan won four (4) Gold medals each. Pulau Pinang won one less while the host state, Terengganu, managed to win one in U18 Boys Individual category.  

So, what the medal tally would be in 2013? Any prediction? GiLoCatur plans to publish his prediction once he has seen the list of participants in each category. 

Gold Medal Tally