09-12-2005 chess
From Malaysia Encyclopedia
Friday December 9, 2005
Vietnam is champ CHESS by QUAH SENG SUN
IT WAS not total gloom for the Malaysian chess contingent that returned empty-handed from the Philippines on Tuesday, where they had been participating in the SEA Games.
The silver lining came in the form of personal successes for our three Fide Masters – Wong Zi Jing, Nicholas Chan and Mok Tze Meng – in the standard chess event.
Wong finally achieved his third and final norm for an International Master title. If Wong can reach at least 2400 points in the Fide rating list, he will be Malaysia’s third International Master. For Mok, this will be his second International Master title norm. He will need a third norm. And as for Chan, this is his first norm. A lot more is expected from this young man as he strives to combine his chess activities with his medical studies in India.
In Tagaytay, hopes had been high that our players could improve on the modest three bronze medals collected two years ago but it was not to be. Drawn into a tough group with the Philippines and Vietnam, our team was denied any chance in the rapid team event. Likewise, in the rapid individual and blitz events, our players were struggling to hold their own against much stronger opposition.
The only event where we stood a decent chance of winning a bronze medal was the men’s standard chess event but even here, luck was not with our players. By the smallest mathematical margin, we were pipped at the finishing post by an Indonesian team.
The biggest winner of the chess competition at this SEA Games was Vietnam. They are truly the chess juggernaut in today’s South-east Asia. And why not? The Vietnamese chess players practically do nothing in their country but eat and live off chess. The Vietnamese domination was so complete that they swept all eight gold medals at stake and collected a sizeable number of the silver and bronze as well.
Only a quirky rule of the competition that a country cannot win all three medals in an event prevented the Vietnamese from making a clean sweep.
This rule, of course, meant that some countries that would normally have no chance of winning a medal were able to do so. Malaysia benefited from this rule two years ago but this time, some others benefited.
The Philippines, as host of the SEA Games, had been expected to perform well but in the end, the host country could only gather four silvers and three bronzes.
Another disappointment was Indonesia which finished with only two silvers and three bronzes. Singapore and Myanmar were the only two other countries that came away with bronze medals.
Quah Seng Sun can be contacted at ssquah@gmail.com. Join Malaysia’s biggest chess mailing list by registering yourself at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chess-malaysia.
Penang international open
The Penang international open chess championship, organised by the Penang Chess Association at the Evergreen Laurel Hotel, is in full swing with more than 100 participants in the field.
Roughly a quarter of them are internationally-rated players from around this region, including grandmasters and international masters, who are all chasing after the top prize of RM5,000.
Despite the tournament having started two days ago, the official opening will be held this afternoon. There are two rounds today, tomorrow and on Sunday, which is the final day of the championship. All games are played according to standard chess time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment after every move.
The platinum sponsors for the Penang international open are the Wah Seong Group and Hwang-DBS (M) Bhd, while the gold sponsors are Evergreen Marine Corporation, JobStreet Corporation Bhd and Tourism Penang.
Clearwater Sanctuary chess
The Perak International Chess Association (PICA) will organise the Clearwater Sanctuary international chess tournament at the Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort on Dec 18. This is a six-round event. Entry fees are RM10 for PICA members, ladies and under-12 players, and RM15 for all others. For enquiries, contact Yunus Sharif (05-545 8453 or 013-390 8129) or Hamisah (012-431 3326).
