8 March 2014, Kuala Lumpur – In Armenia, after round five of the European Individual Championship 2014, GM Riazantsev of Russia is leading with 4.5 points. Here is the round five game between GM Riazantsev and GM Najer.
Official website: http://www.eicc2014.am
28 February 2014, Kuala Lumpur – Here is an announcement of the upcoming National Closed Chess Championship 2014 which will be held from 12 March t0 16th March 2014 at the Wilayah Complex, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Kuala Lumpur.
Unlike previous National Closed, this year and last year, participation is through the respective MCF States Affiliates. A minimum national rating and FIDE rating is imposed in the conditions of entry. The winners will earn a title National Master (NM) for the open and National Women Master (NWM) for the women.
For more information, please contact the following persons:
THE MCF SECRETARIAT
Organizing Secretary En. Gregory Lau Tel. HP: 017 289 8215 – Email: msianchess2010@gmail.com
Pn. Haslindah Ruslan – Email: haslindahr@yahoo.com; Tel HP: 013 3328101
Pn. Zuraihah Binti Wazir : – Email: imzura@yahoo.com; Tel HP : 017 2837808
23 February 2014, Kuala Lumpur - The Fantastic Eight have qualified through the 2012-2013 FIDE Championship Cycle. Let's see how:
Vishy Anand is the loser of the 2013 Championship Match;
Vladimir Kramnik and Dmitry Andreikin are the top two finishers in the World Cup 2013;
Veselin Topalov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov are the top two finishers in the FIDE Grand Prix 2012–13;
Levon Aronian and Sergey Karjakin are the next two highest rated players who played in the Chess World Cup 2013 or the FIDE Grand Prix 2012–13;
Peter Svidler has got the Organizing committee's wild card (FIDE rating in July 2013 at least 2725).
You can find the FIDE regulation for the Candidates Tournament here.
It is a 14-round double round robin tournament, which takes place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, from March the 13th to March the 31st.
Play starts - most probably - at 4:00am EST - 10:00am CET.
Here are some predictions by GM Alex Yermolinsky. The first one represents his chances of winning the Candidates, and the second one rates his chances to beat Magnus.
Kramnik 20% 5%
Topalov 5% 5%
Svidler 5% 5%
Anand 0% n/a
Aronian 40% 30%
Mamedyarov 5% 5%
Karjakin 15% 15%
Andreikin 10% 30%
To read more, please visit the link here: http://www20.chessclub.com/article/fide-candidates-2014
23 February 2014, Kuala Lumpur – Found a website outlining the benefits of chess based on various studies in many countries. Here are a few sampled studies that undertook studies and the benefits of playing chess to the players.
In a 1973-74 Zaire study conducted by Dr. Albert Frank, employing 92 students, age 16-18, the chess-playing experimental group showed a significant advancement in spatial, numerical and administrative-directional abilities, along with verbal aptitudes, compared to the control group. The improvements held true regardless of the final chess skill level attained. [1], [2], [7]
In a 1974-1976 Belgium study, a chess-playing experimental group of fifth graders experienced a statistically significant gain in cognitive development over a control group, using Piaget's tests for cognitive development. Perhaps more noteworthy, they also did significantly better in their regular school testing, as well as in standardized testing administered by an outside agency which did not know the identity of the two groups. Quoting Dr. Adriaan de Groot: ...``In addition, the Belgium study appears to demonstrate that the treatment of the elementary, clear-cut and playful subject matter can have a positive effect on motivation and school achievement generally...'' [1], [3], [7]
In a 1977-1979 study at the Chinese University in Hong Kong by Dr. Yee Wang Fung, chess players showed a 15% improvement in math and science test scores. [4]
A four-year study (1979-1983) in Pennsylvania found that the chess-playing experimental group consistently outperformed the control groups engaged in other thinking development programs, using measurements from the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking.[1], [4], [5], [6], [7], [23]
The 1979-1983 Venezuela ``Learning to Think Project,'' which trained 100,000 teachers to teach thinking skills and involved a sample of 4,266 second grade students, reached a general conclusion that chess, methodologically taught, is an incentive system sufficient to accelerate the increase of IQ in elementary age children of both sexes at all socio-economic levels. [1], [7], [8], [9], [10]
During his governor's teacher grant from the New Jersey State Department of Education, William Levy found that chess consistently (1980-1987) promoted self-esteem after a year of exposure. Many students' self-images improved dramatically. [7], [11]
According to a two-year study conducted in Kishinev under the supervision of N.F. Talisina, grades for young students taking part in the chess experiment increased in all subjects. Teachers noted improvement in memory, better organizational skills, and for many increased fantasy and imagination (Education Ministry of the Moldavian Republic, 1985). [1], [7]
In his 1986 pilot study, Dr. Ferguson found that it is possible to enhance achievement by focusing on individuals' modality strengths, creating an individualized thinking plan, analyzing and reflecting upon one's own problem solving processes, sharing his/her thinking system with peers, and modifying the system to integrate other modalities. [1], [7], [12]
During the 1987-88 ``Development of Reasoning and Memory through Chess,'' all students in a rural Pennsylvania sixth grade self-contained classroom were required to participate in chess lessons and play games. None of the pupils had previously played chess. The pupils significantly improved in both memory and verbal reasoning. The effect of the magnitude of the results is strong (eta 2 is .715 for the Memory test gain compared to the Norm). These results suggest that transfer of the skills fostered through the chess curriculum did occur. [1], [7], [13]
A 1989-92 New Brunswick, Canada study, using 437 fifth graders split into three groups, experimenting with the addition of chess to the math curriculum, found increased gains in math problem-solving and comprehension proportionate to the amount of chess in the curriculum. [14]
A 1990-92 study using a sub-set of the New York City Schools Chess Program produced statistically significant results concluding that chess participation enhances reading performance. [15], [16], [23]
“Playing Chess: A Study of Problem-Solving Skills in Students with Average and Above Average Intelligence,'' a study by Philip Rifner, was conducted during the 1991-1992 school term. The study sought to determine whether middle school students who learned general problem solving skills in one domain could apply them in a different domain. Data indicated that inter-domain transfer can be achieved if teaching for transfer is an instructional goal. [17]
During the 1995-1996 school year, two classrooms were selected in each of five schools. Students (N = 112) were given instruction in chess and reasoning in one classroom in each school. Pupils in the chess program obtained significantly higher reading scores at the end of the year. It should be noted that while students in the chess group took chess lessons, the control group (N = 127) had additional classroom instruction in basic education. The control group teacher was free to use the ``chess period'' any way he/she wanted, but the period was usually used for reading, math or social studies instruction. The control groups thus had more reading instruction than the chess groups.
Even so, the chess groups did better on the reading post-test; therefore, the gains in the chess groups were particularly impressive. [18]
In a 1994-97 Texas study, regular (non-honors) elementary students who participated in a school chess club showed twice the improvement of non-chess players in Reading and Mathematics between third and fifth grades on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. [19], [20]
Researchers and educators have questioned what causes this growth. The Venezuelan study claimed: ``Chess develops a new form of thinking, and this exercise is what contributes to increase the intelligence quotient.'' [10] More recent researchers speculate that it is the growth of new synaptic connections. Chess promotes the growth of dendrites!
Why does chess have this impact? Briefly, there appear to be at least seven significant factors: 1) Chess accommodates all modality strengths. 2) Chess provides a far greater quantity of problems for practice. 3) Chess offers immediate punishments and rewards for problem solving. 4) Chess creates a pattern or thinking system that, when used faithfully, breeds success. The chess playing students had become accustomed to looking for more and different alternatives, which resulted in higher scores in fluency and originality. 5) Competition. Competition fosters interest, promotes mental alertness, challenges all students, and elicits the highest levels of achievement (Stephan, 1988). 6) A learning environment organized around games has a positive affect on students' attitudes toward learning. This affective dimension acts as a facilitator of cognitive achievement
(Allen & Main, 1976). [21]
Instructional gaming is one of the most motivational tools in the good teacher's repertoire. Children love games. Chess motivates them to become willing problem solvers and spend hours quietly immersed in logical thinking. These same young people often cannot sit still for fifteen minutes in the traditional classroom. 7) Chess supplies a variety and quality of problems. As Langen (1992) states: ``The problems that arise in the 70-90 positions of the average chess game are, moreover, new. Contexts are familiar, themes repeat, but game positions never do. This makes chess good grist for the problem-solving mill.''
To read more, please visit this link here: http://www.quadcitychess.com/benefits_of_chess.html
15th February 2014, Kuala Lumpur – For those chess enthusiasts eager for a tournament, here is a new chess tournament for you - to be held in Sg. Udang, Melaka on the 1st March 2014. Three categories – Open, Under-18 and Under-12. Seven rapid rounds of 20/25 minutes time control.
Please read the flyer below:-
For more information, please contact Mohd Salimin (010 - 214 9487) / Mohd Kelana (013 - 699 2367).
(source: M Zullghafari)
8 February 2014, Kuala Lumpur - The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) has published new guidelines in selecting chess players to represent Malaysia in national and international chess events. A Selection Committee has been established by MCF headed by En Kamaruddin Samsuri.
3 February 2014, Kuala Lumpur - Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival - Here is Nigel Short & Elisabeth Paehtz discussing their round 2 games.
Link: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/videos_masterclass.htm
3 February 2014, Kuala Lumpur – Team Perlis won the Under-18 category of the Kedah Team Open Chess 2014 held yesterday. The roll of honours of the teams that won are shown below:-
Winners of the Under 18 Category:
Winning Teams and Team Managers
1.TEAM PERLIS
2.TEAM Lahad Datu SABAH
3.SMJK KEAT HWA ALOR SETAR
4.SERI SERDANG SELANGOR
5.KEDAH FIGHTER(Cikgu Hamizul Team)
Winners of the Under 12 Category:
1.SJKC KWANG HWA(LELAKI)PENANG
2.SJKC KEONG PENANG
3.SK BUKIT JELUTONG A
To see more results and other winners please visit syedchess.blogspot.com for further uploads from the blogger.
Or visit Facebook Catur Kedah link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/247396358645590/
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