High Noon At National Closed Tourney 2009

by Quah Seng Sun

It was a very tense national closed chess championship.

THE air-conditioning was turned up full blast but neither the players nor the spectators noticed. Instead, everyone was feeling warm under the collar. Reason? For the first time in the 36-year history of the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF), a four-player play-off had been forced in the national closed chess championship.

The afternoon’s drama was totally unexpected. For much of the national closed, Lim Zhuo Ren, holder of this year’s Majlis Sukan Sekolah-sekolah Malaysia under-18 chess title, looked like running away with the national champion’s title. He had taken the lead after the fifth round and was hanging tenaciously onto it.

Unfortunately, Lim’s game was completely torn to shreds by aggressive play from last year’s champion, Edward Lee.

In the meantime too, Lim’s nearest rival, Abel Yap, hit a brick wall, unable to take advantage of Lim’s self-inflicted difficulties. If he had won in the final round against Che Hassan Abdullah, the title could have been his instead.

So, with the win, Che Hassan drew level with Lim, Lee and Evan Timothy Capel at the top of the standings.

Capel scored an important win against an unheralded Che Aziz Mohamad Hezri.

Evan Timothy Capel

With four players tied at the top of the standings, a play-off for the national champion’s title became inevitable, and it had to be held immediately.

It was anybody’s game in this play-off.

Lee was first off the block. Aggressive play netted him a point against Lim. Capel also won in the first round against Che Hassan. In the second round, Lim broke his duck by beating Capel while Che Hassan and Lee drew their game. So after the second round, Lee held a very slim half-point lead. However, the lead was thrown away in the third round when he lost to Capel. Che Hassan scored his second consecutive draw, this time against Lim.

At the halfway stage of the play-off, Capel was in the lead with two points, followed by Lee and Lim with 1½ points each and Che Hassan with one point.

In the fourth round, Capel held onto his lead with a second win against Che Hassan, and Lee hung on behind by beating Lim again. The fifth round saw Capel taking revenge against a fading Lim while Lee pressed hard by beating Che Hassan.

Going into the sixth round, Capel was leading with four points and Lee was half-a-point behind. Che Hassan and Lim played out to an inconsequential draw, leaving Capel and Lee to slog it out in their final game. It was tense. At the end, Capel hung on and their game was drawn.

Tan Li Ting

This year’s national closed championship has been one of the most exciting to date.
By the way, 11-year-old Tan Li Ting won the national women’s closed championship. She played chess that was mature beyond her age and she overcame a lot of challenges from her rivals to pip them to the title.

Li Ting is by far the youngest national women’s champion. She is younger by four months than Siti Zulaikha when the latter won her first national women’s title in 1999, according to the MCF.

(as published in The Star - 12 June 2009)