1st Malacca International Chess 2012!

31 January 2012, Kuala Lumpur - At last the awaited Malacca chess event of the year has some news to announce. Here it goes:-

Word has it that the 1st Malacca International event has been finalized and that the event will be hosted by the Historical City of Malacca starting from 20th April right up to 1st May 2012. The event will be marked as one of the major international event to commemorate the 750th year of Malacca since it was first founded and built

The event shall start with an 11 round International Rapid event offering a prize fund of USD 20,000 to be played over the 2 days weekend, followed by Classical event over 9 rounds for 2 categories - Open International and Challenger, offering a total prize fund of up to RM 50,000.

The total prize fund is one of the biggest purse ever offered for a local tournament surpassing that of the Malaysian Chess Festival. Entry fees for the event and other details are being fine tuned before it is officially released

The 12 days chess gala will be hosted at the Hang Tuah Hotel right in the heart of Melaka City where Mahkota Parade, Dataran Pahlawan, Historical Museums, popular night spots and eateries, are all located within walking distance from the playing venue.

An opening dinner is also on the agenda and it is very likely that it will be officiated by the YAB Ketua Menteri Malacca with many local, regional and international chess dignitaries expected to attend the festival.

Event schedule that has been tentatively agreed earlier today is as follows:


Be on the lookout for more information on the event which will unfold within the next few days. Players who are interested to have a good start and learn more about the event, please get in touch with:

Haslindah Ruslan - MCF Vice President at +6019.206.9605
Gregory Lau Beng Hock - MCF Honorary Secretary at +6012.289.8215
Najib A Wahab - Technical Director +6016.338.2542

Come and join the fun!

Kelantan Close 2012 – Nik A Farouqi Wins

Pix 1. Nik Farouqi vs Mas Hafizulhelmi, Round 4, Kelantan Close 2012

(Photo by Mohd Ezmi Mahmood’s facebook)

29 January 2012, Kuala Lumpur – The eight round Swiss- System Kelantan CLose 2012 Men Open was won by Nik Ahmad Farouqi with 7.5 points from 8 rounds of play. The final ranking is as shown in the table below:-

Round 8 Results, Men Open, Kelantan Close 2012

To read more results, please visit caturkelate.blogspot.com or click here.

Farouqi Shocker!

 

28 Jan 2012, Kuala Lumpur – Today is the first day of the Kelantan Close 2012 held jointly by Persatuan Catur Kelantan and CSTA University Teknologi MARA Machang, Kelantan. Nik Ahmad Farouqi has made a sensation by winning his game against Malaysia’s number 1 player, IM Mas Hafizulhelmi.

Here is the winning game from Nik Ahmad Farouqi in the Kelantan Close 2012 Men’s Open category.

To read more, please visit caturkelate.blogspot.com.

 

(source of game: http://caturkelate.blogspot.com/)

Some Games of Round 3, Gibraltar Masters 2012

 

Pix 1. Hou Yifan                Pix 2. Zhukova

(PHOTOS by Zeljka Malobabic)

27 Jan 2012, Kuala Lumpur – Here are few games from round 3 of the Gibraltar Masters 2012. All games were from Internet Chess Club site.

David Howell and Judit Polgar ended a slugfest with two kings remaining on the board and a drawn game.

 

Meanwhile GM Michael Adams of England had a nice win in the third round against GM Daniel Fridman in a French Defence opening (French Tarrasch variation) in the Gibraltar Masters 2012.

In round 3, Women’s reigning World Champion, GM Hou Yifan of China also won her third round game against GM Zoltan Almasi with a Ruy Lopez opening.

Rank after round 3, Gibraltar Masters 2012:-

Official website: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/index.htm

To see more results, please visit chess-results.com or click here.

(source of games: Internet Chess Club)

Polgar’s Round 2 Game, Gibraltar Masters

26 Jan 2012, Kuala Lumpur – In Gibraltar Masters 2012, Le Quang Liem and Judit Polgar won their round 2 games. Judit’s round 2 game against Ikonnikov Vyacheslav is shown below:-

 

 

For Asian readers, here is a game involving GM Le Quang Liem of Vietnam in round 2 against Del Rio De Angelis Salvador G. Le won his second round game shown below:-

 

 

Results of round 2 Gibraltar Masters 2012 (up to table 25)

 

Current Leaders after round 2, Gibraltar Masters 2012

 

Here is a video commentary by GM Simon Williams of round 2. The video has three parts. The one shown on this blog is the first part of round 2.

 

You can see a commentary on the top two boards of round 2 Gibraltar Chess Masters 2012 by clicking on this link www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/videos.htm.

Official website: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/index.htm

Gibraltar Chess Festival 2012

25 January 2012, Kuala Lumpur – The Gibraltar Masters 2012 is now playing from 24 Jan – 2 February 2012. GM Peter Svidler, GM Judit Polgar, GM Le Quang Liem and GM Hou Yifan are some names that are playing in this year’s tournament.

Masters gets underway

The official website of the tournament reported that the major event of the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival - the Gibraltar Masters - got underway at the Caleta Hotel this afternoon. This is the tenth in the series of major international chess events held on the Rock and the second one to be sponsored by Tradewise Insurance.

Pix 1. Board 1, round 1, GM Peter Svidler plays against IM Jovanka Houska, England. (Photo from official website of tournament)

Here is the game between Svidler and Houska of round 1, Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2012 played yesterday, 24 January 2012.

Here is a video of the Gibraltar Chess Festival 2012.

Results of Round 1 (up to table 26)

Official website: http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/

Nik Ahmad Farouqi Wins 17 Chess Club FIDE Rated Tournament 2012

 

25 Jan 2012, Kuala Lumpur – The 17 Chess Club FIDE Rated Tournament 2012 held from 20-24 January 2012 at DATCC ended later yesterday afternoon with Nik Ahmad Farouqi declared the champion with 7.5 points from 9 rounds of single round robin format of Group A.

Abdul Haq Mohamed was second with 6.5 points and third was Mohd Saprin Sabri (pix above) with 6.0 points. To Saprin’s credit, he is the only non-losing player in the tournament but suffered due to six draws too many. All other players had at least one loss.

Meanwhile in the B group, Faiezul Zainal won convincingly with 8 points from 9 rounds of play from a similar single round robin format. Second, Foo Chee Kin with 6.5 points and surprisingly, Saprin’s protege son, Amir Qayyim Mohd Saprin (pix above, Photo by Ng6 blogger) is in third place with 6.0 points.

Johansen Darryl K wins Queenstown Chess Classic

24 January 2012, Kuala Lumpur – Discovered that Lim Kian Hwa of Malaysia had recently participated in the New Zealand’s Queenstown Chess Classic held from 15-23 January.

Chess.com reported that the 2012 Queenstown Chess Classic runs from 15-23 January in New Zealand.

The competition is a nine-round international open incorporating the 119th New Zealand Chess Championships, with a guaranteed prize fund of NZD 30,000 (approx USD 24,000).

The tournament is the inspiration of New Zealand chess Grandmaster Murray Chandler (pictured), and is the third edition following two successful previous events in 2006 and 2009.

The tournament was won by Australian GM Johansen Darryl K with 7.5 points. Johansen won by winning the crucial last ninth round game against GM Gawain Jones of England. GM Li Chao of China who had been leading up to round 8 fell to second place after drawing the last ninth round game against Tao Trevor. Li Chao also scored 7.5 points but lost out on tie-break points.

Lim Kian Hwa (pix left) of Malaysia ended in 111th position with 3.5 points after winning the last round game against Beckman John. He was the sole representative from Malaysia. Another notable was WGM Sukandar Irene Kharisma of Indonesia. She finished in 13th spot with 6.5 points, enough for one IM norm. Congrats to her.

Lim’s play (shown below) involved two FMs and one WIM comprising of 3 wins and a draw from nine rounds of play. He played against 6 Australians and 3 New Zealanders.

Here is the round 8 game between GM Li Chao of China and GM Eduardas Rozentalis of Lithuania during the Queenstown Chess Classic 2012, Queenstown, New Zealand.

To read more, please visit http://www.newzealandchess.co.nz/queenstownchess/

Sabah Chess Masters

24 Jan 2012, Kuala Lumpur - Here is one chess tournament organized by Sabah Chess Association and the military. It will be held in Sabah 's military camp in Lokkawi on 28-29 Jan 2012. In conjunction with their 48th anniversary, the chess tournament titled Sabah Chess masters Piala Panglima 5 Brigade 2012 will be held at Dewan Mini MINDEF Kem Lokkawi in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Here is the news article related to the chess event.

Please contact Chi Tin Phin (016-813 3487), Kamariah Abu Bakar (017-818 8798) or Charles Lucas (016-836 2436) for further details. Please visit their website http://sabahchess.com.

Nik Farouqi, Faiezul Zainal Leads In 17 Chess Club

 

23 January 2012, Kuala Lumpur – The 17 Chess Club FIDE Rated Tournament 2012 is currently on-going at DATCC with two groups of 10 players.

In Group A, Nik Ahmad Farouqi (pix above)  and Abdul Haq Mohamed are leading the group with 4 points after 5 rounds of play.

Meanwhile in Group B, Faiezul Zainal is leading with 5 full points from 5 rounds of play.

To read more either visit chess-results.com or visit Pengurusan Catur Ar-Rahman or click here.

Group A – Round 5 results and Round 6 pairing (23 Jan 2012)

Group B – Round 5 results and Round 6 pairings (23 Jan 2012)

To read more either visit chess-results.com or visit Pengurusan Catur Ar-Rahman or click here.

Tata Steel Chess – Round 8

23 January 2012, Kuala Lumpur – The official website of the Tata Steel Chess 2012 tournament reported that a flurry of draws and just one decision in eighth-round action brought little change to the standings in Grandmaster Group A at the 74th annual Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk-aan-Zee on Sunday. Levon Aronian of Armenia settled for a relatively quick draw, while the other tournament leader, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, rejected an early peace offer only to reach the same result by a repetition of moves after trying in vain for most of the afternoon.

“I think it was a drawish line, more or less,” said Aronian about his Queen’s Gambit with black against Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov. “I don’t know too much about it but it felt very natural the way I played it.” When asked about his preparation, Aronian indicated he hadn’t studied all that hard, as he’d spent the night before Sunday’s round at the BIM-House, a jazz music hall in nearby Amsterdam. Even so, at one point he felt that black was better “but then, I committed a couple of inaccuracies, because I thought the game was already finished. Fortunately, I collected myself and played correctly and it was a draw.”

Carlsen, meanwhile, played black in a Gruenfeld against Azerbaijan’s Teymour Radjabov (see picture), an inventive player with a reputation as a tough defender, who sprung an early proposal to split the point on his formidable opponent. The top-rated Norwegian refused, of course. “You should expect to have to fight to the end for every half point,” he told reporters afterwards. “But, okay, I think the position never strayed beyond the bounds of a draw, although I believe I was better to begin with and then, he might have tried for a win, because I over-pressed.” The game ended when a repetition of moves became unavoidable, which deprived Carlsen of the privilege to play on until just two kings were left on the board – as he did twice in earlier rounds.

 

To read more of the round 8 report, please visit the official website of the tournament or click here.

Here is the round 8 game between Radjabov – Carlsen, Tata Steel Chess 2012, Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, 22 January 2012.

(Photos by Fred Lucas)

Video Interviews On Tata Steel 2012

19 January 2012, Kuala Lumpur – Here are a few videos on the on-going Tata Steel Chess 2012 in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.

Round 3 video commentary by ICC Chess.FM on Carlsen-Aronian game.

To watch the free video by ICC Chess.FM please visit the YouTube link: http://youtu.be/yTsR8zi04vM

 

Round 4 Tata Steel 2012 latest videos

You Tube link : http://youtu.be/rHqwEHHxFiM

Interview on Hikaru Nakamura by Tata Steel Chess 2012 Daily

You Tube link : http://youtu.be/GPwpVsSWDyk

Interview on En Passant of Anne Haast from Netherlands in Dutch

You Tube link : http://youtu.be/6hkG8zoNQAE

Interview on Lisa Schut from Netherlands after her fourth round win.

You Tube link : http://youtu.be/uIJpdPUTVvs

Official website for latest videos : http://www.tatasteelchess.com/tournament/video/nr/5

Leadership changes hands to Levon Aronian!

Pix 1. Daniellan, Cmilyte, Lahno. (Photo by Fred Lucas)

18 January 2012, Kuala Lumpur – In the Netherlands, the leadership has changed hands yet again as Levon Aronian joins Carlsen at the top after round 4 play in the closely followed Tata Steel Chess 2012.

TWIC website reported that Levon Aronian scored his third win in four rounds of the 74th Tata Steel tournament to join Magnus Carlsen in the lead going into the first rest day. Aronian kept grinding away against Gata Kamsky and eventually emerged with a winning position. Fabiano Caruana drew with Carlsen in a Berlin where both players thought white should be much better but they couldn't point out where and the game drifted to a draw. Sergey Karjakin got back to 50% with a win against David Navara on the black side of a Berlin where Navara should have taken a draw by repetition. Vassily Ivanchuk was visably upset when Loek van Wely found a tactical escape to draw after being under strong pressure. Remaining games drawn.

The official website of the tournament reported that a fine technical victory with white over Gata Kamsky of the U.S. in fourth-round action brought Armenia’s Levon Aronian back on top of the standings in Grandmaster Group A of the 74th annual Tata Steel Chess Tournament at Wijk-aan-Zee Tuesday (see picture). The world’s second highest ranked player was level with Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, who headed the field as the sole leader at the outset of the round but had to settle for a draw with black in a hard-fought Berlin Wall game against Fabiano Caruana of Italy (see picture).

Referring to his defeat at Carlsen’s hands the day before, Aronian expressed his joy at finding himself “on the other side today. This time it was me who was pressing, and even though I also managed to let my opponent get away, in the end he was the one to make the final mistake.”

Pix 2. Group A players. (Photo by Fred Lucas)

Pix 3. Bruxon, Nyzhnik and Vocaturo. (Photo by Fred Lucas)

Pix 4. Anne Haast. (Photo by Fred Lucas)

Here is the round 4 game between Levon Aronian and Gata Kamsky of the Grandmaster Group A, Tata Steel Chess 2012 in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.

 

 

Official website: http://www.tatasteelchess.com