The Chess Connections: October 2012

If you are staying in the Klang area - particularly around Bandar Bukit Tinggi, you may want to check out their school holiday chess learning program for the beginners level which will start on 14th November 2012, running for six weeks until 20th December 2012.

Each class is 2 hours long with the first hour dedicated to teaching the students the ins and outs of a chess game including concept and tactical manoeuvers that are essential to playing the game correctly. Once they have gone through the daily syllabus, the second hour is set aside for the students to have fun playing with their peers, putting to practice the knowledge that they have learned.

Except for the first week - where the first day sessions will run on Wednesday, 14th November followed by the second day sessions on Thursdays, 15th November, all the other sessions following the initial week will be conducted every Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first session for each day will start at 11:00am followed by the second session starting at 12:00noon.

Mr David Si, the organizer behind the effort for this chess series, is also a Director of an established learning enrichment center located in Bandar Bukit. Tinggi. Understanding that chess has the ability to help young kids develop discipline, patience and logical reasoning, adding chess as one of his center's activity during the long year-end break was something that he had wanted to do for a very long time.

At my end, having shared with David my idea of setting up a chess academy in Malaysia some day, the collaboration will help me to move closer towards achieving my dream to invite more youngsters to learn to play the game.

One interesting fact that I learned about David is that he is also the cousin to one of Malaysia's leading player in the mid 80's - Seremban SPI and National player Ignatius Si whom - this gets even more freakier, I had also known during my school days in Seremban. Small world indeed! Although David may not have inherited Ignatius prowess on the board, he definitely understood the value that chess can offer to a growing child.

For more information and enrollment fees on the program, do call 03.33233.016.

SEE YOU THERE!!!!!

Although the number of players that play in the Insofar monthly event dwindled slightly - registering only 33 player for the 2 categories that was offered, the event still managed to pull some big names with FM Ronnie Lim and Sumant Subramaniam among the players taking part. It was a pleasant surprise to see the Azhar family taking part in the event with Haqqim and Rifqah entering the Open category and younger sister Munajjah in the Under 1600 category. There were also the usual players and supporters of the Insofar event including IM Mok Tze Meng who finds the tournament as a good training ground for his students and children.

The format for the Insofar event was changed slightly for the October edition as it offers 2 separate categories - the Open and the Under 1600, to provide a better chance for the "not so strong players" to play with players within their strength. There were also a few players rated below 1600 who had decided to play in the open section in order to gain more experience and facing a better challenge. One of which was Mok Shu Zing, daughter of IM Mok Tze Meng who had put up a good fight in all her games despite finishing with only a single point from a first round bye. "The experience and training playing against a better player will surely help her to improve her game," quipped father IM Mok when requesting her to be registered in the Open category.

For the Open event, it was a breeze for Sumant Subramaniam who won the event with 4.5 points after his last round draw with Aram Varahram. FM Ronnie Lim was placed sixth after a first round draw with college student Chek Kin Keuw, and losing to Jax Tham in the following round. At one point, FM Ronnie was playing in the last table but slowly crept his way back to the top but it was one round too late.

Irfan Haqqim secured the second place after winning his last round game against younger sister Puteri Rifqah. Mohd Haizal who opted to play in the Open section instead of the Under 1600 category, made quite an impression after beating Jax Tham in the first round. Although he suffered another losing game against Aram, his higher tie break was enough to secure him the 4th place ahead of Jax Tham at 5th.

In the Under 1600 category, Mohd Khairie Mazlan secured the title after beating Melvin in the last round. Khairie only drawn game came in Round 4 when he was up against Puteri Munajjah. Second place was veteran Mustapha Said who beat Puteri Munajjah in the last round to secure his spot. With Munajjah losing the last round, another youngster in Aqil Ainuddin leaped frogged into the 3rd spot after beating another veteran Bustaman Harun in the last round. Munajjah secured the 4th place and another lady player, Tan Wei Ting - younger sister to National Olympiad Player Tan Li Ting, secured the 5th spot.

Photos appended are courtesy of Insofar Academy: