Of Going Into Round 7 - GACC 17th Edition

The GACC 17th edition took a one day break yesterday with Round 7 continued earlier today at 9:00am. Currently, four players shared the top spots with 5 points each comprising of Russian trio FM Dzhumagaliev, Nikolai and FM Pavel together with a lone Malaysian in Ahmad Fadzil Nayan who had done well to hold top seed Dzhumagaliev to a draw on Table 1 in Round 6. Another quartet consisting of Vietnamese player Le Ming Tu, Russia's WFM Myslevskaya and Sri Lanka's duo Peiris and Alahakoon is half point behind at 4.5 points. Twelve players shared 4 points and amongst them are Malaysia's Fariz Shafruddin, Muhd Syazwan Zulkifli, Abdullah Khairi, Teh Wee Zhun, Chek Kin Keuw and Solomon Nyurang. Ruby Kwan of UPSI Malaysia and Kavindi Senarath of Sri Lanka are the only 2 ladies within the group of 4 pointers. 

Round 7 today will see the battle for the lead between FM Dzhumagaliev and team mate Nikolai Kuzmin on Table 1, followed by FM Pavel Bublei going up against NUS player, Vietnames Le Minh Tu on Table 2. On Table 3, Ahmad Fadzil Nayan is up against the remaining Russian quartet in WFM Myslevskaya Izabella and rounding up on Table 4 is Isuru Alahakoon going against his Sri Lanka countryman TSS Peiris.

One of the more surprising performance in this event is that of Ng Qing Yang of Singapore who has no FIDE Rating, and seeded 72nd for the event but is currently a single point adrift from the leading pack. Paired against Yong Jenn in Round 7, a win by Qing Yang may catapult him within reach of the top spots and a valuable point for his team.

On the downside, things are not looking well for 12th seed Amir Hamzah KZ who has only managed to secure 2 points out of 6 rounds and currently playing on Table 29. A member of the formidable IIUM Chess Team, Amir Hamzah has been one of the more prominent player in his team but somehow for this event, is struggling to perform.  

Results and pairing for the event can be viewed at www.chess-results.com

Syazwan (left) did well to draw with Nikolai (right) during their 5th round encounter

In running for the lead - Fadzil (left) did well to hold top seed FM Dzhumagaliev (right) for a draw which puts him in the lead, sharing the top spot with 3 other Russians - Dzhumagaliev, Bublei and Kuzmin

Party night at 2nd college on the eve of the break day

Crowd mingling around the playing hall towards the end of Round 6. In the foreground, Eddy Kwan (extreme left), taking interest in her daughter's game - Ruby Kwan (seated left in red - facing the camera)

 

Of Another National Age Group Event - List of Names

UTP (Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS) is once again the proud host for this year's edition of the National Age Group Chess Championship to be held between 1st and 3rd February 2013. The Chief Arbiter for this event is IM/FA Mok Tze Meng and assisted by NA Nik Ahmad Farouqi Nik Abdul Aziz of Kelantan.

According to the list that has been shared by MCF, the total number of players participating in this year's event is 265 players as per the following breakdown:

  
For a full list of players, please click here to download the following NAGList.pdf files

Of Running Another GACC Event

This would be my 4th GACC event after IA Abd Hamid Majid "passed" the responsibility for me to run the event since 2009. Of course, it was not "his event" but, it has been traditionally conducted by him, Tse Pin and of lately, by yours truly. Perhaps next year, a new face will head the GACC event as it provides a good platform for Arbiters to experience a small size International event, one without much headache as the Organizer have taken care most of everything. The GACC event is one of the better events to arbitrate as the organizing committee - made up of UM second college students, are very efficient, productive, helpful and most importantly, raring to go and more than willing to learn. Instructions and advice are usually taken without receiving any violent objections or questions, and even if there were, it is mostly counter suggestions to make it better. The tradition of such a well gel teamwork and professionalism remains in the team despite the changes in the committee and the leadership from year to year.... It is truly amazing!

For this year's event, the 17th in the series which started in the early 90's, 75 players from 8 countries took part in the event - Russia, China, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam and host Malaysia. The highest seeded for the event is made of Russian quartet led by FM Dzhumagaliev Yan, FM Pavel Bublei, WFM Myslevskaya Izabella and 4th seeded Nikolai Kuzmin. 

5th seed is Malaysia's own Ahmad Fadzil Nayan followed by Sri Lankan Isuru Alahakoon at 6th and Singaporean Kelvin Wee at 7th seed. Two Malaysians in Fariz Shafruddin and Mohd Syazwan Zulkifli filled the 8th and 9th spot, and Sri Lankan TSS Peiris round up the 10th seed.

There were a few interesting games from Round 1 and 2 where top seeds 1 and 2 had to battle fierce oppositions from their opponents. In Round 2, Ramone Mikgail Kok had a spare pawn on the d file when playing against FM Dzhumagaliev but could not turn the advantage into a win and succumbed in time trouble. Even in the first round of the day, FM Pavel Bublei was a Rook down against Siti Noraihan but accurate play by the more experience Pavel ended the game for Noraihan.

The first of the higher seeded to hit a brickwall was Isuru Alahakoon who had to split points with Chan Sheng Yip in the second round. Another minor upset happened on the same round when Mohd Syazwan Zulkifli had to accept a draw by repetition from Firdaus albeit having a whole Rook up. 

For Round 3 today, it will be interesting to see how 8th seed Fariz Shafruddin will fare againsttop seed FM Dzhumagaliev on Table 1 whilst 11th seed Abdullah Khairi taking on 2nd seed FM Pavel Bublei on Table 2.

Table 3 will see the battle between Russia WFM Myslevskaya and Sri Lankan TSS Peiris and on Table 4, local Chek Kin Keuw taking on the last of the Russin quartet, Nikolai Kuzmin.

Other notable pairings happen on Table 7 where Isuru Alahakoon faces countryman Lamahewa, and Table 8 between Malaysian Mohd Syazwan playing against Indonesian Yoga Nugraha, the highest unrated player in the current ranking.

Results and pairing can be viewed HERE

Pictorial news and photos can be viewed HERE at Chess-Malaysia FACEBOOK page

Scene at the playing hall at the start of Round 3

Malaysian Ahmad Fadzil Nayan (left) facing Yong Jenn (right). At the background is Singapore's Kelvin Wee

Top 2 Tables - FM Dzhumagaliev (left) looking over the game on the next table as his opponent, Malaysia's Fariz Shafruddin (right) pondering on his move. On the next Table 2, Abdullah Khairi (right) facing FM Pavel Bublei (right)

Highest pointer for unrated, Yoga Nugraha of Indonesia (right) playing next to Sri Lanka's Isuru Alahakoon.

Of Preparing for an Official Opening - 23rd February

The new DATCC is currently taking shape with all the partitions already up - waiting for it to be painted and fitted with doors. The new center will boast a library, an office room and training rooms including a 120 seats playing hall. A bit of clean up to be done and by next week, it should be 80% complete. In addition, a new main entrance with lighting is also being prepared to provide a safer passage for players to enter the playing hall instead of having to cross the main traffic lane from the bubble lift area. Yes....  We do have your safety in mind as visitors to the center can walk safer along the parking bays and right into our playing hall instead of having to cross the pathways of incoming vehicles.


The membership program has also taken off with a few players and parents already signing up to be members of DATCC - and many more who have inquired and requested for the forms. At more than 30 events per year (with special rates for members), and other benefits such as lower parking rates, use of library, member facilities, e-news and other specials, this is something worthwhile for chess players and supporters to be a part of. This is the first chess center that encompasses everything that is chess - a one stop shop for chess activities and programs, training and coaching, reading and learning, a meeting place to discuss and meet up with friends, and a venue for tournaments, sparring games and endless practice sessions with our in house trainers.

Membership types varies from individuals as we have rates for adults, youth, teens and young children. We are also offering group membership for small families (with 2 young kids) and bigger families (with more than 2 kids) at reasonable rates so that families can enjoy their outing together at the center without being left out - and going easy on the parents pocket to attract more families to join. A group rate is also available for associations and corporates who would like to be a part of our program - which offers additional discounts for DATCC Team event which is schedule to take off sometime in late March or early April.

Our official OPENING DAY is set for Saturday, 23rd February 2013. On this historic day, we will be organizing a 15 round Blitz event where members play for free (and RM15 for non members to join). A RM400 prize fund is set aside for the top 8 players with special prizes to be given to the best lady player, and the best U12 performer. Aside from the Blitz event, we are also allowing onlookers and visitors to visit our new set up, enjoy some refreshment and drinks and perhaps, sign up as members as you visit our new activity center.

For more information on our membership program, please click HERE to download the form. To enter our Blitz event on our Opening day, please click HERE to download the Blitz form.

For more information on our calendar of events and other matters, do visit us at www.chess-malaysia.com. Or, write to us at datcc@chess-malaysia.com. 

For pictorial news on events and programs, visit our FACEBOOK page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chess-Malaysia/168231673260531

Of Running the Golden Special - List of Players

The list of players that have signed up for the Golden Special event to be held at DATCC from 24th to 28th January are slowly growing by the day. One of the more prominent player playing is 2012 National Champion NM Roshan Singh who has informed the organizer via his father that he is interested to take part. 

Other prominent players who have agreed to join the event are chess trainer Jax Tham, veteran Chan Mun Fye, Nf6 Organizer Abdul Aziz Shukor and rising junior Yee Jian Yang. Another veteran, Lim Kian Hwa have also voiced his interest to play but have yet to confirmed his participation. As of 1:00pm, veteran Kian Hwa has informed that he will be playing in the event.

The total list to date are as follows:

Registration is still open and forms can be downloaded via our link HERE

This is the first event organized in the new DATCC. Come and join the fun!!! 

The same news can be viewed at DAT Chess Connections official blog site HERE