Langkawi and after with a report of conversations about KL Open on the island.

Results here.

Langkawi is our last tournament until we have settled all of Mark's University matters and we have a proper gauge of his new workload before we look at the time left over and plan for his further chess development.

Ref: Here. This is how we approach things.

But something is happening. At the opening of Langkawi, the organisers took great pains to refer to the Fide playbook and made mention of the need for all players not to bring the game of chess into disrepute.

Note: I did not have any prior conversations with the organisers on this matter so this must be a concern that they too have concluded on their own.

I was asked by a few people about Mark's withdrawal from KL Open and I told them what happened. Ref: Here.

With the unresolved controversy surrounding the National Close which was followed by KL Open many more are starting to join the dots and many questions were asked. So let me recap a little about the National Close first. Here. The glaring point there was why did the arbiters impose the condition on the player suspected of using a chess engine going to the toilet with an escort only when that player was playing an MCF official and not others. I said there were suspicion on 3 occasions that I know of. And many witnesses were present.

And so when I was asked about my opinion of KL Open. I said that it was a showcase tournament. That is the only possible reason I can see for the exclusion of many strong players in Malaysia which could tarnish the show that Peter wants to present.

Allow me to state here more directly what I see are the problems we are facing. We cannot get direct evidence for only MCF can actually get hold of that. That is quite impossible for us to get as we have seen in the past. And we cannot compel MCF to act. So all we have is circumstantial evidence. Here.

But there is a further problem I think. The law governing circumstantial evidence is civil in nature. I do not think there is a syariah equivalent. I could be wrong. And so if that is correct then I think certain people have made use of the loopholes to their advantage to divide the objections.

Example: I have repeatedly said that my reports here are eyewitness accounts of what happened to us. Similar to a witness making a police report. But that can somehow be turned into an accusation of fitnah. And so it may seem that there are no actionable grounds in syariah since we are unable to bring concrete evidence for that is protected by MCF. And so we are unable to mount a concerted objection using circumstantial evidence for the affected parties are separated by 2 sets of laws.

And the authorities with the power to act will close a blind eye. Something like the police seeing a crime in progress but will do nothing until a report is written. And after the report is given then do nothing about it or use the report to hammer the person reporting the crime. Ref: Here. Quite a quandary we are in isn't it?

I am going to be very bold here. I hope you will allow me to speak my mind. I think that is how the strong muslim players get sidelined too. There is virtually no protest from them although in Langkawi many asked me questions. I hope that those questions will lead to some positive action to change things from really understanding why we are so backward as a chess community.

Look, to fix tournaments, they need the cooperation of certain players and officials. These arrangement sets up unfair conditions as only certain players/officials are in on it. And we saw a number of incidences in action at KL Open and at National Close.

Please go here to look at the Vision and Philosophy of First GM Chess Academy again. Here. We have seen many similar slogans in the past. But let me say this. I mean every word of what I have written there. And I will not compromise on those stated aims and I think that is why they attack us the way they do.

We need a system that is not only fair but also seen to be fair. Right now I don't think we have that. And that will be the seed for future problems and I think if it is not corrected then politics will enter into the realm of Malaysian chess. And there will be genuine grounds. No genuine chess player with dignity wants to be the token anything. My belief is that the vast majority of the Malaysian chess community as a whole wants a level platform. And if you win, you win. And we will celebrate genuine winners. All of us.

But no more cronyism and no more match fixing.

That is my sense of what took place in Langkawi. I hope that will be the seed to building a strong Malaysian team in the future. No more kangkung teams that cannot win without crutches.

Ask yourself this question if you are the few remaining that are still not convinced. If they cannot play and win here without unfair assistance then how can they possibly stand up tall and fight for Malaysian honour. They have no honour and integrity themselves.

My 2 cents. Chess belongs to all of us. Not just those cronies. Do not honour winning by cheating. This include back doors. That is wrong and breeds kangkung players.