List of National Close players and some comments.

Here.

I am really glad to see Jimmy's name on the list. He is by far the highest Fide rated there, apart from Jonathan, and also an International Master as well as a self proclaimed Ferrari. My respect to him for the courage to attempt to prove to us all in open tournament that Fide rating is the most correct indication of fighting strength, as he asserts. For his courage to demonstrate to us how a Master navigates the race course.

I will watch with anticipation at how he will conclusively demonstrate the superiority of his thinking. Much more superior than those that hides in the dark and proclaim an ability to play chess. Kudos to you Jimmy. See you there.

The alternative process for entry to KL Open.

Ref: Here.

For those of you that have access to Peter, please write in to him directly. That is the easiest way.

For those that don't then it has been agreed that I can collect the bank draft on behalf of KLCA. That way will be more problematical as you will need to see me to pass it to me. For those in Penang, I will be at the USM Open this coming Saturday. So prepare your bank draft before hand ok?

For the others please call me on 016-511 7308 to see if we can make other mutually convenient arrangements. That is the best I can do. So do use this opportunity to play at the KL Open.

The dates are 4th to 11th April. More details here.

All my best.

New appointments at MCF?

Here.

New power games in play?

KL Open entry requirements out by this weekend.

I have been informed that the entry requirements will be out by around this coming weekend on the KLCA site. Here. Watch out for it.

There should be no necessity to write in. Just fill in the forms and pay up. So I hope there will be many more Malaysian players going. There are only 3 now. We have the talent and we have the resources.

My best wishes for the chess development of all Malaysian players. Malaysia truly boleh if we all work together.

KL Open is now open to all eligible Malaysian players.

Ref: Here.

Dato Santhara came back to me yesterday and said that KL Open will be advertised like all the other International Fide Tournaments in Malaysia. And he has left instructions for that to be done soon.

That will mean that all Malaysian players will have the opportunity to raise their game from the 3 classical fide events directly under the auspices of MCF that we have in Malaysia. And that is very good news for us all.

I have always argued that you cannot ban players for personal reasons. You cannot use a State Association to forward only your own child, your cronies or your chess academy. Our State Associations are for all within the State.

So I take what Dato Santhara meant is that the bank account number and the fee payable will be advertised and all you have to do is to pay in. There will be no need to write to Peter and go through all that unpleasantness.

Look out for that announcement. I will try to follow up and keep you guys informed.

Selection criteria from MCF 2014.

Here.

Tournament in Kerian, Perak.

It is not easy to get a tournament at this late stage before National Close. So this one is for people in the vicinity of Perak. Here.

We have signed up for it. See you guys there. Good luck.

The picket has been called off.

The picket has been called off. Please see Fadli's explanation in the comment box here.

Off to UPSI.

Off to UPSI then Manila till November 4th. Blog will resume around Nov 7th. Taking a break from the politics of chess. Remove or at least contain the politics and we will see Malaysian chess soar. We have the talent and the resources.

Evan Capel makes FM!!

NM Evan Capel makes FM ie French Master (exchange variation) for the FGM Thematic. :)

It was a good event and feedback from the players and parents were very positive. So we hope to do more in the future with the support of our sponsors. I will do a small write up later as well as post photos as soon as I have cleared up some pending work. We will also post some games from the event as soon as the players have sent it to me so watch out for it.

Announcement, FGM Thematics-with details for registration.

Purpose of Thematics. Here.  The first few opening moves will appear here shortly. Here.

Dear all,

It's finally confirmed. Please note the following. The dates have been changed to the 5th and 6th Oct so as not to clash with another Perak chess event. FGM will always try to work together with other organisers and Associations whenever possible for the benefit of the chess community.

Also note that we have booked 2 rooms for our National squad players. One for the girls and one for the guys. However they will have to pay for the registration. I hope you guys and girls don't mind sharing. So National squad players, write in and I will arrange the sharing, subject to availability.

As for the parents, I have also negotiated special rates for rooms for you. You have to send me your names early as it is on a first come first serve basis. So there is no guarantee for a room at that special price if you book late. After your names have been registered, please pay to the hotel when you check in.

Please also note that I only have places for 60 players. So do register early so as to avoid any possible disappointment.

There is also a short talk followed by Q&A on the Thematics for parents at 10am on the first day ie 5th Oct with coffee and light refreshments served.

All my best for Malaysian chess.

Details and registration form here.

NB: For those who are below 1600 National rating and do not have material on French Defence, I recommend you take the package with the material so you can read up and practice before the training tournament. Do this early so you can get maximum benefit from the training tournament.

FGM wishes all our muslim readers a Selamat Hari Raya.

FGM wishes all our muslim readers a Selamat Hari Raya.

Do travel safely and enjoy your time with friends and family.

FGM wishes Faridzul Asraf a speedy recovery.

I just read on facebook that Faridzul Asraf, a chess player, has been involved in an accident while travelling home for Raya. Wishing him a speedy recovery from the entire chess community.

No postings for a few days.

There has been a lot of new information over the last few days. A few people seems to have also flip flopped on their past positions. So it is a very confusing picture being painted about what is happening within MCF right now. Give me some time to verify all the information before I write further.

All my best for Malaysian chess.

Congratulations Jianwen and Nitya.

A big congratulations to the both of you for making it into the Masters and qualifying for the Malaysian Senior Team. All the best.

Congratulations Nik Farouqi and DATCC.

Here.

May you go from strength to strength in developing Malaysian chess. All the very best in your endeavours.

3rd Lim Chong Memorial on the 16th June.

More details here.

Off to Kuala Terengganu tomorrow morning for National Close.

So see you guys when we get back in about a week. Bye for now.

Off to Selangor Open.

Off to Selangor Open in a bit. Will be back by May 2nd with more stories to tell. It looks like an exciting field and usually many opinions are shared during tournaments.

The Koperasi Pemain Catur Malaysia is formed.

Here.

It looks like they have the support of 7 States. Promising start. All my best.

This is their objective:

OBJECTIVE To organize Rapid event in Putrajaya & to develop a chess community that is united, morally upright and progressive in the social and economic context as well as to develop a chess player that adopts a healthy sports culture, and thereby contribute effectively, towards the nation`s unity and development.

More coverage here.