Bayview champ again

By Quah Seng Sun

PENANG Free School 'A' retained the Bayview challenge trophy at the close of the eighth Penang Bayview Chess League last Sunday.

The team, which had already obtained an unassailable lead as it entered the final round of the competition, played leisurely against Chung Ling Old Boys Association but was still able to eke out a comfortable 2 1/2-1 1/2 win.

The tension was highest in the fight to decide the second place in the Premier Division. Going into the last round, Chung Ling High School 'A' held a slim half-point lead over Old Frees Association 'A'.

While OFA struggled to overcome a determined Pessca team by a 3 1/2-1/2 score, the Chung Ling schoolboys completed a 4-0 annihilation of Methodist Boys School. The win ensured that the CLHS team stayed ahead of Old Frees at the end of the tournament.

In other Premier Division matches, Universiti Sains Malaysia defeated MSSPP Juniors 2 1/2-1 1/2, and Old Frees Association 'B' beat Chung Ling High School 'B' also by this margin.

The three-corner race between Chung Ling High School 'C', St Xavier's Institution 'A' and Penang Free School 'C' for the winner's purse in Division One was expected to be close, but CLHS 'C' surprised everybody by trouncing Penang Development Corporation 4-0 to finish as Division One champion. At the same time, SXI's challenge fizzled out with a 2-2 draw with PFS 'B'.

In other Division One matches, Chung Ling High School 'D' dumped Chung Hwa Confucian School 'A' 3-1, Union High School beat Hewlett Packard 2 1/2-1 1/2, while the Penang Chess Association Novices beat Penang Free School 'C' 2-1. This last match was marred by a default in one of the games when both players failed to turn up.

The results of Division Two proved to be very close. At the end of the league, both Police and Penang Free School 'D' finished with equal points but Police was declared winner based on a better tie-break.

Police met Westlands Secondary School and won 3-1, while PFS 'D' discovered that their similar 3-1 result against Chung Hwa Confucian School 'B' was insufficient for them to head the table.

The MSSPP Girls proved to be the revelation of the chess league when they finished third in Division Two. The MSSPP Girls beat Chung Ling High School 'E' 2 1/2-1 1/2 in the final round. Meanwhile, Penang Chinese Girls' High School beat Methodist Boys School 'B' 3 1/2-1/2, and Dynacraft beat St Xavier's Institution 'B' 2 1/2-1 1/2.

The Penang Bayview Chess League is an annual team tournament sponsored by The City Bayview Hotel. This year's matches had been played on Sundays at the hotel's revolving restaurant since June 7. The final standings:

Premier Division: PFS A (30 points); CLHS A (26 1/2); OFA A (25 1/2); CLOBA (22); Pessca (18); USM (15 1/2); MBS A (13 1/2); OFA B (12); MSSPP Jrs (9 1/2); CLHS B (7 1/2).

Division One: CLHS C (29); SXI A (24 1/2); PFS B (24); PDC (22 1/2); HP (20); CLHS D (16 1/2); PCA Novices (12 1/2); Union (12); Chung Hwa A (10); PFS C (8).

Division Two: Police (26); PFS D (26); MSSPP Girls (24); Chung Hwa B (21 1/2); SXI B (20); CLHS E (15); Dynacraft (15); MBS B (14 1/2); PCGHS (12 1/2); Westlands (5 1/2).

Chess enthusiasts can contact Quah Seng Sun via e-mail (ssquah@schach.pc.my). His chess articles are archived at Malaysia On-Line which readers can visit at http://www.mol.com.my