National events galore

THIS year's annual Malaysia-Singapore match will be played tomorrow at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur. According to Malaysian Chess Federation secretary Hamid Majid, there will be one round in the morning and another in the afternoon.

Previously, the annual match had been contested over four rounds but to reduce costs, the match has been trimmed to only one day. The morning games start at 9.30am and the afternoon games at 2.30pm.

The players who are expected to turn out for the Malaysian team are Mas Hafizulhelmi, Jimmy Liew, Mok Tze Meng, Ismail Ahmad, Ghalam Sani, Azhaari Mohd noor, Julian Navaratnam, Ahmad Maliki, Lim Cheng Teik, Tan Wei Sin, Mak Weng Yee, Ng Tze Han, Ng Ee Vern, Lim Yee Weng, Wong Zi Jing, Lim Chuin Hoong, Gerald Soh, Wong Zi Chuang, Jonathan Chuah and Ooi Ching Chung. The veterans will be represented by Choo Min Wang, Ghazali Che Cob, Foong Chee Leng and Mohd Jamil Yahya.

The women's team is expected to be made up of Nurul Huda Wahiduddin, Eliza Hanum Ibrahim, Eliza Hanim Ibrahim, Roslina Marmono, Samantha Lee, Hasanthy Loganathan, Lee Su Ann, Nor Asikin Mansor, Lim Jeannie, Nor Idani Saranon, Hazuin Hussain, Effalini Farid and Effaliana Farid.

The PWTC will also be the venue for this year's national age-group chess championship on July 4 and 5. There are five categories of play for the two-day event: the under-10, under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18 age sections. There will be seven rounds in each category, and a time control of one hour per player for each game will be used.

Entry fee is RM10 per player. Although there are no cash prizes, the winners of the various age-groups will get the chance to be considered for selection to the world age-group championships in Oporesa del Mar Castellon, Spain, this October.

Those interested in playing in this event should be in the PWTC foyer by 8am on July 4. Unless a player has registered earlier for the championship, those turning up at the PWTC on this day will only be accepted on a first-come first-served basis. For more details, contact Malaysian Chess Federation secretary Hamid Majid at 03-421 9576.

Meanwhile, the third Royal Selangor under-15 chess grand prix gets under way with the first leg on July 6. This event, organised by the Chess Association of Selangor (CAS), will be played at Sunway College in Petaling Jaya.

The grand prix event consists of four legs. The second leg will be held on July 12, the third leg on July 19 and the final leg on July 25 and 26. Each leg will be played over six rounds and a time control of 30 minutes per game for each player will be adopted.

Game points won by each player in each of these legs will be accumulated and the results of a player's best three legs will be used to determine the overall grand prix winner. The top four winners will each receive discount vouchers for a digital chess clock from the CAS. The two top winners will also be given free participation in a chess workshop conducted by the CAS and free entry to a CAS chess camp in November.

Entry fees for each leg are RM10 for junior CAS members and RM20 for non-members. For more information, contact Jackie Wong at 03-703 8237 or Lim Tse Pin at 03-733 0927.

Bayview Chess League results IN the third round of the eighth Bayview Chess League last Sunday, Penang Free School A beat the Old Frees Association B 3-1 to retain their lead in the Premier Division. Of their nearest rivals, Chung Ling High School A beat the MSSPP Juniors 3 1/2-1/2, while the Old Frees Association A beat Methodist Boys School 3 1/2-1/2. The Chung Ling Old Boys Association beat Chung Ling High School B 2 1/2-1 1/2, and Universiti Sains Malaysia drew 2-2 with Pessca. The Division One results saw Penang Free School B whitewashing Chung Hwa Confucian A 4-0. The Penang Free School C-Union High School, the Penang Development Corporation-Penang Chess Association Novices and the St Xavier's Institution A-Chung Ling High School D matches all ended with similar 3-1 scores, while Chung Ling High School C beat Hewlett-Packard 2 1/2-1 1/2. In Division Two, the MSSPP Girls set a blazing trail by scoring their second 4-0 win over Penang Chinese Girls High School. On the other hand, Westlands Secondary School suffered their second 0-4 loss, this time at the hands of Penang Free School D. Chung Hwa Confucian School B went down 1 1/2-2 1/2 to St Xavier's Institution B, while the Police beat Dynacraft 3-1. Chung Ling High School E drew 2-2 with Methodist Boys School B. Premier Division: PFS A (10 1/2 pts); CLHS A, OFA A (9 pts each); CLOBA (8 1/2); MSSPP Juniors (5 1/2); MBS A, Pessca (4 1/2 each); USM (3); OFA B, CLHS B (2 1/2 each). Division One: PFS B (11 1/2); SXI A (10); CLHS C (9 1/2); PDC (7); CLHS D (5); PCA Novices (4 1/2); PFS C (4); Hewlett-Packard (3 1/2); Chung Hwa A (3); Union (2). Division Two: MSSPP Girls (11); Police (9); Chung Hwa B, SXI B, PFS D (7 1/2 each); CLHS E (6); MBS B (5); Dynacraft (3); PCGHS (2); Westlands (1 1/2). The Bayview Chess League takes a week-long break; the fourth round will only be played on July 5 at The City Bayview Hotel's revolving restaurant. The hotel is sponsoring the use of its premises for the weekly games. The break will be used by the Penang Chess Association (PCA) to organise the first leg of its second Penang grand prix chess circuit. This event will be held this Sunday at the Bayan Baru Residents Association clubhouse. Only paid-up members of the PCA are allowed to take part in this circuit. The circuit is divided into four preliminary legs and a final. Each of the preliminary legs will be a six-round event using a 30-minute time control. For these legs, the prizes include RM200 for the winner, RM120 for the runners-up and RM80 for the third-placed. There are five other minor cash prizes, and also prizes for the best junior and woman players. The entry fee is RM10 per player. Besides the cash prizes, the top players from each leg will be awarded GP points. Ten finalists are selected according to the total GP points accumulated by the players from their best three legs. Entry to the final will be by qualification only. The final will be a round-robin tournament with a one-hour time control. The winner will receive RM400 and a challenge trophy, the second-prize is RM200, third RM100, and fourth and fifth RM50 each. Further details of this grand prix chess circuit and also the results of the Bayview Chess League can be obtained from the PCA homepage at www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Stadium/2379/

World chess chief eyes Russian presidency

ACCORDING to an Associated Press report from Moscow last week, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of the World Chess Federation and the southern Kalmykia republic in Russia, has said that he will seek the Russian presidency in the year 2000.

Ilyumzhinov made the announcement when interviewed on the Russian television programme Obozrevatel .

The AP report quoted Ilyumzhinov as saying that he would either form his own party, "relying on the regions and young people," or align himself with an existing party such as the Communists or the Agrarians.

One of his first tasks will be to raise his profile outside Kalmykia, a resource-rich region on the steppes of southern Russia.

Russian president Boris Yeltsin has repeatedly said he plans to step down after the end of his current term, but Yeltsin's aides have also been hinting that the 67-year-old leader might run again.

Other potential candidates include former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov and former national security chief Alexander Lebed.

Kalmykia played host to the World Chess Federation championships in 1996, and is set to organise the Chess Olympiad in October.