Friday, April 7, 2000

Chess

 

Lessons from an international tourney

By Quah Seng Sun

FROM the organiser's point of view, there were several significant games played during the Wah Seong Penang International master chess tournament last month.

In the fourth round, Malaysia's current national champion inflicted a loss on one of Indonesia's most experienced players. Jonathan Chuah, 14, is the youngest Malaysian to have beaten a grandmaster in competitive play.

Ardiansyah - Jonathan Chuah

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nc3 0-0 6.e3 h6 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.Qd2 b6 9.0-0-0 Bb7 10.h4 dxc4 11.Bxc4 Nd7 12.Qc2 Qe7 13.Ne4 c5 14.g4 cxd4 15.g5 Bxe4 16.Qxe4 Rac8 17.gxf6 Rxc4+ 18.Kb1 Nxf6 19.Qd3 Qc7 20.Nxd4 Rc8 21.Nb5 Qe5 22.Nd6 Rc2 23.Qb3 R8c6 24.f4 Qc5 25.e4 Re2 26.e5 Ne4 27.Qd3 Qf2 28.Qb5 Rcc2 0-1


Mok Tze Meng receiving his prize from Wah Seong director Pauline Tan

One round later, yet another foreign player fell at the hands of a Malaysian. Though not as earth-shattering as the preceding game, this game showed Wong Zi Jing at his most dangerous when he has the upperhand in an attack.

Wong Zi Jing - Liu Wenzhe

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Qb6 7.Be3 Qxb2 8.Ndb5 Qb4 9.Qe2 Qa5 10.Bd2 Qd8 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 Ne5 13.Bb3 a6 14.f4 Ng4 15.Na3 b5 16.c4 Bd7 17.cxb5 axb5 18.Nxb5 Qb6 19.Bc4 Ra4 20.Rb1 Rxc4 21.Qxc4 Qf2+ 22.Kd1 f5 23.Re1 Kf7 24.Re2 Qb6 25.Nc3 Qa7 26.h3 Nf6 27.Be3 Qa8 28.Bd4 h5 29.Ke1 h4 30.Qc7 Qc8 31.Rb7 Qxc7 32.Rxc7 Be8 33.Bxf6 gxf6 34.a4 Kg6 35.a5 Bh6 36.Rexe7 Bxf4 37.Ne2 1-0

Unfortunately, one round later, Wong was brought down to earth when he walked into a prepared variation. The game mirrored a similar one Wong had played two months earlier but Lim Chuin Hoong found an appealing improvement which Wong could not solve in over-the-board play.

Lim Chuin Hoong - Wong Zi Jing

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.f3 e6 6.e4 exd5 7.e5 Qe7 8.Qe2 Ng8 9.Nc3 Bb7 10.Nh3 c4 11.Be3 axb5 12.0-0-0 Qb4 13.Nf4 Ne7 14.Qf2 Qa5 15.Bb6 Qa6 16.Rxd5 Bc6 17.a3 Ng6 18.Nxg6 hxg6 19.Rxb5 Bxb5 20.Nd5 Qb7 21.Nc7+ Kd8 22.Nxb5+ Kc8 23.Bxc4 Qc6 24.Kb1 Qxc4 25.Rc1 Qxc1+ 26.Kxc1 Nc6 27.Bc7 Ra6 28.Qe2 Ra8 29.Qc4 f6 30.Qf7 Bc5 31.Qxg7 Rxh2 32.exf6 Rh1+ 33.Kd2 Nd4 34.Qg8+ Kb7 35.Qd5+ 1-0

Lim's quest for an international master result ended when he lost a do-or-die game in the seventh round to Mok Tze Meng. This win was vital for Mok who later went on to achieve an IM result. In the game, the wily Mok paralysed Lim by simplifying the game through the exchange of many pieces. Later, he won a pawn and the game.

Mok Tze Meng -Lim Chuin Hoong

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bg5 Re8 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.cxd5 c6 12.Bc4 cxd5 13.Bxd5 Nd7 14.Rc1 Nb6 15.Bb3 Be6 16.Bxe6 Rxe6 17.Ke2 h6 18.Be3 f5 19.Rhd1 f4 20.Bc5 Rc6 21.Bxb6 axb6 22.a3 Rac8 23.Rxc6 Rxc6 24.Ne1 Bf8 25.Rd7 Rc4 26.f3 Bc5 27.Rc7 Ra4 28.Nd3 Bd4 29.Kd2 Ra8 30.Kc2 g5 31.Kb3 h5 32.h3 Re8 33.Rxb7 Re6 34.Rd7 Rg6 35.Rd5 g4 36.hxg4 hxg4 37.fxg4 Rxg4 38.Nxe5 Bxe5 39.Rxe5 Rg3+ 40.Ka2 Rxg2 41.Rf5 Rf2 42.e5 f3 43.e6 Re2 44.Rxf3 Rxe6 45.Kb3 Kg7 46.Kb4 Re5 47.Kc4 Rc5+ 48.Kd4 Rb5 49.b4 Rh5 50.a4 Rh4+ 51.Kc3 Rh5 52.Kb3 Rh1 53.Rf4 Rh5 54.Rd4 Kf7 55.Rd6 Ke7 56.Rxb6 Kd7 57.a5 Kc7 58.Rg6 Rh1 59.Ka4 Kb7 60.Rg7+ Kb8 61.a6 Ra1+ 62.Kb5 Rh1 63.Kb6 Rh6+ 64.Ka5 Ka8 65.b5 Rh5 66.Rc7 Rg5 67.Kb6 Rg6+ 68.Rc6 Rg8 69.Rh6 Rc8 70.Ka5 Rc5 71.Kb4 Rg5 72.b6 Rg4+ 73.Kb5 Rg5+ 74.Kc6 Rg8 75.Kd6 Rf8 76.Ke7 Rb8 77.Rd6 Rh8 78.Rd8+ Rxd8 79.Kxd8 Kb8 80.b7 Ka7 81.Kc7 Kxa6 82.b8Q Ka5 83.Qb3 1-0

Ng Tze Han, with nothing else remaining for him in the tournament after failing to achieve a title result, faced a daunting task against the Chinese player Liu in the final round. It is a great credit to Ng that he withstood the pressure from Liu. This interesting game was the last to finish as Liu wanted the full point to place himself more respectably in the final standings. In the end, however, he had to concede that all he could get was a half point.

Ng Tze Han - Liu Wenzhe

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Qb6 7.Nb3 e6 8.Bf4 Ne5 9.Be2 Be7 10.g4 a6 11.g5 Nfd7 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.0-0-0 b5 14.Qd4 Rb8 15.a3 0-0 16.Kb1 Nc4 17.Bc1 Bb7 18.h4 Rfc8 19.Rh3 Qb6 20.f4 Qxd4 21.Rxd4 Ndb6 22.f5 e5 23.Rd1 Rc7 24.Nd2 Rbc8 25.Nxc4 Nxc4 26.Rdd3 Nb6 27.Rhe3 Rc5 28.f6 Bf8 29.fxg7 Kxg7 30.Bh5 R8c7 31.Rf3 Na4 32.Rfe3 Nxc3+ 33.Rxc3 Rxc3 34.bxc3 Rc4 35.Bf3 Be7 36.Kb2 f6 37.gxf6+ Bxf6 38.h5 Kf7 39.Re2 Ke7 40.Bd2 Bc6 41.Re1 Ke8 42.Re2 Ra4 43.h6 Ke7 44.Re1 Rc4 45.Re2 Be8 46.Re1 Bg6 47.Re2 Kf8 48.Re1 Bh4 49.Re2 Bd8 50.Re1 Bb6 51.Bg5 Rxc3 52.Kxc3 Ba5+ 53.Kd3 Bxe1 54.Bg4 Bf2 55.Bc8 a5 56.Bb7 Bc5 57.Bc1 Bf7 58.Bc8 Bc4+ 59.Kd2 b4 60.a4 Bd4 61.Bf5 Kg8 62.Bd7 Bf2 63.Kd1 Bg3 64.Bg5 Bf4 65.Be7 b3 66.cxb3 Bxb3+ 67.Ke2 Bxh6 68.Bxd6 Bf8 69.Bxe5 1/2-1/2

 

UP NEXT

BPM Allegro Events

The next three legs of this year's Bank Pertanian Malaysia- sponsored national allegro chess circuit will be played in Kota Baru tomorrow, Malacca on April 15 and Kuala Lumpur on April 23.

The entry fees are RM10 for members of the organising chess association, Bank Pertanian employees, players above 50 years old and girls below 12 years old and RM15 for all other participants.

The prizes for the open section will be RM300 for the winner, RM200 for the second-placed, RM150 for third, RM100 for fourth and fifth, and RM60 for sixth to 10th. The best Bank Pertanian player will also win RM60, while the best players in the other categories will get RM50.

To register for the event contact:

  • Nizam Hamzah ( 09-790 9870) for the Kelantan leg;
  • Abdul Hamid Majid ( 03-4021 9576, fax 03-4024 4337, e-mail aham@pc.jaring.my) for the Malacca leg;
  • Ibrahim Yaacob ( 03-636 3082) for the Kuala Lumpur leg.

Readers in Malacca can collect the entry forms for the Malacca leg from the Mahkota Parade shopping complex, while entry forms for the Kuala Lumpur leg are available from the Riverside Restaurant at the Putra World Trade Centre.

The other legs of the Bank Pertanian Malaysia allegro series are in:

  • Sarawak, May 1 (contact Lim Kian Hwa 082-427 772);
  • Perak, May 21 (contact Dr Yee Meng Keong 05-546 4530);
  • Johor, June 11 (contact Stephen Cheong 07-333 9636);
  • Negeri Sembilan, June 24 (contact Charles Chan 06-631 7971);
  • Kedah, July 23 (contact Mansor Muda);
  • Perlis, July 24 (contact Khirluddin Darus 04-976 5485).

Free School Open

The Penang Free School will hold their annual Free School open tournament this Sunday. It will be an eight-round event with an entry fee of RM8 per person and a total cash fund of RM600.

The first prize is RM200, second RM120, third RM80, fourth RM50, fifth RM40, sixth RM30 and seventh to 10th RM20 each. There will also be prizes for the three best players in the under-15, under-12 and ladies groups, and the best performers among the under-10, Penang Free School and Old Frees players.

Closing date for entries is tomorrow. The first 200 people to register before this date will get souvenirs. To register, contact Saw Chee Wooi ( 04-8297695) or Tan Jee Jian ( 04-8284487) or e-mail pfschessclub@yahoo.com.

Union Open

The Union High School in Penang will organise their Union open tournament on April 23. This is an eight-round contest and it will be played at the school hall using a 25-minute time control. The first round will start at 8am.

Entry fee is RM10 per player. For more details, contact Teoh Sze Ni ( 04-643 7037), Grace Lee ( 04-829 6268) or Evelyn Chang ( 04-228 9829).

Selangor events

Klang Valley chess players can participate in the Chess Association of Selangor's (CAS) second quarter allegro open chess tournament this Sunday at the Sunway College in Bandar Sunway.

This event, organised by the CAS, will be contested over six rounds and features 16 prizes which include a top prize of RM100, other cash prizes, books, chess sets and free entry to the CAS third quarter allegro tournament.

Entry fees are RM10 for CAS members and RM15 for other players. However, there is an incentive for non-CAS, under-20 players from schools and colleges: they need pay only RM12 per participant if they have at least three participants from the same school or college.

On April 16, the CAS will hold its first closed junior blitz tournament at the same venue. There are nine rounds and the prizes include cash and free entry to the Selangor blitz open tournament later this year.

Entry fees are RM5 for current CAS members and RM25 for players joining the CAS for the first time.

The third Selangor blitz open team tournament will be played at the Sunway College one week later on April 23. This is a seven-round event and the top three prizes are RM200, RM120 and RM80 respectively. The best team in the schools category will receive RM100, RM75 and RM50 and certificates. CAS chess mats will also be given to some winners.

Entry fees are RM10 for CAS members and RM15 for others. Schools entering at least two teams qualify for a 20% discount from their total entry fees.

To register for these events, contact Jackie Wong ( 03-703 8237), Lim Tse Pin ( 012-298 4922) and Jason Yap ( 017-888 9121).

  


 

Quah Seng Sun's chess articles are archived at (http://www5.mol.com.my/qss) or (http://come.to/my.internet.page). Readers can write to him at:

Chess
Section 2
Star Publications (M) Bhd
15 Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling
10200 Penang
Fax: 04-262 3433
E-mail:
ssquah@schach.pc.my


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