Weekend Chess Activities, 3-4th April 2010

This coming weekend there will be a few chess tournaments around for you to choose from. However, Excel Chess Academy has delayed its First Saturday Classical Chess tournament to 10-11 April 2010. My previous post on this is related or click here.

Here are the three tournaments that you may choose from:-

a. Klang Parade Chess Championships, 3-4 April 2010. Venue Klang Parade. Click here for details. This tournament uses a rapid time control of 20-30 minutes per player per round. If you prefer to be close to a shopping mall, then this is for you, the shopper in mind.

b. KL Grand Prix 2010, Card Room of the Royal Selangor Club at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur. Third Leg: 3-4 April 2010. Click here for details. If you prefer serene surroundings and wonderful facilities and a time control of 45 minutes per player per round, this is the one for you! Car parking facility is just next door, the Dataran Merdeka.

c. Kenangan GrandPrix Chess, Segamat, Johor. 3-4th April 2010, Venue Hall of SMK Seri Kenangan, Segamat. Click here for details. If you are from Johor or near down south or from Pahang, you might consider this tournament for yourself. Time control is 45 minutes, similar to KL Grand Prix 2010.

For me, I will be away to Terengganu attending to a family wedding invite. Have a wonderful weekend playing chess.

Malaysian Chess Festival 2010, 28 Aug-08 September 2010

THE MALAYSIAN CHESS FESTIVAL

The annual Malaysian Chess Festival will take place from 28th August 2010 to 08 September 2010 at the CitiTel MidValley Hotel, MidValley MegaMall, Kuala Lumpur. This year (2010) the Festival comprises of the following events;

28 - 31 August

30th ASTRO Merdeka Team Chess Championship

ASTRO Merdeka Individual Rapid Chess Championship

01 - 08 September 

IGB Malaysia Open Chess Championship

AmBank Chess Challenge

Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng International Seniors Open

The National Age-Group Rapid Chess Championship

A new event, the International seniors open might be interesting to some older new-comers !!!!

For more details, you may visit fireyrook’s blog or click here.

Winners of the DATCC Razzle Dazzle, 28th March 2010

Here is the winning list of players at the recently concluded DATCC Razzle Dazzle Chess Rapid Weekend held at DATCC, Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur on the 28th March 2010.

Pix 1. Abdullah (red shirt) receiving the winner’s prize from Najib Wahab.

Results courtesy of Najib Wahab.

Round 1 Results of DATCC Chess League 2010

Here are the full round 1 results of the 3rd DATCC KL Team Chess League 2010 held on the 24th March 2010 at Wilayah Complex, Kuala Lumpur.

Teams that scored 4-0 wins include Think Big, Team AU, Excel Chess Team, Price WaterHouse Cooper. While teams with 3-1 wins include Nusa Mahkota Chess Club, Tan & Tan Chess Team and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. While the odd result of 3.5:0.5 was won by team KAM MAH.

To see round 2 pairings of the league, please visit fireyrook’s blog or click here.

Sights Of Sydney Australia

Recently fireyrook and family had a short vacation in Sydney, Australia before the Stonemaster Amateur Special Edition. We had a wonderful time and visited some interesting places.

Pix 1 – Sydney Opera House from the 31st floor of our hotel in Sydney.

Pix 2 – Sydney Opera House from a boat cruise.

Pix 3 – Customs House by Circular Quay, Sydney with family.

Pix 4 – Sydney City Skyline from Toranga Zoo from across the Parramatta River. We attended a Bird Show at Toranga Zoo.

Pix 5 – Wombat about to take an afternoon siesta at the zoo.

Pix 6 – Visiting Australia is not complete if you did not see a shark in one of its aquarium at the Darling Harbourside, Sydney.

Pix 7 – A kangaroo resting in the shade in the Wild Bush, Toranga Zoo, Sydney.

Pix 8 – Watching a bird show at the zoo.

Pix 9 – We also checked out the beach at Bondi Beach, though only from the Hop-On, Hop-Off Day Tour bus.

Fireyrook managed to visit a Chess Discount Sales bookstore run by one Mr. Peter Parr, who has won the Australian Open a couple of times. At the same time, fireyrook bought some chess books.

Pix 10 – Mr Parr told me where I could see people play chess and it was in Hyde Park near St. James Station. Here are two gentlemen playing chess with large chess pieces on the pavement floor in the park. It was wonderful spectacle as everyone sitting on the park benches can watch and follow the game of chess.

Hope you enjoy watching the pictures of Sydney.

Operations Checkmate At RTD

Chess is getting more popular to the public at large, even the Road Transport Department calls their secret operations after chess terms. One is called Operations Checkmate!

To read more, please visit the “The Star-Nation” webpage or click here.

Winners Of Stonemaster Amateur Special Edition 2010

To view the top 10 winners of the Stonemaster Amateur Special Edition held on the 21st March 2010, please visit Ng6’s blog or click here.

Pix 1. Winner of Leg Pertama, Stonemaster Amateur Special Edition, 21 Mac 2010, prizes were given away by Mohd Fadli Zakaria, the tournament organiser.

Syed,  17 Chess Club player, had won second prize while his former team mate, Ng6 won fifth place at the amateur chess tournament held at the Cochrane Sports Center of Excellence, Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, 21 March 2010 recently.

Bermulanya Pertandingan Catur Stonemaster Amator Sp Ed 2010

Gambar 1 (atas). Pemandangan dalam dewan pertandingan catur di Pusat Kecemerlangan Sukan Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur pada 21 Mac 2010 yang lalu. Kelihatan Haslindah Ruslan (kuning) sedang menentang Amira Shahmina Zulkafli, Mohd Zullghafari Saparmin (biru, sebelah Amira), Hamdan Abdullah (kelabu, sebelah kiri Amira), Hamzah Razali (biru kedua sebelah kanan Haslindah).

Gambar 2 (bawah). Suhairi Hussin (baju merah menyala) sedang berentap di papan catur dengan seorang peserta catur wanita.dan disebelah Suhairi, adik Ethan Wong, pemain catur yang kerap masuk pertandingan catur samada di DATCC ataupun di Excel Chess Academy, OUG, Kuala Lumpur.

School Holiday Chess Training March 2010

If you wished for a thorough chess training and development of your chess skills, then here is one opportunity for you to attend. The chess camp is organised by one of Malaysia’s leading chess players and will be held from 15-19th March 2010. The details are as follows:-

 

Here is the venue and a map indicating the route to the location of the chess camp in Ampang, Selangor.

KL Rapid Chess, 13-14 March 2010

A new KL Chess Festival rapid tournament is being organised by KL Chess for the weekend of 13-14 March 2010 at Pusat Kecemerlangan Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur. It will be a 7 round Swiss with time control of 20 minutes only.

For more details, please visit fireyrook’s blog or click here.

Sparring Session In Malacca

This coming weekend is the National Age Group Championships being held in Penang from 13th-16th March 2010. Therefore, for adults, this weekend  is a free weekend for most chess enthusiasts.

In Malacca, a chess sparring session is being organised by En. Mohd Zullghafari Saparmin at the Mc Donald’s Melaka Mall, in front of the old AEON Jusco building on Saturday, 13 March 2010 from 10 am to 3 pm. If you have entered for the Stonemaster’s Amateur Special Edition next weekend, 21st March 2010, Sunday, then this chess sparring session would be useful for you as a warm-up to that tournament.

Please contact En. Zullghafari, h/p: 017-7154055.

The Hurt Locker – Filem Arahan Terbaik

Katheryn Bigelow berjaya memenangi Anugerah Arahan Filem Terbaik dan Filem Terbaik bagi filem “The Hurt Locker” di Anugerah Akademi ke-82 di Amerika Syarikat. Ini merupakan kejayaan pertama bagi kaum wanita  memenangi anugerah ini yang biasanya di menangi oleh pengarah-pengarah filem kaum lelaki.

 

Katheryn Bigelow dengan dua oskar kejayaan nya.

GM Ziaur Rahman Tops At Kinta Leg, Perak GP

At the Wisma Belia in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia’s first visiting chess GM Ziaur Rahman won the Kinta Leg of the Perak Chess Grand Prix. The GM from Bangladesh, had just touched down last Friday evening and was whisked away to Ipoh to promote the chess event in Ipoh.

And he was definitely the crowd puller, with 187 chess players in all participated in the first leg of the grand Perak Chess Grand Prix.

GM Ziaur scored a solid 7 points from 7 rounds. In second place was Tan Khai Boon with 6.5 points.

To see full results of the tournament, please visit fireyrook’s blog or click here, or please visit gilachess.com or click here.

Bloggers Utd vs Nur Sisters

During the 5th round of the 2nd Leg, KL GRAND PRIX CHESS RAPIDS, BLOGGERS UTD. (Andrew and Yatz) met up against the mighty Nur siblings of N Nabila and N Najiha. Here's a picture of bloggers Andrew and Yatz deep in chess struggle.

Abdullah Wins 1st Leg, Segamat GP Chess

Abdullah Che Hassan wins the first leg with 6 pts in Segamat GP Chess Rapids.

Segamat Grand Prix Kehangatan

Dalam pusingan ke-6, Abdullah Che Hassan bertemu Khalid Musa. Abdullah lewat tiba 15-20 minit dan menghdapi kesuntukan masa. Sementara Khalid pula sampai tertanggal punat jam beliau. Hebat betul!

Organisers of KLCA CHESS GRAND PRIX

Dr Ajeet Singh and Marcus Yeoh busy compiling the results and overseeing the smooth running of the tournament.

KL GRAND PRIX CHESS, 4TH ROUND

Top two tables. 1. M Nabil vs Nik A Farouqi, 2. Jun Keat vs Abdul Haq.

Segamat Grand Prix Rapid Chess

Abdullah Che Hassan kalahkan Kamaluddin Yusof dalam pusingan ke-5 di Segamat, Johor pada hari ini, Ahad, 7 Mac 2010.

Temporary Road Closures Around Dataran Merdeka

Roads leading to Royal Sgor Club are temp. closed. A big walk event is taking place.

Round One Pairings, KLCA GRAND PRIX 2010

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Here are the round one pairings for the second leg, KL - RSC Grand Prix Chess 2010 held on the 6 March 2010.

Tribute To UM Project Director Chess Team Open 2010

The UM Team Chess Open Tun Syed Zaharuddin 2010 was headed by a soft spoken, Sharifah Itasha Jamalullai, a student at the Tun Syed Zaharuddin College, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

Due to a near-disaster with regards to the booking of the tournament hall at the college, the Organising Committee had initially postponed the chess team event to 13 March 2010, Saturday. The Organising Committee were busy calling all team managers at night on Thursday, 25 February 2010. Upon the advise of En. Abdul Hamid Majid, one of the MCF arbiters for the event, the Organising Committee decided to go ahead with 28th February 2010 date. Mind you, this was against the advise of their own UM Advisor.

Kudos to Sharifah Itasha, Project Director of the event and her team of loyal committee members for deciding to go ahead with the holding of the event, which has a long history of organising it. As they say, “The Show Must Go On!” The event was eventually held in three separate rooms, one room was without air-conditioning and the other two with air-cond. So teams wanting to stay cool had the added incentive of playing their best to stay in the top two rooms with air-conditioning.

               

Here are a few of Itasha’s pictures and her poses during the Closing Ceremony and in playing room 1. She assisted the Official from MCF to give out the prizes and certificates to team captains.

UM TEAM CHESS TUN SYED ZAHARUDDIN 2010

At the briefing room 2 before the start of the UM Chess Team Tournament TSZ 2010 last Sunday morning, 28 February 2010, Kuala Lumpur. 44 teams participated.