As a committee member of KECAS (Kelab Catur Staf) UTM, I was responsible to assist the club to organise the event this year on 24th August 2008. It was a last minute decision to organise the event this year as our original budget for this event which is RM5,000 was cancelled by UTM. Considering that this event has become an annual event since 2004, we decided to proceeed albeit with much smaller budget. However, thanks to our sponsors, their contribution managed to reduce our burden. Our sponsors are:
1. Tuai Mutiara
2. ZNA Jaya
3. Zen Builder
4. Mize Enterprise
5. Warna Reka
6. Sulaiman Enterprise
7. NJ Enterprise
8. Kinisegi Enterprise
9. Wise Aviation Sdn. Bhd. (www.wiseaviation.com.my)
10. Wise Path Sdn. Bhd. (www.wisepath.com.my)
Figure 1: Dr. Nasir is assisting Mr. Azri to hang a bantingTo reduce our burden, we decided to increase our enterence fee as below:
a) Open section: from RM10 to RM20
b) Under 16 and 12: from RM5 to RM10
Combining the enterence fee and the recent gas price increased by 40%, we expect to get reduction in the number of participants by 40% which is from 267 persons to become about 160 persons. Surprisingly, we got about 194 participation who are not only from Johor but Mallaca, Pahang, and Kuala Lumpur. Even with the limited budget we had, we still provided meals (breakfast and lunch) for the participants. This is important because players have limited time to go to the nearest shop for breakfast as the Kolej cafeteria was closed during the event (Semester break). Below is the meals menu:
a) Breakfast
- Nasi Lemak with fried egg
- Tea drink
b) Lunch- Rice
- Chicken curry
- fried vegie
- Sirap
For the organizing members we have special lunch menu which is Nasi Dagang.
Figure 2: Calm after the storm but not stempede
I would like to thank Mr. Ibrahim Jalil, his wife and crew for excellent service although they were given short notice to provide the food and services. His Nasi Dagang is really excellent. The food really energized me. We managed to reduce the queuing congestion since those who finished early their games can eat first. May be next year, we should ask the caterer to come at 12.30pm instead of 1.00pm.
THE TOURNAMENT
Originally, the tournament was schedule to have 7 rounds. Since the number of participants were less than previous year, we decided to reduce the games to 6 rounds only. One thing good about chess is people came to play, get the experience, and learn some knowledge. In most sports, a loss mean early return. However, in Chess even though you lost early, you can still play until the end which is the maximum rounds decided by the tournament director. A win is a point, a draw is half point while a loose is zero point. Basically, each round, players will be paired to meet those with the same points or to the nearest points. In this way, players with almost equal strength and performance will meet and decide their fate. Winners are decided by calculating the number of points and tie breaks they got.
We are so glad to see many new comers to the annual tournament. It was also delighted to see many school children came to play. Some children came with their schoolmates while others came with their family. It is one of our intention to promote this game as a family gathering doing same activities. Chess can encourage our youngester to think cause and effect, critical thinking, and emotional control. These Emotion Quotion factors are important to suplement them with the normal Intellegent Quotion they learn in school. We strongly believe chess can
teach students to behave while reducing displinary problems being faced by the teachers.Figure 3: Possible future Grandmaster for Malaysia?
Under 12 section at the 3 rows of tables
Figure 4: The Open section in the middle
During the last night of preparation, most committe members return home at 4.00am. Fortunately, most of us managed to appear at the tournament hall at 8 am. We were very busy checking and accepting registration from participants. Our experience from previous UTM Merdeka tournament events helps us to improve the registration. Participants were also happy to
receive door gift upon registration. The result of the tournament is as shown below. This year the air-condition is much better. In fact, I have to wear a jacket to ensure warm condition for optimum performance!
Figure 4: The Open section in the middleDuring the last night of preparation, most committe members return home at 4.00am. Fortunately, most of us managed to appear at the tournament hall at 8 am. We were very busy checking and accepting registration from participants. Our experience from previous UTM Merdeka tournament events helps us to improve the registration. Participants were also happy to
receive door gift upon registration. The result of the tournament is as shown below. This year the air-condition is much better. In fact, I have to wear a jacket to ensure warm condition for optimum performance!Figure 5: Under 16 section 3 rows from the right
The game is played under 30 minutes time regulation. Game notation is not compulsory. However, every player has received the final program book where the notation sheet has been provided. It is advisable for each player to make the notation in order to improve their game.
Table 1: The Open section Result
Place Name Club Score Buch. Berg. Progr. M-Buch.
1 A001, Mak Weng Yee 6 23.5 23.50 21.0 16.0
2 A003, Noorullah bin Omar 5 23.5 17.50 19.0 16.5
3 A007, Zulfakar bin Aspar utm 5 23.0 18.00 17.0 16.0
4 A072, Sai Jia Chun 5 23.0 16.00 18.0 15.5
5 A029, Lee Men Xi 5 22.0 18.00 18.5 14.5
6 A005, T. Mandar 5 22.0 16.00 20.0 15.0
7 A002, Muhd Aizuddin Che Hassan 4.5 22.0 14.50 17.0 14.5
8 A071, Salman Mistam 4.5 20.5 14.75 16.0 14.0
9 A009, Masros Tukiran 4.5 15.5 9.75 14.5 10.5
10 A060, Nazeri Sarip utm 4 24.0 14.00 16.0 16.0
11 A030, Leow Ann Hong utm 4 24.0 13.00 14.0 15.0
12 A028, Koh Meng Hock utm 4 23.0 11.00 15.0 15.5
13 A056, Ruben a/l Supramaniam utm 4 23.0 10.50 15.0 15.5
14 A010, Mazlan bin Harun 4 21.5 12.50 16.0 14.5
15 A026, Khairul Anuar Sulaiman 4 20.0 10.00 15.0 13.0
16 A006, Muhamad Rabani Che Hassan uitm 4 19.5 9.50 16.0 12.5
A008, Herman Rahman 4 19.5 9.50 16.0 12.5
18 A050, Ong Sie Lee 4 17.5 10.50 11.0 11.5
19 A017, Chin Guo Shun 4 16.5 6.50 14.0 11.0
20 A067, Wong Ming Yau 4 16.0 8.50 10.0 11.0
Table 2: The Under 16 section Result
Place Name Score Buch. Berg. Progr. M-Buch.
1 B019, CHONG YONG ZHI 5.5 23.0 18.75 19.0 15.5
2 B053, THEEBBANRAJ 5 21.5 17.50 18.5 14.0
3 B032, MUHD HAZIQ MOHD ZIN 5 21.0 16.50 15.5 14.5
4 B029, LIM KIM SIONG 5 21.0 15.50 20.0 14.5
5 B031, MOGANRAJ 4.5 23.5 16.75 17.5 16.0
6 B025, KOK WAI KIT 4.5 23.5 15.50 18.5 16.0
7 B061, THAM GEN HE 4.5 23.0 12.50 15.5 15.0
8 B065, NG SAU WEI 4.5 18.0 12.00 15.0 12.0
9 B001, AFDAL WIRANATA 4.5 18.0 11.75 15.0 12.5
10 B048, NUR HIDAYAH 4.5 17.5 12.25 15.5 11.0
11 B057, WU FU WEI 4 23.0 10.50 18.0 15.5
12 B017, CHONG YUNG KAI 4 22.0 10.00 16.0 14.5
13 B041, MUHAMMAD FAREED 4 20.0 11.50 16.0 13.5
14 B002, AHMAD FIRDAUS 4 19.5 7.50 14.0 12.5
15 B007, AMIRUN MUIZZUDDIN 4 17.0 10.50 12.0 11.5
16 B027, LAW TZE HONG 4 16.5 9.50 13.0 11.5
17 B016, CHANDRA SHEGARAN 4 16.5 9.50 12.0 10.5
18 B045, NURLYANA AQYLAH 4 15.5 9.00 10.0 11.0
19 B056, WONG YI HENG 4 14.5 8.00 11.0 10.0
20 B042, NG HONG YUAN 3.5 24.5 12.25 16.0 18.0
Table 3: The Under 12 Section Result
Place Name Score Buch. Berg. Progr. M-Buch.All top 10 got prize money and medal while 11th to 20th got medal only. The detail results can be obtained at www.utm.my/kecas.
1 C043, Seri Aisyah 5.5 24.0 21.75 19.0 16.5
2 C017, Ling Zhan Yang 5.5 21.5 16.75 20.0 14.5
3 C052, Mahzhun Ikmal 5 19.5 13.50 17.0 13.5
4 C024, Muhammad Hakimi 5 19.0 16.00 15.0 13.0
5 C047, Wong Yi Hang 5 19.0 15.00 17.0 13.5
6 C010, Chong Yong Soon 4.5 25.0 16.75 19.0 16.5
7 C002, Ahmad Yusof 4.5 22.0 14.25 18.0 15.5
8 C036, Ng Eunice 4.5 18.0 10.50 15.0 11.0
9 C008, Hor Jia Le 4 25.0 15.50 16.0 16.5
10 C013, Jason Chiam Xun Jie 4 23.5 13.00 18.0 16.0
11 C023, M Hafiz 4 21.5 12.50 17.0 15.5
12 C033, Abu Hanafi 4 21.0 12.00 14.0 14.5
13 C049, Yau Yong Koon 4 21.0 11.50 16.0 14.0
14 C009, Eugene Tang 4 20.0 11.25 12.0 14.0
15 C007, Chai Wen Qin 4 19.5 11.50 16.0 14.0
16 C030, Muhammad Fikri 4 19.5 11.00 15.0 12.5
17 C048, Wong Yi Yang 4 19.0 9.00 14.0 13.0
18 C028, Muhd Azlan 4 16.5 10.75 13.0 10.5
19 C016, Law Tze Yong 3.5 21.0 10.25 10.0 13.5
20 C035, Heng Ming De 3.5 16.5 7.75 11.0 11.0
MY GAME
Last year I was very busy helping the arbiter to handle the results, pairing, and other related organizing issues. Anticipating that, I did not participate in the games last year. However, this year, I expect the committe has more experienced team members and manpower. And, anticipate the number of participants will be less than less last year. Therefore, I decided to participate in the game with expectation of bad result. Insufficient sleep before the night (we went back at 4 am!) gave me the indication that this tournament might be my worst individual performance. Surprisingly, I managed to get 3rd place out of self determination and a little luck.
1st Round
White: Zulfakar Aspar
Black: Vigneswaran
Result: 1-0, Table 7 (seeded 7th)
I did not face any difficulties as my opponent lack of judgement of development concept. I easily out maneuver my opponent by geting extra piece at move 8th. The rest was a mopping up operation.
2nd Round
White: Ruben A/L Supramaniam
Black: Zulfakar Aspar
Result: 0-1, Table 7
My opponent is quite a strong player. He is a UTM student player representing UTM in tournament such as MASUM. He got 4 points and placed 13th overall. However, due to lack of experience, he made a blunder at move 10th in a Ruy Lopez opening. I gave an energetic reply forcing a series of pieces exchanges with possibility to win an exchange. In this type of situation, a precise combination calculation (tactical calculation) is important. There is almost no strategic calculation needed.
During this type of situation, emotion instability will discourage us to make the best move. He
Figure 6: Position after 10.Nh4. What is black best move?
There is a possibility when deciding his piece sacrifice, white forgot to calculate the escape route for his knight. Using double attack in a single move, I managed to trap his Knight at f8 and the game is practically over. He tried to 
activate his remaining pieces while closing the position to no avail. I found the best way to rip open my opponent position by controlling the semi open e and f files.Figure 7: Position after 16.Kf1. What is Black's best more?
3rd Round
White: Zulfakar Aspar
Black: Sai Jia Chun
Result: 0-1, Table 7
I almost fall asleep in this game. My insufficient sleep had taken its toll. I made a small error at move 13. It demoralized me. I should have exchange my bishop with Black's knight with 14. Bxd7 Qd7 15. dc5 e3 16.0-0 with an equal game. It is still under control until I made a stupid mistake at move 19. Before the move, I already control the game or the advantage is mine. But my impatient, slow thinking due to lack of sleep, and wanting to finish the game fast has cost me the game. I tried to attack with 19.f4. However, there was not sufficient preparation to launch an attack.
The only consolation I got was I was able to eat my lunch early! Realizing I did not expect any good result in this tournament, I just enjoy my meal, socializing with friends.Figure 8: The King Bishop has no active position to retreat
4th Round
White: Mazlan Harun (from Mallaca)
Black: Zulfakar Aspar
Result: 1-0, Table 5
I was quite surprise that although I lost the previous game, I was promoted to higher table. I expected to be demoted from my seeding position. Then I realized that many seeded players also lost in the previous round. After eating delicious Nasi Dagang and having good lunch rest, it is time to play better chess.
The game started quitely with White aming for a possible early f4 by develpoing the Queen's Knight first instead of the King's Knight. I cooly developed my pieces as aggresive as possible while ruled out any possible quick King's side attack. My patient was rewarded by equalizing the position with stunning 9.__ Nd4!?. This move achieved three main objectives:
a) Psycologically forcing White to react instead of dictating the game since first move
b) Strategically forcing white to give up the Queen's Bishop or be in passive position with Qd1
c) Tactically, give Black oppurtunity to challenge the center if White capture the Knight
In the end, my opponent choose to contest the center with Bxd4.
Figure 9: Position after 9.___ Nd4!
In the ensuing struggle, my opponent failed to play energetically. After 10.__ ed4 11.Ne2 c5 12.Ng3 he gave me target at g3 while the oppurtunity to take over the center with d5!. Although this game is not perfect for me, I think this is the best game for me in the tournament. Realizing he is losing the battle for the center, my
opponent tried to attack via the King's side. However, my little combination at move 18 faltered his attack. I won a piece at move 20th and my opponent resign at move 24th. Indeed, it is something Noble to do!Figure 10: White center pawns look very strong but they are not! What is Black's best 18th move?
5th Round
White: Zulfakar Aspar
Black: Leow Ann Hong
Result: 1-0, Table 5
My fifth game is the most critical of them all. I played badly in the opening and greatly demoralized me. As soon as move 9th, I was in great pressure. I was forced to give up another pawn resulting me not possible to castling as in figure 11. My position is bad. Although I lost two pawns, I still have powerful Bishop pair. The c5 pawn is in danger while Black's King has not castled.
The position is actually more critical to Black than White! The correct question is how to proceed while winning? Should we continue to attack or consolidate such as castling? Black choose to attack with 11.__ Ne4?. I immediately equalized my position with 12.Ne2! Actually, Black can choose to maintain the balance with 0-0 or Qa5 (equal). But the best move is Qd4!!. If only he knew that if the move was done, I will immediately resign! Thinking he still winning, Black asked for Queen exchange with 12.__Qd2.
I reply with 13.f3!...winning!! After this move, only a master can find the best move to equalize.Figure 11: Position after 11.Kf1. How Black should proceed?
Instead of finding the best move to equalize, my opponent decided to sacrifice his Knight for two pawns which not a sound strategy. I easily mop up the game until move 26th.
6th Round
White: Zulfakar Aspar (UTM staf)
Black: Nazeri Sarip (UTM staf)
Result: 1-0, Table 3
My last and strongest opponent is a UTM staf player. He has several times represent UTM in Intervasiti Chess Tournament among staf. However, in this last round he is content with his acheivement. He already a prize winner regardless he won or lost! At first he even did not want to play by resigning the game early. But, I told him, table 3 is the best table I have acheived in this tournamnet. And, I don't want to miss the oppurtunity to play at the best table I can get!
Since my friend wanted to finish the game early, I decided to play King Gambit which is an opening I
not used long time ago. The critical position was achieved after move 11.__ c5. White pieces were actively placed attacking the center and f7. Black tried to free his position by placing his Knight at d4 and harassing my Queen at f3.Figure 12: Position after 11.__ c5. What is White's best move?
He is forced to defend the knight after I moved 11.Qf2. Well, actually he can choose to retreat. But a centerlized Knight is something hard to resist. So, he decided to defend the Knight with his c5 pawn. But this c5 move is fatal. He lost a piece for the move.
Figure 13: Shaking hand with my buddy in the final roundAll the game ended at about 6.00pm. It took a while to decide the results of each section. I did not want to bother my friends doing their job. So, I didn't know the exact results nor do my own result. I also did not know how many players got 5 point like me. It should be between 4 or 5 players. Since, I lost early in round 3, I was expecting to get number six in the tie break. But, my name did not appear when the 6th place was announce. Then, my name was also not mention when the 5th place was announced. 4th place and my name was still not announce! Did they miss my name or what??
Figure 14: Receiving 3rd prize from the tournament director Mr. Azri Hohad. Mr. Jefri is assisting him while Dr. Nasir is the MCFinally, I was announced as the 3rd price winner. What a pleasant surprise! I won a medal and also RM100 cash! This is the best UTM Merdeka tournament ever for me.
TRIBUTE
I would like to pay tribute to those who had struggled to ensure the BIG success of this tournament.
1. Mr. Azri Hohad
He is the tournament director and also the chairman of KECAS. His is the main driving force behind the success of this tournament. He contributes a lot of energy to prepare the advertisement, facilities, and coordination.
2. Dr. Nasir Sh. Hussin
He is the assistance director of the tournament and also the assistance chairman of KECAS. He also spent a lot of time organizing the tournament, hanging poster (see figure 1), making ridiculous jokes in the middle of the night while hang over the sleepless nights. He took turn not to play in the tournament this year.
3. Mr. Razman Maulot
Our secretary of KECAS and tournament has done a lot of things such as publicity, equipment, preparation, and hanging posters. He takes care our website announcement until the final day. He is a soft spoken yet he is a good chess player. I was sorry he cannot play the tournament until the last round due to the sleepless night.
4. Dr. Mohd Shahizan and Mrs. Lizawati
Thanks a lot for their original website design. For this tournament, they contribute a lot to prepare the final program book, badges, etc.
5. Mrs. Siti Rahmah
Although she missed many of our meetings, she contribute a lot by getting most of the sponsorship (more than a thousand)! It was unfortunate she cannot make it to play in the tournament.
6. Mr. Jefri Ismail
A dedicate member of KECAS who helps a lot in hard works such as promotion, arrangement, and evening shifts.
7. Mr. Noorazman Abu
He is a new comer in the committe. But, his contirbution helps us a lot to distribute the burdens. Hopefully, the experience he gained in this trounament helps us in the future.
8. My Wife and children
They patiently refrained themselves from spending their leisure time with me due to my limited time preparing and conducting the event. I was glad my wife and oldest son play in the tournament.
TRIBUTE
I would like to pay tribute to those who had struggled to ensure the BIG success of this tournament.
1. Mr. Azri Hohad
He is the tournament director and also the chairman of KECAS. His is the main driving force behind the success of this tournament. He contributes a lot of energy to prepare the advertisement, facilities, and coordination.
2. Dr. Nasir Sh. Hussin
He is the assistance director of the tournament and also the assistance chairman of KECAS. He also spent a lot of time organizing the tournament, hanging poster (see figure 1), making ridiculous jokes in the middle of the night while hang over the sleepless nights. He took turn not to play in the tournament this year.
3. Mr. Razman Maulot
Our secretary of KECAS and tournament has done a lot of things such as publicity, equipment, preparation, and hanging posters. He takes care our website announcement until the final day. He is a soft spoken yet he is a good chess player. I was sorry he cannot play the tournament until the last round due to the sleepless night.
4. Dr. Mohd Shahizan and Mrs. Lizawati
Thanks a lot for their original website design. For this tournament, they contribute a lot to prepare the final program book, badges, etc.
5. Mrs. Siti Rahmah
Although she missed many of our meetings, she contribute a lot by getting most of the sponsorship (more than a thousand)! It was unfortunate she cannot make it to play in the tournament.
6. Mr. Jefri Ismail
A dedicate member of KECAS who helps a lot in hard works such as promotion, arrangement, and evening shifts.
7. Mr. Noorazman Abu
He is a new comer in the committe. But, his contirbution helps us a lot to distribute the burdens. Hopefully, the experience he gained in this trounament helps us in the future.
8. My Wife and children
They patiently refrained themselves from spending their leisure time with me due to my limited time preparing and conducting the event. I was glad my wife and oldest son play in the tournament.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH US!!
