UTM Staf Chess Tournament 2023 - Report 2 v2

 

 PART 2

This tournament had five rounds to play. Two rounds to go.

I took the long break of waiting for all games to finish by talking to my old friends. Dr. Sheikh Nasir who already retired. He was there to help the operation of the tournament. Kudos to him! We appreciate that.

In game 4, I anticipated a more challenging opponent since now there were less than one third of the participants have full points. My advantage was to play as a white color. 

My opponent is a good player. But, he lacked experience and a good coach.

Game 4

White: Dr. Zulfakar Bin Aspar, FKE
Black: Dr. Muhammad Arif, FKT
1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cd4
4. Nd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 a6
6. Bg5 e6 good
7. Qd2 Be7
8. f3 0-0
9. Bc4 Nc6
10. 0-0-0 Nd4? (Why do you want to eliminate your good defender?)
11. Qd4 b5
12. Bb3 h6? Critical Error. Don't weaken your fortress unnecessarily.
13. Be3 Bb7
14. h4! Qc7
15. g4 Nh7? Another critical error
16. g5! e5 (Weaken the  e6 and f7 squares)
17. Qd2 Qd8
18. Rdg1! (Usually white attack via g or h file only with Rhg1. But black made many critical errors with h6 and Nh7. So white has the time.)  
                d5? Weaken the d5  and f7 squares.
19. Nd5 Bd5
20. Bd5 hg5?? (it is madness to open the lines for white to attack!?)
21. hg5 Bg5
22. Bg5 Ng5?
23. Qh2! resign

This game is a very good example what will happen when the player violate many defending principles.

4-0

The only honorable action to do was to resign! This game took about 28 minutes to finish. Each player had 25 minutes. It was a good game. This guy has the potential to improve further.

The last game was a huge challenge emotionally. I rarely entered the last round with the full points. I anticipated to meet a very tough opponent. There were only 4 players with full points of 4/4.

The most difficult part to prepare for each round was to avoid going to the toilet during play. So, before each round, I went to the toilet. Then, I prepared myself while waiting for the pairing to come out. Another difficulty I faced in this tournament was no recording paper was made available to any player who want to make the movement records. Since the tournament is less than 30 minutes, writing the movements were not compulsory. Alas, players should still be provided with the score sheets! Therefore, I have difficulty to recall the 100% movements for this game.

Game 5

White: Dr. Daniel Joe Dailin (FKT)

Black: Dr. Zulfakar Bin Aspar, FKE

1. e3          e5

2. Nh3       d5 (Occupy the center is still vital despite weird opening from White!)

3. Qh5?     Bd6 (+0.78?) (I reasoned if Nc6, the knight will be attacked with Bb5.)

4. Ng5?!    (weird move. He thought I am a novice. But it took a careful consideration what to reply)

                  g6! (+1.94 for Black!)

5. Qh4       Be7! (The knight is totally pinned. No escape! During analysis, I saw the computer suggested e4 which is weird over the board!? 6. g3 Nc6  7. f4 Be7 finally!  8. Bh3  h6  9. Bc8  Rc8  10. c4 Nb4  11. 0-0  Bf6 cd5 +2.24 for Black! Study this line if you want to become a robot!)

6. Qa4+?   Bd7 (Now, White resistance is futile! Fortunately, I will not assimilate him!)

7. Qb3      Bg5 (I ignored the threat to capture the pawn at b7)

8. Qb7      (better is Qd5!)

                 Bc6!

9. Qb3      Nd7

10. Nc3    Rb8

11. Nb5?   (There are other safer ways to escape such as 11. Qa3 Be7 12. Qa6 d4 13. Nd1 is a better try to escape)

                 a6 (+7.25 for Black, An obvious attack!)

12. Qa3    ab5

13. Bb5    (which is unnecessary)

                 Rb5 (+11.30 for Black, 99.99% wins for Black)

14. Qa7    Rb8 (Safety first)

15. d4?     Be7 (I wanted to trap the Queen without realizing there was a better way! I only realized this after made this move. Think! I should take the time to think especially when I was ahead of time!)

16. 0-0     Ra8

17. Qa8    Qa8

18. de5     Ne5

19. b4      Bb4

20. Rb1    Bc5

21. f4       Nc4

22. Rb3    Qa7

23. Re1    Ne7

24. Kf2    0-0

25. g3      Re8

26. a3      Nf5

(I was not sure what was White's next move. But, the game continue with...)

27. __?_   Nce3

28. Be3    Ne3

29. R1e3  Be3+

30. Kf1    Bg1

31. ___    Qf2++

 

You can use your imagination to fill in the gaps. But, the final position is shown in the figure below.

 

5-0

I won quite early, less than 10 minutes. There were still many games in progress. So I took the time to talk to old friends, took pictures and waiting for the teams results.

I finished the game quite early by top board games standard. PM. Dr. Tan Tian Swee and PM. Dr. Mohd Haizal were still playing. PM. Dr. Mohd Ridzuan Ahmad was also finished while looking at both of them playing.

As their game went on, more people were gathering around their table. Their result will affect many team results. They were watching nervously. Mr. Razib bin Karno was wearing the green cap. He hid his nervousness by playing a small game.

Although Dr. Tan lost his game, he contributed 4 points. Dr. Jamaluddin bin Zakaria lost in round 1. But, he managed to win the rest of the games. So, he managed to contribute 4 points also. Post analysis shown that he was too nervous when he lost the first game! Dr. Mohd Ridzuan performance was a bit roller coaster. Fortunately he managed to contribute 3 points. Our FKE team total points is 16 out of 20. The second place got 14.5 points. I would like to congratulate Dr. Hazar Sukareksi who got 2 points which was good enough as our faculty back up player.

Faculty of Electrical Engineering teams with PM. Dr. Sheikh Nasir. We took the picture before the closing ceremony.

The Gold medal individual men category was won by me from FKE.

 

Dr. Tan won the bronze:

The Gold medal men team category was won by FKE.

 

The Silver medal individual women category was won by FKE. Dr. Hau Yuan Wen managed to get silver medal.

The Gold medal women team category was also won by FKE.

CONGRATULATION TO EVERY WINNERS!!

 

UTM Staf Chess Tournament 2023 - Report 1

Since the report for the tournament cannot be waited, I decided to release the report in two parts. I have difficulty to recall all my games yesterday. - Dr. Zulfakar

After a long dormant from any chess tournament, I decided to play for the tournament above representing my Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia on 28-7-2023. I wasn't sure to play since I'm still busy marking final exam papers. But, it is better to take a break and refresh myself.

The tournament was conducted at Dewan Astana, Kolej Tunku Canselor or KTC in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The hall is large enough for 250 people depending on what activity to be done. There were also spare space surrounding the tables of the players.

On the right side:

During break or in between games, people simply rest near the walls.

At the center:

There were three columns of men tables and three columns of women tables!

 

On the left side:

Guess whose face was that!?

 

The tournament started at 8:30am. I played a young staf. I didn't have any pressure in the game except hungry. Fortunately, I brought a flask of hot nescafe and two pieces of nabati biscuit. I ate one of them. There was no seeding. My first round board was at table 22.

The nabati biscuit is not too sweet yet it is good to temporarily fill your stomach! (free advertising for a month!). I knew because I won the 1st game eating it! :)

UTM STAF Chess Tournament, 28-7-2023, 8.30am

 

Total, there were 84 participants from men of UTM.  

Game 1

White: Mr. Muhmmad Fairuz Bin Fuad (SPACE)

Black: Dr. Zulfakar Bin Aspar (FKE)

0-1

Uninteresting to be remembered! Or was it because I was hungry!?

After finished and won the 1st round game, I met the manager of FKE team, Dr. Rashidah but she wasn't around. I was given a form to fill, a bread and a bottle of  mineral water. Both were helpful to fill my old stomach. When you are above 50s, a breakfast is very important. 

 

With an almost full of stomach, the 2nd round started with the aggressive moves:

Game 2

White: Dr. Zulfakar Bin Aspar (FKE)

Black: En. Mohamad Saddam (PUTM)

1. e4  e5

2. f4  ef4

3. Nf3 g5

4. Bc4 d6

5. d4  f6? (What is the best move? Why?)

It is a big NO in King's Gambit opening.

What are you going to do?

6. Ng5!! fg5

7. Qh5+ Kd7

8. Qf7+? (Alternative and safer method to win was BxN, RxB 9. Qf7+ wins the rook. But, I wanted a faster method to win!) 

8. ___   Ne7

(Now how to prevent the King escape and transfer my Queen to the Queen's side?)

9. Qe6+  Ke8

10. Qf7+  Kd7

               11. Be6+ Kc6 escape?! 

Not so fast! But, how to transfer the Queen to the Queen side to continuously attack?

I wasn't sure until I saw the Black's weakness.

12. d5! Kc5?

13. Qf6! (Threatening the hanging Rook at h8.) Rg8

14. Qc3+  Kb6

15. Qb3+  Ka6

16. Nc3  c5?

17. Find the checkmate!?

2-0

The 3rd round pairing was as above. By now, there were only 80 male players left. Round 3 was more stable with a slower pace game. But my opponent made many mistakes. Can you spot them? I always reminded myself to play more cautiously.

Game 3

White: Mohd Khairy Bin Kamarudin (FSSH)

Black: Dr. Zulfakar Bin Aspar (FKE)

1. d4 Nf6
2. Nc3 d5 (prevent e4)
3. Nf3 c5
4. dc5 (It is rare for White to accept a gambit.) 

           Nc6 (calmly develop while preventing b4.)
5. Bf4  Bg4 (the pawn is still available at e2, but why am I pinning the knight? See the next two moves!)
6. Nb5?? (What is the best move? Why?)

                 Qa5+! (Computer agrees I am winning now at +3.38 evaluation! Why?)
7. Nc3? (Blunder a piece) Bf3!
8. ef3 d4
9. Bg5? dc3
10. Bf6 ef6
11. Rb1 Bc5 (return of investment, ROI, the profit is a knight! At the same time, ignore the unimportant pawn at b2.)

12. Qe2+?? (What is the best move for White? What Black should move when White made mistake with check by moving Qe2+, Why?)

 

(Blunder. Another big mistake, why? It is a bad attack when you can simply be attacked from the opponent's respond)

               Kf8! (Retreat without castling while attacking! The threat is Re8.)
13. Qd3?? (The Queen should run far away!) Re8+
14. Kd1 (If Be2, Nd4 wins the bishop) Rd8
15. Kc1 (What is the best move? Why?)

               cb2+! (This time ignore the Queen. Instead, Tora, tora, tora!)

16. Rb2 Qe1+
17. Qd1 Rd1++

3-0

 

While waiting for others to finish their games, I took the opportunity to take pictures with friends.

 

Report 2 is coming soon!

 

 

 

My Property Investment Progress after 6 Months or MCO

 I wrote this article after watching a documentary about "The True Story of Bangkok's Ghost Tower" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE5L6yf3nro or click the title. At the same time, I am worried with what is happening to the global economy when there are banks bankrupt in USA (Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank, which collapsed in March 2023) and Switzerland (Credit Suisse Group AG). Deutsche Bank and other more than 180 banks are in line for possible bankruptcy.

There are troubling signs in these bankrupt banks:

1. depositors money are not secured. it is limited to certain level depending on countries such as USD250,000 in US. Most depositors money are lost if exceed this insured level.

2. bond holders lost their money - this is the risk of investment. But isn't it funny the main shareholders who are in the board of directors managed to took out their money before the collapsed. How convenient!

3. the rule of laws are broken in USA and Switzerland. Some analyst call Switzerland has become a "banana republic"!

4. It is dangerous to put all of your money in a single bank. It is better to split your money into several banks or investment funds without exceeding the insured values. For Malaysia, the maximum amount being insured is RM250,000 per account holder per bank. (read here https://www.pidm.gov.my/en/how-we-protect-you/deposit-insurance-system/deposit-insurance-system-faqs).

 

Now back to my property investment. Since 1997, I have successfully accumulate a substantial amount of property investment in several market segments: investment, house, shop, premium house and land. The first investment above was done without any much knowledge including how to get a bank loan. It was painful for the first 4 years. It was during ASEAN financial crisis. The interest skyrocket to 13%! I had to pay RM800 while the rent was only RM400. This went on for 4 years. Fortunately, I managed to pay all the loan in 2013. My wife wanted to sell the house in 2016 for RM170,000. I didn't. We almost got a buyer. Fortunately, I had to cancel the selling of the house due to disturbances from the potential buyers. I believed they also didn't know the buying procedure. A few months before MCO in October 2020, a buyer already agreed and signed the agreement to buy the house for RM250,000. But, he had to cancel due to MCO and job condition were very bad. At the end of last year 2022, I managed to find a new buyer of the house for RM260,000. Selling a low medium cost house is really a long process. We the seller and the buyer must be very patient! 

Now a buyer is interested with my shop lot for about RM800,000. This shop lot was bought in 2009 with fixed interest. From the rental, I got almost RM1,200 monthly profit. The rental rate is about to be increased at the end of the year. Due to these three factors I had a strong feeling not to sell unless the offer is really good.

My main concern is what if after selling and all the cash are in the bank: the economy crash like in USA and Switzerland, or scammer (the calls are getting frequent. I just cursed them or ignored them!). What is the best strategy to keep the cash money and grow the money.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) OPR has increased 3 times since early last year. Read here after BNM increased the OPR two times last year. My total monthly payment for all investments (4 loans) has increased for more than RM700 which is not bad actually. One of my colleagues have to pay additional RM700 just for one house loan!

Inflation is good for a wise property investor. Despite all the monthly increment, the total rental fees has increased by RM150 (excluding my shop lot at the end of this year). I even managed to help one of my in-laws to increase the rental fee by RM400!

Contact me if you want to learn proper property investment including looking for the right investment, formulate your strategy, looking for tenants, income tax, and the management. Paying for my service is a lot cheaper than losing million of RM!

So, you should plan your investment, loan and repayment wisely.