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!

 

 

 

Menjana Pendapatan dari Pelbagai Sumber

Ramai orang boleh menjawab apakah pekerjaan mereka. Tetapi persoalan akan menjadi lebih rumit untuk dijawab apabila ditanya apakah pekerjaan sambilan mereka.

a) Pekerjaan utama

b) Pekerjaan sampingan

c) Pekerjaan berdasarkan hobi

d) Pekerjaan berdasarkan hobi ke 2

e) Pekerjaan berdasarkan peluang segera

f) dan lain-lain

Ramai memberikan alasan mereka tiada pekerjaan sambil agar mereka boleh fokus kepada pekerjaan yang ada. Tetapi ramai yang tidak menyedari, ramai jutawan menjadi kaya kerana mereka mempunyai lebih satu pekerjaan atau lebih satu sumber pendapatan. Sesetengah pakar motivasi menceritakan seseorang jutawan memerlukan tujuh atau lebih sumber pendapatan. Atau lebih tepat, ramai jutawan menjadi kaya kerana mereka mempunyai pelbagai sumber pendapatan.

Di dalam keadaan ekonomi yang merundum, semakin ramai melakukan dua atau lebih kerja serentak untuk menambah pendapatan. Jika perancangan lebih awal dilakukan, pekerjaan kedua, ketiga dan seterusnya seharusnya membantu kualiti hidup. Sebaliknya, sekiranya pekerjaan sampingan cuba dikekalkan di sepanjang karrier, hanya musibah akan menanti anda. Melakukan pekerjaan sampingan yang sama hanya akan menyebabkan "Diminising return". Sebagai contoh, semasa saya baru menjadi pensyarah, pendapatan pensyarah sampingan adalah RM100 sejam. Selepas 20 tahun, pendapatan pensyarah sampingan masih tetap RM100. Saya memaksa diri berhenti mengajar secara sampingan semenjak 2014. Jadi, tenaga dan masa saya boleh digunakan untuk berehat, memikirkan strategi dan menjana pendapatan lebih tinggi dan berterusan.

Tetapi ramai tidak sedar ciri-ciri di dalam pelbagai sumber pendapatan sampingan.

1. Pelbagai sumber pendapatan bukan bermakna semuanya mesti dilakukan sepanjang masa. Jika anda mempunyai dua pekerjaan yang sentiasa mesti dilakukan sepanjang masa seperti pekerjaan dua shift sehari, anda harus bertanya kepada diri sendiri berapa lamakah anda sanggup bekerja selama dua shift dalam sehari? Setahun? 5 tahun? 10 tahun? sampai pencen? Anda bukan robot. Sila bangun dari tidur.

2. Setiap pendapatan sampingan mempunyai jangka hayat dan kewujudan waktu yang terhad. Oleh itu, sangat penting untuk merancang priority hidup anda. Sesetengah pendapatanan sampingan mempunyai waktu dan tempoh tertentu perlaksanaannya. Jika pendapatan sampingan hanya untuk kerja dua shift di kilang, kesibukan kilang juga bermusim.

3. Setiap pendapatan sampingan mempunyai faktor kesesuaian yang berlainan seperti:

   - seasonal seperti di atas

   - faktor umur: umur semakin tua menyebabkan sesetengah pekerjaan sampingan tidak sesuai, semasa umur muda lebih banyak pilihan pekerjaan berdasarkan tenaga dan masa yang banyak tetapi apabila usia meningkat pekerjaan sampingan berdasarkan pengalaman, ilmu dan masa yang sedikit menjadi keutamaan.

   - faktor keluarga: pekerjaan sampingan akan menyebabkan anda kekurangan masa untuk keluarga. Tetapi pekerjaan sampingan yang flexibel akan memberikan lebih banyak masa untuk keluarga seperti ejen insuran, ejen hartanah dan sebagainya.

   - perubahan ekonomi negara: setengah pekerjaan sampingan tumbuh seperti cendawan apabila ekonomi negara semakin rancak seperti ejen hartanah, ejen permohonan pinjaman, pendidikan dan sebagainya.

   - perubahan polisi negara atau syarikat: sesetengah syarikat tidak mahu terikat dengan pekerja-pekerja tambahan, sebaliknya pekerja kontrak atau separuh masa digunakan. Perubahan polisi negara juga membantu sesuatu pekerjaan akan bertambah peningkatan gaji seperti kemasukan buruh asing, pertumbuhan bidang ICT, semikonduktor dan sebagainya.

4. Pekerjaan sampingan yang mudah bertahan adalah pekerjaan yang berdasarkan minat

   - perkara sukar menjadi mudah kerana minat

   - perkara mudah tapi leceh tetap mudah jika minat

   - hobi yang berterusan sangat bagus jika boleh menjana pendapatan sampingan

   - sesetengah pendapatan sampingan memerlukan perancangan lebih awal atau persediaan awal

5. Senarai pekerjaan-pekerjaan dan pendapatan sampingan yang saya lakukan:

   i. (23 tahun) Pensyarah

  ii. (25) Penulis aturcara

 iii. (22) Consultant 

 iv. (10) Teaching and training part time

      - (stop) university: UTM, UTHM, UMP

      - (6 dan  sekarang jarang-jarang) training for companies: Kriptic Devices, Zal Computer, Kelab komputer sekolah

      - (lebih untuk kerja kebajikan) chess

      - kursus pendek: microcontroller, PLC, visual basic, IC Design 

  v. (8) Mengasaskan dua buah syarikat

 vi. (25) Menyewa rumah sejak 1998

vii. (14) Melabur hartanah melalui pembelian bangunan kedai

viii. (2) Tourist guide

 ix. (14) Palm oil plantation

  x. (5) Manpower supply

11. (15) Service repair

12. (15) Paperwork for tender, grants and operational setup

13. (20) Selling agent such as property, computer

14. (25) Software development

15. (4) Invest: bela lembu 

16. (3) Jual baja dan benih

17. (30) Melabur dalam ASN dan ASB

18. (10) Melabur dalam Bank Rakyat

19. Professional Chess player (4)

Nota: dalam kurungan adalah tempoh masa pelaksanaan, kebanyakan aktiviti bukan berterusan tetapi tempoh tahun aktiviti tersebut masih berlaku.

Semua ini tidak mungkin saya lakukan serentak atau berpanjangan bertahun-tahun. Jadi, rancang pekerjaan sampingan, pelaburan dan hobi anda untuk masa depan.

Teaching Chess for Primary School

I have been requested to train the chess team from Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Universiti 4. As part of my social works, I accepted the job. The school has a bunch of talented students. However, they lack of practise and theoretical exposure.

There are two or three students who are quick study. But, we have limited time to prepare for the tournament. Two weeks before the tournament day, we spent almost every day to practise. In addition, I spent one of my weekends to teach them.

The girl's team has limited number of members. So, I asked for the juniors to attend.

Meanwhile, one of my daughter took part in the tournament in secondary school section. She won the 10th prize. She could do better if she was willing to spend more time to learn and practise.

A Property Investment is like an accumulation of Games

During university study, my friends and I always spent time to play Monopoly. I believe almost all the people in the world know this game. We spent hours during weekends to play this game. Somehow, I have the talent in this game. I may not always the one who won everything, but I hold the longest record who never became the 1st player who lost the game. I don't remember the exact duration but it was for months. In the end, I became the first person to lose because the other players gang up to defeat me.

This made me realize that in the real world, I can always be in a winning situation as long as I am not the first to lose. This can be achieved with careful planning and execution. And the most important thing is it is impossible for everybody in the real world to be against you unless you are really in a terrible situation. Even though Monopoly is just a game of chances, you can still put some effort to analyze the situation and hedge your situation.

As an amateur chess player, I did once won Boston, USA tournament in 1994 when I was in a long semester break. It was a tough competition. But, I have good friends who help me to strategize to prepare for the competition. In the end, I won the prize which was worth more than two months of my scholarship allowance.

These two games made me realized that a lot can be achieved especially in property investment if I can work in a group of similar minded people. We can exchange ideas, strategies, tactics and information. I can also learn from those who already succeed. Their ideas may no longer can be used due to changing circumstances or government regulation, but they are worth to be analyzed, modified if necessary and used when the opportunity arise. And as in any game, to begin is the most difficult part. But as you go along, more knowledge and experience being accumulated, you will be fine. The sooner you start is the better.

But remember, avoid being the first casualty. That is easy actually, always be frugal, calculative in your expenditure, and saves your extra income.

Staff Sport Inter Department Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 2015

          I have not play chess seriously for the past two years. This year, I participated in the tournament to release some pressure from work, study, research, investment and consultation projects. This chess tournament was held in conjunction with UTM sport day for staffs. Various sports tournaments were held between different faculties, and support departments. For chess tournament, it was held on 12 September 2015.


          My main mission was to ensure my faculty will get the gold medal in this annual tournament. It is a team event. However, the matches were done individually using Swiss format in 5 rounds. After 5 rounds, the top four players from each faculty or department will be accumulated to become the team points.

Round 1
---------- Table 11
Black: PHB/Muhammad Arif Abdul Aziz
1. e4         g6
2. d4         Nf6
3. Nc3      Bg7
4. f4         0-0   
5. Nf3      c6         Actual Austrian attack in a Pirc Defense is Bishop is located at c4 while Black pawn at c7 and d6. But, with Black's c6, White needed to modify the strategy.
6. Bd3      d5    
7. e5         Ng4?   clueless target and a huge mistake.
8. h3         Nh6
9. Be3       Nf5?
10. Bf2      b6      Black wasted two moves while White has improved his Bishop position.
11. Qd2     Ba6    It is too late to exchange the King's Bishop.
12. Bxf5    gxf5   White is breaking Black's pawn structure while misplacing Black Queen Bishop.

What is White next best move?

13. g4!         e6
14. 0-0-0     Qe7    Now, white can focus on his King's side target while misplacing Black Queen Bishop.
15. Rhg1    f6??    Unnecessarily, Black is weakening further his King's side.
16. gxf5      exf5    Double pawn is bad for endgame while exposed g file is a huge problem.
17. Bh4      Qe6    Black realized he cannot defend the f pawn.
18. exf6      Rxf6
19. Rde1!   Qd7   White conquers both open files. While Black last move is not the best defense.
20. Bxf6     c5
21. Rg7+    Qxg7   It is over.
22. Bxg7     Kxg7
23. Qg2+    Kf6
24. Nxd5+  Kf7
25. Re7+    Kf8
26. Qg7++

1-0
Black's Queen Rook and Knight failed to participate in the battle. Black also failed to formulate a better strategy to counter White's central attack.

Round 2
---------- Table 2
White: CAN/Baharudin Mastari
I was nervous in the first round since I have not play any tournament for quite some time. Now, I am more comfortable in this round.

1. d4           Nf6
2. Nc3        d5        It is a weird opening to combine d4 with Nc3. So, I have to play d5 to prevent e4.
3. g3           g6
4. Nf3        Bg7
5. Bg5        Ne4     A weird opening needs a weird or rare response. Hence, I played this move to disrupt any White's normal plan.
6. Nxe4??  dxe4   It is already a blunder by White.
7. Nh4       Bxd4   Free pawn!
8. Be3       Bxb2   Another free pawn with the risk where the opponent has more active Bishop.

How White can give a better fight?

White can give a better fight with 9. Qxd8+  Kxd8  10. Rd1+ Ke8
9. Rb1       Bc3+   If the Bishop goes back to g7, Black may lost a tempo. So, it is better to disrupt White's flow with possibility to trade the opponent more active Bishop.
10. Bd2     Bxd2   This exchange does not introduce any weakness to a1 to h8 diagonal since the Queens will be also traded.
11. Qxd2   Qxd2+
12. Kxd2

What is the best plan for Black to improve his position?

12. ____    g5!     I paused for a longer thinking time since now the game is entering endgame phase (almost no middle game!). This move disrupts the Knight movement and reduce her coverage.
13. Ng2     0-0!   Still needed to quickly activate the Rook
14. Rb4?    f5      White must activated his remaining pieces first. Black used White flawed strategy to conquer the middle squares while supporting g5 and e4 pawns.
15. e3        Nc6  It is important to activate all the pieces.
16. Rc4?   Be6
17. Ra4     Ne5  Two more Black pieces participating in the battle, while White still depend on the same pieces.
18. Ne1  

          After move 18th, Black minor pieces were beautifully located at the central squares while being protected by central pawns uncontested. Both Black Rooks can be easily activated. The only active White piece is his misplaced Queen Rook. So, how the attack should proceed?

18. ___      c5!   Black successfully conquering all the central squares while the only active White piece is the Queen Rook which is also restricted!
19. Be2     Rfd8+ Now conquering the open file.
20. Kc3     a6!    Preparing to attack the misplaced Rook while activating the Queen Rook.
21. a3??    b5     A blunder. Anyway, White position is hopeless. 4 active pieces versus 1, and strong central control by Black pawns give no chance at all to White to escape from defeat!
22. Ra5     Nc6!
23. Rxb5   axb5
24. Bxb5? Ra3+
25. Kb2     Ra2+
26. Kc1     Nb4
27. Kb1?   Rd1++ White one last mistake is punished by the checkmate...in an endgame!

0-1
Conclusion, White battle plan was disrupted in the early opening. As a result, two pawns were easily lost. White was also clueless what was going on and failed to identify the endgame phase. Black can easily win the endgame since all his pieces participated in the battle while White depended on one or two active pieces at a time.

Round 3
---------- Table 3
Black:  FKE/Hj Muhammad Arif Abd Rahim
I was relief to meet my colleague from the same department. I can relax a bit since my objective is to win gold medal for the department team.

1. e4          e5
2. Nf3       d6
3. d4         exd4
4. Nd4      Be7
5. Bc4      Nf6
6. Nc3      Bg4?     Why? It will only loose a tempo.
7. f3         Bh5
8. Be3      0-0
9. Qd2      a6
10. 0-0-0  c5??  My friend looked tired from the previous round intense game. 
11. Nf5     Nc6
12. Nd6             It is a free pawn with a strategic Knight located at the center. Now it is time to offer a draw!

A win or lost is neither good or bad for us since both of us are from the same faculty. The best is a draw!
1/2 - 1/2

Round 4
---------- Table 3
White:  CIC/Nazeri Sharif
This guy is one of the members of UTM staff chess team. During this round, all four players from my faculty is at top four tables. I only needed a draw to help my faculty to secure a gold.

1. e4             e5
2. Nf3          Nc6
3. Bc4          Bc5
4. d3             h6
5. Nc3          Nf6
6. Be3          Bxe3   This is a positional error since it gave White a solid center. Bb6 is better.
7. fxe3         d6
8. Qd2         0-0
9. 0-0           Qe7?   Played without sufficient thinking.
10. Nd5       Qd8
11. Qe1        Be6
12. Nxf6+?  Qxf6   This reduced the tension at the center and freed Black for a counter play.
13. Nh4       Qg5
14. Nf3        Qe7
15. Qg3?     Bxc4!  Black did not miss the chance to weaken the White central control.
16. dxc4      Qe6!
17. b3          Ne7
18. Nh4       f5!       Finally, the pressure is neutralized!
19. exf5       Nxf5
20. Nxf5      Rxf5

Rooks from both players cannot penetrate their opponent's rank. So, the only logical conclusion is to offer a draw.1/2 - 1/2

Round 5
---------- Table 3
Black:  FSS/Kiflan Jimpi
I had almost no pressure in this round. All top three tables were dominated by my faculty colleagues. But, if I can win this round, I can help reduce the pressure to my team members.

1. e4           e5
2. Nf3        Nc6
3. Bb5        a6
4. Ba4        h6?  How to capitalize this weakness?
5. c3          b5
6. Bb3       Nf6
7. 0-0        d6
8. Re1       Rb8
9. d4          exd4
10. cxd4    Be7
11. Nc3     0-0     White has a strong central control.
12. e5!?    dxe5   I decided to break the center since Black is still disorganized. While White has a very strong central pressure by King's Bishop. Thus, Black King's Rook cannot contest the e-file. I had also considered the possibility to enter the endgame.
13. dxe5   Qxd1
14. Rxd1  Nh5    White is better organized in the endgame. And, the e5 pawn is menacing the central board and disconnected the Black pieces. Black should consider to retreat the Knight.
15. Nd5    Bd8
16. h3       g5?
17. g4!      Ng7
18. Be3     Kh8    With every move, White has successfully maximize the activity of his pieces while reducing Black pieces to passivity.
19. Rac1   Bb7

How the attack should proceed?

20. Nf6!    Bxf6  Forced.
21. exf6    Ne8    White's active Knight is traded with the Black's passive Bishop. But now, the pawn at f6 can strangle the King. While the pawn at g4 can support the pawn at f6!
22. Bc5!   Nd6     The pressure is too strong and Black is willing to loose a pawn in order to trade active Bishop with a passive Knight.
23. Bxd6  cxd6
24. Rxd6  Na5
25. Bd1!   Nc6     White realized the Black's King side is totally paralyzed. The Bishop is needed to attack the Queen side.
26. a4       Nd8     If Ne6 26. Rd7 will follow.
27. Ne5    Ne6

 How White should finish off the attack?

28. Bb3!   Bc8     The Bishop is back to exert pressure on the King side.
29. Bxe6! fxe6? axb5 first should be better. But Black took the Bishop almost without thinking. The moment he touched the pawn, he realized his blunder. But, it is too late. Now, Black position is totally collapsed. Anyway, 29. __ Bxe6 30. Rc7 Kg8 31. Rxe6  fxe6  32. Rg7+ Kh8 33. Ng6++.
30. Ng6+  Kg8
31. Nxf8   Kxf8
32. Rd8+  Kf7
33. Rdc8  Rxc8
34. Rxc8  Kf6

1-0
Black failed to find useful purpose of his Queen's Rook at all!

-----------------------------------------------
The result was FKE maintain her dominant in Chess in UTM for another year. No. 1 to 4 and 6 were won by my faculty members.The women team from FKE also maintain her dominant in Chess in UTM for another year after successfully defend the title.

Questions:
1. How can we use chess playing skills and knowledge to invest in a property?
2. What is the similar psychological values in both fields which can be harnessed for property investment?
3. Do you prefer to play as an individual or a team? Why?

Note:
1. Official UTM chess club website is at http://kecas.fke.utm.my/
2. For board display, I used http://www.chess.com/analysis-board-editor

Turn Your Hobby to Income

It is fun to have an hobby. It is also good to have one to relieve stress by spending some time doing your hobby or doing something totally different than what you always do in your daily work. Some hobby need time, money and energy to do. When you are young, time is abundant. While money may be just enough for your life. And, energy is easily replenished.


A hobby should complement your life, not totally separated. Yes, a hobby is used to get away from your daily life. By doing different things than what you do at your work place, your brain can have some rest and re-energized. But, it must be calculated into your budget planning, lifelong learning, and future life you want to be. As you get older, your expenditure increases due to having a family, or enlarging your family members, some of your children go for further study, buying larger car, and so on.

Thus, it is important your hobby can generate some income. And if you are persistence with your hobby, it may become your main income. I was formally trained as an electrical engineer. My hobby was to write computer programs, play chess, read books and do community service. As I began my journey as a consultant or electronic design engineer, customers began to ask to also provide software solutions. Hence, my hobby became my additional income. A few years later, writing programs is a norm in electronic engineering study and practice. Thus, I have no problem to adapt to this new demand.

While involving in community services and design consultant, I realized that property investment is crucial in personal wealth growth. I saw many problems related to small business, house and shop rental. After purchasing my first two houses, I started to plan to buy a shop. I finally managed to do so six years later. My financial didn't immediately improve. Like playing a chess, when you grab a material, you need time to stabilize your financial. In order to improve my investment, I read a lot of books related to personal financial planning. The best book that ever inspire me was THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON which I first encountered in 2009.

You learned a lot when you are in a difficult situation. So did I. The book inspire me so much that soon I translated the book into Malay language. I did some analysis to better adapt the knowledge to the modern financial instruments. It took a few years more before I can really adapt the knowledge in the book into practice. Surprisingly, some of the knowledge in the book was given to me by different people in different manners. But, the strategic and psychology behind them are the same.

The main point is you should have more than a hobby in your life. As you grow older, you should have more hobbies. Be mindful, as you grow older, it becomes harder to replenish your energy. You will have more responsibility which means you will have less time for yourself. Thus, you should learn and adapt to make an income from your hobbies. Therefore as you grew older, your hobbies may support your future life. The latest hobby in my life is property investment. There are many activities associated with property investment. Choose what you like so that they can be your strength.

Training my Daughter to play chess

29-3-2013, 2.30pm

White: Zulfakar
Black: Ariana

1. e4     e5
2. Nf3   Nc6
3. Bb5  Nf6   Ruy Lopez. Ancient strategy which still has strong followers until today
4. Bxc6 bxc6
5. Nxe5 Nxe4
6. Qe2  d5   Good move
7. d3     Nd6 But this is a blunder (big mistake) and fatal
8. Nc6+ Be7 Discover check (check the king while attacking the Queen)
9. Nxd8 Kxd8
10. Nc3 d4   Waste of time, better c6
11. Nd5 Bf8  Another weak move, better Rd8 threatening to move the Bishop and pin the Queen
12. Bg5+ Kd7
13. Qg4+ Kc6
14. Qd4   Nf5 Black fail to activate the remaining pieces i.e. rooks. As a result, her position quickly deteriorate.
15. Qc4+ Kb7
16. Qc7+ Ka6
17. Qc6+ Ka5
18. Bd2+ Bb4
19. Bb4++

UTM Merdeka Chess Tournament 2008

ORGANIZING THE TOURNAMENT

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 banting

To 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 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.

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

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.


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

impatiently sacrifice a Bishop to preserve the exchange which is not necessary. Losing an exchange is better than losing a whole piece.

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 round

All 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 MC

Finally, 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.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH US!!