MY GAMES AT CHESS.COM

Currently, I am a regular player at Chess.com. This is mainly because of its simple interface which is easy to use, and the opponents are really challenging. There are 4 categories of play - the blitz (anything from 3 minutes to 15 minutes), the standard (more than 15 minutes), the bullet (below 3 minutes) and the online chess, which is often mentioned as the correspondence chess. As for the end of this year, my ratings for each categories are:

MSSM GAME ANALYSIS : TAY YI WEN vs SITI NUR AFIQAH

White: Tay Yi Wen (Sarawak)
Black: Siti Nur Afiqah (Kelantan)
Event: MSSM Perlis 2010

1. d4 d6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 g6 4. g3 Bg7


Siti Nur Afiqah played the Pirc and won in the previous round against Pahang, so it is understandable she tried it again in this round. Likewise, her opponent did not choose the best defense by playing the g3 setup.

5. Bg2 b6


Afiqah wanted to put her Bishop at the long diagonal, but this is not the correct way to do it. It is not recommended to succumb oneself to open attacks, especially when the opponent's Bishop is pointing straight at our Rook! Luckily, her opponent did not find the best move, or else Afiqah would be in a big trouble. Here, Afiqah should continue with castling and only after that play c6, Qc7, b6 and Bb7.

6. Ng5

Better is 6.Ne5 when the best black can do is push 6... d5 or lose a pawn. 6... dxe5 is messy when 7.dxe5 leaves Black an exchange and a pawn down. 7... Qxd1+, 8.Nxd1 Ng4, 9.Bxa8 c6, 10.f4

6... c6 7. d5 Bb7 8. dxc6 Bxc6 9. Nge4 O-O 10. Nxf6+ Bxf6 11. Bxc6 Nxc6

White should have not made wholesale simplifications which made life easier for Black. There is no weakness in Black's fortress; her Bishop is still guarding the fort whereas White's Bishop had been exchanged with its counterpart.

12. O-O Bg7 13. e4 Rc8 14. a3 f5

A good move, opening up an attacking line towards White's King.

15. Re1 Qd7 16. Rb1 Rf7 17. Be3 Ne5 18. Bd4 fxe4


By hook or by crook, White has to part ways with her Bishop with absolutely no chance to exchange Black's g7 Bishop with its demise.

19. Rxe4 Nf3+ 20. Kg2 Nxd4 21.h4?


A mistake. White should take the Knight and accept the material deficit. 21.Rxd4 Bxd4, 22.Qxd4

21...Ne6 22. Qg4 Nc5

Now all Black has to do is exchanging off all the pieces.

23. Qxd7 Nxd7 24. Nd5 e5 25. f4

Another mistake, but it is understandable when White is on the verge of resigning.

25...Rxc2+ 26. Kh3 Nf6 27. Nxf6+ Bxf6 28. fxe5 Bxe5 29. b4 Rc3 30. Rg4 Rxa3 31. h5 Kg7 32. Rg1 Rf5 33. hxg6 hxg634. Kg2 Ra2+ 35. Kh1??


The final mistake. Black mates in three.

35...Rh5+ 36. Rh4 Rxh4+ 37. gxh4 Rh2# 0-1

Final position

Laila Husna vs Hoh Tjin Li (Penang)

MSSM GAME ANALYSIS: LAILA HUSNA vs HOH TJIN LI


White: Laila Husna (Kelantan)
Black: Hoh Tjin Li (Penang)
Event: MSSM 2010 at Kangar, Perlis
Date: 7 June 2010

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e3

A wise move to sidestep the main line.

4... d6 5. Bd3 O-O 6. h3 Nbd7 7. Nf3 b6

The Bishop is seeking a greener pasture after the blockade at h3.

8. O-O Nh5 9. Be4!

Taking advantage of the absence of Bishop from the diagonal.

9... Rb8 10. b3?

Not quite in line with the previous move. A Queen move to a4 to insert pressure on a7 is the better option.

Analysis diagram after 10.Qa4

10... Bb7 11. Bxb7 Rxb7 12. Bb2 e6 13. Rb1 f5 14. Qd2 g5 15. e4

Attacking g5. White is not afraid of the push g4 when she can reply with Ng5 aiming for the weakness at e6.

15... h6 16. d5

A slight mistake. This move enables Black to recover from the weakness at e6. Better is 16.exf5 followed by 17.Nh2 to guard against the g4 push. Black must also consider two of her hanging pieces at h5 and b7.

16... e5 17. Qd3 g4 18. Nh2 Nf4 19. Qd1 gxh3 20. g3 Qg5 21. Bc1 Qg6 22. Kh1 fxe4 23. Qg4

A good move which forced the Queen exchanges, thus leaving the pawns at e4 and h3 susceptible to attacks.

23... Qxg4 24. Nxg4 Nh5 25. Nxe4 Nc5 26. Re1

26.Nxc5 loses immediately to 26... Nxh3+

26... Rbb8 27. Nxc5 bxc5 28. Re2 Kh7 29. Kh2 Nf6 30. Kxh3 Nxg4 31. Kxg4 Kg6 32. Be3 Rf5 33. Rh1 h5+ 34. Kh3 Rh8 35. Kg2 Bh6 36. Bxh6 Rxh6 37. Re4 Kg5 38. Reh4 Rf8 39. g4 Rfh8 40. gxh5 Rxh5 1/2-1/2

Final position

The final position is playable for white. After exchanging all the major pieces, white's King should be the more active. But with correct defense, black can hold its water. The game might continues

41.Rxh5+ Rxh5, 42.Rxh5+ Kxh5, 43.Kf3 Kg5, 44.Ke4 Kf6, 45.f4 exf4, 46.Kxf4 Kg6, 47.Kg4 Kf6, 48.Kh5 Kf5


which should be a draw. However, if black wants to be adventerous with 48...Ke5, 49.Kg5 will spell trouble because black needs at least 10 moves to white's 9 to promote the pawn. A sample line might run

49... Kd4, 50.Kf5 Kc3, 51.Ke6 Kb2, 52.Kd7 Kxa2, 53.Kxc7 Kxb3, 54.Kxd6

a) Now if black continues with the pawn advance, he will get the Queen. But after white gets the chance to exchange it, the extra pawn will become another Queen and checkmates black.

54... a5, 55.Kxc5 a4, 56.d6 a3, 57.d7 a2, 58.d8=Q a1=Q


b) If black chooses to take the c-pawn first, he will not get a chance to promote the pawn

54... Kxc4, 55.Kc6 a5, 56.d6 a4, 57.d7 a3, 58.d8=Q a2, 59. Qg8+

IM MAS AND NAF AT PENANG OPEN

Two Kelantanese are flying the state flag at the Penang Open held from 8 - 12 December 2010. IM Mas Hafizulhelmi, ranked third in the event, started well with 2 wins out of 2 games by defeating Limono Handjojo (1845) and NM Tan Khai Boon (2126). Tomorrow he will face Ian Udani, a Pinoy who won lots of tournament in Malaysia. Meanwhile, Nik Ahmad Farouqi (picture above) also started well with a win and a draw. Tomorrow he will face a tough test against IM Ranola Yves, also from the Philippine. We hope that both of them will 'bring back the medals' along with our blessings.

The tournament results can be achieved at chess-result.com

KELATE CHESS NETWORK NEW SITE

My brother created a new Kelate chess community site, where members can interact with each other, posting news, pictures and also chat. I mentioned in my previous post about the demise of Kelate Chess network created by Nasero at ning.com, and I am glad that my brother has taken the initiative to revive the network, albeit using other address. Even though the address is quite long, you can bookmark it at your browser for easier access. I sure hope that all Kelantan players gather here, and I will try my best to advertise this website to all members.

You can access the network here.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE 'RED KNIGHTS' GONE?

I was under the radar for quite some time, watching the national chess development, especially the Kelantan players. Sadly, the Kelantan's players achievement, or the state chess news were few and far between. There was no Kelantan players representing the country in the recent Asian games, and there was no Kelantan players also winning tournaments around the country during my 'hibernation'. One notable news, however, only of that Mas Hafizulhelmi, who was recovering from dengue.


Equally disappointing was the demise of the Kelate Chess Network, a site supposedly to gather the Kelantan players, due to inactivity. This leads to a question, where have all the players gone? Aren't they internet savvy enough? Apparently not, because the network, created by Nasero, has less than 10 members to date. However, I surely like to think that the 'marketing' of the network was poor, announced only in this blog and Bad Bishop's. It was alarming that many of the chess bloggers or netizens are from other states, and Kelantan players, mainly consisting of MSSM players, were reduced to becoming Facebook users only.

The Persatuan Catur Negeri Kelantan is also in a sorry state. Apart from organising the Kelantan Closed last May, the PCNK is largely ineffective in terms of organising tournaments or receiving memberships and sponsorships. For a chess association, or any association for that matter, to operate fully, they must have support from many members, as well as sponsors, and PCNK right now has none of both.

Therefore, I would like to 'beg' all the state players, please register yourself to be in PCNK. The advantage of being in an association need not to be mentioned, for there are many. Let us all put our efforts together to make Kelantan a heaven for chess activities and networking, and the first step we must take is to make the state association a successful one.

The champion, Nik Ahmad Nazri withstands the last hurdle from BadBishop

NIK NAZRI IS USM CHESSMASTER

Nik Ahmad Nazri justifies his top ranking by winning the USM Chessmaster held today. He creamed all his opponents to finish the tournament with 6 points. The absence of many establish names from this event, is the perfect opportunity for Nik Ahmad Nazri to shine. A strong player himself, the teacher from Gua Musang just has to brush aside challenges from Muhd Bakri Jusoh and BadBishop to become the champion.

The hall

Yours Truly's brother, Mohd Hafidz (right), was among the winners

Muhd Bakri Jusoh won his last game against Laila Husna

Yours Truly, who only managed to visit the last round, came across this game between the eventual runner-up and Kelantan brightest female talent.

Black had just moved his pawn to h6, in order to facilitate his Rook to avoid a backrank mate. However, White failed to capitalise on this mistake by moving his Bishop to c7 to initiate a fork. It proved to be an error after Black managed to force the parting of White's Bishop, thus weakening his castled position. The game continued: 1.Bc7 Rd1+, 2.Kh2 Bd6+, 3.Bxd6 Qxd6+, 4.g3 and the castled position was weakened.

Better, in my opinion, was moving the Knight to h4 in view of giving a check at g6. Sample variation: 1.Nh4 Rd1+, 2.Kh2 Bxf2, 3.Ng6+ with a better prospect for a draw.


The final results can be read at chessresults.com

NATIONAL OCTOBER 2010 RATING REVIEW

Only minor changes happened for Kelantan players in October rating. This is due to the fact that not many Kelantan players play competitively nowadays, apart from these few:

1. Mas Hafizulhelmi, who still heads Kelantan rating list, drops more than 20 points to stand at 2270 (previously 2294).
2. Nik Ahmad Farouqi, who gains 55 points to climb over Abdul Haq with a mere 1 point, now stands at 1915 (1860).
3. Abdul Haq loses nearly 30 points to stand at 1914 (1945).
4. Syed Azizi loses 11 points now with 1788 (1799).
5. Muhd Ariez loses 4 points and stands at 1607 (1611).


October rating 2010 can be obtained here and the rating changes can be downloaded here.

Mum is covering her face during the fogging

BAD BISHOP HIT WITH DENGUE

Blogger Bad Bishop is now recuperating from his fever after 11 days in the ward. He expressed his hope of healing completely before next week's USM Open and gave some advice so that we take early measures to prevent us from this disease. My neighbourhood, as recently as last week, also had been fogged following a confirmed case hitting my neighbour's daughter. To echo his advice, I will say:

PLEASE OBSERVE CLEANLINESS
BECAUSE IT IS A PART OF OUR FAITH

Some interesting facts:

Poster kesihatan: Penyakit Denggi

Denggi: Kelantan kedua tertinggi selepas Selangor - Sinar Harian

Wabak demam denggi semakin serius di Kelantan - Mstar.com

MAGHI KITO PAKAK GI KUBE

Haha.. bunyi mace hudoh jah, tapi sek-sek kito maghi gi ghama-ghama ko Kube Keghiye maing cheh kat sepital USM 16 haribule nih. Poster ada kawe tepek datah nih, panda-panda la baco deh. Seghebo mok niko ado situ, tunggu bowok dighi jah. Jupo denuh, weh!

MAS ANSWERED MYSTERY DEFEAT

As I had already expected, Mas was defeated by his handphone. I would like to jot here his words since I had asked him at his Facebook right after the result was shown, but he did not answer my question. Nevertheless, his words were on DAT Chess blog:

my phone alarm rang at 12.20, daily alarm for lunch.. unfortunately last game is played in the morning,, fon is off but still the alarm rang.. As Khairunissa Called it the ”Nokia Gambit” Overall i am happy that i have played this olympiad..Gave me the confident that i can work and still go for my GM , Insyaallah

MAS MYSTERIOUS LOST

My previous post talks about Mas potential for a GM norm in this Olympiad. But this mysterious defeat surely left us nothing to shout about. I do not see any forced win for White in this position. Any enlightenment on this, please?

A LOOK AT MAS GM TITLE AMBITION

Mas Hafizulhelmi IM 2422 MAS Rp:2402
Rd.	SNo		Name	Rtg	FED	Rp	Pts.	Res.	Bo.
1	16	GM	Adams Michael	2728	ENG	2687	6,0	w ½	1
2	522		Tsang Hon Ki	2085	HKG	1984	2,5	s 1	1
3	99	GM	Rozentalis Eduardas	2611	LTU	2476	4,0	s 1	1
4	117	GM	Pelletier Yannick	2592	SUI	2411	4,5	w ½	1
5	360	FM	Gemy Jose Daniel	2325	BOL	2216	3,0	s ½	1
6	610		Berardi Giancarlo	0	SMR	1580	0,0	w 1	1
7	242	GM	Gruenfeld Yehuda	2464	ISR	2394	4,5	w 0	1
9	182	GM	De La Riva Aguado Oscar	2521	AND	2665	7,5	s 0	1
10	328	FM	Jones Richard S	2373	WLS	2205	4,0	w 1	1
11	498		Al Sulaiti Ali	2134	BRN	1919	2,5	s	1

I was reading the FIDE Handbook about title requirements, and boy, I did not understand it at all! What I can take from the handbook which I think are related to IM Mas title ambition:

1.4 The GM, IM, WGM, WIM titles can also be gained by achieving norms in internationally rated tournaments played according to the following regulations.
1.41a The player must play at least 9 games
1.45b For a GM norm at least 1/3 with a minimum 3 of the opponents (MO) must be GMs.
1.46c For the purposes of norms, the minimum rating (adjusted rating floor) for the opponents shall be as follows:

Grandmaster International Master Woman Grandmaster Woman International Master

2200 2050 2000 1850

1.48 Performance Rating (Rp)
In order to achieve a norm, a player must perform at a level at least of that shown below:

	Minimum level prior to rounding	Minimum level after rounding
GM	2599.5	2600
IM	2449.5	2450
WGM	2399.5	2400
WIM	2249.5	2250

1.5	Requirements for award of the title, having achieved norms
	1.50	Two or more norms in events covering at least 27 games.
	1.51	If a norm is sufficient for more than one title, then it may be used as part of the application for both.
	1.52	To have achieved at some time or other a rating as follows: GM IM WGM WIM ≥2500 ≥2400 ≥2300 ≥2200

So, in conclusion, I think Mas will not get a GM norm in this Olympiad because:

1. he only currently perform at Rp 2402 (article 1.48) ,
2. he is not likely to get a rating of 2500 from his current rating 2422 (article 1.52),
3. he had 3 opponents rated below 2200 (article 1.46c) which will reduce his number of games against minimum rating for his opponents (1.41a) to only 7 games.

However, I am still hopeful that my interpretation of these requirements is a flaw, and that Mas will get his GM norm, and Malaysia will get its first Grandmaster.

IM MAS (2422) vs GM OSCAR DE LA RIVA AGUADO (2521)

Mas gets another GM! Thanks to the Malaysian players who played courageously to win during Mas' hibernation. Hopefully Mas emerged from it unscathed tomorrow. As for GM Oscar, he is the highest rated player in Andorra. His performance in this Olympiad has been quite remarkable, losing only once in his first game against the Russian, and drawing twice to Megaranto of Indonesia and Hansen Sune Berg of Denmark. It will be a tough call, but I know Mas can pull off an upset, like he did against GM Rozentalis.

Oscar WILL PUSH 1.e4 to meet Mas' Sicilian Defense. So far in this Olympiad, he won against GM Yehuda's Sicilian by selecting 3.c3 for his third move. We can expect fire on the board tomorrow, because slow maneuvering is Mas' forte. He used 3.c3 again when he won against Ryan Harper of the Trinidad and Tobago. Thus, safely to say, 3.c3 is his pet line against the Sicilian, and Mas should take note of that and prepare properly.

All the best for tomorrow, Mas! (I'm going to sleep now, it's already 2.00 am when this post is published)


I'm following Mas' game LIVE. My prediction did not materialized; GM Oscar did not push 3.c3. However, he did not play the main line either, but retreated his Knight to f3. In the above position, he just moved his knight to e1. He has to reposition his Knight, quite common in this line. Mas let his pawns to be doubled at e6, but the GM refuses. The position is quite balanced, and Mas surely does not stand worst.


After just five moves from previous diagram, we arrive at the endgame phase. Mas has a Bishop compared to his opponent's Knight. Both pieces are now defending the fort for the time being, while the two Rooks are repositioning to premium squares. Personally, I like Mas' position because he has more active Rooks.


Now, Mas just has to activate his King. Neither has a passed pawn yet, but White's b and c pawn are under scrutiny. However, Mas a pawn could be a problem. My prediction, Mas can escape with a draw if he plays correctly.


So, the Knight goes to battle first while the Bishop still defending. I think Mas made a mistake when he did not push the Knight before White put his Rook at d1. Moreover, Mas could be in a big problem if the b pawn starts rolling.


At last, the Bishop comes to life! By this time, all the other boards already finished. Mok drew, Peter won and Tan lost. It is now up to Mas to take Malaysia to glory, and personally to take his GM ambition a step further.

IM MAS (2422) vs GM YEHUDA GRUENFELD (2464)

After a rest and an eventful run, Mas starts afresh by beating an unrated player. However, will he stroll pass a deaf and mute GM Yehuda Gruenfeld from the Israel? Sadly, Mas will not have the opportunity to play the Gruenfeld Defense against Gruenfeld because he will again play the white pieces. GM Yehuda already won using the Kan variation of the Sicilian against Maxence Murara in this Olympiad, and will surely cherishes the chance to spring it again againts Mas if he pushes 1.e4.

Go, Mas!

This is the current position of IM Mas vs GM Gruenfeld. I am uncomfortable with Mas' position. I hope it is not his first defeat in this Olympiad.

Mas manages to activate his Bishop and creates a passed pawn. But it remains to be seen whether this pawn will ever advance.


Did Mas just made a mistake? GM Yehuda manages to penetrate into Mas second rank, and it appears that his Knight will join the attack too. We are hoping for the best for Mas.


As I said earlier, I did not like Mas' position, and that he made a mistake on move 38. Mas resigns as the team trails 3-0 with only Tan Khai Boon to save its blushes.

ROUND 4 : MALAYSIA (86) vs SWITZERLAND (47)

Round 4 started at appoximately 5 p.m. this evening (Malaysian time). Click on the image below to go to the live games.

IM MAS (2422) vs GM YANNICK PELLETIER (2592) PREVIEW

Mas looked sharp in this tournament so far. His next opponent will be a Grandmaster from Switzerland, GM Yannick Pelletier with FIDE rating of 2592. Mas, who drew against GM Micheal Adams (2728) and won against GM Eduardas Rozentalis (2611), will surely love another scalp in the higher rated GM Pelletier. However, being a GM since 2001, Pelletier is no pushover, having already won his national championship three times.

Mas will play White, which means he will face either a Sicilian or a French if he starts with 1.e4, or a Queen's Indian if he starts with 1.d4. A sample of Pelletier Sicilian game from his recent encounter is here, while a win against GM Granda-Zuniga using the Queen's Indian is here.

Your move, Mas!

ROUND 3: MALAYSIA (86) vs LITHUANIA (39)

I'm following the game live at the official site. So far, IM Mas can still hold with different coloured Bishops, Mok has a Knight to his opponent's Bishop, Tan has to withstand three pawn avalanche amidst his extra Bishop, while Peter is playing with all the minor pieces, i.e. 2 Knights and 2 Bishops.

View Open Section
View Women Section

GOOD LUCK MALAYSIAN OLYMPIAD CHESS TEAM

The Malaysian chess teams are flying the Jalur Gemilang at the 2010 Chess Olympiad. It is held at a little known place of Khanty-Mansiysk from 20th September - 4th October 2010.

Men's Team - seeded 86/148

Board 1 : IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (FIDE 2422)
Board 2 : IM Mok Tze Meng (2416)
Board 3 : NM Tan Khai Boon (2160)
Board 4 : FM Peter Long (2302)
Board 5 : Gregory Lau (2159) - Team captain

Women's Team - seeded 74/114

Board 1 : NWM Alia Anin Azwa Bakri (1904)
Board 2 : WCM Nur Nabila Azman Hisham (1829)
Board 3 : NWM Nurulhuda Wahiduddin (2020)
Board 4 : NWM Roslina Marmono (1933)
Board 5 : NWM Fong Mi Yen (1905)


My hopes for the Malaysian teams are that they will successfully change these numbers for the better - their team seedings and their personal ratings. I am also hoping that IM Mas Hafizulhelmi finally lands his GM title in this tournament. So far, at the time of this writing, he already secured a draw against GM Micheal Adams (2728) from England! Hopefully this draw will be the stepping stone for our country's ambition of a first GM.

Those who would like follow their news, kindly visit the official website, or our blogger hairulovchessmaniacs. You can also see the results at chessresults.com.

1st NATIONAL RAPID CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

MPP University of Petronas, in colaboration with MCF and Perak International Chess Association (PICA), will hold the 1st National Rapid Chess Championship at its campus in Tronoh, Perak. This event, held in conjunction with UTP Convofair, will be a national rated event. Those who are interested can see the poster above and download the registration form here.