Tough competition

’Tis truly a busy season for chess players.

THE March mid-semester school break traditionally heralds a flurry of activities for chess players.

First off, there’s the annual Majlis Sukan Sekolah-Sekolah Malaysia (MSSM) chess championships.

Several weeks ago, the various states held selection tournaments among schools to pick their representatives to the MSSM.

Today, they are all congregated in Klang at the MSSM chess championships. The competition will be ending with the final round being played this morning.

As the years roll by, the competition in this championship gets tougher. There are the team and individual sections, and different events for boys and girls, classified under three age groups.

At any one time, there could easily be about 600 players in the MSSM chess championships. In each of the individual event, each state is allowed to send a maximum of two players. This would account for some 200 players in the boys and girls’ under-12, under-15 and under-18 events.

Then there are also the team events where each state sends four players. That would mean twice as many players than the individual events. So collectively, this would entail about 500 to 600 players, and scores of teachers running around at the tournament venue.

The end of the MSSM chess will mark the start of the next major junior event, the Malaysian Chess Federation’s (MCF) national age group chess championships. This year, the event will be played on April 4 and 5 at the Pearl Point shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur.

Unlike the MSSM chess championships, any junior player in the country can take part in the national age group events. All they need to do is register with the MCF. However, there are a few state chess associations that have taken the initiative to arrange group transport to Kuala Lumpur for their junior players and their parents.

MCF secretary Gregory Lau said there would be a total of 10 age group events going on simultaneously: from the under-8 competitions to the under-16 events for boys and girls.

“The winners will be eligible for selection to international age group chess events,” said Lau. “As such, we expect a good turnout from our junior players, especially those who made an impact in the MSSM chess and would like to continue their good form.”

Interested parties can download the entry form from the MCF blog at http://malaysianchessfederation.blogspot.com

Apart from the two big junior events, there is the three-day national seniors chess tournament that I wrote about last week. Anyone who is at least 55 years old will be eligible to play.

What makes this event interesting is that different time controls will be employed for players of different ages. The older a player is, the more time he will get on his clock. It’s meant to compensate for the supposedly slowing down of a player’s thinking abilities but don’t let age fool you.

I suspect that the rules were such to allow for the Grand Old Man of Malaysian chess to take part.

By the way, there’s only one Grand Old Man of Malaysian chess and if you don’t know whom I’m referring to, it’s a good excuse to make your way to the Datuk Arthur Tan Chess Centre (DATCC) at the Wilayah Complex in Kuala Lumpur this April 17 to 19 to play in this tournament or simply to watch.

For a man in his 80s, Datuk Tan Chin Nam is still in possession of a very sharp mind. A younger player may get the better of him in most games but you’ll come to regret it if you let down your guard.

I was wondering last week how many senior chess players there are in the country. It turns out that there are quite a number of them. The field is so rich that it will be foolish to think that this event is going to be easy.

For instance, any junior chess player who had participated in the MSSM chess championships while in the Upper Sixth Form in 1972 would be eligible to play. I’m not going to mention their names but they know who they are.

I’m going to throw them a proposal: come to the national seniors chess tournament and have a great time with your old chess pals.

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