Sunday, November 18, 2012

UTP National Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship UPDATE 1


17.11.2012

A special day for both GiLoCatur and wife. It was on this date seventeen years ago that our marriage journey began. How do we celebrate it? Watching our three sweet kids - Fikri, Anis Fariha and Fahim Al-Faqeh, take part in the 3rd National Rapid Chess Championship at the UTP's main hall.

Before The Championship Kicked Off

Both U16 and U12 sections
Chess-playing children and their parents
GiLoCatur and family checked into a homestay at Taman Maju on Friday evening after making an hour journey from Teluk Batik. We spent one night at the Nipah Bay Village in Pangkor Island or Pulau Pangkor in Malay. It is one of GiLoCatur's favourite places to visit. One of the reasons is that it was the honeymoon spot for GiLoCatur and wife.

We arrived at the championship venue at around 9.30 in the morning. Many participants especially for the age group categories had already arrived with their respective parents or accompanying adults. For playing purposes due to small amount numbers of participants in some age groups, Under 8, Under 10 and Under 12 are merged into Under 12 category. Meanwhile, both Under 14 and Under 16 are merged Under 16 category.

Fahim has been registered in Under 10 category, Anis in Under 14 and their elder brother, Fikri, in the Open category. Therefore, Fahim has to play Under 8, Under 10 and Under 12 opponents. Anis, on the other hand, will play against either Under 14 or Under 16 opponents. Fikri will have tough chess opponents in the Open category which is a FIDE-rated event. It will be his first FIDE-rated rapid tournament.

 Under 12 Section

There are 73 participants in the Under 12 section which consists of three age groups - U8, U10 and U12. With national ratings of 1370, Fahim is seeded 6th. Seven rounds had completed on the first day of the two-day tournament. Fahim has scored 5/7 points. The leader for this section is a Kelantanese boy named Nik Muhammad Haziq Najmuddin who has accumulated 6.5/7 points. Can Haziq live up to his top billing to emerge as the top scorer in this section? 



 Under 16 Section

It is very obvious from the starting rank list here, Under 14 players are dominating the Under 16 section. The top rank is Dilwen Ding Tze How, a MSSM WP player. Anis is ranked third rated at 1585. After seven rounds, she has scored 6/7 points maintaining her third position. With perfect 7/7 score, Dilwen is leading seventy four players in the Under 16 section with one point margin.It looks unstoppable for Dilwen to emerge top in the section even though Anis will be his next opponent tomorrow (Sunday, 18th Nov 2012) morning.  





In the Open section, 47 participants take part including two Filipino strong players. Four players share the top position with 6/7 points. Fikri has scored 4/7 points after winning four games. He fumbled a winning edge game to an experienced local player in the fourth round.   




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