10th CAS-Octagon Third Quarter Allegro Championship 2008 - 13th July 2008 at The Chess Network

We are pleased to announce our new corporate sponsor Octagon Consolidated Berhad ('Octagon') for our Quarterly Allegro series. The Chess Association of Selangor ('CAS') and the whole chess community in the country are proud to be associated with this dynamic yet environmentally caring company.

Note: Octagon is a public investment holding company listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia whose principal group activities encompass the manufacturing and trading of industrial coatings, paints, inks and related chemical products, and the development of renewable and alternative energy operations with state-of-the-art technologies. Besides Malaysia, the Octagon group have established international presence in Indonesia, Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China,Vietnam and most recently Sri Lanka. In the news recently are plans to further expand the global reach into markets in the US, Canada and Mexico through strategic technical agreements with international companies.

10th CAS Allegro series 2008 - A prelude to the 13th July Third Quarter Allegro encounter

39 players turned up in the last CAS Second Quarter Allegro 2008 with the top 10 winners well entrenched amongst the who's who in the Klang Valley. We know the eventual champion Kamaluddin as well as Ian Udani, Fariz Shafruddin, Sumant Subramaniam, Ismail Ahmad, Shahanizzam, Chow Mon Ben , Ilhamuddin and even Ronnie ( ehr.. what was he doing in 10th place?). And we did have a surprise in 2nd placed Zaidan proving once again preparation and determination can do wonders. But these elite positions are never anybody's first name....

Norazman missed the top ten when he lost the 6th round to Ian Udani. He especially thrives in time-trouble but unfortunately succumbed to the hectic pace himself. Looking on next to Ian is Fadli aka 'Stonemaster' who scored a respectable 13th position, taking cognizance allegros is not his forte.

Young man Tariq is trying to pick up again after a short lay-off. His 12th position should be a strong impetus for him going forward




Rarely joins the local circuit but has a reputation in Rapid or Blitz. Razak Saidin was at 14th position but could spring a surprise if he can come in time or has the time to compete in this upcoming Allegro



This is our future hope, and he is quite comfortable playing and rubbing shoulders with the adults. Li Tian is steadily leapfrogging to his 15th position in the last Allegro and will be knocking at the top 10 any time.



Abdullah Che Hassan is a seasoned campaigner in the local circuit but he was pushed to a poor 20th placing in the last 2nd Quarter Allegro. However he is no pushover and should rebound if he makes his appearance in this Allegro next month


While the participations had a strong field the numbers however were poor in the last two outings. CAS has no choice but to review the championship and prize structure. There is now an understanding that there should not be unnecessary clash of events in the Klang Valley. The juniors or particularly the lower rated players were not seen to want to compete with the stronger counterparts which defeats the purpose of of trying to better oneself. Playing with a fellow players with almost similar ratings may only slower the process towards excellence. One way is to reintroduce the single tier game which should encourage players to move up rapidly.

It is fortunate that CAS has this time succeeded in securing sponsorship to continue with this event with better prize monies but will not otherwise risk too much without support of the players. It is important that both the Association and the members especially to reap long term benefits rather than treat this Allegro as a weekend outing. It is not just about winning prizes, albeit a good motivator, but this competition should serve as a practice ground.

This is your passion, so please sharpen your arsenal and decisively make a date this coming 13th July CAS Third Quarter Allegro 2008 at The Chess Network.

SelangorChess News

SelangorChess shall from time to time endeavour to update group activities and other chess happenings at national and affiliate levels. Members are also invited to contribute by e-mailing us the details

Received a faxed newspaper clippings from En Michael Kimin, President of Sabah Chess Association today on the recent Malaysian Chess Federation AGM 2008. En Michael Kimin earlier indicated Sabah Chess proposes to organize a major chess tournament in the state.

On Negeri Sembilan chess, under the new committee headed by Tuan Hj Shaharuddin Sidek and his officials Kamar Dani and the rest, chess is now up and running south of the border. A number of tournaments were completed including the above Seremban Parade Open 2008 held last weekend, and a few more in the pipeline.

The Negeri Sembilan Allegro Open 2008 held earlier on in Rembau last March received overwhelming response from schools in the area as well as attracting players from other states including Selangor. Participants were also treated with F&B in conjunction with the General Election rally held in the vicinity.

The Malaysian Chess Federation hosted the visit from Ashtar Club for Chess from Babylon, Iraq in February this year. A friendly match was arranged with our local players. The friendly Malaysians triumphed but with a slim margin.









The last game of the evening when the Iraqi outwitted our player into an interesting end game draw.







Selangor chess officials were on hand as Technical Delegates to assist in the smooth running of the Chess tournament in the 4th Asean Para Games held in Khorat Thailand last January. Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Vietnam took part in the Tournament. The Malaysian chess contingent had a successful outing with 2 gold and 2 silver medals and was placed Second in the gold medal tally after Philippines who won 3 golds.

Malaysia National Closed Championship 2008 - Results

This year's National Closed attracted 72 participants in the open category and 20 in the woman's section.







Edward Lee drew the last game with Leong Mun Wan to capture the NM title and enabling both to be eligible for the Selection Tournament. Alia had an expected easier path to the NWM title needing to just draw the last two rounds.


CAS selection for Selangor, Ismail Ahmad contemplating his moves later went on to earn him a 3rd placing in the championship.
Two other Selangor representatives Justin and Zaidan however did not fare too well at 22nd and 33rd position respectively.

Persekutuan Catur Malaysia - Peralihan Kepimpinan

Organisasi yang dinamik sentiasa menerima baik perubahan untuk terus maju. Setelah agak lama mencari pengganti yang berwibawa Presiden Kehormat SeUmur Hidup Dato' Tan Chin Nam akhirnya berjaya mempelawa Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib personaliti yang tidak asing lagi di tanah air ini untuk menerajui Persekutuan Catur Malaysia. Tan Sri seterusnya mendapat undian sebulat suara memegang jawatan Presiden oleh para perwakilan di Mesyuarat Agung Tahunan pagi ini.









(Dato' Tan and TanSri Ramli bersantai di ruanglegar Cititel MidValley dan TanSri memberi ucapan ulung pada Mesyuarat berkenaan)


Sementara itu demi kesinambungan ahli-ahli perwakilan turut memilih pasukan yang agak sama menganggotai Ahli JawatanKuasa (AJK) baru bagi membantu Presiden. Persatuan Catur Selangor ('PCS') di wakili oleh Presiden En Shafruddin dan Setiausaha Kehormat IA Lim Tse Pin dalam AJK tersebut.
Turut hadir sebagai wakil PCS ke Mesyuarat ini ialah Naib Presiden En. Kamarul Zaman Khalid, Naib Presiden FM Mok Tze Meng dan Bendahari Kehormat En. Fariz Shafruddin. Adalah menjadi harapan PCS agar badan induk ini akan terus-menerus lebih telus dan memberi faedah nilaitambah dengan penghantaran yang kemas kepada ahli gabungan khasnya dan perkembangan catur di Malaysia amnya.