In the recently concluded Penang Heritage City Open, CAS VP Mok
Tze Meng (Fide Master) swept the top prize with a convincing 7 wins and 2 draws in a 9-round standard time control to prove once again
that this veteran is still one of the top players in the country to be reckoned with. It is up to present crop of juniors to rise to the
occasion and earn the top spot, and respect from this 'old' guard and the chess community. Otherwise chess will remain in the backwaters
or a mere recreational activity to while away your weekend or serve as a fun trip for both the players and officials. We would also like to see the seniors contributing towards excellence in chess for the sports to gain a broadbased recognition
FM Anas Nazreen Bakri is not from Selangor but his chess prowess developed in Selangor or CAS to be precise. He soon represented CAS or Selangor in national chess tournaments on numerous occasions. Like many of our top chess players he also excelled in his studies. He left for the US last Saturday to pursue his studies in Chemical Engineering. He did express hope to continue to hone his chess skill in the Uncle Sam country. We would like to put on record 'Tahniah dan Selamat Maju Jaya' to FM Anas.
The Azman Hisham girls, namely Nur Najiha and Nur Nabila brought honours to the country to win the Under 10 (G) title and runner-up in the Under-12 (G) respectively in the recent 10th ASEAN Age Group+ Championships in Vietnam. The newly crowned WFM Najiha in fact hauled in another Gold in a Rapid Under-12 (G) event while WCM Nabila took Gold in the Blitz event for her category over the weekend
With this impetus the two juniors (and the others too), should move on and to at least be on par with the likes of the senior women players of recent times like WIM Siti Zulaikha and WCM Nur Shazwani. Malaysian juniors are no different from their counterparts in the region or the world but only at the lower age-group. More needs to be done, and doing it in a different way perhaps to progress further
Selangor State witnessed a flurry of chess activities too. The Ole Ole Shopping Centre in Section 18 Shah Alam had her maiden chess championship last Saturday. Helping out in the running of the tournament was our newly appointed Committee Member Puan Suffiah. MCF Deputy President Hj Ibrahim Bakar was present to give away the prizes. By the way he was also instrumental in bringing chess to this part of Shah Alam. In the picture is one of the winners Abdul Haq (in chequered shirt) receiving a hamper from the GM of Ole Ole Shopping Centre. The tournament was won by NM Zarul Shazwan
Finally last Sunday, the Tanjung Karang Open 2009 was held through the iniative of a group of chess enthusiasts in the district. WCM Nur Shazwani (in the pic receiving the prize from the main sponsor Hj Mohd Yahya Mat Sahri) held her own amongst the many male players to be among the top 10 finishers. Her brother NM Zarul Shazwan again swept the top prizeIn short Selangor has a large pool of talents and it is time for us to unite and pull our resources together for Malaysian chess to move forward