Selangor Selection - 29th Astro Merdeka Rapid Open Team Chess Championship 2009

(Pictured with the CAS officials are members of the elite SelangorChess 2008 squad representing Selangor. In collaboration with Majlis Sukan Negeri Selangor it was another successful outing with all the teams achieving the target of winning the top prizes in the categories that they participated in. Well Done!)

Players are invited to register your interest with CAS to represent Selangor in the upcoming Merdeka Rapid Team to be held at CitiTel MidValley from 28th August to 31st Aug 2009

National Rating - June 2009

MCF has released the June 2009 National Rating list which we have appended here. IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (right pic) is still at the top of the table with National Rating of 2312. In the coming Malaysian Masters 2009 due to start 31st July he will be in action against top FIDE rated FM Nicholas Chan (below) among others to determine the champion of champions in the country.

FM Nicholas Chan won the Selangor Open title this year but it was his top ranking among the top 4 in the FIDE list that earned him the spot. On record winning any local standard open tournaments with the exception of the top two in the National Closed or winner in the National Junior does not really matter.

WCM Nur Shazwani (right pic) is currently the country's top active woman player with a National Rating of 1863 although WIM Siti Zulaikha (NR 1961) is still at the top of the list but has not been active of late. Given that both are now in medical school and would not be as free to participate in serious tournaments a worthy successor is the newly titled WCM Nur Nabila Azman Hisham (below) with fairly respectable rating of 1731.

There are not many strong women players of this calibre but the situation is set to change with the appointment of another official into the MCF Committee.