MEVERICK WEEEKEND is next - 27th February 2011

Foremost, DATCC Management would like to extend our sincerest gratitude and thanks to all the players, participants, fans, parents, blogger, who have showed overwhelming and unexpected support towards the success of our first DATCC Weekender series event yesterday

The Renegade Rapid Chess Weekend was a indeed a successful start for DATCC 2011 programs and events and we are looking forward to receive increasing support for our next weekender series event for 2011, DATCC MAVERICK RAPID CHESS WEEKEND to be held on Sunday, 27th February.

Using the same format used for DATCC Renegade, the MAVERICK offers additional prizes and offer free entry for Renegade Champion, Best Lady and Best U12 to return and "defend" their title.

Registration is limited to the first 100 players (yes... we are changing the layout of the center to accommodate 100 players) with students who are still studying in primary and secondary school to get certificates for their participation.

Time control is 25 minutes to finish played over 7 rounds Swiss pairing.

Be on the look out for more information in the next few days to come, otherwise, you can request for information brochures for the event by sending an email to najib.wahab@chess-malaysia.com or send an SMS to +6016 338 2542 and include your email address to request for the brochure.

Thank you again for your support!

Park Ji-sung retires from international football

SEOUL, South Korea (AP): Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung of South Korea formally announced Monday his retirement from international football.

The South Korea captain, who won his 100th cap in last week's Asian Cup semifinal loss to Japan at Doha, said that chronic knee injuries have forced him to retire and make way for younger teammates.

Park, 29, says he expects to play club football for another three to four years. "It was a great honor and point of pride to play for the national football team," Park told a packed news conference in Seoul.

"Above all, I would like to make way for teammates who have been making remarkable progress," he said. "If there were no injuries, I could have continued my national team career as physically difficult as it is. However, I have no choice but to retire under the current situation.

Park singled out Son Heung-min of Hamburg SV and Kim Bo-kyung of Cerezo Osaka as promising players who can fill the gap.

Park, one of Asia's most successful football players, became the first South Korean to play in a Champions League final when Manchester United lost to Barcelona.

He has also won three Premier League titles and three League Cups with the English club.

Park was a key member of the South Korean national squad that advanced to the World Cup semifinals in 2002 on home soil - the best performance by an Asian team in football's premier event. He went on to play in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

"The happiest moment in my life was when I heard I was selected as a member of the national team," he recalled. "The 2002 World Cup was also really a happy moment."

Asked about when he expected to quit football entirely, Park said: "I haven't decided what year I'll quit. I think I can play at least three to four more years."

Still no Wei

Chong Wei fails to get the better of Chinese superstar in final

Lin Dan has yet again triumphed over Lee Chong Wei, especially when the stakes are high. The Chinese superstar defeated the world No. 1 in three games to win the South Korea Open title in Seoul yesterday. And his prize in the world’s richest-ever badminton championships was US$90,000 (RM275,000).

KUALA LUMPUR: A resilient world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei collapsed at the crucial stage to allow archrival Lin Dan of China to take the honour as the first champion of the richest tournament in badminton history.

In the US$1.2mil South Korea Open in Seoul yesterday, the three-time champion displayed a late burst of power in the rubber game to win the last six points consecutively for a 21-19, 14-21, 21-16 victory to dethrone Chong Wei as the champion.

The hard work and solid netplay over one hour and 15 minutes earned Lin Dan a jackpot purse of US$90,000 (RM275,000).

It was Lin Dan’s first title since withdrawing from three Open tournaments over the last two months – in China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. He had cited a back injury to conceded walkovers to his opponents in the quarter-finals.

There was sheer frustration for Chong Wei after coming so close to becoming the first Malaysian to win three titles in a month after the Super Series Masters Finals in Taipei and the preceding season-opening BWF World Super Series tournament in Malaysia.

It was the 18th defeat for Chong Wei by Lin Dan in 24 meetings. But the runner-up finish was worth a cool

US$45,600 (RM139,000), which was more than the winning purse for the Super Series Masters and the Malaysia Open.

And coach Misbun Sidek saluted Chong Wei for...

Full article here.

New chess boss in Uganda

Luggya elected new Chess bossBy James Ssekandi
Posted Monday, January 31 2011 at 00:00
Lugogo

Vianney Luggya beat veteran Milton Kasaija to become Uganda Chess Federation (UCF) president for the next two years at an elective assembly held over the weekend held at Lugogo.

Luggya, the Civil Aviation Authority publicity head, replaces Joseph Kaamu who has headed Federation since 2006. The latter served two terms.In a close contest the Aviation Chess Club captain polled 11 votes, two more than Mengo chess club chairman Kasaija.

Target“Our target is to take chess outside the centre of the country. We also want to put more emphasis on schools,” Luggya said after the polls that were presided over by National Council of Sports assistant general secretary Nicholas Muramagi.

Former UCF Vice Chairman and FIDE Arbiter Stephen Kisuze was returned as vice chairman after edging Robina Namwanje by a solitary vote. Chris Turyahabwe of Kireka Chess Club took the general secretary’s office after beating Enkabi Chess Club’s Bright Muke. Turyahabwe now replaces the long serving Godfrey Gali.

Andrew Bakiza Nkwasibwe, David Kibanda and veteran Joachim Okoth all had a smooth sailing as they were unopposed for the positions of treasurer, publicity secretary and national coach. Nkwasibwe replaced Albert Otete while Okoth takes over from Dr. George Zirembuzi.

Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug

It's unanimous!

Silvio Danailov elected President of the Bulgarian Chess FederationAfter unanimous vote Danailov collects 100 percent of the ballots

The current ECU President Mr. Silvio Danailov has taken one more leadership role, this time of the national Bulgarian Chess Federation. Danailov was elected to be the new President at the general assembly with 61 votes 'for' and 0 votes 'against'.

The unanimous vote is something unprecedented for any Bulgarian sports federation and comes as recognition for all that Silvio Danailov has done for the national chess in recent years. Danailov stated, "I am proud of the result and I will make everything possible to meet the expectations, I will work with a professional team and 100% dedication."

Vice Presidents in Danailov's team will be Plamen Mollov and Nikolai Nedkov, while Nikolai Velchev will continue to be executive director.

Houdini - Rybka LIVE! (Round 12)

Rybka draw with Houdini in round 11 Houdini. Click Here to watch the live game between Houdini (White) and Rybka (Black). HURRY!!!

Korchnoi continues to amaze

After 6 rounds, the nearly 80 year old legend is performing at 2733 without a single loss! What else can be said?

Rd.	SNo		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	Res.
1	99		Stebbings Anthony J	2285	ENG	2.5	w 1
2	3	GM	Caruana Fabiano	2721	ITA	4.5	s 1
3	18	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	2618	USA	4.0	w ½
4	5	GM	Bologan Viktor	2693	MDA	4.0	s ½
5	14	GM	Sandipan Chanda	2641	IND	4.0	w ½
6	6	GM	Sasikiran Krishnan	2690	IND	4.0	s ½

Rating performance: 2733

Ivanchuk takes the lead in Gibraltar

Round 6 on 2011/01/30 at 15:00

Bo.	No.		Name	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	No.
1	1	GM	Ivanchuk Vassily	4½	1 - 0	5	GM	Short Nigel D	11
2	12	GM	Fridman Daniel	4½	½ - ½	4	GM	Adams Michael	2
3	25	GM	Ikonnikov Vyacheslav	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Roiz Michael	13
4	18	GM	Akobian Varuzhan	4	0 - 1	4	GM	Mikhalevski Victor	27
5	33	IM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Gopal Geetha Narayanan	20
6	24	GM	Kacheishvili Giorgi	4	½ - ½	4	GM	Sengupta Deep	42
7	3	GM	Caruana Fabiano	3½	1 - 0	3½	GM	Lafuente Pablo	34
8	36	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	3½	1 - 0	3½	GM	Vallejo Pons Francisco	4
9	5	GM	Bologan Viktor	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	Rapport Richard	41
10	6	GM	Sasikiran Krishnan	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	Korchnoi Viktor	38
11	44	GM	Speelman Jon S	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	Onischuk Alexander	7
12	8	GM	Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter	3½	1 - 0	3½	GM	Cabrera Alexis	46
13	45	IM	Harika Dronavalli	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	Georgiev Kiril	9
14	10	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	El Debs Felipe De Cresce	50
15	14	GM	Sandipan Chanda	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	Soffer Ram	54
16	56	IM	Das Arghyadip	3½	0 - 1	3½	GM	Edouard Romain	15
17	59	IM	Bellaiche Anthony	3½	1 - 0	3½	GM	Berg Emanuel	17
18	61	IM	Melia Salome	3½	+ - -	3½	GM	Kotronias Vasilios	19
19	62	IM	Vernay Clovis	3½	0 - 1	3½	GM	Kulaots Kaido	28
20	64	IM	Battaglini Gabriel	3½	½ - ½	3½	GM	Buhmann Rainer	29
21	66	IM	Vaibhav Suri	3½	0 - 1	3½	GM	Fier Alexandr	30
22	32	GM	Lemos Damian	3½	0 - 1	3½		Szuper Paul	128

Full results here.

Rank after Round 6

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1
1	GM	Ivanchuk Vassily	UKR	2764	5.5	2969
2	GM	Short Nigel D	ENG	2658	5.0	2831
3	GM	Fridman Daniel	GER	2655	5.0	2822
4	GM	Mikhalevski Victor	ISR	2579	5.0	2622
5	GM	Sengupta Deep	IND	2530	4.5	2758
6	GM	Adams Michael	ENG	2723	4.5	2741
7	GM	Kulaots Kaido	EST	2577	4.5	2714
8	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO	2550	4.5	2712
9	GM	Roiz Michael	ISR	2649	4.5	2702
10	IM	Kosintseva Nadezhda	RUS	2552	4.5	2690
11	GM	Caruana Fabiano	ITA	2721	4.5	2674
12	GM	Gopal Geetha Narayanan	IND	2597	4.5	2667
13	GM	Kacheishvili Giorgi	GEO	2585	4.5	2650
14	GM	Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter	ROU	2678	4.5	2636
15	GM	Ikonnikov Vyacheslav	RUS	2580	4.5	2623
16	GM	Edouard Romain	FRA	2634	4.5	2589
17	IM	Bellaiche Anthony	FRA	2458	4.5	2549
18	IM	Melia Salome	GEO	2449	4.5	2521
19	GM	Fier Alexandr	BRA	2571	4.5	2461
20		Szuper Paul	USA	2174	4.5	2445

http://chess-results.com/tnr43699.aspx?art=4&lan=1&turdet=YES&m=-1&wi=1000

Wong Jianwen Declared Renegade Champion!

30 January 2011, Kuala Lumpur – Here is a picture of the final results of the Renegade Rapid Weekender at DATCC held today over seven rounds of Swiss System pairings. Wong Jianwen (picture left) was declared today’s Renegade Champion.

Wong Jianwen won by scoring 6.5 points from seven rounds of play. Second was Lim Zhou Ren, third was Kamalarifin Wahiduddin, fourth Mark Siew, fifth Low Jun Jian. All four players (2nd to fifth placing) scored 6 points each.

Wong Jian Wen, Renegade Champion.

Lim Zhou Ren, second.

The Best U-1600 went to Norizzudin Afendi Norazman with 5 points. The Best U-1400 rating went to Anis Fariha Saleh with 4.5 points, while the Best U-12 went to Ng Jen Sheng and Best Lady went to Nithayalakshmi Sivanesan with 4 points. The  Best Unrated player went to Mohd Ezmi Mahmood with 4 points. 

The troubled genius

The Troubled Genius of Bobby FischerJanuary 30, 2011

One night in 1960, author and chess fan Frank Brady sat down for dinner in a Greenwich Village tavern.

Across the table from him was Bobby Fischer, just a teenager but already a grand master of the game. Fischer was never without his pocket chessboard, and as they lingered over dinner, he pulled it out and began to rehearse for an upcoming match. His eyes glazed, his fingers flew over the little board, and he seemed completely unaware of his surroundings as he whispered to himself about possible moves.

Brady found that in the presence of Fischer's chess genius, his eyes were full of tears.

He describes the scene in his new book, Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall — From America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness.

Brady tells Weekend All Things Considered host Guy Raz that he first became aware of Fischer while both were playing in a New York chess tournament in the mid 1950s.

"I remember some older man kibitzing the game, and Bobby spun around and said, 'Please! This is a chess game!' The man was about 65 years old, and he was silenced by this child."

Brady later became friends with Fischer, and wrote about him often, including a 1965 biography.

But Fischer was a troubled genius. He dropped out of sight after winning the 1972 World Championship against Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Today, he's better known as a paranoid recluse whose frequent anti-Semitic and anti-American rants drove away friends and angered the U.S. government.

"Paraphrasing Churchill, he was an enigma inside of a conundrum," Brady says. "Think of him as the greatest chess player who ever lived. The Mozart of chess. And then think of him as a failed human being, one who fell, tremendously and quickly and swiftly, fell from grace."

Full article here.

Knight and pawn endgame

Black to move. How can Black stop White's passed pawn? How should Black proceed?

8/4k1p1/P1p5/2NpK2p/1P3P2/2P3PP/3n4/8 b - - 0 1

Short offers his Gibraltar take

'GIBRALTAR IS THE FOREMOST OPEN TOURNAMENT IN THE WORLD'

says GM Nigel Short
The first title holder of the Gibraltar international chess festival in 2003, former British Champion, GM Nigel Short, is once again back on the Rock participating in the festival for the fourth time. Nigel also won in 2004, and on his third visit came a close second. After a break of a number of years he has returned to compete in the Tradewise Chess Festival 2010... as he puts it for the “good weather” but also because he believes that from modest beginnings the festival has now become the foremost open tournament in the world.

“The Gibraltar Festival has grown tremendously. It has never been a weak tournament even in the first year. From modest beginnings, and from the first year, great efforts were made to bring some top players. It is now the foremost open tournament in the world. Everybody agrees Gibraltar is the best opens around,” he says.

Nigel, who like many players around the world has closely followed the growth of the festival, which he acknowledges has gone from strength to strength, says: “It has built up slowly, and there continues to be a steady increase in numbers with very strong players.”

IS HE SURPRISED WITH THE SUCCESS OF THE FESTIVAL IN GIBRALTAR?

“No. I am not surprised with its success because it has good organisation, and the people behind the event are very enthusiastic about it. That combination coupled with good sponsors, providing you can continue to improve on the event, then it all comes together to be what it is today, a very impressive event.”

IS HE BACK TO WIN BACK THE GIBRALTAR TITLE AGAIN?

Nigel, who says he is of course out to win the 2011 Gibraltar Master, and even though at the time of releasing this press release was leading the board, believes he has, “a very long shot for winning this tournament, and I say that as someone who has, in my three years here, won it twice, and come second, once. The tournament has improved and there are some really top class players, and there are a lot of them.”

Tata Steel Final Standings

Group A

1.	H. Nakamura	9
2.	V. Anand	8½
3.	L. Aronian M. Carlsen	8
5.	V. Kramnik M. Vachier-Lagrave	7½
7.	A. Giri R. Ponomariov	6½
9.	I. Nepomniachtchi Wang Hao	6
11.	A. Grischuk E. l'Ami J. Smeets	4½
14.	A. Shirov	4

Group B

1.	L. McShane D. Navara	8½
3.	Z. Efimenko	8
4.	L. Liem G. Sargissian W. So	7½
7.	V. Tkachiev	7
8.	R. Wojtaszek	6½
9.	L. Fressinet Li Chao	6
11.	S. Ganguly	5½
12.	W. Spoelman	5
13.	J. Hammer	4
14.	F. Nijboer	3½

Group C

1.	D. Vocaturo	9
2.	I. Nyzhnyk	8½
3.	K. Lahno	8
4.	M. Bluvshtein I. Ivanisevic D. Swiercz	7½
7.	M. Kazhgaleyev	7
8.	B. Bok T. Sachdev	6½
10.	S. Siebrecht	5½
11.	M. van der Werf	5
12.	R. van Kampen	4½
13.	J.W. de Jong R. Pruijssers	4

http://www.tatasteelchess.com