The Penang Schools' Students Chess Council (1)

Moving along with my reminiscences of the Penang Chess Association. It was still early days but there was decisions to be made about the Penang Schools' Students Chess Council (PSSCC). My friends and I realised that it had served its purpose and it was time to wind it up. Here is the brief account of the PSSCC in a circular letter which was circulated to the member schools prior to its dissolution:

THE PENANG SCHOOLS STUDENTS CHESS COUNCIL
1. FORMATION AND AIMS
An increasing awareness and demand for the establishment of an organisation representing student Chess interests in the State of Penang, can be emphatically detected in the early sixties. This realisation finally culminated in the meeting of 1966 by the representatives of the Chess Clubs from Chung Hwa High School, Chung Ling High School, Han Chiang High School, Methodist Boys School, Penang Free School and Saint Xavier's Institution, whereupori a decision was reached to initiate a body that would work for Chess interests in the schools of Penang. This body was thus created under the name of Organising Committee, and then Organising School. Later, this organisation was more appropriately renamed the Penang Schools Students Chess Council.

In forming this Council, four major aims were effected :-

(a) To stimulate and prornote Chess interests in the schools of Penang and raise the standard of play;
(b) To introduce and organise inter-school Chess tournanents, and encourage competitive rivalry in Chess;
(c) To coordinate all inter-school Chess activities in Penang;
(d) To serve as a concrete body representing student Chess interests in the State of Penang.

The majority of these aims were realised in one way or another - meetings were convened annually during which problems were worked out; but, perhaps, tho greatest achievements were the successful organisation of the annual inter-school and individual Chess tournaments for International and Chinese Chess.

2. MEMBERSHIP
The founder-members of the Penang Schools Students Chess Council were Chung Hwa High School, Chung Ling High School, Han Chiang High School, Methodist Boys School, Penang Free School and Saint Xavier's Institution. This was in 1966. With the maturing of thc Council, membership later increased to envelope the Chess Clubs of High School Bukit Mertajam, Convent Light Street,. Chung Ling High School (Private), Jelutong Secondary School, Saint George's Girls School and Saint Mark's Butterworth.

3. TOURNAMENTS
A] In accordance with the aims of the Penang Schools Students Chess Council, tournaments were organised annually to cater for players of both International and Chinese Chess. Initially, the organisation of these tournaments was in the hands of the Organising Committee. made up of members elected by the school representatives. Later, a decision was made to entrust the responsibility of organising the tournaments to each member-school on a yearly rotation basis. The organising schools concerned were :-

1966 - Chung Ling High School
1967 - Methodist Boys School
1968 - Saint Xavier's Institution
1969 - Chung Ling High School
1970 - Penang Free School
1971 - Methodist Boys School

These tournaments were purely an internal affair with the participants coming from member-schools. However, before the start of each tournament, circulars were issued to all Secondary Schools, irrespective of whether they have a Chess team or not, in Penang and Butterworth, inviting thern to join the Council and participate in the various tournanrents organised by the Council.

B] The Individuals Championships for International and Chinese Chess had been conducted annually since 1964, and with the formation of the Council, it was decided that the existing trophies would continue to be used for further championships. Thus, in addition to the introduction of inter-school International and Chinese Chess tournaments, the year 1966 also saw the organisation of the Individuals Championships for International and Chinese chess under the wings of the Council. 1968 witnessed the initiation of the Girls Individual International Chess Championships and the inter-school International Chess Championships for Girls. The year 1970 was a great leap forward for student Chess interests in Penang. Being fully conscious of the developing interest in the game arnong the younger players, the Council unhesitatingly undertook the task of introducing the inter-school Under-16 International and Chinese Chess' Charripionships as well as Individual Championships for that age~group.

4. ADVISERS
Although the Penang Schools Students Chess Council is essentially a student organisation, it is the practice of the Council to invite the Advisers of' the Chess Clubs of all member-schools to sit in the Panel of Advisers, the President ot whom is normally the Adviser of the Organising School; The pioneer Adviser to the Council during its budding years was Mr.Tan Yam San, a forrner Adviser of the Chung Ling High School Chess CIub. Mr Tan, a Chess enthusiast of great renown in Penang, was one of the prorninent figures behind the formation of the Council in 1966, and was one of the rrajor Advisers to the Council since its establishment and until even after his retirement in 1969. The Council is most grateful to Mr Tan for the invaluable assistance and guidance rendered.

5. RESULTS
The results of the various Championships organised by the Council are as follows :-

A. Penang Students Chinese Chess IndividuaI Championships
(Shield donated by Mr Ng Sui Cam)

1964 - Wong KooiFoi (Chung Ling High School)
1965 - Lau Suan Lok (Chung Ling High School)
1966 - Lau Suan Lok (Chung Ling High School)
1967 - Lau Suan Lok (Chung Ling High School)
1968 - Neoh Huat Peng (Chung Ling High School Private)
1969 - Leow Bin Khiang (Chung Ling High School)
1970 - Lim Thean Teng (Chung Ling High School)

B. Penang Students' International Chess Individual Championships
(Cup donated by Mr J Mandy)

1964 - Cheong Wee Seng (Chung Ling High School)
1965 - Cheong Wee Seng (Chung Ling High School)
1966 - Cheong Wee Seng (Chung Ling High School)

(Cup donated by Mr Cheong Yin Beng)

1967 - Cheong Yee Khoon (Chung Ling High School)
1968 - Khoo Say Guan (Penang Free School)
1969 - Koh Chong Kuan (Methodist Boys School)
1970 - Tan Seang Lin (Penang Free School)

C. Penang Inter-school International Chess Championships
(Shield donated by Messrs. Tan Yan San, Tan Jit Chay, Kok Wang Fai, Khor Gark Khim)

1966 - Chung Ling High School & Methodist Boy School
1967 - Methodist Boys School & Chung Ling High School
1968 - Chung Ling High School
1969 - Chung Ling High School & Methodist Boys School
1970 - Chung Ling High School, Penang Free School & Methodist Boys School

D. Penang Inter-school Chinese Chess Championships
(Shield donated by Mr. Ooi Chin Boon)

1966 - Chung Ling High School
1967 - Chung Ling High School
1968 - Chung Ling High School
1969 - Chung Ling High School
1970 - Chung Ling High School

E. Penang Inter-school International Chess Championships (Girls)
(Shield dotiated by Messrs Tan Yam San & Tan Chuan Huat)

1968 - Methodist Boys School
1969 - Saint Xavierst Institution
1970 - Methodist Boys School & Saint George's Girls School

F..Penang Girls International Chess Individual Championships
(Cup donated by S.X.I. Brother Director)

1968 - Ng Yoke Ling (Saint Xavier's Institution)
1969 - Hooi Choy Khuan (Methodist Boys School)
1970 - Lee Har Looi (Penang Free School)

G. Penang Inter-school Under-16 International Chess Championships
(Shield donated by the Penang Free School Chess Club)

1970 - Penang Free School 'Unicorns'
1971 - Chung Ling High School

H. Penang Inter-school Under-16 Chinese Chess Championships

1970 - Chung Hwa High School
1971 - Chung Ling High School

I. Penang Students Under-16 International Chess Individual Championships

1970 - Khaw Teik Kooi (Penang Free School), Khoo Chuan Keat (Penang Free School), Tan Seang Beng (Penang Free School) & Toh Weng Tuck (Methodist Boys School)

J. Penang Students Under-16 Chinese Chess Individual Championships

1970 - Soon Teng Kiong (Penang Free School), Yeoh Cheang Tiat (Chung Ling High School) & Seng Guan (Chung Hwa High School)

6. DISSOLUTION
On 17th June 1972 a meeting of the Penang Schools Students Chess Council was convened at Saint Xavier's Institution during which a motion proposed by Saint Xavier's Institution and seconded by Penang Free School, moving for the dissolution of the Council was unanimously passed. The motivating factors behind this move for dissolution were :-

(a) that the original aims of the Council had already been realised;

(b) that as encouragernent and support, both financially and morally, is now being given by the Ministry of Education towards the promotion of the game, the necessity for the existence of the Council is now secondary.

(c) that the member-schools are in favour of participating in Majlis Sukan Sekolah-sekolah Pulau Pinang (M.S.S.P.P.) and Low Hooi Siah Chess Tournaments organised annually.

At the meeting, the Penang Free School Chess Club was given an official mandate to prepare a short account of the history of the Penang Schools Students Chess Council, outlining the events leading to its formation, its progress and achievements, and finally its dissolution, and also to tie up all other loose ends.

It was also resolved at this meeting that all the challenge trophies for the various Inter-school and Individual Chess Championships organised by the Council be collected by the Penang Free School Chess Club and presented to the Penang Chess Association for safe-keeping and exhibition purposes.

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Penang Schools Students Chess Council would like to place on record its sincere gratitude to the following :-

(a) All founder-members, including Cheong Wee Seng, for their praiseworthy efforts In initiating the Council,

(b) All mernber-schools namely, Convent Light Street, Chung Hwa High SchooI, Chung Ling High School, Chung Ling High School (Private), Han Chiang High School, High School Bukit Mertajam, Jeluto'ng Secondary School, Methodist Boys School, Penang Free School, Saint George's Girls' School, Saint Mark's Butterworth and Saint Xavier's Institution, for their priceless support and participation in the Council's activities;

(c) Mr. Tan Yam San and all Advisers concerned for sitting in the Panel of Advisers;

(d) The folIowing donors for the presentation of the various Challenge Trophies:-

Messrs Cheong Yin Beng
Khor Gark Khim
Kok Weng Fai
J. Mandy
Ng Sui Cam
Ooi Chin Boon
Penang Free School Chess Club
S.X.I. Brother Director
Tan Chuan Huat
Tan Jit Chay
Tan Yan San

(e) Personnel of the Penang Free School Chess Club, particularly the Chairman, Khoo Chuan Keat, and Secretary, Quah Seng Sun, for the compiling of the Council's records and collection of the various Challenge Trophies for presentation to the Penang Chess Association.

With the dissolution. of tho Penang Schools Students Chess Council, thus ends a chapter in the history of Chess in the schools of Penang.

Requiescat In Pace 17th June 1972

Dated Obtober 1972