Friday 31 December 2021
Thursday 30 December 2021
Eating an orange
Since 2014 there have been some concerns about his health but no latest word is available. If he is still around, he should be in his 90s.
Here is one of several meaningful gems from his book. Be in the present. The past is gone; the future is yet to come.
When you look deeply at an orange, you realise that an orange - or any fruit - is nothing less than a miracle. Try it. Take an orange and hold it in your palm. Breathe in and out slowly, and look at it as if you were seeing it for the first time.
When you look at it deeply, you will be able to see many wonderful things - the sun shining and the rain falling on the orange tree, the orange blossoms, the tiny fruit appearing on the branch, the colour of the fruit changing from green to yellow, and then the full-grown orange. Now slowly begin to peel it. Smell the wonderful scent of the orange peel. Break off a section of the orange and put it into your mouth. Taste its wonderful juice.
The orange tree has taken three, four or six months to make such an orange for you. It is a miracle. Now the orange is ready and it says, "I am here for you." But if you are not present, you will not hear it. When you are not looking at the orange in the present moment, then the orange is not present either.
Being fully present while eating an orange, an ice cream cone, or any other food is a delightful experience.
Wednesday 29 December 2021
Shorter wait for treatment
Ever since the pandemic hit the country in March last year, there is a noticeably thinner crowd of people at the out-patient clinics. Formerly, the place would be packed with people and it would be very difficult to squeeze into the waiting area, let alone find a place to sit. What used to be people milling around the entrance, well, I haven't seen this lately. Patient control seems more efficient now. There are stricter checks at the point of entry. People whose appointments were at a later time were not allowed into the clinics to register themselves earlier.
I've been told that the less pressing cases have been diverted to the district government clinics for treatment and thus the more urgent ones are seen at the GH. In this respect, I don't know whether to consider myself lucky or not! Maybe I should, because our eyes are very important. But then holistically, all parts of our body are important, not only our eyes.
Anyway, despite social distancing at the hospital, there are now ample places to sit and wait. What also used to be a long, long wait for treatment has improved remarkably. I was in and out of the hospital - and it included waiting time to collect my medication - within two hours! (Before the pandemic, if my appointment had been scheduled for 9am, I would invariably leave the hospital only after 3pm: a six-hour wait for consultation!)
This consultation period could have been shorter but I had to wait for my eyes to be properly dilated, and this took up about 40 minutes! Four times I had to have their eye drops because each time the nurse commented that my eyes weren't dilated enough. This caused me some problems eventually because my eyes became overly sensitive to the glare of the midday sun. It wouldn't have been so bad if I received only one one or two eye drops, but I had four!
Luckily, like always, my wife had driven me to the hospital because this matter of my eye dilation had occurred before. Extra careful now. She has been driving me to the hospital and back. And luckily for once, I had the presence of mind to bring along my dark shades. What would I have done without them yesterday!
Sunday 26 December 2021
Li Chun (立春), 2022
When I was writing about the Tang Chek festival a few days ago, my mind was on what comes next. What Chinese festival would we would be celebrating next? According to the calendar, the Chinese New Year holiday will fall on 01 February 2022 to coincide with the new moon.
At 4.52am (2052 UTC) on this date, the sun is calculated to have crossed the 315° longitudinal line in the sky. This important event heralds the annual Li Chun (立春) or the Coming of Spring. In the olden days when I was still staying in Seang Tek Road, my grandparents - all Baba Nyonyas in Penang - would more commonly say Jip Chun instead of Li Chun.
It is all cultural, by the way, nothing religious about Jip Chun at all. The sun crosses the imaginary longitudinal line in the sky. The day comes and the day goes. The only traditions that I shall attach to this day are to fill up the rice bucket to the brim and then stick a new piece of red paper with the character Chun (春) on it to signify continuous abundance for the forthcoming year.
That's all the symbolism I shall attach to the moment. And because the exact time of Jip Chun is in the early pre-dawn hours, at 4.52am, I shall wait for a more appropriate time to accomplish this task. After that? Well, it is still Chinese New Year after all. What DO you do during Chinese New Year, anyway?
By the way, I've been writing diligently about Jip Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and you can still read them here:
Li Chun. 2021
Li Chun, 2020
Li Chun, 2019
Li Chun, 2018
Li Chun, 2017
Li Chun, 2016
Li Chun, 2015
Li Chun, 2014
Li Chun, 2013
Li Chun, 2012
Li Chun, 2011
Li Chun, 2010
Li Chun, 2009
Li Chun, 2008
Li Chun, 2007
Saturday 25 December 2021
Tuesday 21 December 2021
Monday 20 December 2021
The flooding of Kuala Lumpur
Anyway, one of my cousins, also in Form Five but in a different school, asked whether I would like to join him on a short holiday trip to Kuala Lumpur. Immediately I had said yes to him because for the first time I could travel on my own outside my family.
The reason soon became clear. It had rained heavily and parts of the city were impassable to traffic. But somehow, we managed to make our way to the Selangor Mansion where he was staying. From the window of his flat, we realised that we had arrived in a flooded Kuala Lumpur. As far as our eyes could see, there was yellow, muddy water where the streets should have been. We took refuge in his flat for a day, I think, before we could leave and make our way to Petaling Jaya.
Another Penang-born Singaporean, of course!
Reality check for the politicians and little napoleons. When you start meddling in the lives of the local population, it is time for them to seek greener pastures elsewhere. So, congratulations to Penang-born Singaporean badminton player Loh Kean Yew for attaining a success which remains an elusive dream for many here in Malaysia.
December moon 2021
I was awakened this morning just before 5.30am. Despite the drawn curtains, the bedroom was unusually brighter than normal, unlike previous nights. It was moonlight trying to stream its way into the room and lighting up the curtains! That could mean only two things. One, it has to be the full moon. And two, the sky was clear after several days of light rain and thick cloud cover. Sure enough, there was a bright orb of light hanging low in the sky. My mind was alert enough to make me jump out of bed and seek out my camera to record the moment.
The moon was 99.5% illuminated. It was already waning but still full enough. According to astronomy websites, the exact full moon occurred yesterday at 11.26am local time, which meant that a full 18 hours had passed before I took the pictures. But the sky last night, like many previous nights, was thick with clouds because of the low-pressure depression and accompanying rain that had swept over the peninsula during the weekend. So no moon to be seen then.
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| 1/1000s, f5.6, ISO 2000 |
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| Moon halo 1/30s, f5.6, ISO 2000 |
Sunday 19 December 2021
80th anniversary (5): From the Japanese perspective
At four o'clock in the afternoon on this date 80 years ago (19 December 1941), the first Japanese troops landed on Penang island. This was a result of Penang surrendering after nine days of continuous bombardment by Japanese enemy aircraft and the quiet evacuation of the British military garrison and European civilians. With the island now totally defenceless, it fell upon the local civilians to fly the white flag to signify Penang's surrender to the Japanese military. In today's 80th anniversary story, the last of my five-part commemoration of the sad occasion, I shall reproduce two stories from The Syonan Shinbum newspaper.
To mark the first anniversary of the Japanese invasion, The Syonan Shinbum of 08 December Showa 17 (昭和 17 年) (Showa 17 is 1942), carried a full page of stories that glorified the Japanese achievement. They were propaganda but there was still useful information to glean from them.
Domei in the stories referred to the Japanese Empire's Domei News Agency. It was dismantled after the Allies defeated Japan at the end of the Second World War. Part of this news agency is today Kyodo News.
In my previous story (the link to Part 4 appears at the end of this story), I had mentioned how the Union Jack was lowered from Fort Cornwallis and a white flag had replaced it as a sign of surrender. I had also related how a local radio station had broadcast a message of surrender to the Japanese. In the first story below, we learn of a third attempt at informing the Japanese through three men who had rowed across the Channel and made their way to the Japanese headquarters in Kuala Muda.
Penang Saved From Needless Bombing (Domei)
HOW THREE MEN, two released Japanese internees and a Eurasian jockey, rowed in a sampan to Kedah to inform the Japanese Army of Penang's surrender, in one of the most interesting stories of the entire Malayan campaign.When the British garrison marched out of Penang on the night of Dec 16, the general belief was that hostilities, as far as the island was concerned, were over. But when Japanese bombers continued their raids, attention was drawn to the fact that the Union Jack was still flying over Fort Cornwallis, and the people realised that the British had evacuated without declaring Penang an open town.
Leaders of the various communities held a hurriedly convened meeting and it was decided to broadcast a message to the Japanese troops that Penang had surrendered. The Prai power station, source of the island's electricity supply, having been dynamited by the British forces a day before they evacuated, arrangements were made to tap the current generated by an emergency plant at the local hospital.
With this current, the Penang Broadcasting Station, operated by local radio technicians, again started functioning. At short intervals, the message of surrender was read out, and in between gramophone records were played as in a regular radio programme. In addition, two newspapermen volunteered to lower the Union Jack at Fort Cornwallis and and hoist the white flag in its place. Amid the drone of raiding planes, this was carried out.
The most effective measure to inform the advancing Japanese troops of Penang's capitulation, was a decision to send a delegation to the mainland and contact the Japanese personally, Two Japanese internees, released when the British garrison evacuated, and a Eurasian, I. Allan, a jockey by profession, left in a sampan on the morning of Dec 17 and after 10 hours of strenuous rowing in a choppy sea crossed the channel and reached Kuala Muda in Kedah.
From there, the three men without any rest left for Sungei Patani, Headquarters of the Japanese Forces. They contacted them the following day at noon, and gave them an account of how Penang had surrendered and that Japanese nationals were trying to restore order. This saved Penang from further bombing.
At 6pm on the evening of Dec 19, Japanese troops landed.
During the Japanese Occupation, all clocks were moved forward by two hours to synchronise with the official time in Japan. Thus, the 4pm mentioned in my previous post (Part 4) appeared in the newspaper story above as 6pm. They both referred to the same time. Also, the Eurasian jockey's full name was Ivan Allan.
The second story is also from the same issue of The Syonan Shinbum which gloated over the surrender of Penang. The part of the story of the story that interested me was the aerial dogfights over the mainland. In The Sara Saga, Saravanamuttu said that he was the local representative that submitted the report to Reuter's office in Singapore. He wrote: "As Reuter's correspondent in North Malaya, after careful investigation and interviewing one of the British pilots, who had baled out, at the Penang General Hospital, I reported that four British planes were brought down while all the enemy planes got away safely. However, the official communique interchanged the words 'British' and 'enemy' and this shook my confidence in official communiques after that."
Surrender of Penang A Story of 'Shameful Cowardice' (By a Domei Staff Writer)
PENANG is not by any means the most strategic point in Malaya and no great battle was waged to bring about its fall, yet the story of the surrender of this island may well occupy an important place when the history of the Greater East Asia War comes to be written.
It is a story of shameful cowardice, of how high British officials deserted their posts at the first sign of danger, and how the European civilians were evacuated in the dead of night, leaving the local population in chaos.
Perhaps more than in any other place in Malaya, the manner of the fall of Penang showed up the hollowness of British propaganda and exposed the truth that the British do not care if all Asiatics die as long as not a single Briton is imperilled.
When war broke out early in the morning of Dec 8, few in Penang were aware of it until special newspaper editions carried the report of the landing on Kota Bahru, the raid on Singapore and the historic attack on Pearl Harbour. The sensation, as was only to be expected, was tremendous but beyond the policemen posted outside Japanese business premises and residents, there were no visible signs of a "war atmosphere."
Long years of British propaganda extolling Malaya's strength had lulled the population, especially the European section of it, into such a state of comatose complacency that they still refused to believe that the war could be brought to Penang.
Within a week that fond illusion was shattered as Japanese bombers smashed shipping, and harbour and aerodrome facilities, crushing resistance with no great difficulty. Not more fatal to British prestige than the defeat in arms were the incredible war communiques issued by British Military Headquarters in Singapore and the even more incredible conduct of British officials.
Everyone saw for himself the dogfights over the mainland in which the defenders invariably came off worst: next day they read in the papers that Japanese planes had been shot down! What they did not know was that the local representative of Reuter's news agency had sent a cable to his head office in Singapore reporting the loss of four British planes and that his report had been issued as a communique by Headquarters with the word "Japanese" substituted.
As the air raids continued, the Chinese, the Indians, the Malays and the Eurasians panicked but none in such a fashion as the British officials. The Resident Councillor moved his office from the waterfront to his house four miles away from the town, and the Chief Police Officer deserted his post, later, shamed into some semblance of manhood by the terrible disorder in the town, re-establishing his headquarters in a building in the residential area. In short, the two men who should have tried to maintain order and seen to the continued operation of vital public services were conspicuous by their absence. The other British officials were no better.
And while looting proceeded unchecked in the business centres of the town and the officials were in hiding, the people of Penang continued to read exhortations by Sir Shenton Thomas, telling them to keep their chins up, and declaring that "every inch of the country will be defended."
Last act of the British tragedy in Penang was enacted on the night of Dec 16, when the garrison evacuated and the white population snacked out on their heels, with no thought for the chaos they had left behind.
Here it may be mentioned that in sharp contrast, this callous attitude, the Japanese military attempted to restore order in Penang even before they occupied it. In their daily flights over the island, the planes dropped thousands of pamphlets, warning looters to cease their plundering immediately. When the Japanese occupation troops set foot on Penang on Dec 19, they took effective measures to check the criminal elements and, what was equally important, arrange for sale of rice to the people.
The measure of co-operation that the people of Penang have been and are giving to the Japanese Administration tells more eloquently than mere words the feelings of gratitude towards the men who came as conquerors and have remained as friends.
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Thursday 16 December 2021
80th anniversary (4): White flag
Eighty years ago, the Japanese military invaded Malaya and bombed Penang. This is the fourth instalment of my five-part stories to commemorate this sad occasion. It is quite safe to say that many families in Penang, if not all, were affected by the atrocities. I know that mine were displaced. On my maternal side, my grandparents fled to the hills, the chau huan that I had mentioned in Part 2. My paternal grandparents probably did the same too and they never really recovered after the Occupation was over. My father continued with his education at Penang Free School after the War but because of the pressing economic circumstances, he had to quit within the year to find work and support the family (at that time comprising his parents and a sister.) Such sacrifices were not uncommon as the local population tried everything to rebuild.
So far, we know that by 16 December 1941, the British had completed their evacuation from Penang: over four successive nights, they quietly removed their civilians and military garrison by train or ship down to Port Swettenham and eventually, Singapore.
Few people knew what happened on the island in the days between that evacuation process and the arrival of the Japanese. Six years later in 1947, not too long after the Japanese Occupation days were over, The Straits Times carried an account of those three days which was written by Oh Kee Tiang, a member of the "D" (Chinese) Company of the Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps who was there to help restore order in a town where law and order had ceased to exist.
PANDEMONIUM, chaos and lawlessness were rampant when Penang, for the first time in her history, became an open town six years ago today, on Dec 17, 1941. It was an experience few who went through it will ever forget.
In the little village of Ayer Itam, nestling at the foot of Penang Hill, 80 member of "D" (Chinese) Company of the 3rd Battalion, Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps), under the command of Lieut Lim Koon Teck (now Crown Counsel, Singapore) formed a special volunteer police force to give security to 80,000 evacuees during those hectic days.
Assisted by members of the Medical Auxiliary Service, including a few doctors, Air Raid Wardens under Group Warden Khor Ewe Kin (recently commended by the Governor of the Malayan Union) and local Defence Corps, they patrolled the village and outlying areas throughout the day and night, keeping a strict vigil against looting and pillaging.
The decision of this gallant band of volunteer workers who accepted the task of restoring order out of chaos when the whole population was running riot without a government, was the result of a conference by members of the Chinese Company with Lieut Lim Koon Teck at the semi-deployment camp, Telok Bahang, on the morning of Dec 17.
Before the evacuation of the European members of the Battalion, "D" (Chinese) Coy, was fallen in at the camp at about 2pm on Dec 16.
Officer Commanding the Company, Capt Pooley, then gave the last order of the day. The Battalion was moving over to the mainland to do "rear guard" action down to Singapore. But the Commanding Officer, Lt-Col EA de Buriatte, had secured the option for the Company to stay back if they wished, no provisions having been made by the authorities to look after the dependents of volunteers.
"If you come with us, you may win greater glory. But there is no dishonour in staying back," were the words of Capt Pooley. One officer from "D" (Chinese) Coy went down to Singapore with the Battalion. He was Lieut Lim Chiam Ghee who has been missing ever since.
The rest of the Company, under the command of Lieut Lim Koon Teck, were instructed to act as a military police force for the maintenance of law and order. They were told to report to the Chief Police Office at the new racecourse, Batu Gantong, the next morning in "full fighting order."
That night Lieut Lim Koon Teck and a platoon of men patrolled the town in a lorry.
"At 8am, I left Telok Bahang Camp with 25 men in one available lorry to report to the CPO at New Racecourse as instructed," wrote Lieut Lim on Dec 17, 1941. "When we arrived at the racecourse camp, no one was to be found. We went to the Indian Association and the new Police Headquarters to look for him, but in vain."
The town was deserted save for looters. Bombs were still falling. Lieut Lim left the men and returned to Telok Bahang where the remainder of the Company were still awaiting orders.
He told the men that the CPO could not be found.
A conference was held in the dining shed and a unanimous decision to go to Ayer Itam, as this area contained the largest part of the population of Penang, was reached.
At 11.30am that day, 25 men under Lieut Lim occupied the Ayer Itam Police Station. The rest of the men went along in whatever transport was available.
Ayer Itam village was in chaos. Every house right up to the interior of Paya Terubong was filled with evacuees. The Dispersal Camp at Thean Teik Estate had more refugees than it could shelter. There was no law or order. All public services were disrupted. Shops were closed and barricaded for fear of looters. Rifle shots were heard at night. The streets were strewn with refuse that had not been swept.
Armed patrols were soon organised. With arm bands bearing the letters "C.P.", they went around the village and outlying areas continuously throughout the 24 hours of the day and night, keeping a strict vigil for looters.
Discarded arms at the Chinese Recreation Club were collected. Armed guards were placed at the water reservoir at Ayer Itam, the petrol dump at Jelutong and the rice godowns at Kampong Bharu, to prevent them from being looted.
Field kitchens were established where kanji was distributed to the destitute and homeless.
Mr Lim Cheng Ean, a prominent local Chinese lawyer, joined the force as adviser. He was in charge of rice-rationing (sold at 45 cents a gantang) and price control, particularly of foodstuffs.
With the return of confidence shops re-opened. Vegetable gardeners brought their produce to sell. Street stalls mushroomed overnight and lined both sides of the road.
Road cleaners returned to work. Sanitation and anti-malarial work were resumed.
In the meantime a public meeting of residents of Penang was called at the Francis Light School and the outcome of that meeting was the appointment of a Committee, named the Penang Service Committee, to take charge of the town and organise the various essential services.
Headed by Mr M Saravanamuttu, editor of the Straits Echo, the Committee included seven doctors and two Europeans.
The Committee got in touch with Lieut Lim at Ayer Itam and an agreement was reached to co-operate to maintain peace in Penang.
Bombing was still going on and the Committee hoisted the White Flag at the hospital and the Residency to indicate that Penang was now an open town. The Union Jack at the Flagstaff was hauled down and the White Flag hoisted in its place.
Mr AS Willwebber was put in charge of the Volunteers Police Force in the town area, comprising ex-volunteers, air raid wardens, LDC, etc.
A sub-committee was appointed to take measures to safeguard the health of the town, and resume town cleaning and nightsoil removal.
A post office was opened at the Chinese Convent School, Dato Kramat Road, for delivery of letters to those who called there between 10am and noon daily.
An express delivery service for telegrams within Penang was also opened, and a daily hand printed bulletin was issued by the Committee.
Rice-distribution centres were established at Pulau Tikus toddy shop, Jelutong toddy shop, Balik Pulau and Tanjong Bungah. Those who could afford to pay were entitled to purchase one gantang of rice at 45 cents. Cooked rice was given to those who could not pay for their rice.
With the help of the emergency electric plant at the General Hospital, the Penang Wireless Society transmitter was put in operation and from 9am to noon on Dec 19, the following appeal was put on the air at regular frequent intervals:
This is Penang calling on ZHJ on 49.3 metres. This is Penang calling the Japanese Headquarters in Malaya. Penang is an open town. There are no armed forces nor any defence whatever in Penang. The British have evacuated Penang. Please stop bombing Penang. Please reply on the 38 megacycle band by telephony or morse.
No reply was received. But at 10am that day, pamphlets asking the public to keep order were dropped by Jap planes. In the meantime, interned Japs who had been released from the prison utilised Dato Kramat ground to write a message in Japanese with white textiles for Japanese airmen to see.
At 4pm that same day, the first Japanese troops landed in Penang.
The Committee insisted that the Union Jack at the top of the flagstaff at Fort Cornwallis should be hauled down. I told the Committee that that should be the task of the Japanese when they occupied the island but the Committee to a man insisted that it constituted a danger and that it was the cause of the continued bombing. They assumed that it was my duty as Chairman of the Committee to do it but when I called for volunteers to accompany me, not one came forward! So I got one of my staff, a sub-editor by the name of RS Gopal, to keep me company as I drove through the bombed area to the Fort. It was an eerie experience with dead bodies strewn about on the streets and buildings blazing on all sides. When we got to the Fort, we found that the Union Jack had been sewn on to the rope of the flagstaff and could not be hauled down. So poor Gopal had to climb the rope ladder to the top and cut the flag free from the rope.
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TO BE CONTINUED....
Wednesday 15 December 2021
The 1971-2021 calendars
We are down to the final 17 days of 2021. With so many social activities curtailed due to the coronavirus, this is a largely forgettable year. But Tang Chik or Tung Chik (or as some would like to call it Dongzhi, 冬節), the celebration of the winter solstice, just round the corner on the 21st of the month and following which will be Christmas, there is much to cheer.
I don't observe Christmas but I enjoy the festival and the Christmas songs. As for Tang Chik, I shall be making my way down to the Swee Cheok Tong for the annual worship of our resident deities and paying respects at the memorial altars. However, there'll be no big celebration again as we are still fearful of the virus. What we shall have are the small-scale worship only.
I shall end today's blog entry by asking whether anyone is aware of the acute similarity between the calendars of 2021 and 1971. The two calendars are exactly 50 years apart but a sharp-eyed observer can see that the two calendars are exactly the same, save for the year. The first of January had begun on a Friday in both cases and shall end on a Friday too on the 31st of December.
For calendars to be exactly 50 years apart and still have the same start and end days, I've noticed that it occursevery four years. It last happened for the 2017 and 1967 calendars. No doubt, it will come round again in 2025 when the calendar replicates 1975.
Tuesday 14 December 2021
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn (2)
Today, I read from facebook an item on Solzhenitsyn which was posted in A Daily Dose of History. It's quite interesting and I feel that by reproducing it here, I can ensure that I can retrieve the story easier from my own blog than to search for a story that's buried beneath millions of facebook posts. So here it is:
While serving in the Soviet army in the closing days of World War II, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote a letter to a friend, in which he was critical of Josef Stalin and Stalin’s conduct of the war. The letter was discovered by Soviet intelligence authorities and Solzhenitsyn was sentenced to eight years in a work camp. When his term ended, Solzhenitsyn was sent to internal exile in rural Kazakhstan. While there he would experience a philosophical and religious transformation that informed the rest of his life’s work.In 1956 Solzhenitsyn was released from exile and permitted to return to Moscow, where he taught high school and secretly began writing his novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, describing life in a Stalinist work camp. In 1960 Solzhenitsyn risked showing the manuscript to a Soviet editor. Because Khrushchev was attempting to purge the Soviet Union of Stalinism, he personally approved the book’s publication, and it became a smash hit. But Solzhenitsyn didn’t remain long in favor. Subsequent works were prohibited as being “anti-Soviet” and after Khrushchev was removed from power, Solzhenitsyn was deemed a “non-person” and the KGB raided his home and seized his manuscripts.
During this time, Solzhenitsyn was secretly writing his Gulag Archipelago, a three-volume examination of life in Soviet labor camps, hiding portions of the manuscript at the homes of various friends. In 1973, after the KGB had located and seized one of the three copies of the manuscript, Solzhenitsyn had a microfilmed copy smuggled out of the country and in December it was published in Paris.
The Soviet authorities felt somewhat constrained in what they could do to Solzhenitsyn, who had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970 and was an international celebrity. The Politburo considered sentencing him to life in prison, but instead deported him to West Germany. Solzhenitsyn made his way to the United States where he lived and worked for almost 20 years. While he praised and admired Western liberty and democratic values, Solzhenitsyn criticized the West for underappreciating, devaluing, and misusing them. He also criticized the West’s cultural weakness and its loss of religious and spiritual grounding.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Solzhenitsyn returned to Russia, where he was received as a hero. He died in August 2008, at age 89.
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was born on December 11, 1918, one hundred three years ago today.
“(T)he line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years…. If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.”
Monday 13 December 2021
80th anniversary (3): Silent evacuation
Still on the topic of the Japanese Occupation, today (13 December 1941) marks the 80th anniversary of yet another significant event. Eighty years ago, the first of four quiet evacuations of the British from Penang soil took place. Although not apparent at that time, these evacuations also signalled that the British Empire itself could be unravelling in South-east Asia. Never mind that Britain came back after Japan had surrendered in Penang on 02 September 1945.
The fact remained in many people's mind that by these silent evacuations following the failure to mount an adequate resistance to defend the island despite months of intelligence information and preparation, Britain were no longer at the top of their game if they were unable to offer more to their far-flung colonies around the globe. By fleeing, they had lost their moral right to continue governing Penang, or Malaya for that matter.
At this point, it may be useful to refer to a calendar to really appreciate the swift sequence of events. The December 1941 calendar is one if we want to know what occurred in the first days of the Japanese invasion into Penang.
As an epilogue to this story, there's more to add. Saravanamuttu's memoir should not be taken as the last word in this story of the evacuations from Penang island. In a more recent book, Penang at War 1914-1945, author Andrew Barber claimed that Shenton Thomas, the Governor of the Straits Settlements, was never in favour of this Europeans-only evacuation. In a post-war record of the events leading up to the Penang evacuation, Shenton Thomas wrote:
We know that on 08 December 1941 (Monday), Japanese planes began their sorties over the island. There were similar flights over George Town on the ninth and 10th of December too. No bombs were dropped on the town yet but the airfields in Bayan Lepas and Butterworth were their targets. The intention was to destroy the runways so that the Royal Air Force planes would remain grounded or destroyed and the Japanese could roam the skies at will. Besides here, the airfield at Sungai Petani was also hit on the same day.
Of those that remained behind in the town centre on 12 December 1941 (Friday), the bombings brought out the worst in people. Amidst a second round of Japanese bombing of George Town, law and order disappeared.
Then came the bombing and machine-gunning of the civilians on 11 December 1941 (Thursday) which left huge swathes of devastation in the Chinese quarter of George Town. Hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians were killed, maimed or sustained serious injuries. In its aftermath, many civilians took to the hills of Ayer Itam and Balik Pulau for safety.
According to M Saravanamuttu (or Sara for short) who was then the Chief Editor of the Straits Echo newspaper, the police force simply dissolved the day after the first bombs were dropped. The fire brigade became non-functional. Mobs formed everywhere and looting became rife. Everything that could possibly be taken were removed from the empty shops: food, provisions, liquor, cigarettes, hardware and many others. Even locked-up houses were not spared.
(The Japanese administration later dealt with the looting in a most brutal yet efficient way. They caught two looters and left their decapitated heads on poles outside the central market. The effect was immediate as all the looting stopped.)
On the following night, 13 December 1941 (Saturday), the women and children of the European community were quietly evacuated from the island, crossing over to the mainland to take the train to Singapore and arriving there two days later.There were more quiet evacuations to come. The Malaya Tribune of 20 December 1941 reported the withdrawal of the British Garrison in Penang with a large headline but rather short on detail. All that the newspaper could print was: "In a broadcast talk last night the Right Hon A Duff Cooper, the (newly appointed) British Cabinet Minister for the Far East, revealed that the garrison of Penang had been evacuated. It is not, however, stated when the withdrawal from Penang took place, but it may have been when our forces on the mainland retired to new positions along the Sungei Krian." 
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser held more revelations. In its 20 December 1941 frontpage story, it reported that "the majority of the civilian population of Penang has been evacuated," as announced by Duff Cooper. This statement reeked of the colonial-centric mentality of that time. By "civilian population" he meant only the European civilian population and disregarding the whole Asiatic civilian population who had now been left behind to their own devices. The so-called local population whose pre-Occupation allegiance was largely to the British Crown meant little to him, "The news is grave tonight," Duff Cooper said in his radio broadcast from Singapore. "Our forces have been obliged to retreat in the north-west of Malaya, and as this retreat exposes Penang to attack and we have not sufficient troops with which to garrison it, it has been necessary to evacuate the majority of the civilian population.
I gathered just as much when writing Let the Aisles Proclaim. I was attempting to uncover information on the impact of the Japanese Occupation on Penang Free School and along the way, also learnt of the fascinating details of the evacuation:
However, Sara had noted in his memoir, The Sara Saga, that the garrison had left the island on the 14th and 15th of December, the Sunday and Monday after the first wave of Japanese bombings.
"It is impossible at present to know all the facts and until all the facts are known, we can only be thankful that so many people have been safely removed, and wish the best of luck to those who still remain," he went on. "It was obvious that the whole population could not be evacuated in the time or in the shipping which was available, and many doubtless who had their homes and families there and had lived there all their lives preferred to remain."
Thus it was that on 16 December 1941 (Tuesday), five days after the Japanese attacks, the entire male European civilian population were removed from Penang as well. Saravanamuttu was pretty much incensed when he learnt about the stealth evacuations. "The manner in which it was done was reprehensible in the extreme," he grumbled in his memoir. "No attempt was made to inform the local residents so that they could carry on the essential services of the town. They evacuated Penang secretly by night....they ran away like thieves in the night."
The Japanese bombing raids had a devastating effect on the morale of the British residents on the island. On the night of 13th December, there was a quiet evacuation of European women and children. Under stealth of darkness, they travelled by ferry to Prai and boarded the train to Singapore. The following morning, the General Officer Commanding, Malaya, Lt. General A.E. Percival suggested abandoning the defence of Penang. The white flags were raised over Fort Cornwallis, the General Hospital and the Residency, and Penang was declared an open town. In the early evening of 16th December, the ‘white only’ evacuation began of all the remaining European civilians in Penang. Except for a very few of them who chose to remain behind, the Resident Councillor (Leslie Forbes) and his senior officials, as well as the remnants of the 5/14 Company Punjabis and an Indian Army labour contingent, all set off by steamer vessels down the Straits of Malacca to Port Swettenham. (Leslie W) Arnold was never to set foot again in Penang and thus ended his tenure, under the confusion of war, as Headmaster of the Free School.
The bad thing about Penang was its hasty evacuation by the whole of the European population with the exception of two or three who refused to move. The order was given by the military, and the civil Government in Singapore knew nothing about it and would not have approved. This was made quite clear. We should have been able to point out the disastrous effect on morale of such a move. We stood for no racial discrimination (this should also be made clear) and my final telegram to the Resident Councillor dated December 16th read: 'In any evacuation, preference should be given to those who are essential to the war effort, without racial discrimination.' This order to the Resident Councillor came from me, and not from Percival..... Duff Cooper was not in favour of the words underlined, but gave way. On December 23rd I received instructions from the Colonial Office supporting this policy; no other was of course possible if we were to retain any sort of respect.
<< PREVIOUS (PART 2)
<< PREVIOUS (PART 1)
TO BE CONTINUED....
Sunday 12 December 2021
Meltdown
Finally, the world chess championship match between the defending champion, Magnus Carlsen, and his official challenger, Ian Nepomniachtchi, is over. Nepomniachtchi was already trailing by two games when I wrote about the match six days ago. He threw so much caution away in trying to overturn this deficit that his play simply fell apart. Two more losses in the next three games and that was that: the match was over! Carlsen had won 7½-3½.
[Site "Dubai, United Arab Emirates"]
[Date "2021.12.07"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2855"]
[WhiteFideId "4168119"]
[BlackFideId "1503014"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2855"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. O-O Bc5 6. d3 Nf6 7. Nbd2 a5 8. Nb3 Be7 9. e3 dxe3 10. Bxe3 Ng4 11. Bc5 O-O 12. d4 a4 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Nc5 a3 15. bxa3 Rd8 16. Nb3 Nf6 17. Re1 Qxa3 18. Qe2 h6 19. h4 Bd7 20. Ne5 Be8 21. Qe3 Qb4 22. Reb1 Nxe5 23. dxe5 Ng4 24. Qe1 Qxe1+25. Rxe1 h5 26. Bxb7 Ra4 27. c5 c6 28. f3 Nh6 29. Re4 Ra7 30. Rb4 Rb8 31. a4 Raxb7 32. Rb6 Rxb6 33. cxb6 Rxb6 34. Nc5 Nf5 35. a5 Rb8 36. a6 Nxg3 37. Na4 c5 38. a7 Rd8 39. Nxc5 Ra8 0-1
[Site "Dubai, United Arab Emirates"]
[Date "2021.12.08"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2855"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[WhiteFideId "1503014"]
[BlackFideId "4168119"]
[WhiteElo "2855"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nd3 Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. Nf4 Nf6 7. d4 Nc6 8. c3 d5 9. Nd2 Nd8 10. Nf3 Qxe2+ 11. Bxe2 Bd6 12. O-O O-O 13. Bd3 Re8 14. Re1 Rxe1+ 15. Nxe1 Ne6 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. g3 g6 18. Ng2 Re8 19. f3 Nh5 20. Kf2 c6 21. g4 Ng7 22. Bf4 Bxf4 23. Nxf4 g5 24. Ne2 f5 25. h3 Kf7 26. Rh1 h6 27. f4 fxg4 28. hxg4 Bxg4 29. Rxh6 Bf5 30. Bxf5 Nxf5 31. Rh7+ Ng7 32. fxg5 Kg6 33. Rh3 Kxg5 34. Rg3+ Kf6 35. Rf3+ Ke7 36. Nf4 Kd6 37. Ng6 Re6 38. Ne5 Ne8 39. Rf7 Rf6+40. Rxf6+Nxf6 41. Ke3 1/2-1/2
[Site "Dubai, United Arab Emirates"]
[Date "2021.12.10"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2855"]
[WhiteFideId "4168119"]
[BlackFideId "1503014"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2855"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. Re1 Ba7 8. Na3 h6 9. Nc2 O-O 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Nxe3 Re8 12. a4 Be6 13. Bxe6 Rxe6 14. Qb3 b6 15. Rad1 Ne7 16. h3 Qd7 17. Nh2 Rd8 18. Nhg4 Nxg4 19. hxg4 d5 20. d4 xd4 21. exd5 Re4 22. Qc2 Rf423. g3 dxe3 24. gxf4 Qxg4+ 25. Kf1 Qh3+ 26. Kg1 Nf5 27. d6 Nh4 28. fxe3 Qg3+29. Kf1 Nf3 30. Qf2 Qh3+ 31. Qg2 Qxg2+ 32. Kxg2 Nxe1+ 33. Rxe1 Rxd6 34. Kf3 Rd2 35. Rb1 g6 36. b4 axb4 37. Rxb4 Ra2 38. Ke4 h5 39. Kd5 Rc2 40. Rb3 h4 41. Kc6 h342. Kxc7 h2 43. Rb1 Rxc3+ 44. Kxb6 Rb3+ 45. Rxb3 h1=Q 46. a5 Qe4 47. Ka7 Qe7+ 48. Ka8 Kg7 49. Rb6 Qc5 0-1
Saturday 11 December 2021
80th anniversary (2): The bombing of George Town
Remember that the island's air raid warning had sounded at seven o'clock on 08 December 1941 when eight planes flew over the town in a southerly direction. That was all that the Japanese did, there were no bombings or strafing then and thus, no casualties. On the following day, a bigger convoy of planes flew over the town and again they did nothing else to the town.
These two seemingly innocuous air movements by the Japanese were actually part of their deadly plan to lure the inhabitants of George Town into a false state of comfort. Was that all that the Japanese was going to do: fly up and down the island to win the war? Of course not!
Shortly past nine o'clock on 11 December 1941 morning, their intent became very clear. Despite the air raid sirens sounding all over the town, the curious and now bolder people of George Town massed outside in the streets to watch the approaching enemy aircraft. Because nothing much had happened the first two occasions, they believed that nothing would happen again this time.
How wrong they were! Without warning, the Japanese aircraft dropped their bombs and trained their machineguns on the people who congregated in the Chinese quarter of the Beach Street area. (Note: The Chinese quarter was separated from the European quarter by the China Street-China Street Ghaut divide.) Bombs exploded all around causing heavy casualties. Hundreds, if not thousands, were either killed, maimed or received serious injuries.
In the days before 11th December, the town and its people had been left largely alone amidst the alerts, air raid sirens, strafing of air fields and bombing of ships in the harbour. But on this day, the town folks found themselves the targets. As the inhabitants collected in the streets and market place to watch the raid in the skies above, the Japanese aeroplanes dive-bombed the Chinese quarter and trained their machineguns at the people. A few thousand inhabitants of the town were estimated killed on the first day of the attack. A bomb fell on the compound of the St. George's Church and the vibration was so great that all doors and windows were damaged. At the nearby Hutchings School, that is, the former premises of Penang Free School in Farquhar Street, many Free School boys sitting for their Senior Cambridge examinations were killed in the explosion. Several more escaped with various degrees of injuries. As a result of the looting that followed, the Hutchings School suffered a very severe loss in furniture, equipment and records. New text books and stationery ordered for 1942 and received in November 1941 were all looted.
The destruction of the central fire station was perhaps the greatest disaster that day. Motor-cars in the streets were smashed, and drivers who had not taken shelter were killed beside their vehicles. Schoolboy Tan Boon Lin (later to become the first Malaysian headmaster of his alma mater, Penang Free School) who was on duty as a Scout volunteer at the fire station in Beach Street recalled, “I saw the planes approach from across the Channel and there were huge explosions all around us. The ground shook and buildings were catching fire. There I was, momentarily trapped in the tower and afraid to descend to the ground. When I eventually did, the carnage was everywhere: buildings were burning and there were bodies strewn all over. For a 14-year-old, this was a terrifying and unforgettable experience.”
The (new Ban Hin Lee Bank) building was very strong due to the excellent piling work done by the contractors, a French firm. When the Japanese Air Force bombed Penang in December 1941, a bomb fell at the back of the bank. The blast was terrific, but the building stood as firm as a rock. All of us sheltered in the strongroom on the ground floor, and it was a terrible experience! When we came out in the open after the bombers flew away, we could see the devastation around Beach Street, and the many dead bodies of the people who were unfortunate to be caught in the air raid. The whole town was evacuated, and all the townsfolk ran to the countryside like Balik Pulau and Ayer Itam.
In the days that followed this infamous bombing horror, the Japanese planes returned on numerous other occasions. Their raids, however, did not inflict the same casualties as before because the people of George Town had begun their evacuation to the hills. I do remember my grandmother saying that this exodus to the countryside was known in the Hokkien-speaking community as chau huan, fleeing from war. My Standard Four class teacher also told me recently that she was seven years old when her family packed their bags from their home in the town and retreated to an attap house in Ayer Itam which her father had bought several months earlier in anticipation of this invasion.
Penang residents said that the raid was heavy, that there were many casualties but that the population - both European and Asiatic - of Penang was bearing up well. The medical, fire fighting and A.R.P. services were described as behaving "splendidly."
The exact number of casualties is as yet unknown. Bombs dropped were "high explosives containing an incendiary mixture" and damage was done by fires. Members of the M.A.S. (Medical Auxiliary Services), the A.R.P. (Air Raid Precautions) and fire services in Penang have worked continuously in shifts.
As far as is known, there are no Europeans among the casualties. Most of the bombs fell on congested areas and also on a business quarter. One store has been badly damaged, but as was announced in yesterday's communique, no military objective was hit.
Further information about yesterday's heavy air raid on Penang, received in Singapore, shows that the attack was concentrated on one area, according to an official statement.
About half a dozen planes are reported to have flown up and down this area several times, machine-gunning as well as bombing. Inevitably, the civilian casualties were heavy, but, so far as is known at the moment, it is believed that the fatalities do not exceed a hundred.
Eye-witnesses describe the behaviour of all members of the Passive Defence Services as magnificent.
<< PREVIOUS (PART 2)
<< PREVIOUS (PART 1)
TO BE CONTINUED....
Wednesday 8 December 2021
80th anniversary (1): Japanese invasion
Today marks the 80th anniversary of a very significant event in Malaysia's history. At 00:30 (that is, 30 minutes past midnight) on the eighth of December 1941, Japan launched their offensive on the Malayan peninsula. This was the beginning of almost four full years of hellish dark days of the Japanese Occupation from December 1941 till their surrender in September 1945.
The ships were carrying approximately 5,200 troops of the Takumi Detachment (Major-General Takumi Hiroshi, aboard Awazisan Maru). Most of these troops were veterans of the war in China. (Wikipedia)
The invasion began with a bombardment at around 00:30 local time in Malaya on 08 December. (The Japanese carrier planes flying toward Pearl Harbour were still about 50 minutes away; the attack on Pearl Harbour started at 07:48 local time in Hawai'i on 07 December.) The loading of landing craft began almost as soon as the transports dropped anchor. Rough seas and strong winds hampered the operation and a number of smaller craft capsized. Several Japanese soldiers drowned. Despite these difficulties, by 00:45 the first wave of landing craft was heading for the beach in four lines. (Wikipedia)
The Dogra Regiment immediately opened fire on the invasion force with artillery and machine guns. The first and second waves of Japanese soldiers were pinned down by the intense fire from the Dogra's pillboxes and trenches but after vicious hand-to-hand fighting a breach was made in the defences on the south bank of the Pengkalan Chepa river estuary. On the northern bank the Japanese were pinned down on an island where dawn found them trapped in the open. Allied aircraft began attacking the invasion fleet and the soldiers trapped on the island. Japanese casualties in the first and second waves were heavy. The Japanese managed to get off the beach only after the two pill box positions and supporting trenches were destroyed. Despite their heavy resistance, the Dogras were forced to retreat to their defences. Reinforcements were brought forward to support the Dogras. At 10:30, the British forces attempted to retake the lost beaches. The fighting was heavy with both sides suffering more casualties. Some progress was made but the British forces were unable to close the breach. In the afternoon, a second attack went in but failed again to close the breach. (Wikipedia)
The Japanese claimed that the landings at Kota Bharu were some of the most violent of the whole Malayan Campaign. It was estimated that they suffered an estimated 300 killed and 500 wounded. (Wikipedia)
By comparison, the Japanese met with little resistance when they landed at Patani and Singora (now Songkhla) during the early hours of 08 December. The Thai garrison immediately occupied positions alongside the roads leading down to Malaya, but were brushed aside into positions which the main Japanese advance could ignore. The Thais suffered only a total of 57 casualties in Patani and Singora. The fighting ceased at noon when orders for an armistice was received from Bangkok. (Wikipedia) This lent credence to the oft-repeated story that Japan had secret discussions with the Thai Prime Minister, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, to allow the Japanese military free passage through Thailand.
Phibun also granted Japan permission to use Thailand as a base of operations to invade neighbouring Malaya. Within hours after the armistice came into effect, squadrons of Japanese aircraft had flown into Songkla airfield from Indochina, allowing them to carry out air raids on strategic bases in Malaya and Singapore from a shorter distance. (Wikipedia) The Japanese troops that landed in southern Thailand were the ones that bicycled down the west coast of Malaya towards Singapore and in the process, overran the air defences in Penang, but more of that in a later story.
Monday 6 December 2021
Nepom napalmed
I'm so detached from chess nowadays that it's become rather easy for me to forget that a world chess championship match is being played in Dubai but that is what is exactly going on. Magnus Carlsen is the defending champion - and he has been on top of his game for the past eight years (since 2013) - and his latest challenger is Ian Nepomniachtchi. One is Norwegian, the other is Russian.
The eighth game of the 14-game match was played last night and it is difficult not to see Carlsen defend his world chess champion successfully. Not only is he presently the highest rated active grandmaster in the world with 2855 Elo points, he has already taken a commanding 5-3 lead with only a maximum of six games remaining. The first player to score 7½ points will take the match.
This world chess championship match is being carried live by at least three YouTube channels and all are fronted by well-known chess personalities such as Judith Polgar, Viswanathan Anand, Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana with guest appearances from the likes of Hou Yifan and others.
Here are the first eight games. The diagrams refer to the final position on the chess board for each of them. For an excellent commentary of these games, I would recommend visiting the Chessbase website.
[Site "Dubai UAE"]
[Date "2021.11.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2855"]
[ECO "C88"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez"]
[Variation "closed, 7...O-O"]
[WhiteFideId "4168119"]
[BlackFideId "1503014"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Na5 9. Nxe5 Nxb3 10. axb3 Bb7 11. d3 d5 12. exd5 Qxd5 13. Qf3 Bd6 14. Kf1 Rfb8 15. Qxd5 Nxd5 16. Bd2 c5 17. Nf3 Rd8 18. Nc3 Nb4 19. Rec1 Rac8 20. Ne2 Nc6 21. Be3 Ne7 22. Bf4 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Bxf4 24. Nxf4 Rc6 25. Re1 Nf5 26. c3 Nh4 27. Re3 Kf8 28. Ng2 Nf5 29. Re5 g6 30. Ne1 Ng7 31. Re4 f5 32. Re3 Ne6 33. Ng2 b4 34. Ke2 Rb8 35. Kd2 bxc3+ 36. bxc3 Rxb3 37. Kc2 Rb7 38. h4 Kf7 39. Ree1 Kf6 40. Ne3 Rd7 41. Nc4 Re7 42. Ne5 Rd6 43. Nc4 Rc6 44. Ne5 Rd6 45. Nc4 1/2-1/2
[Site "Dubai UAE"]
[Date "2021.11.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2855"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[ECO "E06"]
[Opening "Catalan"]
[Variation "closed, 5.Nf3"]
[WhiteFideId "1503014"]
[BlackFideId "4168119"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 b5 8. Ne5 c6 9. a4 Nd5 10. Nc3 f6 11. Nf3 Qd7 12. e4 Nb4 13. Qe2 Nd3 14. e5 Bb7 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Ne4 Na6 17. Ne5 Bxe5 18. dxe5 Nac5 19. Nd6 Nb3 20. Rb1 Nbxc1 21. Rbxc1 Nxc1 22. Rxc1 Rab8 23. Rd1 Ba8 24. Be4 c3 25. Qc2 g6 26. bxc3 bxa4 27. Qxa4 Rfd8 28. Ra1 c5 29. Qc4 Bxe4 30. Nxe4 Kh8 31. Nd6 Rb6 32. Qxc5 Rdb8 33. Kg2 a6 34. Kh3 Rc6 35. Qd4 Kg8 36. c4 Qc7 37. Qg4 Rxd6 38. exd6 Qxd6 39. c5 Qxc5 40. Qxe6+ Kg7 41. Rxa6 Rf8 42. f4 Qf5+ 43. Qxf5 Rxf5 44. Ra7+ Kg8 45. Kg4 Rb5 46. Re7 Ra5 47. Re5 Ra7 48. h4 Kg7 49. h5 Kh6 50. Kh4 Ra1 51. g4 Rh1+ 52. Kg3 gxh5 53. Re6+ Kg7 54. g5 Rg1+ 55. Kf2 Ra1 56. Rh6 Ra4 57. Kf3 Ra3+ 58. Kf2 Ra4 1/2-1/2
[Site "Dubai UAE"]
[Date "2021.11.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2855"]
[ECO "C88"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez"]
[Variation "closed, anti-Marshall 8.a4"]
[WhiteFideId "4168119"]
[BlackFideId "1503014"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nf1 h6 12. Bd2 Bf8 13. Ne3 Ne7 14. c4 bxc4 15. Nxc4 Nc6 16. Rc1 a5 17. Bc3 Bc8 18. d4 exd4 19. Nxd4 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Be6 21. h3 c6 22. Bc2 d5 23. e5 dxc4 24. Qxd8 Rexd8 25. exf6 Bb4 26. fxg7 Bxc3 27. bxc3 Kxg7 28. Kf1 Rab8 29. Rb1 Kf6 30. Rxb8 Rxb8 31. Rb1 Rxb1+ 32. Bxb1 Ke5 33. Ke2 f5 34. Bc2 f4 35. Bb1 c5 36. Bc2 Bd7 37. f3 Kf6 38. h4 Ke5 39. Kf2 Kf6 40. Ke2 Ke5 41. Kf2 1/2-1/2
[Site "Dubai UAE"]
[Date "2021.11.30"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2855"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[ECO "C42"]
[Opening "Petrov"]
[Variation "classical attack, Marshall variation"]
[WhiteFideId "1503014"]
[BlackFideId "4168119"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Bxf5 Qxf5 13. bxc3 b6 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Qb5 Qd7 16. a4 Qxb5 17. axb5 a5 18. Nh4 g6 19. g4 Nd7 20. Ng2 Rfc8 21. Bf4 Bxf4 22. Nxf4 Rxc3 23. Nxd5 Rd3 24. Re7 Nf8 25. Nf6+ Kg7 26. Ne8+ Kg8 27. d5 a4 28. Nf6+ Kg7 29. g5 a3 30. Ne8+ Kg8 31. Nf6+ Kg7 32. Ne8+ Kg8 33. Nf6+ 1/2-1/2
[Site "Dubai UAE"]
[Date "2021.12.01"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2855"]
[ECO "C88"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez"]
[Variation "closed, anti-Marshall 8.a4"]
[WhiteFideId "4168119"]
[BlackFideId "1503014"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 10. h3 d6 11. c3 b4 12. d3 bxc3 13. bxc3 d5 14. Nbd2 dxe4 15. dxe4 Bd6 16. Qc2 h6 17. Nf1 Ne7 18. Ng3 Ng6 19. Be3 Qe8 20. Red1 Be6 21. Ba4 Bd7 22. Nd2 Bxa4 23. Qxa4 Qxa4 24. Rxa4 Ra8 25. Rda1 Rxa4 26. Rxa4 Rb8 27. Ra6 Ne8 28. Kf1 Nf8 29. Nf5 Ne6 30. Nc4 Rd8 31. f3 f6 32. g4 Kf7 33. h4 Bf8 34. Ke2 Nd6 35. Ncxd6+ Bxd6 36. h5 Bf8 37. Ra5 Ke8 38. Rd5 Ra8 39. Rd1 Ra2+ 40. Rd2 Ra1 41. Rd1 Ra2+ 42. Rd2 Ra1 43. Rd1 1/2-1/2
[Site "Dubai UAE"]
[Date "2021.12.03"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2855"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Opening "Queen's pawn game"]
[WhiteFideId "1503014"]
[BlackFideId "4168119"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. c4 dxc4 9. Qc2 Qe7 10. Nbd2 Nc6 11. Nxc4 b5 12. Nce5 Nb4 13. Qb2 Bb7 14. a3 Nc6 15. Nd3 Bb6 16. Bg5 Rfd8 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Rac1 Nd4 19. Nxd4 Bxd4 20. Qa2 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Qb7+ 22. Kg1 Qe4 23. Qc2 a5 24. Rfd1 Kg7 25. Rd2 Rac8 26. Qxc8 Rxc8 27. Rxc8 Qd5 28. b4 a4 29. e3 Be5 30. h4 h5 31. Kh2 Bb2 32. Rc5 Qd6 33. Rd1 Bxa3 34. Rxb5 Qd7 35. Rc5 e5 36. Rc2 Qd5 37. Rdd2 Qb3 38. Ra2 e4 39. Nc5 Qxb4 40. Nxe4 Qb3 41. Rac2 Bf8 42. Nc5 Qb5 43. Nd3 a3 44. Nf4 Qa5 45. Ra2 Bb4 46. Rd3 Kh6 47. Rd1 Qa4 48. Rda1 Bd6 49. Kg1 Qb3 50. Ne2 Qd3 51. Nd4 Kh7 52. Kh2 Qe4 53. Rxa3 Qxh4+ 54. Kg1 Qe4 55. Ra4 Be5 56. Ne2 Qc2 57. R1a2 Qb3 58. Kg2 Qd5+ 59. f3 Qd1 60. f4 Bc7 61. Kf2 Bb6 62. Ra1 Qb3 63. Re4 Kg7 64. Re8 f5 65. Raa8 Qb4 66. Rac8 Ba5 67. Rc1 Bb6 68. Re5 Qb3 69. Re8 Qd5 70. Rcc8 Qh1 71. Rc1 Qd5 72. Rb1 Ba7 73. Re7 Bc5 74. Re5 Qd3 75. Rb7 Qc2 76. Rb5 Ba7 77. Ra5 Bb6 78. Rab5 Ba7 79. Rxf5 Qd3 80. Rxf7+ Kxf7 81. Rb7+ Kg6 82. Rxa7 Qd5 83. Ra6+ Kh7 84. Ra1 Kg6 85. Nd4 Qb7 86. Ra2 Qh1 87. Ra6+ Kf7 88. Nf3 Qb1 89. Rd6 Kg7 90. Rd5 Qa2+ 91. Rd2 Qb1 92. Re2 Qb6 93. Rc2 Qb1 94. Nd4 Qh1 95. Rc7+ Kf6 96. Rc6+ Kf7 97. Nf3 Qb1 98. Ng5+ Kg7 99. Ne6+ Kf7 100. Nd4 Qh1 101. Rc7+ Kf6 102. Nf3 Qb1 103. Rd7 Qb2+ 104. Rd2 Qb1 105. Ng1 Qb4 106. Rd1 Qb3 107. Rd6+ Kg7 108. Rd4 Qb2+ 109. Ne2 Qb1 110. e4 Qh1 111. Rd7+ Kg8 112. Rd4 Qh2+ 113. Ke3 h4 114. gxh4 Qh3+ 115. Kd2 Qxh4 116. Rd3 Kf8 117. Rf3 Qd8+ 118. Ke3 Qa5 119. Kf2 Qa7+ 120. Re3 Qd7 121. Ng3 Qd2+ 122. Kf3 Qd1+ 123. Re2 Qb3+ 124. Kg2 Qb7 125. Rd2 Qb3 126. Rd5 Ke7 127. Re5+ Kf7 128. Rf5+ Ke8 129. e5 Qa2+ 130. Kh3 Qe6 131. Kh4 Qh6+ 132. Nh5 Qh7 133. e6 Qg6 134. Rf7 Kd8 135. f5 Qg1 136. Ng7 1-0
[Site "Dubai UAE"]
[Date "2021.12.04"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2855"]
[ECO "C88"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez"]
[Variation "closed, anti-Marshall 8.a4"]
[WhiteFideId "4168119"]
[BlackFideId "1503014"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 10. h3 d6 11. d3 h6 12. Nc3 Re8 13. Nd5 Bf8 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6 15. c3 Ne7 16. Be3 Be6 17. d4 exd4 18. cxd4 Bxb3 19. Qxb3 Ng6 20. Rec1 c5 21. e5 Qf5 22. dxc5 dxc5 23. Bxc5 Bxc5 24. Rxc5 Nxe5 25. Nxe5 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 Qxe5 27. Qc3 Qxc3 28. bxc3 Rc8 29. Ra5 Rxc3 30. Rxb5 Rc1+ 31. Kh2 Rc3 32. h4 g6 33. g3 h5 34. Kg2 Kg7 35. Ra5 Kf6 36. Rb5 Kg7 37. Ra5 Kf6 38. Rb5 Kg7 39. Ra5 Kf6 40. Ra6+ Kg7 41. Ra7 1/2-1/2
[Site "Dubai UAE"]
[Date "2021.12.05"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2855"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[ECO "C43"]
[Opening "Petrov"]
[Variation "modern attack, Symmetrical variation"]
[WhiteFideId "1503014"]
[BlackFideId "4168119"]
[EventDate "2021.11.26"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. Nd2 Nxd2 8. Bxd2 Bd6 9. O-O h5 10. Qe1+ Kf8 11. Bb4 Qe7 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Qd2 Re8 14. Rae1 Rh6 15. Qg5 c6 16. Rxe8+ Bxe8 17. Re1 Qf6 18. Qe3 Bd7 19. h3 h4 20. c4 dxc4 21. Bxc4 b5 22. Qa3+ Kg8 23. Qxa7 Qd8 24. Bb3 Rd6 25. Re4 Be6 26. Bxe6 Rxe6 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Qc5 Qa5 29. Qxc6 Qe1+ 30. Kh2 Qxf2 31. Qxe6+ Kh7 32. Qe4+ Kg8 33. b3 Qxa2 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxb5 Qf2 36. Qe5 Qb2 37. Qe4+ Kg8 38. Qd3 Qf2 39. Qc3 Qf4+ 40. Kg1 Kh7 41. Qd3+ g6 42. Qd1 Qe3+ 43. Kh1 g5 44. d5 g4 45. hxg4 h3 46. Qf3 1-0
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