Chess 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦

As a life and founding member of Penang Chess Association since 1972, I am thrilled - but mind you, I'm not beyond words - to know that 50 years on, the PCA and their players continue to exert a great presence on chess in the country. If ever there was a tour de force in local chess competitions, the recently concluded national chess championship and national women's chess championship, organised by the Malaysian Chess Federation in Bangi, must surely qualify as one.

In the national chess championship, three Penang representatives dominated the field and finished in a one-two-three position in the standings. And in the national women's chess champion, it was a two-three finish at the top of the standings. The only party-pooper for the PCA, if I may call it such, was that the women's championship was won by one of the most remarkable woman chess players that Malaysia has ever produced, a non-Penangite. 

Picture courtesy of Wanz Lily

Yes, Woman International Master (WIM) Dr Siti Zulaikha bt Foudzi by winning her NINTH national women's chess championship title certainly deserves to be called Malaysia's greatest woman chess player. I've already related in an earlier story of how Siti Zulaikha, after having won her eight consecutive championship titles from 1999 to 2006, suddenly disappeared from the chess scene to pursue her studies in Medicine and after graduating, had become a medical officer in Government. 

In the 16 years that followed, Malaysian women's chess has moved on and I had wondered whether Siti Zulaikha had what it took to reclaim her crown. This has now been answered. Yes, Siti Zulaikha still has the capability to match our latest crop of woman chess players...and better them! Whether this is good or a bad sign remains a point for debate. Her personal triumph may be very good and I couldn't agree more, but I also add that this is equally bad because it indicates little progress where the overall women's chess standard is concerned. If a person can return to the game after 16 years in the chess wilderness and win a tournament that includes three other former national women's champions who are obviously playing more actively, what progress is there? I challenge the chess officials to prove me wrong with their counter arguments!

She scored six points from her first seven games and looked very likely to run away with the title but was surprised in the eighth round by Tan Li Ting. I haven't seen any game from the two championships and so, I don't know how heroic was Li Ting's game but I know that she can rise to the occasion and has indeed raised her game here. After this loss had bumped Siti Zulaikha down to earth, her lead was cut to a mere half-a-point with five players breathing down her neck. But she made no mistake in the ninth and final round. All she needed was a draw and she achieved that without trouble. That precious draw ensured that she became the national women's champion for the ninth time in her chess-playing career. So congratulations to Siti Zulaikha, and welcome back to the Malaysian chess scene. I hope to see more of your chessboard adventures soon!

But let me get back to my original contention. I was talking about a tour de force by the Penang players. Yes, in the women's championship, Penang's Chua Jia-Tien, fresh from returning from the SEA Games in Vietnam, was in inspired form when she caught up with Siti Zulaikha to finish level with 6½ points. However, she missed out on becoming joint national champion as the rules allowed for only one person to be declared the champion. However, I would like to see the Malaysian Chess Federation recognise her as a National Woman Master: it will be a just reward for a job well done in this tournament. Third place in the women's championship also went to another player from Penang, Agnes Chong Kai Ni who, despite being only a tender 15 years old, is already a Woman Fide Master.

Picture courtesy of Teh In Hooi

What about the national championship itself? The final results were even more striking than the women's championship: if one player had cast a long shadow at the national women's championship, then we have three Penang players dominating the national championship from the word Go. They were already the top contenders when the initial ranking list was released. Based on their Elo ratings, the 19-year-old Candidate Master, Tan Jun Ying, topped the seedings. The second seed was Fide Master Yeap Eng Chiam and the third seed was International Master Ooi Zhi Yang. Lurking lower down as the sixth seed was 13-year-old Poh Yu Tian who, like Chua Jia-Tien, had recently returned from playing in the SEA Games.

Round after round, these four players demolished all their challengers and stayed tightly together at the top of the tournament standings, Only from the sixth round did Ooi Zhi Yang start to falter and gradually fall behind. But Tan Jun Ying, Yeap Eng Chiam and Poh Yu Tian continued with their united front. Even a mini-contest among these three top contenders did little to separate them except to change their ranking order. Only, the rest of the field started to fall back further and further. By the end of the seventh round, it became very clear to me that a one-two-three finish for Penang at the national championship was possible. Not a 100 percent certainty but I would put it as near enough. That was how much confidence I had in the players' abilities by that stage. And it came to pass that Tan Jun Ying shrugged off his remaining challengers to become the latest Malaysian Chess Champion and National Master from Penang. So I would like to say this to him too: Congratulations!  

I mentioned at the  start of this story that I have been a founding member of Penang Chess Association since 1972. What does this mean? It means that 2022 is the association's Golden Anniversary year and what better way is there to mark this landmark than to welcome a new National Master from Penang. In the past 50 years, Penang has been producing national champions in Goh Yoon Wah (1976 and 1981), Tan Bian Huat (1977), Jimmy Liew (1984), Yeoh Chin Seng (1993), Jonathan Chuah (1999 and 2006), Ng Tze Han (2000), Lim Chuin Hoong (2001), Evan Timothy Capel (2009), Tan Khai Boon (2010), Wong Yinn Long (2017) and now, Tan Jun Ying (2022). Let there be more to come after this!

The Penang prize-winners: Tan Jun Ying, Poh Yu Tian, Yeap Eng Chiam, Agnes Chong Kai Ni and Chua Jia-Tien. Picture courtesy of Teh In Hooi