1974 revisited: My reflections on Penang chess

Thank goodness for today’s rest day at the eighth Eastern Asia Youth Chess Championship. It’s a much-needed break after five intense days of chess, with two more days to go. While I could be toiling away as an arbiter—being an International Arbiter myself—the younger arbiters are doing a most commendable job and I don’t envy their demanding role. My focus has been on capturing the essence of the event through photographs, keeping me on my feet from eight in the morning until six or seven in the evening.

Photographing the participants isn’t as easy as I had anticipated. Despite the spacious hall at the Cititel Hotel, the back-to-back arrangement of chairs leaves little room to manoeuvre without disturbing the players. Still, I’ve managed to take some decent shots.

During one of the rounds, I remarked to a fellow member of the organising committee, "Seeing these faces concentrating deeply on their games reminds me that we were once young players like them." He nodded in total agreement. How time has flown! Fifty-two years ago, when the Penang Chess Association was founded, we were using school canteens to play chess. Today, I am the only surviving founding life member of the Association—and among the most senior members. 

In December 1974, the Penang Chess Association organised its first international competition, and it was a significant one: the Asian Team Chess Championship, co-organised with the newly formed Malaysian Chess Federation. We played at Dewan Sri Pinang at the Esplanade, and notable figures like Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Syed Sheh Hassan Barakbah, Abdul Razak Hussein, Dr Lim Chong Eu and the Deputy President of the World Chess Federation attended the ceremonies. Yes, that was the vibrant Florencio Campomanes I referred to. Tan Chin Nam was the then-President of the Malaysian Chess Federation. (See the note below.)

More than just hosting the Asian Team Chess Championship, we also hosted the FIDE Bureau in Penang. As part of the World Chess Federation’s 50th Anniversary celebrations, FIDE held their fourth quarterly Bureau meeting at the Merlin Hotel, now the City Bayview Hotel. For several days, Dr Max Euwe presided over the FIDE Bureau meetings. Some board members also delivered public seminars. Although I was a player on the Malaysian team, I took every opportunity to attend these talks. While many details are now hazy, I distinctly remember Dr Euwe’s enlightening analysis of Bobby Fischer’s victory over Boris Spassky in the 10th game of their 1972 world championship match. Eminent speakers like Ineke Bakker who was FIDE’s General Secretary, Colonel Ed Edmondson of the United States Chess Federation, and Boris Rodionov of the USSR Chess Federation also graced the event. Both Edmondson and Rodionov were their respective federation’s permanent delegates to FIDE.

Reflecting on these moments makes me appreciate the rich history and evolution of world chess and also Penang chess, and it’s heartening to see the torch being passed to a new generation of players and organisers.

Note for history buffs: Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj was Malaysia's first Prime Minister, Syed Sheh Hassan Barakbah was Penang's third Governor after Independence, Abdul Razak Hussein was Malaysia's second Prime Minister and Dr Lim Chong Eu was Penang's second Chief Minister. 

#PenangChess #EAYCC2024 #ChessLife #ChessHistory #FIDEChess #AsianChess #MalaysiaChess

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