Yeoh Li Tian in Rilton Cup, 2018/19

This picture from the Rilton Cup website

UPDATE (13 Jan 2019): This is an updated post. When I first wrote this post, it was on the eve of my holidays overseas. Rushing between packing and keeping track of Yeoh Li Tian's final-round game in the Rilton Cup, I had hurriedly tried to prepare a post with all his games from that tournament. No time to include any comments. So this is the first real opportunity for me to say something.

First, I would want to congratulate Li Tian for a fine performance in Sweden. Gaining a second grandmaster norm was the feat in itself but finishing undefeated was the icing on the cake. Of course, getting the second norm was Li Tian's original intention anyway. And he achieved this in fine style.

Undefeated against the six grandmasters that he was paired with, and a matter of slaying the lesser players that he met. Very solid play against the grandmasters and giving them no chance at all of piercing his defensive armour. Not very exciting chess in my opinion but the results served his purpose well, and that was very important

This brings me to the second point. Li Tian's chess has matured so much in the last 14 months or so, ever since he sat down against Visvanathan Anand in the first round of the Chess World Cup in October 2017. Though he lost one game and drew the other against the former world champion, I had surmised then that he would have learnt valuable lessons from this encounter. (Update #2: I was mistaken. Sloppy writing from me, trying to rely on my defective memory. As pointed out by Andrew Ooi on facebook, Li Tian did NOT lose both games to Anand. Our player lost the first game but drew the second one. That draw was a very valuable result and it surely boosted his confidence.)

Maybe not so much in chess strategy or tactics, but the encounter taught him new insights, how to change his approach to chess, and his approach to himself as a player. In the process, we have seen his international rating cross the critical 2500 Elo points barrier. And 2500 would be the bare minimum rating that the World Chess Federation requires for anyone to become a new Grandmaster even if the player gets his three norms. That rating level, by the way, is the highest any Malaysian chess player has ever attained.

Li Tian became a Fide Master in 2015 and an International Master in 2017. With already two Grandmaster norms under his belt, I am quite confident that a third one can be attained this year if he can strike a successful balance between playing chess and excelling in his studies at Imperial College, London. Three such norms would be enough for him to be proclaimed as Malaysia's first grandmaster. We shall wait...

It is a pity, though, that Dato' Tan Chin Nam could not be around to see his second GM norm. He would have been pleased. Very pleased.

Position after 42.Nf6+

[Event "Rilton Cup 2018-19"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "2018.12.27"]
[Round "1.22"]
[White "Yeoh, Li Tian (MAS)"]
[Black "Ganaus, Hannes (AUT)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "0"]
[BlackElo "0"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
[Remark ""]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Nf3 Bg7 7.Be2 O-O 8.O-O Nc6 9.Re1 Bf5 10.Be3 Rc8 11.c5 Ne4 12.Qb3 Nxc3 13.Qxc3 a5 14.a3 a4 15.Bb5 Ra8 16.Bf4 f6 17.b3 axb3 18.Qxb3 g5 19.Bg3 Rf7 20.Qb2 h5 21.h4 g4 22.Nd2 Bh6 23.Nb3 Be4 24.Qc3 Kh7 25.Nd2 Bf5 26.Bd3 Qd7 27.Nf1 Bxd3 28.Qxd3+ f5 29.Rab1 Bg7 30.Be5 Bxe5 31.dxe5 e6 32.Ng3 Qe7 33.Nxh5 Qxh4 34.Nf4 Qe7 35.g3 Rh8 36.Kg2 Kg7 37.Rh1 Rxh1 38.Rxh1 Kg8 39.Rh6 Nd8 40.Nh5 Qxc5 41.Qd2 f4 42.Nf6+ 1-0

Position after 32...Re2

[Event "Rilton Cup 2018-19"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "2018.12.28"]
[Round "2.20"]
[White "Schekachikhin, Maksim (RUS)"]
[Black "Yeoh, Li Tian (MAS)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A77"]
[WhiteElo "2368"]
[BlackElo "2508"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
[Remark ""]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Nd2 Bg7 8.e4 O-O 9.Be2 Re8 10.O-O Nbd7 11.a4 a6 12.Ra3 Rb8 13.a5 Ne5 14.Qc2 g5 15.Nd1 Ng6 16.Ne3 Nf4 17.Bd1 h5 18.f3 Nd7 19.Nf5 Bd4+ 20.Kh1 Ne5 21.g3 Nh3 22.Kg2 g4 23.Nxd4 cxd4 24.f4 Ng6 25.Qd3 Bd7 26.Ba4 Rc8 27.Nc4 Rxc4 28.Qxc4 Rxe4 29.Bxd7 Qxd7 30.Kh1 Qe8 31.Bd2 h4 32.Qd3 Re2 33.Qxd4 Rxh2+ 34.Kxh2 Qe2+ 35.Rf2 Nxf2 36.Re3 Qf1 37.Re8+ Kh7 38.Re1 Qh3+ 39.Kg1 hxg3 0-1

Position after 41.Kd3

[Event "Rilton Cup 2018-19"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "2018.12.29"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Yeoh, Li Tian (MAS)"]
[Black "Lagarde, Maxime (FRA)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2508"]
[BlackElo "2616"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
[Remark ""]

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bf5 6.Be3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nf6 8.Nxf5 Qxf5 9.Bd3 Qd5 10.O-O O-O-O 11.Be2 Qxd1 12.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 13.Bxd1 Nd5 14.Bc1 e6 15.Nd2 Be7 16.Nb3 Rd8 17.Be2 e5 18.Bd2 f5 19.f3 Nb6 20.Rd1 a5 21.Kf1 a4 22.Na1 Kc7 23.Nc2 g6 24.Ke1 Bc5 25.Be3 Rxd1+ 26.Kxd1 Kd6 27.b4 axb3 28.axb3 Nd5 29.Bxc5+ Kxc5 30.Kd2 Kd6 31.Ne3 Na5 32.Nc4+ Nxc4+ 33.Bxc4 Nf6 34.Kd3 g5 35.b4 h5 36.Bf7 h4 37.h3 Nd5 38.Bxd5 Kxd5 39.c4+ Kd6 40.Ke3 Kc6 41.Kd3 1/2-1/2

Position after 18.Nb5

[Event "Rilton Cup 2018-19"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "2018.12.30"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Yeoh, Li Tian (MAS)"]
[Black "Donchenko, Alexander (GER)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A50"]
[WhiteElo "2508"]
[BlackElo "2604"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
[Remark ""]

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b6 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.O-O g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.d4 O-O 7.d5 Na6 8.Nc3 Nc5 9.Nd4 e5 10.Nb3 d6 11.Nxc5 dxc5 12.a4 a5 13.b3 Ne8 14.Bb2 Nd6 15.Qd2 f5 16.f4 exf4 17.gxf4 Qh4 18.Nb5 Bxb2 19.Qxb2 Rf7 20.Nxd6 cxd6 21.Rf3 Re8 22.e3 Bc8 23.Raf1 Rg7 24.Qc3 Kf7 25.Rg3 Reg8 26.Rff3 Qf6 27.Qxf6+ Kxf6 28.Rf2 Bd7 29.Bf1 g5 30.Rfg2 h5 31.h4 gxf4 32.Rxg7 Rxg7 33.Rxg7 Kxg7 34.exf4 Be8 1/2-1/2

Position after 44.Qf6

[Event "Rilton Cup 2018-19"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "2018.12.31"]
[Round "5.15"]
[White "Rohith, Krishna S. (IND)"]
[Black "Yeoh, Li Tian (MAS)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A88"]
[WhiteElo "2399"]
[BlackElo "2508"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
[Remark ""]

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 d6 7.Nc3 c6 8.Qc2 Na6 9.a3 Qe8 10.e4 e5 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.b4 Nc7 13.c5 f4 14.gxf4 Nh5 15.Ne2 exf4 16.Bb2 g5 17.Bxg7 Nxg7 18.Nxg5 Qh5 19.Nf3 Bg4 20.Kh1 Rae8 21.Neg1 Re6 22.h3 Rg6 23.Nh2 Bc8 24.f3 Qg5 25.Ng4 h5 26.Nh2 Nge6 27.Qf2 Kh8 28.Ne2 Rfg8 29.Rg1 Qf6 30.Rad1 Rg3 31.Bf1 Qh4 32.Nxg3 fxg3 33.Qb2+ Rg7 34.Qe5 Nf4 35.Rd2 Nce6 36.Qb8 Rg8 37.Qe5+ Kh7 38.Qf5+ Kh6 39.Rd6 Rg6 40.Qe5 Kh7 41.Qf5 Kg7 42.Qe5+ Kf7 43.Qf5+ Ke7 44.Rd2 Qf6 (Psychologically putting the question to White: to exchange Queens or not. I believe the best option is to exchange off the Queens with 45. Qxf6+ because after 45.Bc4, Black simply retreats his Queen to the g7 square  and adds tremendous pressure on White's position along this file.) 45.Bc4 Qg7 46.Ng4 Rg5 47.Ne3 Ke8 48.Rgd1 Rxf5 49.exf5 Qc3 50.Bd3 Ng5 51.Rc2 Qd4 52.Ng2 Nxd3 53.Re2+ Kf7 54.Ne1 Nf2+ 0-1

Position after 35...Rxd1+

[Event "Rilton Cup 2018-19"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "2019.01.02"]
[Round "6.6"]
[White "Karthikeyan, Murali (IND)"]
[Black "Yeoh, Li Tian (MAS)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2591"]
[BlackElo "2508"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
[Remark ""]

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.c4 c6 5.b3 Bg7 6.Bb2 O-O 7.O-O a5 8.Nc3 Na6 9.d4 Ne4 10.e3 Bf5 11.Nh4 Nxc3 12.Bxc3 Be6 13.Qe2 Nc7 14.a4 b6 15.Rac1 Qd7 16.Nf3 Rfd8 17.e4 Bg4 18.Rfd1 Rac8 19.Qe1 dxe4 20.Qxe4 Bxf3 21.Qxf3 Ne6 22.d5 cxd5 23.Rxd5 Qc7 24.Bd2 Nd4 25.Qd3 e6 26.Bf4 Qa7 27.Rxd8+ Rxd8 28.Rd1 Qe7 29.h4 h6 30.Kf1 g5 31.hxg5 hxg5 32.Be3 Bf6 33.Be4 Qb4 34.Bxd4 Rxd4 35.Qf3 Rxd1+ 1/2-1/2

Position after 27...Qa6

[Event "Rilton Cup 2018-19"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "2019.01.03"]
[Round "7.6"]
[White "Yeoh, Li Tian (MAS)"]
[Black "Santos Latasa, Jaime (ESP)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C03"]
[WhiteElo "2508"]
[BlackElo "2584"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
[Remark ""]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Be7 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 cxd4 7.cxd4 dxe4 8.Nxe4 Bd7 9.Nc3 Bc6 10.O-O O-O 11.Ne5 Nbd7 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.b3 Qa5 14.Ne4 Rfd8 15.Bb2 Rac8 16.Qc2 Ba3 17.Bc3 Bb4 18.Bb2 Ba3 19.Bc3 Bb4 20.Bb2 Nxe4 21.Bxe4 Nf6 22.Bf3 c5 23.Rac1 Qa6 24.Be2 Qb7 25.Bf3 Qa6 26.Be2 Qb7 27.Bf3 Qa6 1/2-1/2

Position after 30.bxa5

[Event "Rilton Cup 2018-19"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "2019.01.04"]
[Round "8.9"]
[White "Moroni, Luca Jr (ITA)"]
[Black "Yeoh, Li Tian (MAS)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D12"]
[WhiteElo "2564"]
[BlackElo "2508"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
[Remark ""]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Be2 Nbd7 8.O-O Bd6 9.g3 O-O 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.c5 Be7 12.b4 b6 13.Bd2 Qc8 14.f4 a5 15.a3 axb4 16.axb4 Qb7 17.Qc2 b5 18.g4 Rfb8 19.g5 Ne8 20.h4 Nf8 21.Kg2 f5 22.Rh1 Rxa1 23.Rxa1 Nc7 24.Ra5 Ra8 25.Qa2 Rxa5 26.Qxa5 Nd7 27.Nd1 Bd8 28.Nf2 Qa8 29.Nd3 Qxa5 30.bxa5 Kf7 31.Nb4 Nb8 32.Nd3 Nd7 33.Nb4 Nb8 34.Kf1 Nca6 35.Nd3 Nd7 36.Ke1 Bc7 37.Kd1 Ke7 38.Kc2 Kf7 39.Kb3 Bd8 40.Bc3 Bc7 41.Nb4 Ndb8 42.Nd3 Nd7 43.Bd2 Ke7 44.Be1 Kf7 45.Bc3 Ke7 46.Bd2 Kf7 47.Be1 Ndb8 48.Bd2 Nd7 49.Bc3 Ndb8 50.Ne1 Bd8 51.Nc2 Ke7 52.Na3 Nc7 53.Bd2 Kf7 54.Nc2 Nca6 1/2-1/2

Position after 32.Rxd5

[Event "Rilton Cup 2018-19"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "2019.01.05"]
[Round "9.11"]
[White "Yeoh, Li Tian (MAS)"]
[Black "Santos Ruiz, Miguel (ESP)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2508"]
[BlackElo "2523"]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]
[Remark ""]

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 Nc6 7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bb5 dxe5 9.Nxe5 Bd7 10.Nxd7 Qxd7 11.Nc3 e6 12.O-O a6 13.Bxc6 Qxc6 14.Re1 Bb4 15.Qg4 Kf8 16.Bg5 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Nd5 18.Rac1 b5 19.a4 h6 20.Bd2 Kg8 21.h4 h5 22.Qe2 Rc8 23.axb5 axb5 24.Rb1 Nxc3 25.Bxc3 Qxc3 26.d5 exd5 27.Qxb5 Qc6 28.Qxc6 Rxc6 29.Re5 g6 30.Rb8+ Kg7 31.Rxh8 Kxh8 32.Rxd5 1/2-1/2

Penang's coat of arms 1949-1988

Did you know? 

This coat of arms was granted to the Settlement of Penang, then in the Federation of Malaya, by a Royal Warrant of King George VI dated 11 September 1949.

Shield: Barry wavy of eight Azure and Argent upon a chief crenellée Or a plume of three ostrich feathers surmounted by a riband of the First on the riband the words Ich Dien in letters of the Third

Crest: On a wreath of the Colours upon a mount a Pinang or Areca-nut palm leaved and fructed Proper.

The Prince of Wales's feathers and the motto Ich Dien referred to the fact that Penang was founded in 1786 as the Prince of Wales Island, while the blue and white bars are in reference to the Malacca Straits that surround Penang Island, separating it from Province Wellesley on the mainland. The Areca-nut palm on the crest represents the origins of the Island's name.

The motto Bersatu dan Setia was adopted by the Settlement Council of Penang in 1950. As this was during the height of the Penang secessionist movement, the motto may have implied loyalty to the British crown, rather than to the Federation of Malaya.

(Text largely from Wikipedia.)

Penang's coat of arms 1946-1949

Did you know? 

When Penang was a separate Crown Colony for a little while, from the dissolution of the Straits Settlements in 1946 till the time it was forced into the Malayan Union in 1949, it used the Coat of Arms of the British Empire?

Shield: "Quarterly, First and Fourth Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure (for England), Second quarter Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-flory Gules (for Scotland), Third quarter Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland), the whole surrounded by the Garter."

Crest: "Upon the Royal helm the Imperial Crown Proper, thereon a Lion statant gardant Or imperially crowned Proper; Mantling Or and Ermine."

Supporters: "Dexter a Lion rampant gardant Or crowned as the Crest, sinister a Unicorn Argent armed, crined and unguled Proper, gorged with a Coronet Or composed of Crosses patées and Fleurs-de-lis a Chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or."

Motto: "Dieu et mon Droit (Latin: God and my right) in the compartment below the shield, with the Union Rose, Shamrock and Thistle engrafted on the same stem."

(Text from Jeffrey Seow's facebook entry)

Penang's coat of arms 1826-1946

Did you know? 

This was the coat of arms used in Penang from the time of the establishment of the Straits Settlements in 1826 until the onset of the Japanese Occupation of World War II in 1941, and then from after the war in 1945 till the dissolution of the Straits Settlements in 1946 when Penang, for a little while, became a separate Crown Colony.

Shield: "Quarterly, the first quarter gules, issuant from the base a tower proper, on the battlements thereof a lion passant guardant Or; the second quarter argent, on a mount an areca nut palm tree proper; the third quarter also argent a sprig of the oil tree keruing proper; the fourth quarter azure in base on waves of the sea in front of a representation of the sun rising behind a mountain, a sailing yacht in full sail to the sinister, all proper."

Crest: "A demi-lion rampant guardant supporting in the paws a staff proper, thereon flying to the sinister a banner azure, charged with three imperial crowns."

(Text from Jeffrey Seow's facebook entry)

Prince of Wales' Island's coat of arms 1786-1826

Did you know? 

This was the coat of arms used in Penang from the time of the establishment of Captain Francis Light's colony in 1786 till the establishment of the Straits Settlements in 1826?

It was the coat of arms of the English East India India Company.

Shield: "Argent a cross Gules; in the dexter chief quarter an escutcheon of the arms of France and England quarterly, the shield ornamentally and regally crowned."

Crest: "A lion rampant guardant Or holding between the forepaws a regal crown proper."

Supporters: "Two lions rampant guardant Or, each supporting a banner erect Argent, charged with a cross Gules."

Motto: Auspicio Regis et Senatus Angliæ (Latin: By right of the King and the Senate of England)

(Text from Jeffrey Seow's facebook entry.)

Earthrise

Good morning and a Happy New Year

Li Chun (立春), 2019

This year, I made good my resolve to buy a new copy of Joey Yap's book, The Ten Thousand Year Calendar, to replace the one that was practically falling apart at the seams. However, I was unable to find a similar copy.

All I found was a new edition of the book which was physically a smaller size. But it's just as good. All the information is still there.

For instance, the annual observance of the festival of Li Chun (立春) or Jip Chun as more called by the Penang Baba Nyonya community, which heralds the start of the new year according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, can still be easily ascertained.

So when will be Li Chun in 2019? According to the book, this will fall on 4 Feb 2019 at 11.41pm. That's pretty close to midnight. And, according to Chinese custom, anything after 11 o'clock at night is already considered as the next day. Thus, even though Li Chun technically falls on the fourth of February, in Chinese terms it is already the next day.

But 5 Feb 2019 is also Chinese New Year. Thus, we have the unique and happy occasion when Li Chun and Chinese New Year will coincide in 2019!

You bet that I'm going to be doubly busy come next fourth of February evening, what with the family reunion, making preparations to greet in the Chinese New Year and also having to keep an eye on the clock in order to paste a new Chun (春) character on the rice bucket after 11.41pm!

Happy New Year!

I've been writing about Li Chun in this blog since Year 2007 and you can still read them here:
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

Wicked Chronicles

I took the opportunity to attend an evening concert of baroque music yesterday. Performed by a group of musicians calling themselves Wicked Music People. Saw the programme advertised on facebook and since the missus was not around, I decided to buy myself some hour and a half of live music. Can't say that I didn't enjoy myself. On the contrary, it was a totally enjoyable time. Excellent ensemble of local musicians from Kuala Lumpur, but with some of them originally from Penang; two, especially, being Old Frees as well. Ahh, but that's beside the point.

Venue was the Jetty35 building in Weld Quay. Four small halls, one with a theatre setting, the second being used for exhibitions, another being run as a cafe, which leaves the fourth to be used for live performances such as this. Small hall, I said, which means a small audience but sitting closer to the musicians lends to a cozier, more intimate atmosphere. Bonus of this venue was that the acoustics were good. Not me that claims it but one of the leaders of the musicians himself. If the acoustics were good for his professional ears, it must be good for us in the audience, then. No artificial amplification of the sound through microphones or what-not. Just pure music from (mostly) period instruments and right in our faces. Mmm, except perhaps the sound of the harpsichord as played on the electronic keyboard.

It was a full-house performance. Audience comprised local residents as well as foreigners. U-En Ng, Ibrahim Aziz and Andrew Filmer took great pains to describe their instruments to us and explain the nuances of the pieces they performed. Gave us good insights into the viola da gamba which Ng handled and the baroque cello which Ibrahim played. (I remember seeing Ibrahim play in a programme organised by Lim Chong Keat several years ago. The setting was a building in China Street. I tried to find the building today but horrors! it has been converted into a reflexology centre.) And telling us stories about Jean-Baptiste Lully, Domenico Gallo, Antonio Vivaldi, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier and Michel Corrette whose works they performed last night.

Andrew Filmer on the viola, Kenneth Lim on the baroque violin and Lee Hai Lin also on the baroque violin

Ibrahim Aziz on the baroque cello, Azizi Azman on the double bass and U-En Ng on the viola da gamba. Hidden behind Ng on the keyboard was Tina Vinson

This picture was "stolen" from their facebook (but I think they wouldn't mind)!

Discovering a new nephew

Being trustees of the Swee Cheok Tong Quah Kongsi (檳城瑞鵲堂柯公司) mean that it is also our job to keep a watchful eye on the people that come to pray during the Chinese festivals. At yesterday's Tang Chik (Dongzhi, 冬節), or the Winter Solstice festival, I had noticed this young man praying at the altars.

He was new; I had never seen or met him before. Therefore after he had finished making his rounds of the altars inside the Kongsi, I pulled him aside to introduce myself. (Or was it to turn interrogator?)

Turned out that he is now a newly discovered relative of mine. Name of Ethan Quah. Grandson of Quah Kong Chai, one of our former trustees, now deceased. And Kong Chai was my uncle too, my father's cousin. Which makes Ethan my nephew. How cool. I welcome any nephew or niece with the same surname as I.

Ethan's a Singaporean. Newly completed his two-year National Service and now waiting to enter University. I was told by his aunt that he intended to take up law studies.

Tang Chik festival 2018

We celebrated Tang Chik (Dongzhi, 冬節), or the Winter Solstice festival, today and it has been absolutely uplifting. My five hours at the Swee Cheok Tong Quah Kongsi (檳城瑞鵲堂柯公司) today were the longest that I had ever spent there on a community function and I felt that my fellow Quah Kongsi brethen and I had achieved quite a lot. Really accomplished a whole lot.

We ordered two roast pigs for the occasion and they came by motorcycles!

This Tang Chik would be the day that we were going to move the ancestors' memorial tablets back into the cabinet. For the past month, the tablets had been placed at a temporary location while we had the back wall repainted and the termite-infested cabinet base table replaced. Arriving at nine o'clock in the morning, I found that the Taoist priest (the sai soon nah) was already around to advise us on the worship.

The ceremony started at about 9.40am with the priest conducting the initial rituals before our resident deities, Tai Tay Eah (大帝爷) being the main deity, Lo Chia Kong (哪吒) and Tua Pek Kong (大伯公).

We then moved to the inner hall and proceeded to move the memorial tablets back into the cabinet under the priest's watchful eyes, and myself making sure that the tablets were being put back in the correct order.  That done, the priest began the elaborate prayers before the tablets. Eventually, we finished at about 11.15am.

At about 11.30am, I threw the chiao pai blocks to ask the ancestors whether we could conclude the worship and proceed with the burning of the joss papers. It however took me three attempts in a good 20-minute period before I received the go-ahead signal from the ancestors.

Making preparations to start off the ceremony

The Taoist priest and his assistants

The worship in the inner hall prior to the memorial tablets being moved back into the cabinet

Slowly does it.; easy does it. We started with the central tablet which represented the founder patriarch of the Swee Cheok Tong in the Hokkien province of China 

And this is where it sits: right in the centre of the top row, the most prominent position in the cabinet

The inner hall of the Swee Cheok Tong Quah Kongsi, with every tablet moved back to occupy its original position in the cabinet.

A view of our main hall with our resident deities housed in their respective cabinets

Now starts the process of praying to the memorial tablets after they had been moved back

The Taoist priest's trade tools which included this chanting book

We stood behind the priest and his assistants as they did all the chanting and banging of the cymbals and drums

Doing his chantings and invoking the ancestors' spirits to bless the Kongsi and the members. 

Making preparations to burn the joss papers

Concluding the day's work with a bonfire of joss papers 

Lye Lik Zang

Lye Lik Zang (Photo by Andrew Ooi)

This 14-year-old boy has potential. A lot of potential. And I'm excited over it. Even while most Malaysian chess players were concentrating on the chess festival in Johor during the past week, Lye Lik Zang was making many people sit up and notice him at the Asian continental championship in Manila. (His Fide rating progress here.)

Round after round, he was proving to be the equal or more than the equal of some of the participating grandmasters at the event.

At first, I had thought that Lik Zang's first-round win against the Iranian grandmaster, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, to be more of an under-estimation of playing strength by his opponent but when I played through the game, I began to realise that he was displaying a maturity unseen in many of our young players today. And coupled with the ability to carry out irresistible attacks.

[Event "17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup)"]
[Site "Makati City"]
[Date "2018.12.10"]
[Round "1"]
[Board "19"]
[White "GHAEM MAGHAMI, Ehsan"]
[Black "LYE, Lik Zang"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D12"]
[WhiteElo "2537"]
[BlackElo "2321"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2018.12.10"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3 Qc7 9. Bd2 Be7 10. O-O-O dxc4 11. Qxc4 a6 12. Qb3 b5 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. e4 c5 15. d5 c4 16. Qc2 e5 17. g4 Bd6 18. h4 Nbd7 19. Kb1 Nc5 20. Be3 Rb8 21. Ne2 Ke7 22. Bg5 Rhc8 23. h5 Qa5 24. Bd2 b4 25. g5 Nxh5 26. Bh3 Rc7 27. Qxc4 Na4 28. Qb3 (see diagram) 28... Rc3 29. bxc3 bxc3 30. Qxb8 Bxb8 31. Nxc3 Qb4+ 32. Kc2 Qb2+  0-1

If you think that Lik Zang's game was basically tactical, just take a look at his second-round win against the Indian grandmaster, Abhimanyu Puranik, another 2500-plus rated player. Firstly, Lik Zang was not scared about entering an endgame with two knights against his opponent's pair of bishops. True, the position was closed and pawns were equal. But for either side to win, it was necessary to exchange off the pawns and open up the the position. Unfortunately for Puranik, his d4-pawn proved to be a liability and Lik Zang controlled the centre so well with his knights that it was a joy to see him play:

[Event "17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup)"]
[Site "Makati City"]
[Date "2018.12.11"]
[Round "2"]
[Board "14"]
[White "PURANIK, Abhimanyu"]
[Black "LYE, Lik Zang"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2544"]
[BlackElo "2321"]
[PlyCount "128"]
[EventDate "2018.12.10"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. O-O e6 5. h3 Bh5 6. d4 Nf6 7. c4 Nbd7 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. Nc3 Bd6 10. Qb3 Qb6 11. Qxb6 Nxb6 12. Ne5 Bb4 13. g4 Bg6 14. Bd2 O-O 15. Rac1 Nfd7 16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. Rc2 Rfc8 18. Rfc1 Rc4 19. a3 Bxc3 20. Bxc3 Rac8 21. b3 R4c7 22. e3 Nf6 23. f3 Nbd7 24. Kf1 Ne8 25. Ke2 f5 26. Kd2 Kf7 27. Bf1 Nd6 28. Bb4 Rxc2+ 29. Rxc2 Rxc2+ 30. Kxc2 Nc8 31. Bb5 Nb8 (see diagram) 32. a4 a6 33. Bd3 Nc6 34. Be1 f4 35. Kd2 Nd6 36. Bf2 g5 37. h4 gxh4 38. Bxh4 b5 39. Bf2 fxe3+ 40. Kxe3 bxa4 41. bxa4 Nb4 42. Bb1 Nc4+ 43. Kf4 Nb2 44. a5 Nc6 45. Kg5 Nxa5 46. Bg6+ Ke7 47. Bc2 Nc6 48. Kg6 Kf8 49. Kh7 a5 50. g5 a4 51. Bg3 Nc4 52. Bxa4 Nxd4 53. g6 Nxf3 54. Bf4 Nd4 55. Bd1 e5 56. Bg5 Ne6 57. Bc1 e4 58. Bg4 e3 59. Be2 Ke7 60. Bxc4 dxc4 61. Bxe3 c3 62. Bc1 Kf6 63. Be3 c2 64. Bc1 Ng5+  0-1

But this time, the top players were starting to cast a wary eye at Lik Zang and three draws followed in the next three rounds against Indian grandmaster Santosh Gujrathi Vidit, Vietnamese grandmaster Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Lik Zang's losses in the sixth and seventh rounds brought him down to earth, however, before he went back to his winning way in the eighth round.

By this time, a look at the boy's achievements would see him having played eight grandmasters in eight consecutive games! I believe this is a feat never attained before by any Malaysian player in any international event. Even Mas Hafizulhelmi or Yeoh Li Tian at their peaks had never played against such a long string of grandmasters in their careers. Lik Zang is definitely the first.

I would like to highlight Lik Zang's game against Vidit, a 2701-rated player. After Lik Zang's 21. Qd6, Vidic should have exchanged off the queens with 21...Qxd6 after which the locked position was level. But after 21...Rad8 22. Be5+, Black was suddenly forced to give up his rook for the bishop because of the black-square weaknesses. Still, at the end of the game, Lik Zang decided not to press his advantage in a favourable endgame and called for a draw.

[Event "17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup)"]
[Site "Makati City"]
[Date "2018.12.12"]
[Round "3"]
[Board "5"]
[White "LYE, Lik Zang"]
[Black "VIDIT, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2321"]
[BlackElo "2701"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2018.12.10"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 O-O 10. O-O c4 11. Bf5 Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bh3 Kg7 14. a3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Bxd7 Bxd7 18. Bf4 Ba4 19. Qb2 Qd5 20. Qb4 b5 21. Qd6 (see diagram) 21... Rad8 22. Be5+ Rxe5 23. Qxe5+ Qxe5 24. dxe5 Rd5 25. Ra2  1/2-1/2

In the fourth round, Lik Zang was put under heavy pressure but he made it so easy to save the draw by forcing perpetual check on his opponent's king:

[Event "17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup)"]
[Site "Makati City"]
[Date "2018.12.13"]
[Round "4"]
[Board "5"]
[White "LYE, Lik Zang"]
[Black "NGUYEN, Ngoc Truong Son"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2321"]
[BlackElo "2641"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2018.12.10"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Nxe4 Bxe4 9. Ne5 Bxg2 10. Kxg2 d6 11. Nf3 c5 12. b3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 d5 14. cxd5 Qxd5+ 15. Nf3 Qe4 16. Be3 Rd8 17. Qb1 Qb7 18. Kg1 h6 19. Bd4 Nc6 20. Bc3 Qa6 21. Qe4 Rac8 22. Rfc1 Ba3 23. Rc2 Qb5 24. Qg4 Bf8 25. Rac1 Ne7 26. Kg2 Rc5 27. Bb2 Nc6 28. Rxc5 bxc5 29. Qc4 Qb7 30. Bc3 Nd4 31. Bxd4 cxd4 32. Qc7 Qd5 33. Qxa7 e5 34. Rc4 g5 35. h3 h5 36. Kh2 d3 37. Qe3 d2 38. Qxg5+ Bg7 39. Nxd2 Qxd2 40. Qxh5 Qxa2 41. Rg4 Qa7 42. Rxg7+ Kxg7 43. Qg5+ Kh7 44. Qh5+ Kg7 45. Qg5+ Kh7 46. Qh5+ (see diagram)  1/2-1/2

[Event "17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup)"]
[Site "Makati City"]
[Date "2018.12.14"]
[Round "5"]
[Board "4"]
[White "ABDUSATTOROV, Nodirbek"]
[Black "LYE, Lik Zang"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2546"]
[BlackElo "2321"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2018.12.10"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]

1. e4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e5 d4 4. exf6 dxc3 5. fxg7 cxd2+ 6. Bxd2 Bxg7 7. Nf3 Qd5 8. c3 Nc6 9. Bf4 Qe4+ 10. Be3 Bg4 11. Be2 Bf6 12. Qd3 Qe6 13. Qc4 O-O-O 14. Qxe6+ Bxe6 15. h4 Bd5 16. Rh3 Rhg8 17. g3 Ne5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 (see diagram) 19. f4 Bd6 20. Kf2 Be6 21. Rhh1 Bg4 22. Bc4 e5 23. h5 Be6 24. Be2 Bg4 25. Bc4 Be6 26. Be2 Bg4 27. Bc4 Be6 28. Be2  1/2-1/2

[Event "17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup)"]
[Site "Makati City"]
[Date "2018.12.15"]
[Round "6"]
[Board "9"]
[White "MAGHSOODLOO, Parham"]
[Black "LYE, Lik Zang"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2688"]
[BlackElo "2321"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2018.12.10"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. O-O e6 5. d3 Bd6 6. Nbd2 Nd7 7. e4 Ne7 8. h3 Bh5 9. c4 O-O 10. d4 Bc7 11. b3 Ba5 12. Bb2 Bxd2 13. Qxd2 dxe4 14. Ng5 Nf6 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bg6 17. Bg2 Qd6 18. Qc3 f6 19. a4 a5 20. Ba3 Qd7 21. g4 Rfe8 22. f4 Rad8 23. Rad1 Qc7 24. Rde1 Bf7 25. Rf2 Ng6 26. Qe3 Rd7 27. Ree2 Red8 28. Rd2 Re8 29. Be4 Qd8 30. Bc2 Qb8 31. Bb2 b5 32. Bc3 b4 33. Bb2 Qb6 34. Rde2 Rde7 35. Qg3 Nf8 36. h4 Qc7 37. h5 Nd7 38. Qh4 c5 39. g5 (see diagram) 39... f5 40. g6 hxg6 41. d5 e5 42. Rg2 Qd6 43. hxg6 Bxg6 44. Qg5 exf4 45. Rxe7 Rxe7 46. Qxg6 Qxg6 47. Rxg6 Nf8 48. Rg2 f3 49. Rd2 Ng6 50. Kf2 Nh4 51. d6 Rd7 52. Be5 g5 53. Bg3  1-0

[Event "17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup)"]
[Site "Makati City"]
[Date "2018.12.16"]
[Round "7"]
[Board "11"]
[White "LYE, Lik Zang"]
[Black "JUMABAYEV, Rinat"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2321"]
[BlackElo "2602"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2018.12.10"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]

1. d4 d6 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Bd3 e5 6. dxe5 dxe5 7. Nf3 Bg4 8. Bb5+ Nfd7 9. O-O exf4 10. Bxf4 O-O 11. Kh1 a6 12. Ba4 Ra7 13. Qd2 b5 14. Bb3 c5 15. Bd5 Bxf3 16. Rxf3 Ne5 17. Bxe5 Bxe5 18. Raf1 Nc6 19. Ne2 Rd7 20. c3 Bg7 21. Nf4 Ne5 22. Rg3 c4 (see diagram) 23. Nh3 Rd6 24. Ng5 Bh6 25. Qf4 Qe7 26. Qh4 Rf6 27. Rb1 Bxg5 28. Qxg5 Kg7 29. b3 h6 30. Qe3 Rc8 31. Qd4 Kh7 32. Rd1 Rf4 33. Qe3 Qf6 34. Kg1 h5 35. Qe2 cxb3 36. axb3 Ng4 37. Rf3 Qb6+ 38. Kh1 Rxf3 39. gxf3 Nf2+ 40. Kg2 Nxd1 41. Qxd1 Rxc3 42. Bxf7 Qc7 43. Qd5 Rc2+ 44. Kf1 Qxh2 45. Bxg6+ Kh6  0-1

[Event "17th Asian Continental Chess Championships (2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup)"]
[Site "Makati City"]
[Date "2018.12.17"]
[Round "8"]
[Board "17"]
[White "LYE, Lik Zang"]
[Black "GAGARE, Shardul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2321"]
[BlackElo "2504"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2018.12.10"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. b3 O-O 8. Bb2 b6 9. Bd3 Bb7 10. O-O c5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. e4 d4 14. Nb5 Bb8 15. b4 cxb4 16. Rad1 Qe7 17. Nbxd4 Rc8 18. Nf5 Qf8 19. Qd2 a5 20. Qg5 (see diagram) 20... Rc5 21. Bd4 Kh8 22. Bxc5 Nxc5 23. e5 Ne8 24. Be2 Ne4 25. Qe3 Nc3 26. Rd2 Ba7 27. N5d4 Rd8 28. Qg5 Nc7 29. Qh4 h6 30. Bc4 Ne4 31. Rdd1 Bb6 32. Qf4 Nc3 33. Rd2 N7d5 34. Qf5 Ne7 35. Qh5 Ne4 36. Rd3 Nd5 37. Qh4 Ndc3 38. e6 f6 39. Ne5 g5 40. e7 gxh4 41. Ng6+ Kg7 42. Ne6+ Kxg6 43. Nxf8+ Kf5 44. Rxd8 Bc6 45. Nd7  1-0

While Lik Zang's run against grandmasters in this tournament may have come to an end, his first international master norm is now in the bag. If he at least draws with the Vietnamese international master Nguyen Anh Khoi in this afternoon's ninth (and last) round, he will qualify for a grandmaster norm as well. I hope he does just that. The whole of Malaysia's chess community wishes him well. We shall know later today.....

UPDATE: Unfortunately, it was not to be. In the ninth and final round, our player was outclassed by a better player. More to follow if and when I'm able to see his game from the final round, which is proving difficult right now as the organisers do not seem interested to update the games data file in the Chess Results website despite the tournament ending days ago. They are actually very tardy in this respect.

Moving the memorial (sinchu) tablets

For more than a year already, the Trustees had been talking about replacing the base table of the memorial tablets cabinet in the inner hall of our Penang Swee Cheok Tong Quah Kongsi (檳城瑞鵲堂柯公司) which had been badly infested by termites.

However, we realised that it wasn't going to be a straight-forward or easy task of just removing the old base table and putting in a new one which, by the way, was custom-made by a local carpenter.

No, we had to consult the Taoist priest for a suitable date to do so. Reason was because of the memorial (sinchu) tablets. It was going to be a delicate affair. The priest would have to conduct prayers first before we can even be allowed to move the tablets. And then there was the painstaking task of removing the tablets one-by-one, identifying them properly and then placing them on the temporary table.

On 28 Nov 2018, we did all that. At ten o'clock in the morning, the Taoist priest arrived and after the preliminary prayers, my treasurer began removing the tablets while my secretary took note of each and every tablet that was moved. Meanwhile, I undertook to photograph all of them.

We are also taking the opportunity to carry out repair work on the Kongsi building and to have the wall behind the memorial tablets cabinet repainted. We hope to finish the bulk of the repair work soon so that we can move the memorial tablets back into the cabinet on the day of the Winter Solstice or Tang Chik, which falls on the 22nd of December.

This exercise also serves as an occasion for us to open a new register for all the memorial tablets. Frankly, if ever there was an old register, we couldn't find it among our records. And without this record, we wouldn't know who these memorial tablets belonged to. For the record, I shall first post here all the pictures of the memorial tablets while I await my secretary to give me his detailed listing.

Four Secretaries of State??

I was watching the first episode of Madam Secretary's fifth season when this scene jumped out from my television set: a meeting between a fictitious Secretary of State of the United States and three of her real-life predecessors, if I can describe it as such. Colin Luther Powell (2001-2005), Hillary Rodham Clinton (2009-2013) and Madeleine Korbel Albright (1997-2001).

Which begats the question: in the history of the United States, how many former Secretaries of State were eventually elected to the White House as President? Answer: only six out of a long line of 69. It is a rarified membership comprising Thomas Jefferson (SS: 1790-1793) (P: 1801-1809), James Madison (SS: 1801-1809) (P: 1809-1817), James Monroe (SS: 1811-1817) (P: 1817-1825), John Quincy Adams (SS: 1817-1825) (P: 1825-1829), Martin Van Buren (SS: 1829-1831) (P: 1837-1841) and James Buchanan Jr (SS: 1845-1849) (P: 1857-1861). None of the modern-day Secretaries of State made it to the White House. Only Hillary Clinton came close.