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.