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By Lim Tse Pin

The Chess Association of Selangor will be organizing the oldest chess tournament in Malaysia from 26th April to 1st May 2019.

We will be celebrating 46 continuous years of our event which has had a very colorful history since its first inception in 1974.  As in previous years, this event will be divided into two categories i.e. the Open and the Challengers.

The 9-round Open which is open to all will have a time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment from move one and a total prize fund of RM 21,000 (Champion RM 6,000), plus another RM 3,000 in special prizes, and 12 medals for the best Malaysian schools/institutions of higher learning.

Free entry shall be given to any WIM/WGM/IM/GM and past Selangor Open Champions.

The Challengers will have the same number of rounds and time control and a total prize fund of of RM 3,900, plus another RM 1,000 in FIDE Rating categories and top three women, and 12 medals for the best Malaysian primary Schools.

Challengers is open to all with a FIDE Standard Elo below 2000 rating (April 2019) or with no FIDE rating.

The venue for this event is at Grand Ballroom, 5th floor, Cititel Mid Valley Hotel, KL. Participants needing accommodation at Cititel Hotel, can contact En. Hamid Majid (aham@pc.jaring.asia) to enjoy a special rate (one-night twin sharing with breakfast @ RM272 nett). Alternatively, you can book the room via one of the online web portals.

We have appointed DAT Chess Centre as the Event Manager for this event. DAT Chess Centre will be handling the registration and payments shall be made into DAT Chess Centre’s Maybank account 5145-9822-0396.

A rebate will be given to players registering with payment in the Open by 8th April 2019 and this also applies to four or more children from the same school in both the Open and Challengers.

Those physically handicapped in the Open will also enjoy special discounts on entry fees

Here you can download a copy of the OPEN prospectus or the CHALLENGERS prospectus.

2-11 Aug 2019

Under the Patronage of H.H Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Sport Council.

Abu Dhabi Chess Festival Committee has the honor of inviting you to take part in a distinguished chess annual event, which consists of numerous FIDE registered tournaments. It will be held in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the UAE from 2^nd until 11^{th of} August, 2019.

Organization:

Abu Dhabi Chess & Culture Club is organizing the festival in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Sports Council and guarantees the tournament will be held in accordance with FIDE chess rules and regulations.

Festival Tournaments:

• Masters Tournament:

Open to all Fide- rated players with standard rating of 2100 ELO and above “Exception Abu Dhabi chess players” (as of 1^st Jun 2019,). Tournament will be a 9 rounds Swiss system, time control 90 min for each player and 30 seconds increment for each. 30-minute tolerance will be applied. The organizing committee shall provide free accommodation in a five stars’ hotel for players rated 2600+ and women with standard Elo of 2400+ (prior approval from the committee is needed in order to guarantee the accommodation. Only for limited players who register first). FIDE ID is required. Entry Fees AED 370 (US$ 100). GM, IM with standard Elo Above 2400 and WGM are exempted from entry and registration Fees.

• Open Tournament:

Open for players rated 2100 ELO and below (as of 1^st Jun 2019,). The tournament will be a 9 rounds Swiss system, time control 90 min for each player and 30 seconds increment for each move. 30-minute tolerance will be applied.

FIDE ID is required. Entry fees AED 200 (US$ 60). IM’s & GM’s are exempted from this condition.

• Juniors Tournament (under 16 years):

Open for players born in 2003 or later. The tournament will be a 9 rounds Swiss system, time control 70 min for each player for the whole game. 30-minute tolerance will be applied.

FIDE ID is required. Entry fees AED 100 (US$ 27). IM’s & GM’s are exempted from this condition.

 *Only rated junior players are eligible to play in two tournaments (open and juniors tournament). Exception Abu Dhabi Chess players if the committee accepted.

• Blitz tournament: Swiss system, 11 rounds, 3 min + 2 sec increment. Entry fees AED 100 (US$ 27). GM, IM with standard Ello Above 2400 and WGM are exempted.

• Simultaneous exhibition: Held by a renowned international GM. Free Registration.

•  Homeland protector’s tournament: Open to members of military and police and national service. Swiss system, 7 rounds, 15 min. If there are 10 or less teams participating, the tournament will be a round robin Free Registration.

• Family Team Tournament: Swiss system, 7 rounds, 15 min. Open to teams of 2 players (player + one of the parents). If there are 10 or less teams participating, the tournament will be a round robin. Free Registration.

• Senior Chess Tournament: Swiss system, 7 rounds, 15 min. The participants are aged 55 years and over. 

TIEBREAK

1. Direct Encounter (The Result of the Players in The Same Point Group)
2. ARCO (Average Rating of Opponents Cut 1)
3. BUCHHOLZ
4. SONNERBORN-BERGER

 

Tournament Prizes (in U.S. dollars)

	1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.	8.	9.	10
Masters tournament	$13000	$7,500	$5,500	$3,500	$2000	$1500	$1000	$800	$700	$600
Master Tournament Best Player Below 2400	$500	$400	$300
Master Tournament – Best Female	$500	$300	$150
Open tournament	$2000	$1500	$1200	$1000	$800	$500	$400	$300	$200	$100
Open Tournament – Best 1700 & below	$1000	$700	$500
Open Tournament – Best Unrated	$1000	$700	$500
Open Tournament – Best Female	$500	$300	$150
Juniors tournament	$1500	$1000	$700	$500	$400	$300
Juniors tournament best U14	$500	$300	$150
Juniors tournament best U12	$500	$300	$150
Juniors tournament best U10	$500	$300	$150
Juniors tournament best U8	$300	$200	$100
Juniors tournament– Best Female	$300	$200	$100
Blitz tournament	$1000	$700	$500
Blitz tournament-Best Result U16	$500
Family team tournament	$500	$300	$200
Homeland protector’s tournament	$700	$500	$300
Senior Chess Tournament	$700	$500	$300

 

 Tournament Schedule

	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
	2.8	3.8	4.8	5.8	6.8	7.8	8.8	9.8	10.8	11.8
Masters tournament	1st Round   5.30 pm	2nd    + 3rd Round 10 am, 6pm	4th   Round   5pm	5th  Round   5 pm	Free day	6th  Round   5 pm	7th Round   5 pm	8th Round   5 pm	9th Round   10am	Departure
Open tournament	1st Round   5.30 pm	2nd    + 3rd Round 10 am, 6pm	4th   Round   6pm	5th  Round   6 pm	Free day	6th  Round   6 pm	7th Round   6 pm	8th Round   6 pm	9th Round   10am	Departure
Juniors tournament			1st + 2nd Round 10 am + 2 pm	3rd + 4th Round 10 am + 2 pm	5th  + 6th Round 10 am + 2 pm	7th Round 10 am	8th Round 10 am	9th Round 9:30 am
Simultaneous exhibition					3 pm
Blitz tournament					5 pm
Family tournament						2 pm	2 pm
Homeland protectors’ tournament						2 pm	2 pm
Senior Chess Tournament						2 pm	2 pm

 

The closing ceremony will take place on 10^th  of August 2019 at 7pm.

 

Special prizes

Simultaneous exhibition winners.

1. Best UAE player in Masters Tournament.
2. Best UAE Player in Open Tournament
3. Best UAE Female Player in Open Tournament
4. Best UAE player in Juniors Tournament.
5. Best UAE female player in Junior’s Tournament
6. Best player of the Abu Dhabi Chess Club in each category (U8, U10, U12, U14, and U16)
7. Best female player of the Abu Dhabi Chess Club in each category (U8, U10, U12, U14, and U16)

Registration & Related Fees

Registration is accepted online via the following link. www.adchessfestival.com Please send us a filled registration form (you can find it below) and a passport copy with two photos to adchessfestival@gmail.com . Last day of registration is 6th June 2019. Late registration fees is AED 100 (US $27) starts from 7 June till 1^st Aug 2019. All participating players accept to fully comply with the regulations of the tournament and the organizer. Organizing committee reserves the right to accept or deny a participant’s registration according to FIDE Rules and Regulations and UAE Laws.

Entry fee and related payments must be paid in FULL prior to the deadline (1^st of July 2019) either in cash at Abu Dhabi Chess & Culture club or through Bank Transfer/ Deposit to the following Address:

Name: Abu Dhabi Chess & Culture Club	Bank: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank	Branch: Najda Street Branch
Swift Code: ABDIAEAD	Account Number :10079393	IBAN: AE51 0500000000010079393
Currency: AED	Address: Al Najda Street Branch, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Kindly mention your FIDE Name & FIDE ID in your transfer and send a copy of the transfer to:  adchessfestival@gmail.com

 

Visa

Visa Charges

Processing Visa Fee for all Players (except Invited players by org)	AED 100	US $27
Processing Visa Fee of an accompany person	AED 100	US $27
Special request such as : Indian Citizens requiring “okay to Board Confirmation”	Free	Free

1. Visa rules are subject to change. Kindly confirm with your airline prior booking
2. Players / accompany persons who require a visa are requested to upload and attach a clear scanned colored copy of their passports and scanned colored personal photo in the online application
3. For Indian citizens: it’s also required to attach the past page of the passport
4. For Syrian citizens: “Issue/Expiry page” of the passport is required for visa
5. For Bangladeshi citizens: information of the bearer page of the passport is required for visa
6. Entry Visas to the UAE Issued for eligible participants subject to the approval of the GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF RESIDENCY & FOREIGNER AFFAIRS – UAE and will be valid for 30 days from the date of arrival.  

 

                                             Hotel Accommodation

The official hotel of the festival will be announced two months before the event began and will be published at festival’s official homepage. Please check our website for hotels information and rate www.adchessfestival.com . www.adchessfestival.ae . The tournament official hotel will be a 5 stars class. 4 and 3 stars hotel will be also available prior participant’s request.

 

General information

1. The organizing committee will provide a visa for foreign players according to legal procedures of UAE after receiving the registration form and a passport copy including two photos before 6^st of June 2019.

For Visa fees please refer to VISA Section.

3. The organizing committee will provide special rates for participants who wish to stay in a hotel.

3. Participants from abroad can come through Abu Dhabi International Airport, Dubai International Airport (150 km from Abu Dhabi) or Sharjah International airport (180km from Abu Dhabi). Organizer Committee will provide the invited players Pickup transportation (from Airport to hotel/ from hotel to airport) only from Abu Dhabi Airport.

 

General Condition for Tournaments

1. Smoking is strictly prohibited within public buildings and playing hall
2. The use of mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices in the tournament hall is strictly prohibited.
3. Players are responsible for submitting their scoresheets by themselves after their game; otherwise, the game will be evaluated as 0:0!
4. Players who provide false information on their entry form (especially concerning ratings) risk to be excluded from the tournament.
5. The first round will start after the opening ceremony ends immediately. Opening Ceremony starts on 10^th Aug at 5 pm.
6. Late arrivals of max 30 minutes are allowed. If a player is more than 30 minutes late, his game will be considered lost by forfeit.
7. Official Hotel Accommodation for the tournament & Venue will be published on the Festival website www.adchessfestival.com .
8. Arrival expected day is 1^st Aug 2019 and Departure expected date is 11^th Aug 2019. Early arrival or late departure charge to be borne by player.
9. Winners of the Tournament MUST be present at closing ceremony
10. Prizewinners are required to follow the dress code of business casual (or elegant casual) or UAE formal dress code – no shorts, sport shoes or sneakers , slippers, hates or caps
11. A player can not be awarded more than one prize, and will be awarded the highest prize

 

 Registration Form

Name: _____________ Father’s Name: _______________ Mother’s Name: ______________ Nationality: _____________ Date of Birth: ___________ Place of birth: _____________

Passport number: ________________ Country of issue: ________________ Date of Issue: _____________ Date of Expiry: ______________ International ELO Rating: ____________ Int Title: _____ FIDE ID_______ Phone Number: ____ ______Fax Number: ___________

E-mail: ____________________ Airline carrier: _________________ Airport of departure: __________________Airport of arrival: _______________Time of arrival: ____________ Hotel: _________________

** Important note for participants outside UAE: Please fill out the registration form and send it to the organizing committee no later than 6^th of June 2019.

**Players without a valid FIDE ID are not allowed to participate in the festival and will not be accepted.

For further information, please contact Mr. Zuhair Ahmad, general coordinator of the festival on phone number: (+971506113117) or email: adchessfestival@gmail.com  or you can visit our website Festival Site www.adchessfestival.com   Abu Dhabi Chess Club web Site www.abudhabichess.com

 

Download prospectus and registration form here: regulations 26th AD Festival Final – English Version

Express Report by Paul Spiller

FM elect and co 2018 NZ Champion Alphaeus Ang won the A grade section of the annual Latvian tournament organised by the Howick- Pakuranga Chess Club in Auckland on March 16th 2019.

He finished on 5/6 with 4 wins and 2 draws. The tournament attracted 125 players (a record) with entries from The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Argentina.

Full results at www.newzealandchess.co.nz

Report by Husan Turdialiev

From 12th to 15th March 2019 in the International Chess Academy in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan, takes place FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar.

The seminar is carried out by the FIDE Lecturer International Arbiter
Turdialiev Husan (Uzbekistan), the assistant is International Arbiter
Krjukov Mikhail (Russia).

Two persons from each country of FIDE Zone 3.4 were invited to participate
in the seminar and were provided with lodging and food. Totally participate
15 Arbiters from 7 countries – Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Chinese Taipei Chess Association (CTCA) has the honor to invite all national chess federations to participate in the 2019 CTCA International Chess Open to be organized in Kaohsiung, Taiwan from 17th July (arrival) to 25th July (departure) 2019.

Please download prospectus: 2019 CTCA Chess Open英文

Report by Shohreh Bayat

The 17^th International Chess Festival “Caspian Cup 2019” and “3^rd Chess Stars Cup” was officially opened in Anzali Free Zone in Iran on 11 February 2019 and held from 12-19 February 2019. No less than 20 countries were represented in this annual event organised by the Gilan Chess Association under the auspices of Chess Federation of the Islamic.Republic of Iran and which attracted well over 750 participants.

 

3rd Chess Stars Cup

With many brilliant young Iran players now making their way up the global rankings, taking centre stage was the third edition of the Stars Cup, a competition between a team of Iran’s best against an experienced group of foreign Grandmasters.

The format was the Scheveningen System which pitted the World Stars comprising GM Eltaj Safarli form Azernaijan, GM Evgeny Alekseev from Russia, GM Marin Bosiocic from Croatia, and GM Sergey Tiviakov from Netherlands against the Iran Stars comprising World Junior Champion GM Parham Maghsoodloo, GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Mohammad Amin Tabatabaei and GM Amirreza Pourramezanali.

After 8 rounds of competition, the Iran Stars convincingly prevailed over the World Stars with a match point score of 10 to 6 and game point score of 17 to 15.

 

Iranian super talent Alireza Firouzja was the only undefeated player and he gained +17.2 rating points.

Parham Maghsooloo also played well and gained +6.6 rating points.

GM Marin Bosiocic was however the most uncompromising player in the tournament with no draws, with 4 wins and 4 losses and scoring 4 out of 8.

GM Alekseev also played some great games and achieved a performance rating of 2644.

Mohammad Amin Tabatabaei by gaining +5.2 rating points has once again reached a 2600 rating.

 

17th Caspian Cup

The 17^th Caspian Cup was another event that took place in the same time in the same place and is considered to be the most representative open tournament in Iran and where in recent years, has even seen such global chess stars as Anatoly Karpov and Nigel Short as special guests.

The event consisted of five groups according to the rating of the participants – А (2100 and more), B (2099-1800), C (1799 and less) D (Women) and C (Youth- Under 14). Participants of all the groups played in 9 or 11 rounds according to the Swiss system.

This year the winner of the Masters or A Group were Iran GM Masoud Mosadeghpour with Vitaliy Bernadskiy from Ukraine and GM Karen Grigoryan from Armenia in 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively.

 

Report by Paul Spiller

The 2019 Zone 3.6 was successfully organised by President Roger Orio and Guam Echecs in Tumon from February 17-23 at the Pacific Star hotel.

It also featured important meetings involving Oceania Presidents and delegates and meetings with FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich and treasurer Zhu Chen.

From these meetings proposals have been drafted for developing chess in Oceania and suggestions to involve more of our Pacific neighbours in Oceania competitions.

The Open tournament was won outright by the highest ranked player, GM Max Illingworth of Australia on 7.5/9 who overcame an upset first round loss to local player Felix Lacno whilst the Women’s event was won with a picket fence by Australian WGM Julia Ryjanova.

Second place in the Open was won somewhat unexpectedly although completely deservedly by FM Shaun Press of Australia who was only seeded 10^th at the start.

He was undefeated but had crucial victories over Tony Dowden, Angelito Camer and in the last round against Felix Lacno.

Shaun made his first IM norm with this result. Three players tied for 3rd on 6 points also gaining FM titles: Clive Ng (Australia), Manuel Enofre (Guam) and John Duneas (New Zealand). John was also undefeated.

In the Women’s event, Rebecca Stones ( Australia) took clear second on 7.5 points gaining the WFM title and 3rd place went to 14 year old Vyanla Punsalan from New Zealand on 7 points.

To All Asian National Chess Federations

 

Asian Chess Federation is pleased to announce that the Asian Chess Summit 2019 is scheduled 27 March (arrival) to 31 March (departure) in the United Arab Emirates including the Asian Chess Symposium, Asian Chess Development Program, Asian Chess Forum and Asian Chess Excellence Awards.

Bilateral meetings and among zone members will be scheduled during the summit. Invitations to follow.

Report by Paul Spiller

 

The Memorandum of understanding was made on the 30^th of January 2019 between ASEAN CHESS CONFEDERATION (“ACC” – Prospero A. Pichay Jr. – President of the ACC) and EUROPEAN CHESS UNION (“ECU” = Zurab Azmaiparashvili – President of the ECU).

The overarching purpose of this MOU is to provide a framework for cooperation between the Parties that would be mutually beneficial and it is to precede a longer-term contract arrangement in which working documents and deliverables relating to particular projects or undertakings towards cooperation are produced.

The guiding principle behind the MOU is mutual friendship, trust and respect and a common desire to advance the interests of chess in Europe and the ASEAN region.

The scope of the cooperation between the Parties includes the organisation of a periodic chess match between Europe and the ASEAN member nations, technical cooperation including best practices in the organisation of chess events and the sharing of knowledge and experience in developing chess academies and chess in education.