It was a gymnasium of the mind in the Syeun Hotel on Sunday, August 16 as 224 multi-ethnic players, some from as far as Indonesia and the Philippines battled it out in the 6th leg (final) of the 6th Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng Perak Grand Prix Chess Championship 2015. The youngest player was 6 years old while the oldest was 62. Previous legs were held in Sg Siput, Bagan Serai, Kampar, Tapah and Ipoh (at Crest University), respectively.
Running on the theme ‘Chess Makes You Smart’, it was jointly organised by the Perak State Chess Association and the Dato’ Arthur Tan Chess Centre under the sponsorship of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad. Abu Bakar M. Abdullah, a national arbiter cum national instructor who has over 25 years of experience, acted as the chief arbiter.
On the Perak chess scene, Chan Swee Loon, President of the Perak State Chess Association, who is a former national champion, had this to say, “We have a very wide interest but the depth of the ability is not fully developed because it involves a lot of nurturing by parents. But we do have a former national champion and also a woman national champion in Perak.”
Representing KLK at the closing ceremony were Har Wai Ming, Administration Director and Lim Poh Poh, Senior Manager of Corporate Communication. Also present was Gregory Lau, Secretary of the Malaysian Chess Federation.
Fong Yit San, who has been playing since 7, is a Perakean who won the National Chess Championship in 2014. “Work hard,” said the confident 21-year-old when asked for his advice to all the budding players. His qualification for the Olympiad was his proudest achievement.
The Perak State Chess Association welcomes all forms of donation and sponsorship for the development of the game, equipment, training and running of tournaments. Interested donors kindly contact Abu Bakar at 019 4007 663 for details.
Here are the summarised results:
Under 12: Champion: Chua JiaTien Runner-up: Dharmin Pathamanathan 3rd place: Putera Amirul Iqmal Rosli Best Girl: Hanis Nasreen Adinur Best Perakean (U-12): Maryam Aaqilah Zainuddin Under 17: Champion: William Lee Kah Howe Runner-up: Benjamin Lee Kah Teng 3rd place: Muhammad Nasuha Mohd Nazri Best Girl: Sim Jia Ru Best Perakean (U17): Pravin Pathamanathan Open category: Champion: Wong Jian Wen Runner-up: Fathurahman Ansary 3rd place: Nelson Villanueva Best Lady: Fatin Nabilah Zainal Abidin Best Veteran: Jax Tham Tick Hong Grand Prix winners: Champion: Fong Yit San Runner-up: Looi Xin Hao 3rd place: Nelson VillanuevaMei Kuan
