They were the champions

By QUAH SENG SUN

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) was founded in 1974. In the MCF’s 32-year history, the national closed chess championship has been held every year except in 1988. 

For a long time, even the MCF itself had lost track of the people who had won the highest chess title in the country but in the last few months, the MCF began piecing together its chess history to come out with a roll call of our national champions. 

It all began in 1974 with the first national closed championship at the old Football Association of Selangor building in Kuala Lumpur, which was won by Choo Min Wang. At that time, only Penang, Selangor, Kelantan and Johor were affiliated to the MCF and each of these state chess associations sent four representatives to the competition. 

In 1975, Chan Swee Loon, a schoolboy from Perak, became the second national champion and in 1976, this feat was emulated by another schoolboy, Goh Yoon Wah from Penang, who was concurrently the national schoolboys’ champion. Goh was to win the national title a second time in 1982. 

Tan Bian Huat from Penang was the national champion in 1977 and in 1978, the crown passed to Kuala Lumpur’s Christi Hon who also held it in 1981 and 1983. Kuala Lumpur had another national champion in Tay Chong Thai who won the national title in 1979. 

Jimmy Liew of Penang claimed the first of his two national titles in 1980, with his second coming four years later in 1984. Selangor’s Peter Long was the first person to win the national title two years back-to-back in 1985 and 1986, and Kuala Lumpur’s Lee Soi Hock picked up the title in 1987. 

Due to some unexplained reason, the national closed championship failed to materialise in 1988 but in 1989 when the series resumed, Johor’s Mohd Kamal Abdullah became the winner. Selangor’s Ng Ek Leong was the 1990 winner while Kamal Ariffin Wahiduddin was the champion in 1991. 

Sarawak’s Mok Tze Meng won the title in 1992 and Penang’s Yeoh Chin Seng was the winner in 1993. By this time, the domination by Kelantan’s Mas hafizulhelmi Rahman was just starting and he won the national title for two consecutive years in 1994 and 1995. 

There was another fine back-to-back performance in 1996 and 1997 when Selangor’s Lim Yee Weng became the national champion. Thereafter, the national crown fell to Ng Ee Vern in 1998, before a trio of players from Penang claimed the title for the following three years: Jonathan Chuah in 1999, Ng Tze Han in 2000 and Lim Chuin Hoong in 2001. 

Kuala Lumpur’s Wong Zi Jing won the title in 2002 and Selangor’s Nicholas Chan was the national champion in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, his brother, Marcus Chan, became the latest national champion.  

All in, these are the 24 players who have been awarded the National Master title by the MCF. 

Quah Seng Sun can be contacted at [e-mail]. Join Malaysia’s biggest chess mailing list by registering yourself at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chess-malaysia 

Up next

Penang Chess League 

The Penang Chess Association (PCA) will organise the Dato Arthur Tan Memorial Penang Chess League, sponsored by Wah Seong (Malaya) Trading Sdn Bhd, over four consecutive Sundays starting June 26.  

The venue: Kolej Damansara Utama in Jalan Anson, Penang. This event is open to teams from the public sector, factories, institutions of learning, businesses and registered societies and clubs. 

Top prizes include RM1,500 for the champion team, RM1,000 as the second prize and RM800 as the third prize. There are five other cash prizes and numerous other consolation prizes. Entry fee is RM120 per team of four players. For details, contact Marcus Yeoh (04-2813380 or 012-4723873). Closing date is June 23. 

PCGHS open 

The Penang Chinese Girls’ High School Chess Club will organise an eight-round open tournament at their school hall on June 19. There are 10 cash prizes with a first prize of RM200, and numerous consolation prizes.  

Entry fees for members of the Penang Chess Association are RM15 for adults, ladies and veteran players, RM10 for under-18 players and RM7 for under-12 players. For non-members, the entry fees are RM20, RM15 and RM10 respectively. To register, contact Carmen Yuen (04-2814608), Rachel Loh (012-5046395) or Goh Shih Yi (04-6449748). 

MCD charity tournament

The Malaysian Confederation of the Disabled (MCD) is a registered national voluntary organisation which aims to improve the welfare of people with disabilities. Together with six other bodies, the MCD provides services for more than 20,000 individuals with different levels of disabilities throughout the country. 

The MCD is holding a one-day charity event to raise funds for the organisation on July 10. Among the activities which will be held at the Malaysian Association for the Blind in Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, is an open chess tournament. 

According to the MCD president, Mah Hassan Omar, people who are keen on chess and who wish to do some charity may participate with an entrance fee of RM50. Entry forms are available from Mah Hassan (013-3905764) and Jerry Lew (013-3423038). Closing date for entries is July 5.