Wah Seong Penang International Master Chess Tournament 2000

Tournament ends on a high note
by Quah Seng Sun (The Star, 10-Mar-2000)

WHEN I set out to organise the Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament two months ago, one of the main objectives was to provide an opportunity for local players to achieve international master title norms.

There was no lack of title aspirants in this tournament. Apart from Mas Hafizulhilmi who was already an international master, there were five other local players who were hopeful of playing well enough to get their norms.

Unfortunately, in an event of this kind where none of the players can be considered a pushover, not everyone would be able to realise this target. Exemplary play would have to be the order of the day, and the players would have to sort it out themselves over the chess board to see who was best qualified to gain the title norm.

I had written two weeks ago that if there was anyone who could earn an international master title norm, Mok Tze Meng would be a prime candidate. As the tournament progressed, Mok proceeded to show that I was correct in my prediction.

He had a very encouraging game in the first round against Wynn Zaw Htun, stretching the Myanmar player into a long drawn endgame before they finally agreed to a draw. In the second round, Mok made short work of national champion Jonathan Chuah and continued with another win in the third round against Ng Tze Han.

Two draws then followed against Myo Naing, an international master (IM) from Myanmar, and IM Mas Hafizulhilmi before he suffered a defeat at Chinese IM Liu Wenzhe's hands. It was a loss which could have been avoided if Mok had not been overly ambitious. A safe draw against the Chinese would have seen him on an easier track towards the title norm.

Instead, Mok found Lim Chuin Hoong very determined to stop him in the seventh round. However, he managed to avoid complications when he successfully negotiated an early simplification of the position. Lim tried hard but could not win and in the end, he had to concede defeat to Mok.

In the eighth round, despite spirited play by Wong Zijing, Mok managed to pocket the full point. Finally, Indonesian grandmaster Ardiansyah's offer of a draw in the ninth round was sufficient for Mok to reach the target of six points which was the requirement for the international master title norm in this tournament.

Amidst all the excitement over a Malaysian player getting this norm was the fact that another player had also played well enough to get a similar norm. Seventeen-year-old Wynn Zaw Htun, who came into this tournament with an impressively high rating of 2,524, played solidly enough to score six points.

He had a slow start in this event: a draw with Mok in the first round was followed by a loss to Ardiansyah. But then Wynn beat Chuah in the third round, drew with Ng, Myo and Mas in the fourth to sixth rounds, and then unleashed a victory against Liu in the seventh round. Wynn put in a final spurt in the last two rounds of the tournament by defeating Lim and Wong to achieve his norm.

The nine-day tournament, sponsored by Wah Seong (M) Trading Co Sdn Bhd and played at the CitiTel Penang, was won by Mas Hafizulhilmi. This was my first opportunity to see Mas Hafizul play in an international event and I was suitably impressed with his confidence and preparation. He made all his games seem rather effortless.

He was particularly deadly against the foreign competitors and he scored victories against Ardiansyah, Liu and Myo. Wynn was the only player to give Mas Hafizul some initial difficulties but the draw was never in doubt.

He was generous with the local players at the start of the event but towards the end when it became clear that some could no longer get their norms, Mas Hafizul moved into higher gear and mopped up everyone else.

Gone are the days when the foreigners can beat our players at will--as proven by the results of this tournament. Our players are on par with the foreign players. Otherwise, how would you explain the performances of the foreign players?

Ardiansyah, Liu and Myo obviously did not play at their very best levels or else they would not have suffered embarrassing losses to our own players.

In the fourth round, Ardiansyah went down to a shock defeat at the hands of Chuah; and one round later, Wong defeated Liu. Ng's high point in the tournament was when he beat Myo in the seventh round.

Anyway, it would be too presumptous to dismiss the foreigners for not trying hard enough. I know they did try very hard. In the second round, for instance, Ardiansyah pulled himself together to defeat Wynn in a delicate endgame position. In the final round, Liu piled a lot of pressure on Ng's position but failed to make a breakthrough and had to agree to a draw.






	Tournament ends on a high note by Quah Seng Sun (The Star, 10-Mar-2000)
	WHEN I set out to organise the Wah Seong Penang international master chess tournament two months ago, one of the main objectives was to provide an opportunity for local players to achieve international master title norms. There was no lack of title aspirants in this tournament. Apart from Mas Hafizulhilmi who was already an international master, there were five other local players who were hopeful of playing well enough to get their norms. Unfortunately, in an event of this kind where none of the players can be considered a pushover, not everyone would be able to realise this target. Exemplary play would have to be the order of the day, and the players would have to sort it out themselves over the chess board to see who was best qualified to gain the title norm. I had written two weeks ago that if there was anyone who could earn an international master title norm, Mok Tze Meng would be a prime candidate. As the tournament progressed, Mok proceeded to show that I was correct in my prediction. He had a very encouraging game in the first round against Wynn Zaw Htun, stretching the Myanmar player into a long drawn endgame before they finally agreed to a draw. In the second round, Mok made short work of national champion Jonathan Chuah and continued with another win in the third round against Ng Tze Han. Two draws then followed against Myo Naing, an international master (IM) from Myanmar, and IM Mas Hafizulhilmi before he suffered a defeat at Chinese IM Liu Wenzhe's hands. It was a loss which could have been avoided if Mok had not been overly ambitious. A safe draw against the Chinese would have seen him on an easier track towards the title norm. Instead, Mok found Lim Chuin Hoong very determined to stop him in the seventh round. However, he managed to avoid complications when he successfully negotiated an early simplification of the position. Lim tried hard but could not win and in the end, he had to concede defeat to Mok. In the eighth round, despite spirited play by Wong Zijing, Mok managed to pocket the full point. Finally, Indonesian grandmaster Ardiansyah's offer of a draw in the ninth round was sufficient for Mok to reach the target of six points which was the requirement for the international master title norm in this tournament. Amidst all the excitement over a Malaysian player getting this norm was the fact that another player had also played well enough to get a similar norm. Seventeen-year-old Wynn Zaw Htun, who came into this tournament with an impressively high rating of 2,524, played solidly enough to score six points. He had a slow start in this event: a draw with Mok in the first round was followed by a loss to Ardiansyah. But then Wynn beat Chuah in the third round, drew with Ng, Myo and Mas in the fourth to sixth rounds, and then unleashed a victory against Liu in the seventh round. Wynn put in a final spurt in the last two rounds of the tournament by defeating Lim and Wong to achieve his norm. The nine-day tournament, sponsored by Wah Seong (M) Trading Co Sdn Bhd and played at the CitiTel Penang, was won by Mas Hafizulhilmi. This was my first opportunity to see Mas Hafizul play in an international event and I was suitably impressed with his confidence and preparation. He made all his games seem rather effortless. He was particularly deadly against the foreign competitors and he scored victories against Ardiansyah, Liu and Myo. Wynn was the only player to give Mas Hafizul some initial difficulties but the draw was never in doubt. He was generous with the local players at the start of the event but towards the end when it became clear that some could no longer get their norms, Mas Hafizul moved into higher gear and mopped up everyone else. Gone are the days when the foreigners can beat our players at will--as proven by the results of this tournament. Our players are on par with the foreign players. Otherwise, how would you explain the performances of the foreign players? Ardiansyah, Liu and Myo obviously did not play at their very best levels or else they would not have suffered embarrassing losses to our own players. In the fourth round, Ardiansyah went down to a shock defeat at the hands of Chuah; and one round later, Wong defeated Liu. Ng's high point in the tournament was when he beat Myo in the seventh round. Anyway, it would be too presumptous to dismiss the foreigners for not trying hard enough. I know they did try very hard. In the second round, for instance, Ardiansyah pulled himself together to defeat Wynn in a delicate endgame position. In the final round, Liu piled a lot of pressure on Ng's position but failed to make a breakthrough and had to agree to a draw.