Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Penang Heritage FIDE Rated Event 2009

After Selangor Open Fide rated, then we had National Closed which is also FIDE rated event, now we have in Malaysia another FIDE rated event, Penang Heritage International Chess Open 2009. It is currently held from 10th June to 14th June 2009, at Wisma Pinang, Pulau Pinang.

I had in mind about taking part in Penang, since I am being told GMs and top Malaysian players will be participating in the event. But since I heard about the Malaysian Open thing, I had to make a choice, Penang or Malaysian Open? Since I am currently working is a private company, I dont have many annual leaves left, so, the wise decision is - Malaysian Open!

But, forget about me! no one is paying attention after all if it is me playing.. hehehe. But all eyes must have been to the only GM participating in the event, GM Gerhard Schebler from Germany. His ratings is just 2470 slightly higher than our IM Mas Hafizul who is also playing, and also the second seeded. IM Mas is currently at 2425. The GM's rating doesnt seems to be intimidating, right? So, the question is, can Malaysian lift the champ? and walk away with the first prize of RM4000? Hmm.. that is something we shall see on the updates that can be make available to us by GilaChess Blog, the blogger Andrew Ooi is there to report about the event and make the coverage on the daily basis. Thanks Andrew!

There are 35 players participating in the Open Section, while 41 players playing in the Challengers Section, fighting to take home RM1000 prize money for the winner. Currently the round 1 is under way.

In the open section, I dont think there will be any upsets in the first rounds, as based on performances and ratings, the favourites are sure to win. (to check out the first round pairings, click GilaChess Blog at Link provided). GM Gerhard is paired against David Gates, IM Mas is paired against Anthony Dass, FM Mok Tze Meng will be playing against Narayanan Sri Shiva, NM Lim Chuin Hong is against Tan Yik Ping. Ismail Ahmad, Fadli Zakaria, Sumant Subramaniam is also in the house! Cant wait to find out the results!

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