Nigel Short to Give a Simultaneous Exhibition at the KL International Chess Festival

This year, with his participation in the Thailand Open (as advisor to the organising Bangkok Chess Club), Grandmaster Nigel Short, former World Championship Contender, many time Commonwealth Champion, and the current English Champion will visit Malaysia as a guest of the KL Open 2010!

Short who is scheduled to arrive on 9 April via Bangkok from Europe has agreed to conduct a simultaneous exhibition at 4 p.m. on Saturday 10 April (the next day).

The simultaneous exhibition is limited to a maximum of 20 places (we have increased the number to meet expected demand) and seats are priced at RM 500 each on a first come first serve basis and of course those already playing in the KL Open interested will receive a 50% percent discount!

For the best possible experience, we will limit spectators and participants will have their score sheets signed by (and their photo taken with) the most famous grandmaster ever to grace a local chess tournament.

Together with our other VIPs, the media and special guests, the participants in this exhibition will also be invited to join the dinner function planned to be held immediately after (where their questions may be also directed to this legend of the game).

Any enquiries and your registrations should be directed to KL Open 2010 Organising Secretary Peter Long at peterlong@aol.asia.

Record Entries for the 3rd KL International Open Championship!

The 3rd KL Open Championship for the Raja Nazrin Shah Challenge Trophy has to date attracted a record 121 entries from 21 countries including 64 internationally titled players from amongst 107 international rated players.

Grandmaster Mikheil Mchedlishvili from Georgia, 16 year old vice women's chess champion Hou Yifan from  China, and many times German chess champion Thomas Luther headline a top class field that boasts an unprecedented entry of 16 Grandmasters, 24 International Masters, and 30 FIDE Masters.

In previous editions the winners of the KL Open, Anton Filippov from Uzbekistan (2008) and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son from Vietnam (2009), have gone on to attain the status of super grandmaster and one player has met the requirements for the grandmaster master title while three others the international master title.

The 3rd KL Open 2010 is part of the Masterskill KL International Chess Festival which also includes the KL Rapid Chess Championship being held at the Royal Selangor Club from 3-4 April 2010, a special simultaneous chess exhibition over 20 boards to be conducted by former World Chess Championship finalist and English chess champion Nigel Short at 4 p.m. on 10 April 2010, the first Visiting Grandmaster Series workshop for the Kuala Lumpur Schools Sports Council (MSSKL) on 18 April 2010 at the Cochrane Centre for Sports Excellence (PKSC), and the 1st KL Masters Challenge from 13-19 April 2010.

Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association (KLCA) and managed by Polgar Chess Asia, the 3rd KL Open 2010 is made possible by sponsorship by the Masterskill University College of Health Sciences and the Malaysian Intellect Development Foundation through their youth and national building programs.