DYTM Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters & International Open Final Entry List

Today we reached the magic number of 80 for the Raja Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters & International Open which is optimal for the tournament hall and so entries are now officially closed!

In the International Open, top seeded is no less than a World Cup qualifier, Indonesian Grandmaster Susanto Megaranto who heads a field of 30 internationally titled players and 60 internationally rated players from the 70 participants!

And with the entry of Nur Nabila Azman Hisham, we now have both the Malaysian Champions, for men and for women playing.

The full list of participants will be published with the coming September FIDE rating list update.

Coverage at Susan Polgar Daily News & Information

http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2011/08/raja-nazrin-shah-invitational-masters.html

International Press Release via Our Great Friends at Chessdom!

http://www.chessdom.com/raja-nazrin-shah-invitational-masters-and-international-open-chess-championships

RAJA NAZRIN SHAH INVITATIONAL MASTERS & INTERNATIONAL OPEN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS

It will be a match-up of legends versus talents at the Raja Nazrin Shah Invitational Masters and International Open Chess Championships to be held at the Swiss Garden Hotel & Residences, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 4-10 September 2011.

Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association with sponsorship from the Masterskill Education Group Berhad under its Educating Malaysia Corporate Social Responsibility program, the former Kuala Lumpur International Open (KL Open) has seen many great champions including last year's winner, then 16 year old Woman World Chess Champion Hou Yifan from China.

It is a shared love for the game while recognising the benefits of chess and attributing its contribution to their respective success in life that convinced Raja Nazrin Shah to lend his name to the event and for KLCA President and Masterskill Education Group Berhad GCEO Dato'Sri Edmund Santhara to provide the necessary leadership and find the sponsorship to make it happen!

This year the Raja Nazrin Shah Chess Championships will showcase an Invitational Masters GM round robin tournament where four veteran grandmasters with stories to tell from Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines and Uzbekistan will vie for honours in competition with six young players including Malaysia's great hope, 28 year old International Master Mas Hafizulhelmi.

In taking on Grandmasters Joseph Sanchez, Nguyen Anh Dung, Tahir Vakhidov and Dr. Wong Meng Kong, Mas will be joined by other top ASEAN GM prospects in International Masters Oliver Barbosa, Richard Bitoon,Nguyen Van Huy, Goh Wei Ming (all with recent GM norms) and Jahongir Vakhidov who made his first IM norm at the KL Open last year!

As in previous years there will also be an International Open, and this year we boast the deepest and most competitive field ever seen locally with half the entries being internationally titled players.

Malaysia will again depend on youth to fly its flag with 18 year old National Champion Lim Zhou Ren heading the local challenge which will also include its very best young talent, U-14 Boys Champion Roshan Ajeet Singh and U-14 Girls Champion Tan Li Ting as well as the Penang based brother and sister duo of U-10 Boys Champion Teh De Juan and U-10 Girls Champion Teh De Zen.

The veterans too will also be represented too with Dato' Tan Chin Nam, father of Malaysian chess and a former FIDE Deputy President, all of 85 years young having also entered!

We have a Banner Ad on Singapore Chess News!

http://www.singaporechessnews.com/

Playing Schedule!

The Masters & Open will be demanding physically and so I would strongly recommend that all participants get fit! And unless there is a good reason, don't forget you won't get your prize if you skip the Closing Ceremony... we should all respect the sponsor!

04 September: Arrival, 1800 Final Registration & Player's Meeting
05 September: 0900 Round 1, 1500 Round 2
06 September: 0900 Round 3, 1500 Round 4
07 September: 0900 Round 5, 1500 Round 6
08 September: Rest Day/Sightseeing
09 September: 0900 Round 7, 1500 Round 8
10 September: 0900 Round 9, 1400 Blitz, 1600 Prize Giving & Closing Ceremony