Report by Amirul Mohamad
The 10th Asian Schools Chess Championship 2014 just concluded with the Prize-Giving ceremony at the tournament venue i.e. Washington High School in Taichung, Taiwan.
Immediately after, a farewell banquet was hosted by the organisers. The hospitality extended by the organisers were second to none. From escorting newly arrived players/accompanying persons to the food counter at the nearby mall to order food on behalf as most cashiers do not speak English to forming a line from the bus door to the venue whilst holding umbrellas to ensure that players/guests are covered from the rain, the organisers had certainly set new standards not seem before!
Against this backdrop, Players from KLCA performed well and will be coming back with a newly minted FM and WFM as well as 2 CMs. Fresh from the Tromso Olympiad, WCM Tan Li Ting could have skipped the last 2 rounds and still win the title. Rather wisely, she did not do so and emerged undefeated in the combined Girls U1517 category with a 100% record of 9 wins from 9 rounds and making her Malaysia's newest WFM.
Not to be outdone, Dilwen Ding also managed to remain undefeated in the 7-rounds round-robin category with 6 points coming from 5 wins and 2 draws to emerge champion in the U17 event and thus will be Malaysia's newest FM. In the U13 Open category, Ng Jeng Sheng faced a last round match which he could not afford to lose in order to finish at least third. He drew the game with a player from UAE and finished the event on 6.5 points and got third place which entitles him to be a CM.
The baby of the team, 7 year old Amir Faiz Amirul also faced a last round match which was must win in order to finish amongst the medals. Playing against a Sri Lankan opponent which he had previously played against in last year's championship, he secured the full points and finished the championship with 7 points. While level on points with the eventual champion from India, he lost out on tie-break to be the runners-up and as consolation will become Malaysia's youngest CM.
Overall, a splendid outing by the KLCA players and congratulations to all parties involved are in order.
See full details at: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr142817.aspx?lan=1
