Peter Long on Chess

Grandmaster Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son from Vietnam lived up to his top billing by winning the KL Open 2009 with an impressive 7.5 points from 9 games and take the first prize of RM 10,000 while half a point behind, boasting seven wins, was Indonesian Grandmaster Susanto Megaranto whose victory over Grandmaster Dao Tien Hai of Vietnam earned second place and RM 5,000. Veteran Uzbekistan Grandmaster Saidali Iuldachev, now primarily a trainer, had a strong finish to score 6.5 points for sole third place and RM 3,000 while sharing 4th to 8th places and RM 1,000 each were Grandmaster Dao Tien Hai from Vietnam, Grandmaster Marat Dzhumaev and International Master Tahir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan, Candidate Master Nguyen Hoang Nam from Vietnam, and International Master Richard Bitoon from the Philippines. The KL Open participant mix was optimised for International Master norm and rating opportunities so it was gratifying when Nguyen Hoang Nam and Candidate Master Farid Firman Shah from Indones

The Kuala Lumpur Open & Young Talent Team Chess Challenge has officially started today with a technical meeting at 8 p.m. where a total of 82 entries have been confirmed, amongst which are 6 GMs, 7 IMs, 2 WIMs, and 5 FMs and 7 other titled players. Of the 58 entries in the Open from 11 countries, 27 are titled and 49 have FIDE ratings, a turnout that has successfully built on last year's inaugural KL Open Chess Championship. In the KL Young Talent Team Chess Challenge, 4 teams of 6 players each, 3 under 14 years of age and 3 under 10 years of age, are playing using the Scheveningen System and they are Indonesia, the Serangoon Chess Club (Singapore), KLCA (Kuala Lumpur Chess Association) and Polgar Chess University Asia. Held from 3-9 September at Shah's Village Hotel in Petaling Jaya, the 9 round swiss system tournament which is the flagship event of the KLCA boasts a total prize fund of 35,000 Ringgit (US$ 10,000). As with all KLCA events, the Kuala Lumpur Open & Youn