KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — The 17th Malaysian Chess Festival, one of the longest-running chess fiestas in the continent, will be held from September 2 to September 11 at the Cititel Mid Valley here.
Having a mix of classical, rapid and blitz events, the 10-day festival would feature the broadest possible exposure of the mind-game to participants, the organisers said in a statement today.
It will feature, among others, the Datin Yee Wai Fong Junior Team Championship from September 2 to September 3, Datuk Ng Chee Cheong Open Age-Group Championship (September 4) and DATCC Merdeka Individual Rapid Chess (September 8) for kids and teens in age-group categories.
The open categories of the festival, sanctioned by the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF), are the Merdeka Open Rapid Team Championship (September 2 to September 3), Datuk Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Championship (September 5 to September 11) and Malaysia Chess Challenge (September 5 to September 11).
“The Malaysian Chess Festival has been a consistent feature for chess buffs across the region, where top players from across the region — China, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand — come together and then (are) joined by the locals in battles of chess tactics and strategies.
“For this edition, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) has also provided monetary sponsorship in efforts to reignite face-to-face chess events,” it said.
The organisers said that when former MCF president the late Datuk Tan Chin Nam conceptualised the idea of the festival in 2004, his vision was to create a multi-event festival that would bring together the top three players from Europe, the Americas, Oceania and across the region.
— Bernama
