It has been a long time since an Over-The-Board National Level event is being held in Malaysia – since Persatuan Catur Pahang hosted the Malaysia Chess Championship 2019 in Kuantan to be exact. That was in May/June 2019 – held during fasting month, and was postponed due the passing of the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah. After that, many of the OTB events were cancelled or went missing from the calendar due to insufficient resources, and later, due to COVID19 outbreaks. So, for almost 2 1/2 years, there has been a gap of OTB National Level FIDE Rated events – a long break which is expected to end very soon.

At the recent MCF Committee Meeting which was held in October 2021, the Malaysian Chess Federation has agreed to help reignite the return of National Level OTB events by organizing the National Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2021 – last held in 2016 and was hosted by Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Tronoh, Perak. While the event is still waiting the clearance from KBS and COS – Commissioner of Sports Office, the Federation is confident that it will be able to execute the event as per the scheduled time and date.

For this revived edition of the National Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2021, the event will be held over Christmas weekend from 24th December to 26th December 2021 at Hotel Tenera, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor. This will be a FIDE Rated event played over 9 rounds (for Rapid) and 11 rounds (for Blitz) with a time control of 20 mins + 10 secs for the former, and 3 mins + 2 secs for the latter. A total prize fund of RM 5,000 has been set aside for the eventual winners in both categories.

MCF would like to remind everyone that players who wish to play in this event are required to have a valid FIDE ID. More importantly, based on guidelines provided by the authorities, only players who have completed the required 2 doses of COVID vaccine are allowed to sign up and play in the tournament. Minors who are below the age of 12 (and 18) – while they may not have received their vaccination, their parents must have been vaccinated in order for them to participate in the tournament. This will be the prerequisites for anyone wanting to be play (or be an official) in the event.

Players who are interested to play are required to sign up and fill the following registration form at https://forms.gle/uwbTMYWECP4ucjba8 And again, due to the required SOP, only the first 150 players will be accepted to play in the event

Hotel Tenera which acts as the official hotel and venue for the event, is also offering discounted rates for players want to stay in the hotel as it has a wide variety of rooms and apartment available – enough to cater for those who are coming alone, with friends or partners, or with family. Those who are interested to enjoy the discounted rates must book their rooms through the official MCF registration form as well.

Players who are interested to be a part of the event are requested to download and read the following documents to get more information with regards to its playing format, entry fees and prize structure, Rules and Regulations and SOPs when participating.

For more information, please email to mcfsecretariat@malaysiachess.org

Come and join our National Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2021 at Tenera Hotel on 24th to 26th December 2021 – Lets Have Fun and Be there!

#staysafe #togetherwecan #keluargaMalaysia