Foremost, the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF), the Organizer and the Team of Officials, Arbiters and Helpers would like to extend its sincerest gratitude and appreciation to all players, parents, coaches, teachers, supporters and chess fans from all around the country that have come to support and participate at the recently concluded National Youth Chess Championship 2025 held at the Taiping Perdana Hotel in Taiping Perak. The event saw almost 600 players converging for the 3-day event which ended to be one of the more highly celebrated youth event in recent years.
Regretfully, while the event has received accolades and thumbs up from many who had attended and experienced the event, an error has occurred which impacted around 25% of the final standing especially in the U18 Girls category resulting in the change of the declared Champion. While the 2nd Tie Break used was the correct one selected, it was not the same version that the officials are more accustomed to as it had been simplified while maintaining the same Tie Break name. To make matters worse, as the new version only applies in the final round, it was too late to change the result that needed to be announced at the closing ceremony hence, the team decided to proceed with what was presented to them at that time.
MCF held a discussion to address the matter and agrees that there was no ill intention or manipulation to fix or adjust the final ranking, and that the error was purely an “oversight” due to a “new and unexplored TB version” that caught everyone by surprise. It was a learning experience for many that was involved in the tournament and a wake up call for organizers and officials to be more careful and diligent when running major events.
On behalf of the Organizer and the Official Team that had worked so hard for the event, we extend our sincerest heartfelt apologies to those impacted by the change. MCF accepts this as a learning point to help us improve and do better in the future. And again, MCF would like to extend its thanks and appreciation for all the support, cooperation and understanding that the community has given us, as we continue to develop and elevate chess to a higher level in Malaysia.
Please allow us sometime to reload the new tournament results within today. Certificates issued to all the winners will reflect the new corrected standing and will be available soon from our website.
Thank you again. GENS UNA SUMUS
Next: National Junior Chess Championship 2025 – 14, 15, 16 February 2025 at AEON Mall Klebang, Ipoh, Perak.