With the on again-off again MCO enforcement continuing in much of Malaysia, the Malaysian Chess federation has decided to cancel the Over-The-Board FT Classical Chess Championship and opt for the more practical Online mode. The event is now called the FT Online Chess Festival 2021 which will run for 6 weeks from 31st July 2021 until 12th September 2021. Emulating the XTiv Series which had just concluded earlier this month, the FT Online Chess Festival will also be using the Grand Prix format where the top 24 GP earners to qualify for the Final Knock Out Championship stage to be held in September 2021.

Similar to Xtiv Series, players can opt to play in one or more of the four(4) series on offer in order to secure more GP points (and prize money) to qualify for the final stage. Players can choose from three playing categories – Open, Ladies and Juniors U12 (based on their eligibility), with the number of players per category/per series is limited to 128 players only.

The FT Online Chess Festival will start its first series on 31st July, followed by 7th August, 21st August and 28th August for the final fourth series. The Juniors U12 and Ladies will be played on Saturdays over 7 rounds of play while the Open category will be contested on Sundays over 8 rounds of play. Time control is 10 minutes + 2 seconds increment from move 1 and games will be played over tornelo.com platform with webcams and zooms to be enforced for all players. For each series/category, the top 20 players will earn grand prix points with the top 10 players to earn additional cash prizes for their effort. Please take note that since the event is played online, it is open to Malaysians regardless of their residency.

Once the 4th Series concluded, the top 24 GP point earners will then qualify for the Final Knock Out Championship stage campaign where they will be joined by another 8 nominated wild card players from the 3 Federal Territories of Labuan, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur (2 players each) and another 2 players nominated by MCF to complete the round of 32 players.

Entry fees per Series for the Ladies/Juniors U12 categories is RM 25 per player (RM 30 for Unrated players) and for the Open category, the fees is RM 35 (RM40 for Unrated players). Those who qualify for the Final Knock Out Championship is not required to pay any entry fees to play but, for players who are not able to join the final stage, their names will either be replaced by MCF nominated players or their opponents to receive a bye and proceed automatically to the next stage,

Those who would like to learn more about the events are requested to download and read the following documentations:
1. FT Online Chess Festival 2021 – Information Brochure
2. FT Online Chess Festival 2021 – Rules and Regulations

Registration for Series 1 and Series 2 are now open at the following links:
1. Series 1 – Open Category – Closing date 27th July 2021
2. Series 1 – Ladies Category – Closing date 27th July 2021
3. Series 1 – Juniors U12 Category – Closing date 28th July 2021
4. Series 2 – Open Category – Closing date 3rd August 2021
5. Series 2 – Ladies Category – Closing date 3rd August 2021
6. Series 2 – Juniors U12 Category – Closing date 4th August 2021
Links for Series 3 and Series 4 will be published later in August

With RM 20,000 in prize fund to be disbursed to the eventual winners for the Series and the Final Stage, MCF looks forward to have the best of the best players in the country to participate in this inaugural FT Online Festival using the Grand Prix format.

Come and join us!!

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