Based on feedback received by many players below FIDE Rating of 1600 (for Open) and 1400 (for Ladies) who are not eligible to participate in the Malaysian Chess Championship 2022, MCF has agreed to introduce a new event that will allow the lower-rated (and Unrated) players to play alongside the premier National event.

Jointly organized by the Malaysian Chess Federation and Herosifu Chess Academy, the NATIONAL CHALLENGER CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2022 will adopt a similar format to the Malaysian Chess Championship, allowing players to experience quality competitive chess with a longer standard time control. The event is contested over a single category (mixed Open and Women) with separate prizes worth RM2,000 to be given to the eventual winners – top 3 finishers, top 3 ladies, best U18, best U12, best OKU, and best Unrated.

Scheduled to be contested over 9 rounds with a time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per game per player, players who are interested to participate in the event must have both FIDE and MCF ID as the event will be submitted to the International body for rating purposes.

The event is open to Malaysians Only and each state is allowed to send no more than 4 representatives with an RM150 entry fee. Entry via State Associations needs to be submitted by the State directly to the MCF Secretariat complete with proof of Payment. Those who are not able to get their entries to be endorsed by the state can submit the application to join the event via the following REGISTRATION LINK (Please click here) together with an RM200 proof of payment. The entry rates are the same for both Rated and UnRated players.

The closing date to register is 29th May 2022 and entries received after this date will be at the prerogative of the organizer with an additional penalty of RM100 per entry received.

State Association are requested to contact the MCF Secretariat directly to register their representatives. Only 4 representatives per state are allowed with the balance – if any, to register as open entries.

Similar to the Malaysian Chess Championship 2022 event, Hotel Tenera is offering special rates to players who prefer to stay over at their hotel but all bookings and payments must be done with the MCF for the discount to be effective.

For more information, please contact mcfsecretariat@malaysiachess.org or herosifuchess@gmail.com