It was one of the more awaited event for the year for MCF to close the curtain for 2021 – and hopefully, a new beginning post COVID19 pandemic. While the initial closing date was fixed at 17th December, the organizer had to close the registration early in order to avoid oversubscription and unnecessary crowding at the event venue. Still, a few more enthusiasts had contacted the organizer to appeal for a place but as the insurance for the event has been finalized, sadly many had to be turned away.

For the Rapid event, a total of 141 players signed up for the event with another 105 player did so for the Blitz event. Players came from as far as Johor, Kedah, Penang and even Sarawak and Sabah, in order to participate in the FIDE Rated National event which was last organized in 2017.

After the dust had settled – with 3 grueling days of competition for Rapid and 3 exciting hours for Blitz on Sunday, the event celebrated a Double Champion with Penangite and National Junior Poh Yu Tian securing both titles in an impressive form. The promising future star finished the tournament without dropping a single point – 7 wins and 2 draws in the Rapid event and 10 wins and a single draw in the Blitz event. Truly a well deserved win for the young lad.

For the Rapid event, it was a mixed results with incredible performances from the more seasoned players and junior players alike. Runner up for the Rapid event was Negeri Sembilan Subramanian Sivanesan, with another Penangite securing the bronze medal in Looi Xin Hao. Rounding up the top 10 are Masrin Erowan (Sabah) in 4th place, Cheah Cheok Fung in 5th, National Junior FM Rohan Shan Tze Navaratnam in 6th place, another Junior Teh Rui Gen (Kedah) in 7th place with Chan Sheng Yip, Muhd Syakir Shazmeer Azhar and Emir Rusyaidi Ahmad Nazari at 8th, 9th and 10th placing respectively.

WFM Tan Li Ting secured the Best Lady award with Jeya Suria Tamilarusu the Best UnRated and Ahmad Nazmi Mohd Nizam the Best OKU/Para player.

For the Blitz event, Penangite FM Wong Yinn Long redeemed himself of his disappointment for missing the top 10 spot in Rapid by securing the Runner Up title. FM Rohan Shan Tze rounded up the podium finish – improving his position from the Rapid event to earn the 3rd spot.

Rounding up the top 10 for the event was Chan Sheng Yip in 4th position, Emir Rusyaidi Ahmad Nazari in 5th place, Muhd Nur Daie Masli in 6th, Subramanian Sivanesan in 7th, Ferris Lim Feng Wei in 8th with Lai Hong Jun and Andre Cheong Kai Bin in 9th and 10th places respectively.

The Best Lady performer for the event was Farihah Nur Aisyah Azman with Ahmad Nazmi Mohd Nizam repeating his feat as the best OKU/Para player and Ahmad Abid Abdul Hamid the Best Unrated.

The event was officially opened by MCF President Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah Sanusi on Saturday with a simple Prize Giving ceremony officiated by Tournament Director Iwan Schani Ibnu who is also MCF Assistant Secretary.

The Malaysian Chess Federation thanked everyone for their participation and support towards the success of the event, and hope that many more National Level events will be staged for 2022 in view of the upcoming SEA Games in May and the long awaited Olympiad in August.

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