Levon Aronian (left) and Magnus Carlsen (right) won the recent conclude Wijk aan Zee 2008 leaving behind World and ex World Champion such as Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov!
I’ve read an interesting article in chess improvement blog about Kim Peek a savant - a photographic or eidetic memory and developmental disabilities, resulting from congenital brain abnormalities.
….'Widely understood by Grandmasters that Vassily Ivanchuk is probably autistic. He also loves poetry, and has memorized one hundred Russian poems. I asked his wife,'why did it not last? Were you both too young?' 'No. That wasn't it at all. With Vassily, all there was chess, chess, chess, and more chess'…..
I search on the internet about autistic. Below are my findings.
An autistic savant (historically described as idiot savant) is a person with both autism and savant syndrome. Savant syndrome describes a person having a severe developmental or mental handicap with extraordinary mental abilities not found in most people. This means a lower than average general intelligence (IQ) but very high narrow intelligence in one or more fields. Savant syndrome skills involve striking feats of memory and arithmetic calculation and sometimes include unusual abilities in art or music. Savant syndrome is sometimes abbreviated as "savantism", and individuals with the syndrome are often nicknamed savants. This can be a source of confusion since a savanter is a person of learning, especially one of great knowledge in a particular subject.
Quick definitions (autistic)
· See autism
Quick definitions (autism)
Source: Onelook dictionary
Wikipedia
John Saunders world's oldest chess magazine editor stated a very interesting point
…. “chess is living in a new age - the world champion is from
It is true in fact! Current World Champion is Vishy Anand from (
Below are my analysis of Mas Performances In the 2007 1st ASEAN Chess Circuit
1. GM ZHANG Zhong (2617)
2. GM MEGARANTO Susanto (2563)
3. GM SO Wesley (2526)
4. GM TORRE Eugenio (2519)
5. IM NADERA Barlo (2417)
6. IM TIRTO (2413)
7. FM KOSASIH Cecep (2408)
8. HAMED Nouri (2404)
9. IM GINTING Nasib (2393)
10. IM SITURU Nathanael (2375)
11. IM HAFIZULHELMI Mas (2382)
12. FM PURNAMA Tirta Chandra (2383)
2. Final Ranking
GM TOURNAMENT "A"
1. GM ZHANG Zhong 2617 SIN 9
2 IM TIRTO 2413 INA 8
3 GM MEGARANTO Susanto 2563 INA 7½
4 GM SO Wesley 2526 PHI 7
5 GM TORRE Eugenio 2519 PHI 6½
6 FM PURNAMA Tirta Chandra 2383 INA 6
7 IM GINTING Nasib 2393 INA 4½
8 IM HAFIZULHELMI Mas 2382 MAS 4½
9 HAMED Nouri 2404 PHI 4
10 FM KOSASIH Cecep 2408 INA 3½
11 IM SITURU Nathanael 2375 INA 3½
12 IM NADERA Barlo 2417 PHI 2
3. Performances (Win,lost,draw)
Win
1. GM TORRE Eugenio 2519 PHI
2. FM KOSASIH Cecep 2408 INA
Note : IM Mas won against two (2) player higher rated then him
Draw
1. GM SO Wesley 2526 PHI
2. IM SITURU Nathanael 2375 INA
3. FM PURNAMA Tirta Chandra 2383 INA
4. IM NADERA Barlo 2417 PHI
5. HAMED Nouri 2404 PHI
Note : IM Mas draw against five (4) higher rated player and one lower rated player then him
Lost
1. GM ZHANG Zhong 2617 SIN
2. GM MEGARANTO Susanto 2563 INA
3. IM TIRTO 2413 INA
4. IM GINTING Nasib 2393 INA
Note : IM Mas lost against four (4) higher rated player then him
4. Rating Performances
2391
5. Rating Change
2.5
6. Overall Performances
Mas gained 2.5 points from this tournaments.
Mas didn’t achieve GM norm
IM Mas Hafizulhelmi(2382) - IM Nasib Ginting (2393) [B57]
ASEAN Masters Chess Circuit (11), 19.01.2008
The Sicilian Sozin: Benko Variation!, a line that is favored by Kramnik and seems to give black plenty of chances 7.Nb3 e6 8.0–0 Be7 9.Bg5 Ne5 10.Be2 a6 11.a4 Qc7 12.f4 Nc6 13.Qd2 0–0 14.a5 b5 15.axb6 Qxb6+ 16.Kh1 Rd8 17.f5 Ne5 17...h6? Would be a serious mistake because white can play the strong sacrifice with 18.Bxh6! gxh6 19.Qxh6± and treat of rook lift to the h file starting with Rf3 or Rf4 18.Nd4 Qb7 18...Qxb2?? the pawn is safe and cannot be captured without dire consequences 19.Rfb1 Qxc3 20.Qxc3 Nxe4 21.Qe3 (21.Bxe7?! is no comparison 21...Nxc3 22.Bxd8 Nxb1 23.Rxb1 exf5+-) 21...Nxg5 22.h4+- 19.Ra3 Qd7 The pawn on b2 is poison 19...Qxb2?? 20.Rb3! 20.fxe6 fxe6 21.Nf5!?
An interesting sacrifice by Mas. A slow but steady alternative is 21.Qe3 with the treat of 22. Qg3! 21...exf5 22.Bxf6 Mas eliminated the defender of d5 square. 22...Bb7? Nasib should have play 22...gxf6!? and Black will have a reasonable counter play with 23.Qd5+ Kg7 24.Qxa8 d5 25.Rb3 dxe4 26.Bxa6 23.Bxe7+- Qxe7 24.Nd5 24.exf5! is much stronger. Probably Mas didn't want to open the a8-h1 diagonal 24...Qh4 25.Rf4 Ng4 26.Bxg4 Mas missed the strong and interesting idea with the innocent looking move 26.h3!? Bxd5 27.exf5! Black bishop on d5 and knight on g4 are now en prise! 27...Bc6+- 28.Rc3 Nf2+ 29.Rxf2± with a big advantage 26...fxg4± 27.h3 h5? A mistake by Nasib. he should have played 27...Rf8 28.Kg1? Unfortunately Mas missed the innocent but strong move 28.g3! Qxh3+ 29.Kg1 
And black queen will probably trap or he have to sacrifice material to save the queen! 29...Rf8 30.Rxf8+ Rxf8 31.Nf4! Rxf4 32.Qxf4 28...Rf8 29.hxg4 29.g3 Qd8 (29...Qxh3?? 30.Rxf8+ Rxf8 31.Nf4!) 29...Rxf4 30.Qxf4 Bxd5 31.exd5 hxg4 32.Rg3 Re8 Now black have strong attack 33.Qxg4 White has a mate threat on g7 33.Qxd6?? White will choke on that pawn 33...Re1+ 34.Kf2 Re4–+ 33...Qh6 Black reply with a mate threat with Re1! 34.Qd4 Re1+ 35.Kf2 Re5 Putting a nice trap. 36.c4?? 
Mas blunder by overlooking the strong pin by black. 36.Qg4 is the correct move and with a pawn up Mas will have good chance 36...Qf6+ 37.Rf3 36...Qf6+!–+ 37.Rf3 Re2+!! What a tragedy for Mas after controlling the most part of the game. after 38.Kxe2 Qxd4–+ there’s nothing more to play. 0–1
IM Mashafizul boost his confidence back by drawing his round 10 game in the Tarakan 1st Leg ASEAN Chess Circuit against world youngest GM- Filipino Wesley So. Wesley So (right) achieved his Grandmaster title at age 14 years and 1 month and 28 days, which puts him as the 7th youngest to achieve the Grandmaster title in the history of chess.In the last round he will meet the veteran IM Nasib Ginting. I think he have a good chance to win or at least draw but he should not take it easy because Nasib is a very experience IM. I'm not sure whether he did have a chance to get a GM norm in this tournament but at least he will definitely collect many points after winning and drawing with several higher rated player in this tournaments.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 Mas play his favorite Sicilian Najdorf variation. In round 6, he lost to the top seed GM Zhang Zhong with the Dragon variation. 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 
Is Mas paying a tribute to the great Bobby Fischer who died a day before? 8.Qd2 Nc6 Not so. Bobby popularized and play the main line of the Poison Pawn Variation with 8...Qxb2 in 1972 World Championship Match against Boris Spassky. 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nb3 Bd7 11.0–0–0 0–0–0 12.Kb1 h5 13.Be2 Kb8 14.Rhf1 Be7 15.Rf3 Rdg8 16.Bf1 Rc8 17.Qe2 Fritz opening book suggest 17.Rh3 Na5 18.Be2 h4 19.Qe1 17...Na5 18.Rh3 h4 19.Qe1 Nxb3 20.axb3 Qc5 21.Rxh4 Mas get an active play as a compensation for the sacrifice pawn 21...f5 22.Rxh8 Rxh8 23.Bd3 23.h3 Bc6 23...fxe4 23...Rxh2 is less advisable because black will have a difficult game after 24.exf5 Rxg2 25.fxe6 fxe6 26.f5 Qc8 27.Nd5! Threatening bishop on e7 and Nb6! 24.Nxe4 Qh5 25.Be2 Qxh2 26.Nxd6 Bxd6 Less advisable is 26...Qxf4 27.Nxf7 Discovered attack: d6, d1–d7 27...Bb4 28.g3 Qxf7 29.Qxb4+- Bc6 30.Bxa6! 27.Rxd6 Qxg2 Mas get his pawn back ! 28.Qc3 Of course Wesley saw that 28.Rxd7?? Rh1 28...Rc8 29.Qe5
White threatening a discover check with 30.Rxd7+! 29...f6 30.Qe3 Rc7 31.Bc4 The pressure on e6 grows. 31...Qh1+ 32.Ka2 Qh7 33.c3 33.Bxe6 Bxe6 34.Rxe6 Qxc2 35.Rxf6 Qc5 36.Qxc5 Rxc5 37.Rf7 Rc2 38.b4 Ka7 39.Kb3 Rf2 33...Qe7 34.Qb6 Rc6 35.Rxc6 Bxc6 36.Bxa6 e5 37.fxe5 Qxe5 
Although Mas is a pawn down, he got a very dangerous passed pawn on f file as a compensation where as Wesley pawns on the queen side have difficulties to advance because it will only expose his own king! 38.Bc4 f5 39.b4 f4?! This move worsen black position. Mas should play the safer 39...Kc8 40.Qc5 (40.b5 Bd7 And white don't have the disturbing 41.Qd8+ check.) 40...Qxc5 41.bxc5 40.b5 Bd7 41.Qd8+ Bc8 Now his c8 bishop is passive. 42.Bd5 Qc7 43.Qxc7+ Probably better is 43.Qf6!? Qa5+ 44.Kb1 Qxb5 45.Qxf4+ Ka7 46.Qd4+ b6 47.Qg7+ Ka6± And white will have better play. 43...Kxc7 An endgame with bishop of the same color have occur . In this type of endings, the bishop often fight for the same square. The stronger side usually offer a bishop exchange to control over certain diagonal. The fight for 32 uncontrolled square is left to the kings and pawns. The famous Capablanca rules in this type of endings is fix the pawns on the opposite color to your bishop. 44.Bf3?! I think this move is not accurate. White don't have to block the pawn yet. He should instead activate his king with 44.Kb3 although the position with best play must lead to a draw 44...Bg4 45.Kc2 Be2 (45...b6 46.Kd3; 45...f3 46.Kd2 f2 47.Bg2 Kb6 48.Bf1 Bd7 49.Ke3 Bxb5 50.Kxf2 Bd7) 46.c4 Kd6 47.Kd2 Bf1 48.Ke1 Bd3 44...Kb6= 45.c4 White passive king and his pawns located at the same color of his bishop have give black chance to use his king to enter white uncontrolled black square upfront. 45...Kc5 46.b3 The problem with 46.Kb3 is 46...Be6 47.Be2 f3 48.Bxf3 Bxc4+ 49.Kc3 Bxb5 50.Bxb7= draw. 46...Kd4 Black king is more active helping his passed f pawn compare to white king that is too passive. 47.Ka3 Ke3 48.Bd5 f3 49.Kb4 f2 50.Bg2 Bg4 51.c5 Kd4 51...Bf3 52.Bf1 Kd4 52.c6 bxc6 53.bxc6 Bf3 54.c7 Of course a GM will not made a blunder with 54.Bxf3?? f1Q-+ 54...Bxg2 ½–½ 
Both player agreed to split the points because the game will be dead draw after 55.c8Q f1Q 56.Qc4+ Qxc4+ 57.bxc4
A shocking news for chess world when recent news reported all over the world that the Bobby Fischer the 11th World Champion (1972-1975) have died on the 17th of January, 2008 in
The nature of the illness was unknown but Mr Fischer had been reportedly seriously ill for some time
home after the doctors said Fischer have no chance to cease. Before this, someone mention that Fischer has been in hospital for at least a month in late 2007 for a serious physical medical complaint. The nature of the complaint has been well-known among the Icelandic chess community for weeks but they have, perfectly reasonably, preferred to keep it private. An Italian news
Ljubomir Ljubojevich view about Fischer death.
.Below are interesting excerpts about Fischer translated from Icelandic News:
..."I had just finished putting aside books for him when I heard the news" says Bragi Kristjónsson book-store owner, but Bobby Fischer was a regular guest at his store on the KlapparstÃgur. "He most enjoyed old American comics and laughed a lot when he read them." Bragi says he also read stories of men who had been chased away from their countries but you could say Bobby himself was in the same position.
"He also thought a lot about chess even though he wouldn't admit it and when I got russian books on chess he was quick to purchase them." says Bragi and adds that Fischer spoke and read fluid Russian.
"He didn't show any Icelandic any interested because everyone here speaks English anyway. He often talked to kids outside the store and they had no problem understanding him." According to Bragi did Bobby even occasionally play chess with the kids outside the store.
Soon after he came to
According to Bragi Fischer felt comfortable within the stacks of books. "He was so calm in here that some times he fell asleep over the books and slept for hours. He also sometimes helped me organize the book stacks that are all over the place. Fischer was of course not like other people" says Bragi. "He was a little obsessed with the fact that he was an outlaw and prosecuted by Americans, but of course the treatment Americans gave him was a complete disgrace."
Bobby was exceptionally good despite his eccentrics according to Bragi. "There were many here that came with books for Fischer to sign and he always took them well and signed them with a smile."...
Another interesting excerpts about Fischer from swissinfo.ch
...."In the 1990s, he was said to be living under assumed names in cheap hotels in
Former friends painted a picture of a solitary man spending much of his day in rooms littered with chess books, oranges and jars of vitamins, playing chess by himself and reading magazines on chess to keep in touch.
One commentator said there was one constant through his life's exceptional peaks and troughs -- his "running battle with the rest of the human race"...
IM Mas Hafizulhelmi(2382) - IM Tirto (2413)
ASEAN Masters Chess Circuit Round 9, 17.01.2008
22.Rfe1? 22.Kh1 although still losing but it would probably last more longer for Mas 22...f4 now black d7 bishop diaganol is open 23.g4 Qh4 Mas resign. because black rook will join "the party" with Rh6 and mate will soon follow 0–1
photo from indochess
Mas lost to the second seed GM Megaranto Susanto (right) in the 8th round of the Tarakan 1st ASEAN Chess Circuit yesterday. He failed to repeat his excellent performances as the previous round when he defeated Filipino GM Eugune Torre in fine attacking style. The unfortunate thing is Mas lost due to “unforced error” a frequent used term in tennis. Mas will have a difficult challenge in his remaining three round when he meet Indonesian IM Tirto (2413), World youngest GM - Filipino - Wesley So and Indonesian IM Nasib Ginting. Wish him all the best Mas.
GM Susanto Megaranto (2563) vs IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (2382)
The position is more or less equal here and the simple and normal reply 37…bxa5 38.Qa6+ Nc6 would be more or less equal but instead he blundered with....
37...Rg8? which leave the crucial f-file and Susanto immediately exploit the mistake by playing 38.Qf2! gaining a crucial tempo for his queen to attack white king via the f file! 38...bxa5 39.Qf5+ Ke7 40.Qh7+ Kf8 41.Qh6+ 41.Rb1 ! bringing extra piece to attack is the strongest continuation 41...Kf7 42.Qf4+ 42.Ne2 is much better 42... Qb2 43.Qh5+ Ke7 44.Qh7+ Nf7 45.Nf4+- 42...Ke6?? A final mistake by Mas. 42...Ke8 would give excellent chance for him to draw 43.Ne2! +- Nf3+ 44.Qxf3 exf3 45.Nxc3 Rxg2+ 46.Kf1 Rc2 47.Rd3 Kf7 1–0
IM Mashafizul Helmi (right) didn’t wait long to prove that he is still focus to achieve his first GM norm by defeating the legendary Filipino - GM Eugene Torre (left) in the 7 round of the Tarakan ASEAN Chess Circuit yesterday. And the most interesting about his victory is he done it in “sexy” style by sacrificing his knight twice in the middle game followed by dangerous attacks in the middlegame. Experienced Torre try to put up tough resistance but the most he could get is transposing to endgame with three pawns down which is too much to hope against IM Mas caliber. Malaysian chess community is following closely his performances especially when he was given a two years leave from his job starting from October 2007 (he is a PETRONAS engineer) to concentrate on his GM title hunt. Lets pray his got one in this tournament! In the previous round against GM Zhang Zhong, IM Mas Hafizul failed to shock his opponent by using the Sicilian Dragon instead of his usual Najdorf Variation. This time his gamble pay off when he employ the Vienna Game against GM Eugene Torre instead of his usual Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation.
IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (2382) - GM Eugenio Torre (2519)
ASEAN Masters Chess Circuit ,Round 7, 15.01.2008
1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 Mas early opening moves is quite tricky because he start with a bishop opening move order (2.Bc4) but then transpose to Vienna Game by playing his next move (3.Nc3) 3.Nc3 Nc6 4. d3 Na5 5. Bg5
This is quite a strange move but it is interesting to note that Mas have twice (2.Bc4 and 5.Bg5)"broke" the chess opening wisdom- Knight first then bishop. Fritz doesn't list this move at all in it opening books. Probably Mas just want to play pure chess, not just copying the theory! 5...Be7 5...Nxc4 6.dxc4 will give black the bishop pairs and double white c pawn but the c4 pawn is actually quite strong because it prevent black thematic break with d5 ! 6.Qf3 c6 7.Nge2 0–0 8.h3 d6 9.0–0 Nd7 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.Ng3 This knight is heading for f5 or h5. 11...Nc5 12.Rad1 12.b4!? Nxc4 13.dxc4 Na6 14.Rab1 is an interesting try. 12...g6 13.Qe3 b6 14.Qh6
14.Bxf7+ doesn’t promised much because after 14...Rxf7 15.b4 Nab7 Black is okay 14...Nxc4 15.dxc4 White c4 made black thematic d5 break more difficult15...Ba6?! I think this move just strengthen white pawn structure. Probably black have to play 15...Ne6 straight away 16. b3 Rad8 17. Rd2 Bc8 18. Rfd1 Mas keep the black d5 break under proper check 18...Ne6 19. a4 19.Nf5?! look like a nice sacrifice at first but black is not worse after 19... gxf5 20.exf5 Qg5 21.Qxg5+ Nxg5 22.h4 Nh3! 23.gxh3 Bxf5 24.Rxd6 Rxd6 25.Rxd6 when the position is more ore less equal19...f6 20. Ra1 a5 21. Rad1 Ng5 22. Rd3 Be6 23. Nge2 Kh8 24. Rg3 Rd7 25. h4 Nf7 26. Qe3 Rb8 27. Nd5! the start of Mas "sexy dancing knight"
27...Qd8 28. f4 so far Torre have used a wait and see approach but looking at white incoming attack, Torre decided that he could not just sit and wait 28... f5 29. h5 gxh5 29...g5 will not solve black problem because white have 30.exf5 gxf4 31.Ndxf4 Bxf5 ( 31...exf4? is answered with a wild Fritz line 32.Qd4+ Ne5 33.fxe6 fxg3 34.exd7 Qg5 35.Qxd6 Qe3+ 36.Kh1 Nxd7 37.Nxg3 and white is clearly better) 32.Ng6+ hxg6 33.hxg6 Qf6± (33...Bxc2? fails to 34.Rf1 Rbb7 35.Rg4+-) 30. Nd4! another sexy dancing knight!
30...cxd5 31. Nxe6 d4? a lesser evil would be 31...Qh4 32.exd5 exf4 33.Nxf4+- 32. Nxd4! Qf6 32...exd4 33.Qxd4+ Ne5 34.fxe5 +- 33. Nxf5 exf4 34. Qxf4 Ne5 35. Qg5 Rf8 36. Qxh5 Ng6 37. Qh6 Re8 38. Rf1 Qe6 39. Nh4
Torre resign. Probably he knows that the best he can do is 39... Rg7 40.Nxg6+ Rxg6 41.Rxg6 Qxg6 42.Rf8+ Rxf8 43.Qxf8+ Qg8 44.Qxd6+- with three pawn down. So 1-0 Bravo Mas!
Photo from: Whitenaval Chess Paparazi
FM Mok Tze Meng (right) won his first game in the GM Tournament B after beating Indonesian FM Syarif Mahmud on the 6th round of the 1st ASEAN Chess Circuit yesterday. This win could be the morale boost for Mok after only collecting ½ points from the previous 5 round. His standing have also improved from last place to 10 place ( 2 place higher) .FM Syarif Mahmud (2344) - FM Mok Tze Meng (2346)
1st ASEAN Chess Circuit, Tarakan, Round 6, 14.1.2008
37.Qc4?? throws away the game 37.Qf1 threatening (38.Bf5+) 37...Re8 (37...e2? 38.Qb1+) 38.Qb1+ Kh8 39.Re4! This was the main idea and very hard to find. Black queen is too burden with defensive duty. 39...Rxc8 (39...Qxe4?? 40.Qxe4 Rxc8 41.Bxc8 e2 42.Qe8+ Kh7 43.Bf5#) 40.Rxe5 Bxe5 41.Bxc8= e2 42.Qe1 Rd1 43.Kf2 Bd4+ 44.Kxe2 Rxe1+ 45.Kxe1 b6 The different colour bishop ending should lead the game into a draw although white have extra pawn. 37...e2–+ 38.Bxe2 Qxe2 0–1
I was quite shock recently when I look at the result of the recent Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Chess Open at stonemaster.biz , i found that one familiar name Agus Salim played in that tournamant. I wonder if this guy is the Agus Salim who “dominated” Malaysian chess tournaments in 90’s and were “unofficially” reported death of brain cancer few years ago were the same guy who played in Penang!
7...Bd6 7...h6 The famous game of Deep Blue - Kasparov 1994 saw Kasparov played the "proven" weak move probably thinking that the beast will not considered sacrificing a piece without clear compensation. Actually without that move, the entire variation favors Black. Unexpectedly, the computer played it anyway 8.Nxe6! Qe7 (8...fxe6 9.Bg6+ Ke7 10.0–0 white have tremendous compensation for the sacrifice piece) 9.0–0 fxe6 10.Bg6+ leads to a dangerous attack 8.0–0 h6 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 0–0 11.c3 c5 12.Re1 Qc7 13.h3 Rd8 14.Qe2 Nf6 15.Bc2 b6 Fritz opening book suggest 15...cxd4 16.Nxd4 Bh2+ 17.Kh1 Bf4 18.Nb5 Qb8 19.a4 Bd7 20.Bxf4 Qxf4 21.Nd4 16.dxc5 Qxc5 17.Be3 Qh5 18.Bd4 Bb7 19.Ne5 Rac8 20.Ng4 Qg5 20...Nxg4 doesn’t give black any clear advantage 21.Qxg4 Qxg4 22.hxg4 21.Nxf6+ gxf6 22.Be4 Bxe4 23.Qxe4 f5 24.Qf3 Rd7 25.Rad1 Rcd8 26.Be3 Qf6 26...f4!? is an interesting try but i think the position is more or less equal after 27.Rxd6 fxe3 28.Rxd7 exf2+ 29.Qxf2 Rxd7 27.Bf4 Bxf4 Why not 27...e5!? 28.Rxd7 Rxd7 29.Qxf4 Kh7 30.h4 Qd8 31.Re2 With no clear weakness in white position, GM Cerdas Barus agree to split the point with FM Mok Tze Meng. ½–½
Source : wikipedia
Wesley So (2526) photo left , Filipino young hope made an upset by beating Indonesia Susanto Megaranto (2563) photo right in the 5th round of the 1st ASEAN Chess Circuit yesterday. Wesley So , a 14 years old Filipino chess Grandmaster who became one of the youngest Grandmasters in the history of chess achieved his Grandmaster title at age 14 years and 1 month and 28 days, which puts him as the 7th youngest to achieve the Grandmaster title in the history of chess.As of December 7, 2007, Wesley So is considered to be the youngest Grandmaster in the World at the age of fourteen. Susanto Megaranto ,20 years old is the youngest Indonesian GM ever at 17- beating out Utut Adianto's record by four years.Analyze by Hairulov and Fritz
GM SO,Wesley (2526) - GM MEGARANTO,Susanto (2563) [B03]
ASEAN Masters Chess Circuit 2008 (5), 12.01.2008
i think black should complete his development with 14...0-0 15.f3! Wesley sense that Susanto have probably overlooked this possibility 15...Bxg3? White have a tactical combination with 16.fxg4 Bh4 17.g5! Wesley is threatening to trap the bishop with 18.g3! 17...h6 18.gxh6 gxh6 19.g3 Be7 20.Rae1 black king side position is totally wrecked!15... Be6 16.Nh5 0–0 17.Qd2 Bd8 now it's clear that black 14...Bh4 is just wasting a tempo 18.Rae1 f6 19.Re2 Bf7 20.Nf4 Ne7 21.Rfe1 Nc6 22.Bf2 Be7 23.b4 a6 24.a4 Rfe8 25.b5 axb5 25...Nb4 26.Ne6 26.axb5 Na5? This move cause black a pawn and leads into a difficult endgame 26...Na7 although passive should be played
27.Ncxd5!± Wesley didn’t missed his chance! 27...Bxd5 28.Nxd5 Qxd5 29.Rxe7 Rxe7 30.Rxe7 Nb3 31.Qc3 Ra1+ 32.Re1 Rxe1+ 33.Qxe1 black can't get back his pawn with 33...Nxd4?? cause 34.Qe8++mate 33..Kf7 34.Qc3 Ke6 35.h4 h5 36.Be3 Kd7 37.Qc2 white plan to exploit black weak king side pawn with 38.Qg6 so Susanto prevent it with 37...f5 37...Nxd4? would be a mistake after 38.Qd1 Nxf3+ 39.Qxf3 Qxf3 40.gxf3+- 38.Qc3 38.b6! is better because after 38... cxb6 ( 38...c6 39.Qa2 Qe6 40.Bf2 Qf7 41.Qa8 the b7 pawn will drop!;) 39.cxb6+- black will have too many problem especially the b3 knight and weak c7 square 38...g6 39.Bf2 Qe6?? shortens the misery for Black 39...c6 40.b6+- 40.Bg3 40.c6+ and White wins after 40...bxc6 41.bxc6+ Kc8 42.Qb4 Qxc6 43.Qxb3+- 40...Qd5 41.Be5 c6 41...Ke6 42.Qe3 Kd7 43.Kh2+- 42.bxc6+ Kxc6 43.Qb4 Nc1?
44.Qb6+? probably both player was in time trouble because white can simply win the queen with 44.Qa4+ b5 45.Qa8+ Kd7 46.Qxd5+ 44...Kd7+- 45.Qxg6 1–0
IM Nasib Ginting (left) host player ( he from Tarakan!) made an upset in round 5 by beating the legendary Philipines player GM Eugene Torre. Although Torre have without doubt past his prime, he still actively play in chess tournaments.
GM Eugenio Torre (left) 57 years old is considered the strongest chess player the Torre qualified for the Candidates Matches for the 1984 World Championship. In that preliminary stage, the contenders play matches against each other to determine who will challenge the world champion. Torre was eliminated when he lost his match against Zoltan Ribli by a score of 6-4.
IM Nasib Ginting (2393) - GM Eugenio Torre (2519)
ASEAN Masters Chess Circuit 2008, Round 5, 12.01.2008
After 59. Ke2, the position is more or less equal until Torre made a serious mistake by playing....
59...Ke7? 59...Rc8!? should be played and white can't play 60.b3? cxb3 61.Rxc8 b2–+ black passed pawn are unstoppable! 60.b3± cxb3? more stubborn is 60...Ra7 61.Rxc4 Bc5± 61.Rxc7++- Now black doesn't have the tempo to push his b pawn because his king is in check! After the rook trade, black problem is his king is passive and couldn't penetrate white position where as white king can enter black territory via the queen side! . 61...Bxc7 62.Kd3 the b pawn can't be save .62...Kd7 63.Kc3+- 62...Kf6 63.Bg3! White guard the e5 square to prevent black from entering his position 63.Kc3 would be a serious mistake because black king can enter white position with the pawn sacrifice 63...e4! 64. fxe4 Ke5! and the chance are balance for both side 63...Bb6 64.Kc3 Be3 65.Kxb3 Bf4 65...Bd2+- the last chance for counter play. 66.Be1 e4 a desperate counter play by Torre. His king finally managed to enter white position but much too late because white king and passed pawn on the queen side are unstoppable. 66...Ke7 does not save the day 67.Kc4+- 67.fxe4 Ke5 68.Bxa5 Kxe4 69.Kc4 Kf3 70.Bc7 Kxg4 71.a5 Be3 72.Bb6 Torre couldn't stop the a pawn from queening. 1–0
photo: chessmaribelajar.com, pinoychess.informe.com
source: indochess and wikipedia
GM Tournament A
IM Mashafizul (2382) gained his first win in the 1st ASEAN Chess Circuit held at
So far Mas has a stable performances but he still haven’t meet the top 3 seeded such as GM Zhang Zong, host player GM Megaranto Susanto (2563) and Pinoy world youngest Grandmaster - Wesley So (2526). Could he held them? I hope so. Mas have beaten top GM’s like Victor Korchnoi and Ian Rogers before so if he believe in himself I think he can do it! Go Mas!
Two upset happen in the 5th round after host player IM Nasib Ginting beat the legendary Pinoy GM TORRE Eugenio (2519). But Torre lost was pay back by his fellow country man GM Wesley So (2526) – world youngest GM who beat
GM Tournament B
Meanwhile another Malaysia representative FM Mok Tze Meng continue his slump performances in GM group B tournaments when he lost to Armenian IM NADANIAN Ashot (2431) in the 5th round. He now only managed to collect 0.5 point so far after 5th round to share the last place with
Pinoy GM Mark Paragua is leading the B group with 4 points so far.
[
Below are the Mas game with analysis by Hairulov and Fritz.
IM HAFIZULHELMI,Mas (2382) - FM KOSASIH,Cecep (2408) [B92]
ASEAN Masters Chess Circuit 2008 Round 5, 12.01.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg5 0–0 9.Qd3 Nbd7 10.0–0 Qc7 11.a4 b6 12.Rfd1 Bb7 13.f3 Fritz opening book suggest 13.Rac1 Rac8 14.Bg4 Rcd8 15.Bxd7 Qxd7 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.Qxd5 Qc7 13...h6 14.Bh4 Rac8 15.Rac1 Rfd8 16.Bf2 Nf8 A wild continuation suggest by Fritz involving a queen sacrifice by white ! 16...d5!? 17.exd5 Nxd5 18.Qxd5 Bxd5 19.Nxd5 Qd6 20.Nxb6 Qc7 21.Nd5 17.Qe3 White pressure black weak spot at b6 17...N6d7 Black is planning to put his night at f4 but i seem to slow. Probably black should break the center with 17...d5!? 18.h4 Ne6?
The decisive mistake by Cecep that cost him a pawn and the game. Black simply forgot the Nd5 fork. 18...Nc5!? should be better 19.Bxa6!± Nf4 19...Bxa6? failed to 20.Nd5 Qb8 21.Nxe7+ Kh7 22.Nxc8+- 20.Nb5 Qb8 21.Bxb7 Qxb7 22.Nxd6 Qc6? Another mistake by Cecep giving his rook when 22...Bxd6 23.Rxd6 Rc6+- would be more stubborn. 23.Nxc8+- Rxc8 24.g3 Nh3+ 25.Kg2 Nxf2 26.Qxf2 Qxa4 27.Ra1 Qc6 28.Ra7 Cecep resign as his position is quite hopeless. Possible continuation would be 28.Ra7 Rc7 29.Rxc7 Qxc7 30.Qd2+- 1–0
A chess FM follower in the Internet Chess Club (ICC) live commentary raised an interesting question about why GM Loek Van Wely (2681) playing in the Corus GM Group A Tournaments held at Wijk aan Zee, Holland but GM Ivan Cheparinov (2713) from Bulgaria who is 32 points higher then Loek are playing in GM Group B tournament. The commentator said that the answer is simply because Van Wely is Dutchmen!!!Indian players in Corus 2008
Group A
Group B
Group C :
