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Sunday, February 17, 2013

OOPPS, I DID IT AGAIN!



Saturday,16 February, 12.30 am, Setiawangsa, just read the first 300 pages of The Fountainhead (and it is just getting exciting and exciting!)...in a few hours time...and almost 500 kilometres away... Terengganu will organize a rapid chess tournament at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu...should i go or should i just stay at KL?

...but to chose between playing chess among friends next to blue South China Sea or alone reading a novel (even a great novel that i am reading now) under grey landscape of KL is a no brainer decision for me.

Quickly I grabbed my car key, SMSed those who should know that i am making this trip (just in case) and hit the East Coast Highway in no time...

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
Terengganu, Sea side Mama
Take me home, country roads

That is how i end up playing at TCA Rapid...initially plan for 7 rounds, 20 minutes time control but due to overwhelming response (122 players), organizer decide to change it to 8 rounds, 15 minutes time control...that just fine with me, the more the better...

Top 5 seeded
11.     Syazwan
22.     Ilham
33.    Norazmi
44       Hashim
55      Fairul

Top 5 finishers
11       Fairul
22       Syazwan
33       Ruzenan
44       Rahim
55       Ilham

Trivias
Norazmi Mohd Noor
Norazmi had a tournament he would rather forget, after 5 wins he just melted down on his last 3 rounds (2 losses and a draw), did not finished even among top 15.

Had a small chit chat with him before a first round...he informed he had just come back from Sabah...representing his University Team in a football tournament! Vintage Norazmi the sportsman!

MasHafizul Helmi
After second round, MasHafizul (together with his family) pay a visit to this tournament. He is on his way back to KL from a long CNY break...can be seen having a long, private, serious discussion with Ruzenan, his old friend way back during Mas’ Petronas day or maybe way back before that...

By the way, wonder what the discussion is all about ? :)

Worthy winner, Fairul Yusof aka Gambit.
The crowd favourite, Fairul Yusof is a worthy winner of this tournament, scoring 7.5 out of 8 (he drew his last round game against Rahim)...dashatt!!

For record, during Association’s AGM, Fairul has been re-elected as Treasurer.

TCA AGM
Talk about AGM...TCA’s AGM went through smoothly...a new president is elected, Dr Pouzi (Rahim refuse to defend its post), Ghalam Sani is the new Deputy President, Arshad is the new secretary (replacing the late Cikgu Sabirin who died in last year fatal accident) and etc.

After the meeting i informed Greg, who happened to sit next to me...”I don’t think next month MCF meeting will be as smooth as Terengganu’s”

Greg just smiled...

Greg, Haslindah and Zuraidah (and Ghalam)
Quite a surprise...Trio can be seen at this tournament...my first impression is like...wow! busy campaigning ?

Actually they are here under personal invitation of Ghalam Sani, who seem of late busy reactivating his chess contact and to deliver MCF President’s personal donation to TCA with the purpose of organizing a tahlil to late Cikgu Sabirin and family.

Talk about Ghalam and reactivation of his chess contact...last month I received a dreaded 2 am call...my imagination runs wild thinking of who is making this call at 2 am...and what is the important information caller wants to inform...my head dizzy with the possible bad news scenarios...

Actually it is just Ghalam (after god knows how many years of silent)  and he called just to inform that he reads my posting about him and just usual call to chit chat...at 2 am!

Thats Ghalam...full of surprises! and glad to see his interest in chess is back again...

After the tournament
Few of us (Ruzenan, Gambit, Hashim and few others) went for ‘makan keropok’ session sponsored by the champion...some who knows that i am about to went back to Kl on the same day advise me not to do it because obviously i am very tired...some asked me to stay at his house and some even offered me to stay at one of his chalets...TQ! TQ!

I said not to worry...but still after the keropok session and after fill up my car boot with keropok lekor, keropok keeping, duku, dokong etc...usual tourist stuff...i quietly rushed back to KL.

1000 kms journey , 8 rounds chess tournament, an AGM... all in 24 hours...

Oopps! I did it again!  

8 comments:

  1. It seems that MCF AGM next month is causing a minor stir in the north :)

    Who is Trengganu supporting for President? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ilham,

    I had a similar journey on Saturday - from KL to Felda Lasah, Sungai Siput.

    Yup, it was not as far as KL-Ganu, but I was on my trusty old bike (speed not exceeding 80km/h)and Lasah was d place where "the jinns-like-to-kick", if you know what I mean.. :)

    By the way, do you have an Facebook account, Ilham?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh. I forgot to mention it; it was for Open Chess Tournament @ Felda Lasah, Sungai Siput (U)...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Jimmy,
    :)
    Frankly i don't know who Terengganu will support for President Post...

    Next month will be an election month for M (Malaysia and MCF)...whoever win hopefully will not have revenge on whoever that did not...

    Don't follow Abba's song...
    The winner takes it all
    The loser has to fall
    It's simple and it's plain
    Why should I complain?


    Hi abdooss,
    KL-Lasah on a small bike for a chess tournament?....crazy thing that we do for a game we love! :)

    I don't have facebook account...maybe i should open one...heard many interesting thing happen there...hot and spicy! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ayn Rand, Ilham. Good book. I agree with your sentiments that it should be winner takes it all. We need to remove the hate out of the equation and bring sense back into chess. All have rights within the chess community. States, Players, parents, officials, Academies, trainers, coaches etc. It becomes a problem only when one party tries to take away the rights of others by belligerence and gangster ways.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Raymond,
    Agreed! Ayn Rand is...how to say it...one hell of a novelist...not even finish one of her book, i am a fan already! :)

    Actually my sentiment is winner should NOT take all hence i said that we should not follow Abba's song...Winner takes it all...we should not follow this one.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yes, that is what I meant. Typo. The issue I see now is being able to compromise. But for that to happen those guys have to meet each other half way. That means they need to see that each side has legitimate grievances as well as rights. So they need to sit down and talk with no threats. As far as I know this has not happened yet but I live in hope. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ilham,

    Yes, crazy things we do for a game that we love! :)

    But, by the end of the day, let us remember that it is just a game, not real life.
    So, there's no need to be "crazy" all the time about it. (Maybe half the time, then? ;) )

    ReplyDelete