18 top chess players pitting their minds in KL

Tuesday December 16, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Eighteen internationally-ranked players from seven countries will be participating in the KL Chess Open 2008 at Bukit Jalil stadium.

Among them are Filipino grandmaster Mark Paragua, who became the youngest grandmaster at the age of nine; Uzbek grandmaster Filipov Anton and former world junior chess champion Aarthie Ramasamy.

The tournament will also see the debut of the DYTM Raja Nazrin Shah Challenge trophy.

It is also the first in Malaysia to host a category for the visually impaired, with RM1,000 in prize-money.

The tournament, which started yesterday, is the first international-level chess competition organised by the Kuala Lumpur Chess Association (KLCA).

An exhibition of the simultaneous games will be held tomorrow while the Blitz Chess rounds start on Thursday.

Some RM45,000 is up for grabs in the tournament with RM10,000 going to the winner. The runner-up and third place winner will take home RM5,000 and RM3,000 respectively.

The prize-giving ceremony is on Sunday. The Regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah will give away the prizes.

Source: The Star

* The reporter made a mistake not the youngest GM. He was the youngest Filipino master ever, at 9 years of age. He also became the youngest Filipino GM ever at 20 (until GM Wesley So erased it), beating out Eugene Torre's record by about two years. Thanks to Hairul for pointing out.