The “750 Years Melaka International Chess Festival” was held from 21th April to 30th April 2012 and it offered three major events – the Florencio Campomanes Memorial International Rapid Chess Championship, the Historical Melaka International Chess Championship and the Historical Melaka Challenger Chess Championship with a total prize fund of more than USD 35,000.
The Florencio Campomanes Memorial was the first event for the Festival and it offered a prize fund of USD 20,000. This event was played over 11 rounds using rapid time control of 25 minutes per player per game played to the finish. The first 6 rounds were played on 21st April and the balance 5 rounds were played on 22nd April 2012.
GM Richard Bitoon and IM Oliver Dimakiling, both from Philippines, shared the first place with 8.5/11 points each in the very strong field with 15 Grandmasters and 12 International Masters. 69 players from 14 countries took participation.
The next two events, the Historical Melaka International Chess Championship and the Historical Melaka Challenger Chess Championship, run concurrently from 23rd April until 30th April 2012. Both events were played over 9 rounds using classical time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment per move per player per game from move one.
The International section was open to all players of any playing strength whilst the Challenger section was open only to players with a FIDE rating of 1999 and below. The International section offered a prize fund of RM 40,000 (about USD 13,000) whilst the Challenger section offered a prize fund of RM 10,000 (USD 3,300).
GM Attila Czebe from Hungary convincingly won the International section by collecting 7.5/9 points and leaving the nearest followers point and a half behind. Czebe defeated three fellow Grandmasters in the course of the tournament. 36 players competed, full standings bellow.
GM Attila CzebePhoto courtesy of fireyrook.blogspot.com
Indonesian duo Endang Andrian and Gatot Suyono tied the first place in the Challenger section with 7.5/9 points each. 58 players participated, full standings bellow.
The official venue for the Festival was the Hang Tuah World Heritage Hotel Melaka located right in the heart of the City of Melaka, a stone’s throw away from many historical landmarks and museums, shopping malls, interesting attractions, eateries and popular night spots.
This international chess event was jointly organized by the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF), the Melaka State Government and the Melaka State Foundation.
Historical Melaka International – Final Standings (top finishers):
1 GM Czebe Attila HUN 2477 – 7.5
2 GM Laxman R R IND 2415 – 6
3 GM Deepan Chakkravarthy J IND 2461 – 6
4 IM Karthikeyan P IND 2414 – 6
5 GM Romero Holmes Alfonso ESP 2501 – 6
6 Yeoh Li Tian MAS 2204 – 6
7 GM Bitoon Richard PHI 2455 – 5.5
8 GM Fominyh Alexander RUS 2488 – 5.5
9 GM Arun Prasad S IND 2517 – 5.5
10 IM Praveen Kumar C IND 2343 – 5.5
11 IM Rathnakaran K IND 2410 – 5
12 IM Nolte Rolando PHI 2456 – 5
13 FM Djuraev Sokhib TJK 2377 – 5
14 IM Mas Hafizulhelmi MAS 2377 – 5
15 FM Hamdani Rudin INA 2322 – 5
16 Zulkipli Zaidan MAS 2066 – 5
17 Nayan Ahmad Fadzil MAS 2072 – 5
Nice victory.