Caissa Hong Kong Chess Club

chess in hong kong

Tag Archives: hong kong

Daniel Lam and Ronald Choy win Winter 2014 Standard chess Competition

February 24th, 2014

In the last round in the adult group Daniel pressured James position such that a collapse was just a matter of time. And when it came Daniel had secured first place with an impressive 4.5 points out of 5. His trophy is awaiting him on 1 March at the Open Winter Blitz.

Joseph won a piece in the middle game against Hannah and despite Hannah being able to get some pawns back, Joseph’s minor pieces majority constantly eyed the weaknesses around Hannah’s pawn majority which could not get enough traction for serious counter play.

 

Final Ranking

Final Ranking

 

In the youth group Ronald got his last point through a win by default as his opponent did not show up. Despite Rachel, after a long game against Arjun, also won her last game and ended with 6 points like Ronald, it is Ronald who by tie-break became champion and he can collect his trophy coming Saturday at the Open Winter Blitz finals. Also congratulations to Rachel for a good result.

Hugo called in sick and as Oliver had canceled earlier this seventh and last round had to be reshuffled so that both Mei Jing and Jonathan could play – against one another. And what a game it was. Mei Jing managed to win a piece early in the game with white but Jonathan gradually collected several pawns for this piece and in the endgame it was Mei Jing who had to try to hold a draw with her knight against 3 pawns. The game finally ended in a draw with two lonely kings on the board. Well done Jonathan and Mei Jing – that is fighting spirit we like to see.

Regis gave away several important squares to Miguel Angel which weakened the coordination of his pieces. Miguel Angel benefited well from this and gained material advantage enough for a calm win.

 

Final Ranking Youth Cross Table

Final Ranking Youth Cross Table

 

The Winter 2014 competition has herewith ended and we look forward to see many of these players back on Saturday 1 March when we will formally conclude the winter with an Open Blitz Finale.

Hong Kong Team Scores a Point Against Indonesia in Round 2 Asian Nations Cup 2012

May 18th, 2012

In the second round against Indonesia it went a little better.

Asian Nations Cup 2012 Round 2 Hong Kong - Indonesia

Hysan’s early loss on board 4 did not take away the steam from the other three games.

Cyrus on board 1 faced GM Megaranto, Indonesia’s current number 1. Cyrus locked in his white bishop via e6, which turned out to be enough positional advantage for the grand master to convert in a win.

Sunny on board 2 played an aggressive line in the Aljechin opening against FM Hamdani. Sunny sacrificed a pawn for attack and he might have had some chances to further pursue adventures near black’s king, if he only had more time.

On board 3 the game between David and CM Muhammad let to a Philidor Defense in which black’s pressure on the queen side made the candidate master do some inaccuracies which led to a rook win by David. With both players less than a minute on the clock left, it was white who lost his cool and maneuvered himself in a checkmate position.

The honor is saved – now let’s see if we can get something more tomorrow in round 3 against South Korea.

Asian Nations Cup 2012 Rank after Round 2

 

GM Alfonso Romero Visit to Hong Kong

May 15th, 2012

On Sunday May 6, Grand Master Alfonso Romero visited Hong Kong after a good tournament result (shared 2nd place) in Melaka and a subsequent visit to the chess community in Macao.  Savoring the local cuisine at lunch somewhere in Western market area we reflected on how to get from a plateau of a rating of some 2,000 or 2,100 towards that GM level of around 2,500. What is it that you do differently?

There seemed to be no straightforward answer. Yes, you put your pieces on better squares on the board, you are faster in pattern recognition and perhaps you pick your small battles on the board wiser. But does this all really add up to good chess? Or, chess being a mix of art, science and mental endurance, simply doesn’t allow for a one-off answer to what is good chess?

But interestingly, Alfonso said that once you get to your IM (International Master) norm, you have broken through the most significant plateau and you are ready for a slow ascent. So, that’s it … just get your IM norm …

From left to right: Jackson Li (president HKCF), GM Alfonso Romero, David Garceran Nieuwenburg, Miguel-Angel Garceran Wang, KK Chan (photo taken by Hysan Wong)

Round 9 Hong Kong Chess Finals: No Draws!

May 9th, 2012

After an all or nothing night it has gotten tense at the top. Bryan Lee with little time left on the clock converted his better position in win against CM Chan. HK Tsang freed himself from CY Chong, for now, by defeating him. Andrew Koenigsberg kept refusing a draw against David Garceran Nieuwenburg, unrelated to the complete draw position on the board, until all players were summoned to leave the building after 11pm. It was David who did not have the time to continue elsewhere, around midnight at McDonalds or so as Andrew suggested; hence Andrew could climb to second position. Next week we look forward to the battle of the titans, between Bryan and HK Tsang!

Asian Nations Cup 2012 Hong Kong Team Selection

May 4th, 2012

The winner of the Asian Nations Cup, held from 17-26 May 2012 in Zao Zhuang, China PRC, will represent Asia on the World Team Championship in 2013. The stakes are high and the following team to represent Hong Kong has been selected by the Hong Kong Chess Federation (HKFC):

  • Cyrus Lai (HKCF)
  • Sunny Lo (HKCF)
  • Hysan Wong(HKCF)
  • Adrian Cronan (HKCF)
  • David Garceran Nieuwenburg (HKCF & Caissa)

We wish them good luck in their daunting task in a tournament with a rather high density of GMs, IMs and other talents per square meter … stay tuned …

Round 8 Hong Kong Finals: Bryan Lee One Point Loose

May 2nd, 2012

Arthas Qian‘s loss against Cheuk Wai Lo amplified the effects of Bryan  Lee‘s win against Ian Scott in the rankings. Bryan with, an excellent undefeated 7 out of 8, has broken loose now one full point from Hong Ki Tsang, who could cash in a point against David Garceran Nieuwenburg, who might be record holder now in blundering a piece away in a good position in the end phases of the game. Lack of concentration?

Although round 10 could turn into a decisive round when Bryan and Hong Ki meet, with 5.5 out of 7 Chor Yuen Chong is still a force to reckon and both Andrew Koenigsberg and Arthas are not to be counted out yet either.

Hong Kong Chess Open Finals 2012 Round 7: Top 4 Share 5 points

April 24th, 2012

Round 7 of the Hong Kong Open Finals organized by the Hong Kong Chess Federation was an exciting round with three main outcomes:

  • The draw between Bryan and Arthas resulted in both having 5 points now;
  • Another loss of Alberto, who seemed invincible in the prelims, helped Andrew to comfortably settle in the top group of 5 pointers as well;
  • David GN won to secure his first win against Chak Man who chose for a dubious sacrifice against the Sokolsky.

Of course black’s 14th move was a mistake but also 14. … Qe7 would not have prevented a move like 15. Nd4 when 15. … Rd8 or Nf4 would not be sufficient.

Ranking for now: