Caissa Hong Kong Chess Club

chess in hong kong

Open Dutch National Titles x3 for Hong Kong Youth!

August 11th, 2015

On 2 August, youth players from Hong Kong and some who were in the USA that time, from Boston, embarked on an intercontinental trip to The Netherlands to participate in the ONJK – Open Dutch Youth Championship 2015 from 3-8 August.

Accompanied by parents, aunt, uncle, grandpa, coach, and together with our local Dutch Caissa girl, who joined us in Holland, our group of total 18 people finally carried eight Caissa Hong Kong’s Chess Club players.

The drive from Schiphol airport to the hotel Erve Hulsbeek took 1.5 hours and once we arrived and checked in, it was the perfect moment to explore the neighborhood and for a big cheers on the terrace and to explore the nearby city center of Oldenzaal to do some shopping.

Arrived at Erve Hulsbeek – Cheers!

Bao Jin Wen … and the rest …

Exploring the area. Nice beach and Fong Li and Mei Jing – chess friends forever!

Into the city

Shopping at the local “Park n Shop” called Albert Heijn

Round 1 on the next day, 3 August, would not start until the afternoon. After a typical Dutch no-frills breakfast of freshly baked bread, ham, cheese, croissant and such there was still some time to play around – and in Holland that could lead to biking and feeding cows…

Erve Hulsbeek Hotel Breakfast

The biker girls Mei Jing, Jasmine and Hoi Ching

Feeding Number 2059, Hoi Ching’s favorite cow.

Our players were spread out over almost all age groups:

Group B (U16): Melvin Cheung and Fong Li Calje
Group D (U12): Jasmine Leung and James Wing Ki Kwong
Group E (U10): Miguel Angel Garceran Wang
Group F (U9): Mei Jing Garceran Wang and Harold Wing Shun Kwong
Group H (U7): Jin Wen Bao

Early morning players towards the buses for the ride to the playing venue Sporthal ‘t Wooldrik

Jin Wen warms up before round 1 with former ONJK U9 champion Luuk van Steenhoven

Jin Wen and James on their way to their round 1 game

The tournament has started …

Our analysis corner from which we followed and analysed all games (photo: Tu Tran)

(See also report FGH Group on tournament site)

The F (U9), G (U8) and H (U7) would play two tournaments, the first one of 9 rounds in 3 days in their own age group and then another 11 rounds in the subsequent 3 days. A gruesome schedule by any standard.

But in Jin Wen we had a true hero in our team. In the first part of the tournament the G and H category were mixed but Jin Wen emerged as winner of his age group H … and also higher than anyone in the G age group. A true world champion who can add an Open Dutch title now to his list of achievements!

Game preparations at Jin Wen’s table

Jin Wen against Wendy

Cross Table Open Dutch Championship H (U7) & G (U8) mixed

Bao Jin Wen – CHAMPION!!!!

Our F group players Mei Jing and Harold had a tougher time but still managed to score 4.5 points and ended 14th and 17th respectively.

Harold before action

Other kind of action: Harold, Jin Wen and Miguel Angel playing football in between the rounds with Matthew and David (not on photo)

Mei Jing against a player with sound blocker.

In the second part of the F, G and H group tournament, when all three groups were merged and for our kids opponents would thus be stronger, we suddenly see a stronger Harold score 5.5 points now, Mei Jing even getting 7 points and Jin Wen again emerging as champion of all 3 age groups. Well done Jin Wen, you are a true champ, but also to Harold and Mei Jing: huurraaay!

Mei Jing sad after would an unnecessary loss cost her a prize - she stayed 0.5 pints behind the first 2 placed girls

Mei Jing sad after an unnecessary loss cost her a prize – she stayed 0.5 pints behind the first two placed girls. Cheer Up Mei Jing, next time better.

Final Ranking FGH after 11 rounds (first 37 of 46 payers)

ONJK 2015 – Caissa HK: Jin Wen Champion again!

In the E (U10) group Miguel Angel was in top shape! With fierce and intelligent play and a strong will to win he was already champion with still a round to go! But also the last round he did not take it easy and with 12.5 out of 13 he might have broken a record. He was the absolute best player in this age group – good to see that the level of a Hong Kong U10 Champion is strong enough to triumph in other countries, of which Holland is one of the strongest. Well done Miguel!

Miguel Angel shaking hands with Casper Bleeker who would end 2nd

Miguel Angel shaking hands with Kasper Bleeker who would end 2nd

Miguel Angel and Wing Ki always in the top of the list and supporting each other

Miguel Angel and Wing Ki table tennis teamwork against some Dutch!

Analysis of each game was part of the deal.

A crucial game and break through was against nemesis Constantijn Beukema. Miguel Angel’s win was important to also beat Kasper Bleeker in round 6. In round 7 followed the only draw against Jan Casur.

Miguel Angel Champion E group (U10)

Miguel Angel’s impressive score after 13 rounds: a deserved Champion!

Evening entertainment in the hotel with Mexican music …

… and Opa’s Spanish water …

In the D group our players were Jasmine and Wing Ki. Jasmine had never ever played a longer tournament than the one, max two days, events that had been organized in the past in Hong Kong, mostly rapid. This event, 40 minutes and 30 seconds increment was an entirely different speed.

Jasmine in the middle – nervous but always happily smiling – here amidst her team members and coaches

Jasmine with mom Sally

Pep talk from coach Matthew for Jasmine

After 13 rounds Jasmine had accumulated 5 points. Keep it up Jasmine, good job!

Jasmine, Mei Jing with Hoi Ching cooling down after a day of chess

Jasmine (orange), Mei Jing with Hoi Ching (white) cooling down after a day of stressful chess

Wing Ki also played in the D group and as 11-year old he must have been among the younger players in this U12 age group. Until the very last round it was not sure whether he would be 2nd place or would be crowned Champion.

Wing Ki in preparations for his game with some final advice from coach Matthew

Last round. Wing KI had won. All watching the game between Gilian Honkoop and Nathaniel. A win for Nathan or a draw would be enough for Wing Ki to win ...

Last round. Wing Ki had won. All watching the game between Gilian Honkoop and Nathaniel Faybish. A win for Nathan or a draw would be enough for Wing Ki to win … and it became a king vs king and h-pawn draw!

Wing Ki had beaten Gillian in their game and as such claimed the Champion title with an impressive score!

Wing Ki had beaten Gilian in their individual game and as such claimed the Champion title with an impressive score!

Wing Ki gets Champion prize from the Mayor of Borne City

Wing Ki had received the Champion prize from the Mayor of Borne City

Congratulations Wing Ki!!! You got our 3rd National Open Dutch title. We can go home proudly!

Our 3 National Champions flanked by proud and happy David and Matthew

In the B Group it was unfortunate that in round 1 Melvin and Fong Li were paired against each other. The game resulted in a draw. Both Fong Li, who hadn’t seriously played for 3 years, and Melvin, who had never participated in 9 round standard chess tournament within a week, played many draws and it was lack of experience or recent practice that turned some games into some avoidable losses. We had great fun analyzing Melvin’s “immortal”, when he refused a draw while a queen down and 20 seconds on the clock …

Fong Li with 5 draws and a win and Melvin with 4 draws and 2 wins ended just below 50%. The B group is serious business and it is a score to accept with pride and to set as the baseline for … next year?

Fong Li and Melvin in round 1

Fong Li in deep thought (photo: Tu Tran)

Melvin, the last game of the day, played long games …

Melvin turned out to be a fine badminton player!

Sally and Jing were not bad either …

On Thursday, we had half a day off and of course the trip would be to Amsterdam, the only true tourist destination in Holland…

From Borne to Amstelveen and from there to Amsterdam by tram

Arrival at the Museum Plein with the Rijksmuseum in the background

Melvin and Miguel Angel study the chess game at Max Euwe Plein in Amsterdam

Live entertainment at Leidsche Plein

Jasmine, mom and Hoi Ching at the flower market

Jasmine, mom and sister Hoi Ching at the flower market

Terrace at the Dam monument

Jin Wen, a bit ill, carried by his aunt through the Amsterdam channels

Sally taking care of theBBQ when we for back - supported by Harold

Sally taking care of the BBQ when we got back from Amsterdam – supported by Harold

Finally, on the last day it was Opa’s 77th birthday.

Jin Wen helps Opa blowing the candles in the hotel

Happy Birthday Opa!

Finally thanks to ONJK 2015 for the great organization. Thumbs up from the whole group!

Hong Kong Players Very Successful in the Shenzhen Nanao 4 Regions Cross-Strait Tournament

July 30th, 2015

Photo album on Flicker

Hong Kong Delegation

With 8 players and 6 accompanying adults we set out on Sunday 26 to play in the Nanao Cup 2015, an event deep in Shenzhen inviting players from Shenzhen, Macao, Taiwan and Hong Kong to join. While at the venue we found more players from Hong Kong and as such we had a good representation.

Crowded with over 250 Participants …

Briefing … touch move, 3 times illegal is losing and cross your fingers is draw offer …

The event attracted over 250 players (spread out over the age categories U6, U7, U8, U10, U12 and an Open group) who awaited a gruesome 9 rounds of chess in just 3 days.

But the Hong Kong players were up for the task.

In the U6 Group we had Caissa’s upcoming star Mahir, who learned how to play chess just a few months ago, ending 6th place with 5 points – and he received a medal for this result. That is an excellent result as particularly in this age group Chinese youth is comparatively strong.

Mahir warming up in the lobby with new friends from Shenzhen

Mahir and his dad ready for the next round

In the U7 group we had Zig and Thanneermalai play for Hong Kong. When Thanneermalai had gotten used to the magnetic chess boards and small sized pieces on the last day he was unstoppable with 3 straight wins. Together with his earlier 2 wins he collected 5 points to end on 12th place. Well done!

Thanneermalai with pep-talking mom and sister

Zig was our other player in U7 and he played like a bulldozer. With 7 points he ended impressively on the 2nd place and received a nice trophy. Very impressive Zig!

Zig with his brother Ngai and his dad

Zig confident every time before going into action!

We had no players in U8 but in U10 we had our Caissa gunners Miguel Angel and Mei Jing. And they lived up to their reputation.

Because Mei Jing lost her last game she fell down to 15th place but still on 5th place of all girls with 5 points. As such she still got a medal. Good job Mei Jing!

Mei Jing thinking a few moves ahead already against seemingly nervous opponent …

Yes Mei Jing – you still got a prize!

Miguel Angel played a great tournament. He lost once, coming just 1 move short in a pawn end game, and he drew once. The level of his play was very high and with 7.5 points he ended 2nd place! Miguel Angel got a chance to put his new opening to practice in this strong field. Great preparation for the Open Dutch next week. Well done Miguel!

Miguel Angel with Melvin and Matthew – what is that we’re eating? A fish eye ball!

Miguel Angel - Hong Kong's U10 star player: lonely at the top?

Miguel Angel – Hong Kong’s U10 Lone Wolf star player

In the U12 category we had Ngai and Kannamai from Hong Kong. Kannamai scored 3 points and managed to get a 6th prize medal for girls. Good job Kannamai.

Kannamai in deep concentration

Kannammai on the stage - can you spot the proud dad?

Kannamai on the stage – spot the proud dad …

Ngai scored just below 50% and with 4 points ended 19th in this very strong age group. Not bad at all Ngai – this is truly a strong age group.

Mahir, Mei Jing, Miguel, Zig and Ngai with proud Caissa President David Garceran NIeuwenburg

Mahir, Mei Jing, Miguel, Zig and Ngai with proud Caissa and HKCF President David

In the Open category we had Caissa’s star player U16 Melvin and star coach IM Matthew Tan defending our honor.

Melvin scored 3 points by playing a handful of draws. Some bad luck kept him from more points but as this event was in preparation for the Dutch Open Melvin will join next week, the experience was very much worthwhile for him. With a little adventurous play we will see the best of him in Holland.

Melvin in action

Melvin overseeing the outdoor late evening analysis by Matthew

Matthew, among the top 3 in this group, all with 8 points, ended 2nd place on tie-break. Great score Matthew!

Matthew in action

David handing out the prizes in the Open group – this one goes to Matthew!

Prize winners Nanao Cup 2015

Unfortunately no prizes for battle chess ...

In the meanwhile … battle chess in the lobby…

David receiving a commemorative plaque for Caissa and HKCF

David with a commemorative plaque for Caissa and HKCF

Thanks all, players, parents, organizers. It was a great event in very good atmosphere. We’ll be back!

New National Titles for Caissa students: Miguel Angel claims his 2nd in a row!

July 7th, 2015

HKCF 1st National Rapid 2015 held at the very disitinctive Po Kok Primary School

After the very successful participation in the National Blitz last week Saturday, which resulted in 4 National Champion titles for our club (!!!), the official 1st National Rapid (25 minutes per person) held by HKCF last Sunday was equally successful for our Caissa players.

In the U8 category our Caissa kids Nathan, Noah and Mahir gradually warmed up towards the end of the event. Especially Mahir with 3.5 points in only his 2nd tournament impressed a lot in this strongest players field of Hong Kong.

Noah looks with great interest at Nathan’s game and him pressing the clock …

On 2nd place came Allen Pang Bo with very strong 6 points but Bao Jinwen, our U7 world school champion 2015, scored 7 straight wins and became 1st National Rapid Champion U8. Well done boys! Good warming up also for the Dutch Open 3-8 August in which Jinwen will participate in the Caissa team.

Bao Jinwen Hong Kong U8 Rapid Champion 2015

Jinwen Hong Kong U8 Rapid Champion 2015 with Caissa and HKCF President David Garceran Nieuwenburg

2nd Prize for Allen Pang Bo with Principal of Po Kok School

In the U10 age category we had 6 players participating among which the recently crowned National U10 Blitz Champion 2015 Miguel Angel and National Best Blitz Girl Mei Jing…

Starting with Vivaan though, he did not get into his rhythm in this event, tired as he was from a very long activity the previous day – but he stayed bravely until the end. No worries Vivaan, your time of scoring points will come soon!

Mei Jing lost her last game which cost her her second Best Girl title which went to Caissa’s Anika with 4 points. Congratulations Anika!

Anika and Mei Jing – competitors and best chess friends!

Harold, also with 4 points, ended 10th, exactly in the middle of the group and Aaditya with a strong 5.5 points ended 4th and just out of reach of a prize like last week with the Blitz. Don’t forget, 3rd time lucky, Aaditya.

But it was Caissa’s Champion in U10, Miguel Angel, who played a magnificent tournament and won the tournament, on tie-break against Cai Yang, a strong player from China, and his second title in row. Well done Miguel, you are among a select group grossing National titles like this!

Miguel Angel and Cai Yang shaking hands before their game

Anika Best Girl U10 HKCF 1st National Rapid 2015

Miguel Angel Champion U10 HKCF 1st National Rapid 2015

Miguel Angel National Champion U10 HKCF 1st National Rapid 2015

Miguel Angel, Mei Jing and Harold will also join the Dutch Open 3-8 August. Exciting!

In U12 age category we had 5 Caissa kids participating. Charles and Hilary, with 2 and 3 points respectively, can look back positively at their result among the strongest of Hong Kong. This was only their second tournament, their first being a year ago, and in this group tournament practice is really an advantage.

Oliver with 4 points and last week’s National Blitz Champion Richard with 4.5 points ended 6th and 4th respectively. Very good results.

Richard ready for the last round against Kannammai

But this time James, who had to miss last week’s Blitz, was the best player in this age group and was deservedly crowned National Rapid Champion with 6.5 points. Bravo Champ!

HKCF 1st National Rapid Champion U12 James Kwong

With Richard and James also joining the Dutch Open 3-8 August there is going to be firework on the boards in all age categories in unsuspecting Holland! Ssssssst.

In the U14, U16 and U18 we had no Caissa players but we had the usual suspects in the Open section.

Tejpal warned up well towards the end and ended with 3 points. James with 3.5 points ended 14th. Koji scored 4 points ending 12th and David, who started strong, until the after lunch dip, ended 9th also with 4 points. No prizes, but we had great fun.

Koji watching James’ and David’s games

National Blitz Championship 2015: four National Champions from Caissa

June 28th, 2015

HKCF National Blitz 2015

The Hong Kong Chess Federation 1st National Blitz Championship was an important event in various ways. It would, for the first time in decades, hand out formal National Champion titles and as such formal entitlement to represent Hong Kong in international events. Also, the event was FIDE rated and along the youth age categories there was this time also an Open section for adults.

And the event was a great success for Caissa players, young and old! We already alluded to the fact that some of our players were smoking hot on our chess party yesterday, such that prizes would seriously expected to be within reach, the actual results were better than we could expect.

NA Sydney Lai gives instructions to the youth section

In U8 we only had 2 Caissa students, Seth and Mahir. Mahir, among the youngest in this age group, played his first tournament and scored 3 points but gained lots of experience which is the only goal in your first tournament. Seth, whose strength lies in longer chess games, with 6 points out of 11 had a good tournament in a 3 minutes + 2 seconds time control.

Congratulations to the top 3, Steven, Zeth and Samach who all played in one of the Caissa YGP events and scored well there too. Here are all results of U8.

In U10 we had our hot shot students Samuel, Kevin, Meijing, Aaditya and Miguel Angel lined up with Caissa member Harold.

Miguel Angel proved to be strongest player in this age group: congratulations Champ! Aaditya ended 4th just one place out of a prize. Meijing became Girl Champion – there was unfortunately only one girl. We are very proud of all our students who scored many points. Also congrats to our long time chess friends Adrian and Gerent with their 2nd and 3rd place.

Miguel Angel National Blitz Champion U10!

Mei Jing U10 Champion Girl 2015

In U12 our Caissa gunners were Jay, Richard and Oliver. Jay has had very limited practice in 3 minutes + 2 seconds but still managed to score 4 points.

Although in the direct confrontation Oliver beat Richard, it was Richard who managed to stay on top after 11 rounds impressively defeating all other top 6 players. Oliver just fell out of prizes on 4th place and big congrats to Richard with his National Champion title.

Richard National Blitz Champion U12

All other players were pooled in the Open group. From Caissa we had Tejpal, Koji, Conrad, Melvin and Long participating.

Tejpal just (re)started chess recently and this tournament is for him to oil his engine. The 3.5 points scored is not bad after a very long time hiatus. Koji and Conrad managed to score 5 points, just short of 50% ending solidly in the middle range.

The U16 and other age categories higher than U12 were pooled in the Open and Melvin with 5.5 points ended 6th place overall but that score brought him the title of National Champion U16. Well done Melvin, we are proud of you!

In Open, Long, our 2 times in a row Caissa champion in our Friday evening cycles, ended 2nd place and was the only person to draw against the new National Champion Daniel. Well done Long! And congratulations to our friend Daniel too.

Melvin U16 National Blitz Champion

Long Open National Blitz Runner Up

Rectification – James and Miguel Angel win YGP3 in U12 and U10 and are overall 2014-15 YGP Winners in Their Age Groups

June 22nd, 2015

In 2014-15 we introduced the Youth Grand Prix to Hong Kong: a series of 3 tournaments standard chess (90 minutes per person, 7 rounds), 2 Blitz and 1 Rapid event. In each event grand prix points could be won by ending in the top 5 of the player’s age category.

Yesterday Sunday was the last round of the Spring YGP 3 and also the last round of the entire cycle that spanned some 10 months!

As in YGP 3 we had no U14 player we added a 3rd prize to the U12 and U10 age categories and because we had 4 U8 players we also added a Champion prize for that age group.

In the U12 category James could only be overtaken by Oliver if James would lose from Anika and Oliver would beat Miguel. The latter happened when Oliver, with only some 3 minutes left on the clock, surprised Miguel Angel with a checkmate in a complicated rook/bishop (Oliver) vs rook/knight and pawns end game. However, James did not lose from Anika in a rook endgame with 2 extra pawns and as such James became champion in the U12 group, followed by Oliver 2nd and Richard, who had to forfeit 2 games in earlier rounds, on the 3rd place.

In U10 age group, Miguel Angel, despite his loss against Oliver, stayed on top to be champion. Because of a BYE input mistake for Anika in round 4, Miguel Angel was followed by 2nd place Ulysses, who beat Harsh, and 3rd Harold, who with several pieces less miraculously managed to check mate Zeth. However, after correction and adding 0.5 points to Anika in round 4, it turned out that Anika ended number 2 and Ulysses number 3. Apologies for the mistake – and Anika will get her trophy and prize money soonest.

Zeth still remained the best performing player, and thus Champion of U8.

Congratulations to all prize winners!!!

Zeth Champion U8 with coach Matthew Tan

Prize Winners YGP3 with coach Matthew (left to right): Harold, James, Miguel Angel, Zeth, Richard, Ulysses and Oliver – we are missing Anika who won 2nd prize in U10

Top players in each age category U14, U12 and U10 would be fully sponsored, including return flight, lodging, additional training etc., to join the Dutch Youth Open 2015. Prerequisite was that players would play minimal 3 YGP events and as such unfortunately we have no U14 winner.

The final YGP ranking after 6 events shows a strong winner in Miguel Angel in U10 and James in U12. We wish our YGP champions, and of course our other players who will join the Dutch Youth Open 2015, good luck, success and fun from 3-8 August. We will be reporting from there!

YGP 2014-15 Final Ranking

Teddy Wins Winter YGP2

March 12th, 2015

By defeating Marco, Teddy became the winner of U10 and the Champion of the YGP2 with 5.5. points. Teddy, our Caissa pupil, has developed strongly in the last couple of months. Well done!

Front: Harsh (white) vs. Oliver. Back: Marco (white) vs. Teddy

James, who won against Richard, became winner of U12 and also got 5.5 points but ended 2nd overall on the 4th tie-break, that is, Teddy had more wins with black.

Andy defeated Miguel Angel by a good occupation of Miguel’s back rank with his white rook. Herewith Andy ended 2nd in U10 and Miguel Angel 3rd.

Although Oliver won his game against Harsh, it was Ronald by defeating Mei Jing who with 4.5 points could claim 2nd prize in U12.

Final Ranking Cross Table Winter 2015 YGP2

Ronald had left earlier and did not get his prize handed out – but the other prize winners got their trophy and cash prizes handed out by coach Michel.

Miguel Angel 3rd place U10 YGP 2

Andy Au 2nd Prize U10

Teddy Yang, Winner U10 and Tournament Winner

James Kwong Champion U12

Finally the ranking of the YGP:

Ranking YGP per 8 March 2015

Long You Champion Winter 2015 – Miguel Angel 2nd and David 3rd

March 2nd, 2015

Last Friday, in the 7th and last round, Long was leading with 5 points but he was not present and David with 4 points on 2nd place was not playing either. Therefore the top 3 positions were not secured until the very last game ended.

That game was between Melvin and Miguel Angel. If Melvin would win he would join Miguel Angel and David with 4 points and depending on the results of James and Henry, this could mean a prize…

The last game of the tournament: Melvin with white against Miguel Angel in Round 7

However in an endgame with strong queen attack that was en route to be winning for Melvin, Miguel Angel lured Melvin’s white king towards the middle of the board into checkmate.

The other key match that could still change the ranking in the top 3 was between Koji and James. Gradually pieces went off the board until a 2 rooks vs. 5 pawns endgame was left in which Koji managed to stay more precise, winning a few pawns and the game.

Koji with white against James and Ray with white in the background against Henry

Conrad with white against Michel

Although there were no prizes at stake in the games between Henry and Ray and Conrad and Michel – both boards showed dynamic positions. While Michel with black pressed his h and g pawns far up, supported by a rook, piece and queen, Conrad suffered a piece loss. After this his play through the middle was insufficient to prevent a stampede of the well coordinated black pieces trampling the white king.

In the game between Ray and Henry it was Ray who was slamming on the door of the black king with his pawns pushed up all the way to h5 and g5, supported by queen and pieces. However, Ray chose to break the black protective pawns in front of the black king in peril by playing g6 instead of h6. This made a difference of day and night as Henry freed up his Rh8 after capturing f7xg6 and with his active queen and knight was able to execute a decisive attack on the queen side.

With these results, Long stayed number 1 and became Champion with 5 points. Miguel Angel, single digits in age, ended also with 5 points and collected 2nd prize (and counted and recounted his 750HKD prize money …). David with 4 points ended 3rd. Trophies will be given next week.

Thanks all for the good atmosphere and several fine games played over the board.

Final Ranking Caissa Winter 2015 Open

Cross table after 7 rounds

Teddy and and James share first place in YGP2 … and meet next Sunday

February 25th, 2015

With Miguel Angel drawing against Richard in round 5 Teddy has emerged on the top position again after his win against Ronald in that same round, sharing 1st place with James who won against Marco. The game to watch in round 6 will be James against Teddy!

Teddy with white against Ronald breaking through the center

Below the ranking after round 5 and the pairing for round 6:

Cross Table Ranking after Round 5

Miguel Angel Leads YGP 2 flanked by four other players with equal points

February 3rd, 2015

After the 4th round there are five players, each with 3 points, topping the ranking.

On board 1 we had a lengthy but noteworthy battle of the titans of U12, James, and U10, Miguel Angel. Both players lead their age group in Grand Prix points and the game was daring and adventurous from both sides. In the beginning of the endgame Miguel Angel with white managed to force his queen towards close range from the black king and after some necessary exchanges to ease the pressure in front of the black king, Miguel Angel ended in a rook-bishop vs rook-bishop end game one pawn up. With only few minutes left on the clock Miguel Angel accepted the 3-fold repetition by James’ rook checks.

A great game worthy a replay:

On board 2, the U12 boys Ronald and Oliver drew in a game that looked very good for Oliver for a long time, but the pawn up advantage in the end was not enough for Oliver to win.

On board 3, Andy and Teddy had an important game for the U10 grand prix points. Teddy with black had put a lot of pressure on white, winning 2 pawns and later returning them for a superior king pawns endgame which was won very well.

Ulysses with white found Richard blocking his way to get a 3rd win in a row and through this win Richard is back in the top 5.

Marco played concentrated and well against Anika as did Harsh against Mei Jing. Despite their resilience it turned out not to be a good day for the girls.

Harold with white benefited from an error Samuel made early in the game and Toby unfortunately had to wait an hour and got a free point because of Steven’s no show.

Harold playing chess against Toby and Ulysses after finishing their games (Toby waiting for his opponent)

YGP2 Cross Table after Round 4

Daniel Lam wins Caissa Winter Blitz Open and visiting GM Raymond Keene allows 2 draws in 20 games simul

December 10th, 2014

It was full house again last Sunday on a day fully packed with chess activities at our Sheung Wan center. Our Blitz Open started at 11am and lasted over 9 rounds until 4.15pm after which we had visiting GM Raymond Keene hand out the prizes and play a simul against 20 players until well after 7pm.

All 93 photos are here!

Nine players from Shenzhen, of whom eight U10 or U8, joined our tournament.

Ritvik remaining cool and focused in a hectic and packed environment

First things first: the Open Blitz. In the Open (adult group) our 2 Caissa members Koji and Long just missed out a prize scoring a respectable 6 out of 9.

Koji last minute preparation …

Spectators watch Cyril-Daniel game move close to time control

Spectators watch the Cyril-Daniel game move close to time control

Third prize went to Edgardo, last year’s winner. Cyril, again, managed to perform well and deservedly collected the 2nd prize. Top performer was Daniel Lam, with 9 straight wins the undisputed Caissa Open Blitz Champion 2014. Congratulations to all.

Daniel gets his Champion prize from GM Raymond Keene

In the B group, U12, we had 4 players with 5 points. On tie-break Ronald just fell out of prize range. Third prize went to James, 2nd to Richard but it was again Oliver who claimed the highest spot in this age group. Good job!

Suen Long contemplating his next move

Oliver Yau received champion prize in B group from GM Keene

In the C group, U10, Mei Jing won 3rd prize with a solid result of 5 points but Miguel Angel and especially Pak impressed most by scoring 5.5 and 6 points respectively, ending even above all B group players. Impressive!

Pak receives champion prize from GM Keene

In the D group, U8, Jiang Xin Ming from Shenzhen scored 4 points ending 3rd. From Caissa’s side we had Ritvik collect his first silverware at a Caissa tournament (way to go!) with 4.5 points. The Champion prize in this group went to Wu Yi Xing, also from Shenzhen, with 5 points. Congratulations boys!

Discovery Bay buddies Jay and Seth follow Noah’s game with interest

Wu Yi Xing Champion in D group

Around lunch time we had posted 8 trivia questions, varying anywhere between quotes from famous chess players to animal names of openings and, like last year, It was Aravind who scored most points, followed by Miguel Angel, Richie, Jay and Koji. Prizes ranged from a signed book by Raymond Keene to chocolate and chess boards.

Jay posing with GM Keene got chocolate in return for his chess trivia knowledge

We were very honored too that GM Raymond Keene was willing to hand out the prizes of the first Youth Grand Prix to the prize winners who were present: James Kwong 3rd prize in U12-14, Oliver Yau 2nd prize in U12-14 and Miguel Angel Garceran Wang Champion in U10.

Hurray from GM Keene to Miguel Angel U10 Champion of YGP 1

This event was also a qualifying event for Youth Grand Prix points and we can see below how the pool of points was distributed over the top 5 players
and what the current ranking is.

Finally, GM Keene took on 20 (mostly) youth players who fully enjoyed the oportunity to be able to play against a Grandmaster with an impressive track record in the world of chess at player level, as a writer, organizerer and so on.

Ronald and Miguel Angel curious: She had a draw!?!?

Ronald and Miguel Angel curious: Huang Zhi Yan had a draw!?!?

After over 2 hours Ray scored 19 points out of 20: 2 draws. We are very proud of James Kwong who was one of the two players with Zhi Yan to manage to get that draw

A very big thanks to Ray, for visiting us almost straight from the airport after a tiring intercontinental flight, and making this event very special and memorable. We hope to see you again!