The Perak Closed Chess Championship 2013 was organized by Persatuan Catur Negeri Perak (PCNP) on December 28 and 29 last year at Dewan Jabatan Belia dan Sukan, Ipoh.
Ninety-four players took part in this 9-rounds 45-minute time-controlled tournament over two days. The participants comprised a diverse crowd with boys and girls as young as 10 and adults as old as 60. One observer expressed her admiration at the friendly rivalry among the Malay, Chinese and Indian players. It was usual for them to analyse the completed games with each other after each round. The passion for chess is evident among the players.
The competition ran smoothly over the two days by an experienced team of arbiters. The Fong family from Kampar sent five family members for the competition and got the lion’s share of the prizes. Yit San, Eddy Fong’s second son, who defended his title in the recent National Under-20 Junior Championship held in Johore, won 1st place while Mi Yen, elder daughter, who was National Women’s Champion in 2011 won 3rd placing. Yit Ho, the eldest son and runner-up in the recent Junior Championship his younger brother won, achieved 4th placing. Mark Siew, after a long absence from Perak, returned to finish 2nd.
The winners will be given consideration when PCNP selects the Perak players for national events like the National Closed and the annual Merdeka Chess Festival usually held in Kuala Lumpur. PCNP thanked all participants and the organising team for making this event a great success.
