Asian Continental Championship Subic Bay

The former American Naval Base which has been turned into some sort of "special economic zone" played host to the Asian qualification event for the world cup. It is s gated area separated from Olongapo city by barriers that are casually checked by disinterested security guards. I did inquire as to  what they were trying to stop from coming in or out but nobody seemed to know. Nor was anybody able to tell me what this big American warship was doing there.

The tournament itself was won by Ni Hua from China and second was the local hero Wesley So who took the early lead but lost to the winner in the latter stages. The other qualifiers were Abhijeet Gupta of India, Jianchao Zhou and last but not least Le Quang Liem. He lost his first round, drew the second and then came home with 6\7.


The Womens event was won by Atousa Pourkashiyan (is that an Armenian name) but since I wasn't paying attention I don't know how many qualified.....which brings me to my next point. The website was and is useless. Dissemination of information is very poor in the Philippines and this important event was not done any service by those responsible for promoting it. Chess is a major sport in the Philippines, there are many strong players, countless amateurs and enthusiasts and public interest the like of which most counties can only dream about.


Chess is supported at Government level and Corporate. The venue was in an isolated industrial area with little public access and there was no commentary of the games of this important event nor were any of the games streamed live on the internet. This was an unforgivable waste of resources and a wasted opportunity. Subic bay is trying to develop a tourism industry and deserves to have a thriving one. There are many beautiful beaches, restaurants and cultural attractions in the area. The local food is delicious (not in our Hotel), the beer(Red Horse) is cheap and refreshing and the nightlife in Olongapo city has something for everybody from live music by very talented local musicians to seedy bars left over from the Americans presence.


As for my own tournament, it was my worst performance in living memory. The stifling heat must have melted my brain as I made major blunders in every game. 


Subic has a future as a chess venue but I hope next time a little more effort is made to publicize the tournaments held there before to attract more players especially from overseas, during so sponsors can get more exposure and return on their investment and after so people see what they missed out on and go next time.  

No Naked Women on FERENGI

I hate to disappoint Star Trek fans but the women on Ferringhi wear clothes, in fact a lot of clothes. And many of them wear black. Also they are allowed to drive.

There are many strange things about the Planet Ferringhi (local spelling) including horses drinking in bars.

Batu Ferringhi is a beautiful beach resort about 30 minutes by Bus from Georgetown on the Island of Penang.
We are waiting for news from Emirates to see if the Volcano is going to force us to stay here a bit longer. There are worse places to be stuck :-)

And the winner is HOU YIFAN

She won in a canter, was never in trouble in any of her games and was a model of concentratioon from the first to the last round. This girl is truly strong. Here she is with the Princess of Perak (I think) and the Chancellor of Mindskills University.
I was amazed at the attention Chess received here in Malaysia compared to Australia. The opening Ceremony was attended by Raja Nazrin Shah, the Crown Prince and many other dignitaries. Here is a short Video of his motorcade arriving and the opening Ceremony

Another Highlight of the event was the stopover of Nigel Short. He gave a 10 player simul on his way to the Bangkok open. A brave man he surely is as the troubles there now are surely enough to dissuade many a more timid soul. Here he is considering his move against Ed Legaspi from the Phillipines.

 Thomas Luther performed according to his rating and finished fifth. Two losses spoiled his chances for a higher place. It was a bit tough to get used to the heat and double rounds especially when rounds start at 9am.
Here he is meeting a Princess.

Apologies for the delay but my old computer had multiple breakdowns. Power supply, Virus etc. Now I need to go give a Simul myself so I can finally win some games. If you are wondering why I didn't mention my tournament......

Second round disaster

Batu Caves

One of the "must see" tourist attractions of Kuala Lumpur are defiantly the Batu Caves.There is a huge Golden Budda at the bottom and a Hindu temple or two but for thorough info I will just refer you to the Wiki page 
The 272 steps up to the top would have been murder on me just a few weeks ago but after being tobacco free for over three weeks I handled it fine.
You do get attacked by Monkeys if you are carrying any food or the Monkeys take a liking to a shiny object you have on or are carrying.

The top three seeds all made the pilgrimage to the Holy site, just in case. Here are two of them, Thomas Luther and HouYifan. The Organiser Peter Long took 16 players on a tour of Kuala Lumpur, something quite unique for a Chess tournament. After the Caves we were treated to fresh Coconuts, then we took a trip to the KL television tower for a view of the City. There was also a Cultural Village there showcasing local Arts and Crafts as well as traditional dwelling. We then took a look at the National Monument before returning to the Hotel at about 5pm. A long but interesting day.

The tournament started this morning and I got off to a flying start winning against Mohamed Abdul Haq 2057 in 27 moves. Later tonight I will try to figure out how best to post games and then share. The second round is in a few hours so I will go have some lunch in Chinatown and post results this evening. Have a Nice day.

Breakfast

Nasi Lemak is a traditional breakfast in Malaysia. The basic ingredients seem to be rice, dried anchovies, boiled egg, cucumber and a curry of your choice. Kopi (coffee) or Teh Tarik ( I had Teh Halia{Ginger}) are the most common breakfast beverages. 










There is a large choice of delicious things to augment your rice as you can see. Breakfast for the three of us costs around €3. 
More food adventures coming soon,

Dubai Airport

After my winge yesterday I thought I'd share a happy story with you. Flying Emirates is a Joy. Great website, nice modern fleet, only downside, too many movies to choose from to get any sleep. I ended up watching "Men who stare at Goats" and "Corporation"

The Airport is the best I can think of. After a refreshing shower we are now enjoying free Wi-Fi at a cafe with HUGE Cappuccino's