I only found out about this tournament last year when they mentioned it in Facebook. I jokingly complained why no one told me about it (seeing that  'GilaChess' should be aware of most tournaments) and someone immediately added me to their Whatsapp group. I have to admit the group was hyper active and the first few days my battery constantly drained because of the non-stop notifications that popped up on Whatsapp! I had to delete Whatsapp to save battery! I know I could have gone to settings and toned down the notifications but for some reason I just didn't.

Anyway, a year later (and after reinstalling whatsapp) I see the group is still going strong and I just had to drop by seeing that their venue is just 11 minutes drive from my place.

Yes it's mini tournament but 23 participants and maxing out the space at the Young Chess Masters centre is quite impressive. It shows that the chess playing culture is strong here in Shah Alam. Entry fee is only RM 5 but it is more of friendly chess than a competition.

Pictures tell a better story...


I've never been to these parts of Shah Alam (Seksyen 7) before but with Waze, that is not a problem and I cannot get lost :) . Waze said "You have arrived at your destination" and after finding a place to park I found myself  right in front of the place!

YCM is among shop houses (beside Hailam Kopitiam) and it's on the second floor.




AGM Nik Ahmad Farouqi is the main face of Young Chess Masters centre but of course there are others..


This is THE place to go to have some friendly chess games.



Friendly atmosphere but serious chess taking place.




5th place - Ainul Hakim Abdul Razak


4th place - Wan Mohd Azmie Wan Abd Rahim


3rd place - Rusdi Sidi

2nd place - Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Mohd


TYM #23: Champion - Syawal Aqmar Shahrir Ariff


Best Veteran


Tension.
Games are also broadcasted live on http://live.youngchessmasters.com.my. That night the top 2 boards were live.


Arbiter Nik Farouqi resolving some disputes

The event started at around 10.20pm but most everyone were already there by 9.30pm. Everything ended slightly after 1.00am.

So if you are anywhere near Shah Alam and want some games of chess, YCM is the place to be. They have weekly sessions and is usually held every Friday night.

Final Ranking after 6 Rounds

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	4		Syawal Aqmar Shahrir Ariff	MAS	1695	5,5	25,0	16,5	23,00
2	7		Syed Abdul Rahman Syed Mohd	MAS	1667	5,0	19,5	12,0	14,00
3	10		Rusdi Sidi	MAS	1620	4,5	22,5	14,0	15,25
4	5		Wan Mohd Azmie Wan Abd Rahim	MAS	1676	4,0	22,5	15,5	12,00
5	8		Ainul Hakim Abdul Razak	MAS	1663	4,0	21,0	14,0	12,50
6	1		Muhd Ali Chor	MAS	1793	4,0	18,0	12,0	9,50
7	9		Mohd Ikhbal Mohd Jowahar	MAS	1657	4,0	18,0	11,0	8,50
8	12		Nurfirdaus Abdul Hamid	MAS	1573	4,0	17,0	12,5	9,50
9	15		Mohd Adam Hafiz Jafri Malim	MAS	1547	3,5	23,5	15,5	11,50
10	3		Shamsol Bahrin Patahol Rahman	MAS	1721	3,5	13,5	7,5	7,25
11	6		Mohd Syazwan Mohd Zin	MAS	1672	3,0	20,5	13,5	7,00
12	23		Zuladli Saribin	MAS	0	3,0	19,5	13,5	7,50
13	2		Asrul Sharaff Omar	MAS	1777	3,0	16,5	10,5	6,50
14	18		Muazzin Misrodi	MAS	1296	3,0	15,5	10,0	3,50
15	20		Al Imran Misrodi	MAS	1193	3,0	14,0	9,5	5,00
16	11		Mohamed Ismail	MAS	1585	3,0	12,5	8,0	3,00
17	13		Ahmad Arif Abdul Rahim	MAS	1564	2,0	21,0	13,5	6,50
18	17		Ngasiman Hj Sapuan	MAS	1394	2,0	18,0	13,5	4,00
19	16		Misrodi Telimik	MAS	1437	2,0	18,0	13,0	3,00
20	14		Andrew Ooi Boon Seng	MAS	1555	2,0	15,0	9,5	1,00
21	19		Nik Afiq Raiyan Nik Ahmad Faro	MAS	1248	2,0	13,0	8,5	2,00
22	21		Bukhori Misrodi	MAS	1182	1,0	16,5	10,5	0,50
23	22		Nik Aisy Irfan Nik Ahmad Farou	MAS	1054	1,0	13,0	8,5	0,50

Related link : http://www.youngchessmasters.com.my