Did not get to go Kepong Baru tourney with my friend Vicky this time. Instead he was at Berjaya Times Square to cover the Atanu simul at Borders bookstore in KL. I bravely went alone this time. As usual got lost again in Kepong even though I had been there last year. With embarassment I was forced to call one of the organisers again - Lee Pei Anne (hmm... last year it was Lim Pei Jean) and ask for directions. With the help of her friends I managed to reach the SMK Kepong school .... late but the good organisers had already placed my name in the list so I got to play after all. The announcement for this tournament was at the very last minute because the organisers didn't even plan to organise this years' tournament because of the form 3 trial exams held just a day after the 14th August 2005. Anyway, I'm very grateful they got together their comittee and manage to organise it. Since it was last minute, many would not have known about this tourney.I thought I had a good chance to top 10 again. There were 45 players in the open section. Just like last year, I finished 4 out of 6. Again, I never got to meet any strong player. But unlike last year where I finished in 10th position (my first top 10 win in many years), this time I was not even near top 10 this time. Perhaps it was the entry of very strong players such as Kamaluddin Yusof, Siti, Johan, Foo Chee Kin, Thaw Chee Yin, etc making the event more challenging this year. Someone said they could not enter my GilaChess.com website. Please leave a comment at the bottom if you too had any problems accessing my site. (Then I'll know if it is only an isolated case or something more serious)Usually I post all the resuts at GilaChess but I'll post it here too just in case:

Kepong 2005 Open Results

Kepong 2005 Under-12 Results

As for Atanu's Simul, I think the last minute announcement, Kepong clash as well heavy rains affected it. Sadly only 9 people turned up for the event. One good news is the haze is gone. And the tournament was played in a nice cooling atmosphere as it was raining for most of rounds 3, 4 and 5.

Related Link: Last Year's Report