In about a month's time the most prestigious Scholastic Chess tournament for Malaysia will take off. It's the National Age Group(NAG). NAG has been steadily gaining more popular ever since the National Sports Council (MSSM) dropped chess as an annual event some years back. That was truly a controversial decision as the chess event was gaining popularity with many parents and teachers recognizing the beneficial side of chess on young minds. Luckily the National Age Group organised by the MCF sort of acted as a replacement for annual National Council Chess. Recently, the National Sports Council reinstated chess as one of the sporting events - and quite timely too as chess is already an event at the SEA games. It would be terribly embarassing and illogical if chess was not recognized as a sporting event at national level. Despite this, the National Age Group has grown and has become a popular annual event for many students. This year, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Indoor Sports Arena was chosen as bigger venue was needed. The Sports Arena can support up to 500 participants. I will be there to cover the event as much as I can. Details about the National Age Group.