8th ASIAN DRAGONS 2014 @New Taipei City - TAIWAN: Presenting Prizes for the Open Event.

( CHAMPION - 8th Asian Dragons 2014: Zaidan Zulkipli from Malaysia )

( RUNNERS-UP: Koji Noguchi from Japan )

I am honoured to have been invited by the Chinese Taipei Chess Association to hand out prizes to the winners of the Open event of the 8th Asian Dragons Chess Championship held in New Taipei City, Taiwan in July 2014. The event which was held in a stadium coincided with the holy month of Ramadhan.

The occasion was made even more memorable when Malaysia's own Dr. Zaidan Zulkipli won the event and I handed out the Champions Trophy to him.

Thank You Very Much to the Chinese Taipei Chess Association for the kind invitation and hospitality extended to the small delegation of 4 people comprising of 1 official and 3 players(1 in Open event and 2 in U-16 category) from KLCA.

15th ASEAN+ Age Group C.C. 2014 @Cotai Sands, MACAU S.A.R: " Chess in Education " Seminar

I was in Macau S.A.R. accompanying my son who's taking part in the U8 category of the 15th ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championship 2014 when the organiser of the Seminar invited me to attend the " Chess in Education " Seminar which began at 9AM today(Tuesday, 10th June). The seminar were organised and sponsored jointly by the Kasparov Asia and Kasparov Africa, Chess Foundations respectively.

After wishing my son well for the 9AM game and taking pictures of him, I rushed to the nearby meeting room and tried to slip in unnoticed only to be seated next to Indonesia's Utut where we exchanged pleasantries.

The seminar itself was an eye-opener for me when comparing the "luxuries" of Malaysia to the difficulties faced by African nations. Examples of successful programmes especially in Africa were shared with the participants. Kasparov himself were there to share his experiences and engaged in a dialogue with all present.

Newspaper Article -MACAU DAILY TIMES
Blog REPORT 

2014 KL International Open @ Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA: Tournament Director & 2nd IO Norm