Malaysia welcomes you to fight for your IM norm!

by Sagar Shah - 09/01/2018

The third edition of the First Friday events is here. It will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the 2nd to the 7th of February 2018. A lot of Indian players participated in the first and the second edition of the First Friday events. All of them went with the hopes of making an IM norm, but only one has succeeded so far - the young Indian talent D.Gukesh. It's an extremely challenging tournament where usually a score of 7.0/9 is what it takes to make an IM norm. You need to be on top of your game. If you think you are up for it, you should surely sign up for this exciting event.

After a short break in the months of December and January, the First Friday IM norm event is back. It will be held in the month of February from the 2nd to the 7th in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One of India's brightest talents D. Gukesh took part in the first edition of the First Friday in October and made his maiden IM norm.

Gukesh enjoying some nice Indian food at an Indian restaurant in Malaysia

The 11-year-old Gukesh played some great chess to score 7.0/9 and make an IM norm. Here is his final round win against B.Sekar which clinched it for him:

Entry fee structure:

IM/WGM/above 2401	USD 100
2351-2400	USD 150
2301-2350	USD 200
2251-2300	USD 250
2201-2250	USD 300
2151-2200	USD 400
Below 2150	USD 500

Schedule:

Feb.2	1200 Arrival
	1800 Player’s Meeting
Feb.3	0900 Round 1
	1600 Round 2
Feb.4	0900 Round 3
	1600 Round 4
Feb.5	0900 Round 5
	1600 Round 6
Feb.6	0900 Round 7
	1600 Round 8
Feb.7	0900 Round 9
	1500 Departure

Contact:

All those interested to play in the event must write to chessbaseindia@gmail.com with a copy (cc) to peterlong@asia.aol

FM Peter Long of Malaysia is the chief organizer of the First Friday events

Along with the tournament there is also a FIDE Arbiter's seminar. The Malaysian Chess Federation will organize a FIDE Arbiter Seminar at the Institute for Chess Excellence located at 69-2 & 69-3, Jalan Puteri, Bandar Puteri, Puchong 47100, Selangor, from 2-5 February 2018.

The lectures will be 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. daily on Saturday and Sunday and the fee will be USD 200. IA Casto Abundo will be the FIDE Lecturer.

It will also be an Arbiter Refresher Course as well due to changes in the FIDE Laws of Chess and recent developments in FIDE Rules and Regulations so all MCF Council Members, a Representative from each State and those who are already FIDE Arbiters are welcome to attend on Saturday with a reduced fee of USD 50.