KUCHING – 15-year-old Fergus Lim See Siang claimed the top cash prize of RM300 at the first-ever Swinburne Sarawak Chess Open held in conjunction with the annual Swinburne Carnival at the university’s campus last weekend.
The competition, jointly organised by the Swinburne Sarawak Chess Club and the Sarawak Chess Association, attracted approximately 60 participants of all ages and backgrounds. There were six categories namely Open, Veterans, Women, Swinburne Staff, Swinburne Students and Under 15.
Prizes were given away at the closing and awards presentation ceremony attended by Guest of Honour Datuk Dr Abang Haji Abdul Rauf bin Abang Haji Zen, Swinburne Sarawak’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer Professor John Wilson and Swinburne Sarawak’s lecturer and Chess Club Advisor Dr Wallace Imoudu Enegbuma.
President of the Sarawak Chess Association Abang Mohammad Reduan claimed the second place of the Open Category, followed by Aida Suriana Abdul Razak at third place. Both took home cash prizes worth RM200 and RM100 respectively.
Other winners include Jihes anak Jiheng (Veterans’ Category), Teh Yi-Lynn (Women’s Category), Don Navarathna (Swinburne Staff’s Category) and Atiqul Islam (Swinburne Students’ Category). The youngest winner was Muhd Shahrul Azhar Suidi who won the Under 15 Category.
A student of SM Lodge, Lim started playing chess at the age of 10. He named the Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen who became grandmaster at the age of 13 as the person he aspires to emulate. Aida’s inspiration comes from her grandfather and she is driven by the styles and opening plays of grandmaster Simon William.
Group photo of the participants of the Swinburne Sarawak Chess Open.
In his closing speech, Professor Wilson expressed his appreciation to all the participants and congratulated them for their commitment to the sport that requires mental agility and strategic thinking skills.
“Your involvement in chess will enable you to excel in your studies or work and to face the problems in your lives by applying the creative and critical thinking skills. I hope that in subsequent years and with continued support, the Swinburne Sarawak Chess Open will grow to become a World Chess Federation-rated tournament and attract the participation of chess grandmasters from all over the world,” said Professor Wilson.
A keen chess player since he was four, Datuk Dr Abang Haji Abdul Rauf was happy to witness the participants’ enthusiasm. In his speech at the awards presentation ceremony, Datuk Dr Abang Haji Abdul Rauf admitted that he was so carried away with playing his rounds that he had forgotten about other appointments that he had intended to attend. The idea to organise the Swinburne Sarawak Chess Open was first mooted by himself, Dr Wallace and Abang Mohammad Reduan.
The event was sponsored by John’s Pie and the Swinburne Sarawak Student Council.
For more information about Swinburne’s Sarawak campus, visit the university’s website (www.swinburne.edu.my), Facebook page (@swinburnesarawak), Instagram (@swinburnesarawak), Twitter page (@Swinburne_Swk) or YouTube channel (Swinburne Sarawak).