Chess in Asia - Malaysia, Cambodia & Thailand

Chess in Malaysia - Meeting IO Amirul Haji Mohamad at the 1st Malaysian National Senior Rapid Chess Championship

In the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, which has almost two million inhabitants and is considered one of the largest trading hubs in Asia, you can also find several places to play chess. At the start of the year, the first Malaysian Senior Rapid Chess Championship for people over 50 took place for the first time at the Kuala Lumpur Chess Academy. The entrance area of the chess academy is already decorated with some trophies, chess boards and numerous information about current events. To my surprise, when I attended the championship, it turned out that the participants all spoke English among themselves. Why? The use of English in modern-day Malaysia dates back to the British presence in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Singapore and Melaka from the 18th century. English was used there in public administration, in courts and in business. The Malaysians' attitude to life is consistently positive - they are very hospitable and international. I was greeted directly by IO Amirul Haji Mohamad, who was both the FIDE holds the title of “National Arbiter” as well as the FIDE title of “International Organizer” and, surprisingly and kindly, even spontaneously let me say a few words of greeting to the participants before a round of rapid chess.

Me (left) meeting IO Amirul Haji Mohamad (middle), International Organizer and National Arbiter from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and participants of the 1st Malaysian National Rapid Chess Championship

The chess academy began in 2009 and has since offered various training courses for both newcomers and club players up to 1800 Elo and beyond. The coaches WIM Beverly Mendoza, Josephine Berago, NM John Michael Silvederio and Christopher Diaz cover all skill levels. Nationally, Malaysia is considered an important chess country in Asia with over 14,000 FIDE-rated players - the latest ambitions are underlined by the Malaysian No. 1: The only 15-year-old FM Yu Tian Poh has already exceeded the magical 2400 Elo mark.

Chess in Cambodia - the journey from the Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit" into the real world of chess

It sounds like the movie and illustrates what inspiration the Netflix chess series The Queen's Gambit was for girls and women worldwide: The real estate agent Vannyka from Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, started watching The Queen's Gambit during the Corona lockdown and was from the beginning fascinated and inspired by the series - through the main actress Anna Taylor-Joy, who plays the chess genius Beth Harmon, there was suddenly a female figure in the chess world who served as a role model in chess.

In Phnom Penh, a few hours' drive from the world-famous Angkor Wat temple complex, the picture on the streets is still mostly Ouk Chatrang.

The Cambodian style of chess corresponds to the rules of Thai Makruk, but Ouk Chatrang also allows additional initial moves for king and queen. Vannyka quickly put her ideas into action - she organizes weekly (sometimes even several times a week!) chess meetings in different places:

In the picture: Weekly chess meeting in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia: in the front right, the initiator Vannyka, who was inspired by the Queen's Gambit.

To organize them, she founded the Facebook group Cambodia Chess Community, where members arrange to meet up. But that's not enough. The chess activist also regularly streams chess – check it out!

Friendly blitz game with Vannyka in Phnom Phenh - Cambodia

One night in Bangkok - Chess in Thailand with Kai Tuorila, founder of the Bangkok Chess Club & Bangkok Chess Open

The Asian tourist hotspot of Bangkok is probably well known to many chess players thanks to Murry Head's 1984 global hit "One Night in Bangkok". GM Jan Gustafsson, national coach of the German chess federation, is certainly one of the most famous chess players in Thailand, besides also GM Gerhard Schebler from Germany. In addition to the two grandmasters, the Finn Kai Tuorila made a name for himself in Bangkok as an organizer: When the Finn came to Bangkok as an engineering student, he didn't find a chess club - so he simply took the reins into his own hands and founded the Bangkok Chess Club in 1999!

Kai Tuorila (left in the picture) founded the Bangkok Chess Club in 1999 (!) - in addition to weekly blitz chess, the club organizes a number of events and, on an international level, also the 21st Bangkok Chess Open from April 13-21, 2024 (Photo: Bangkok Chess Club).

In addition to weekly blitz chess evenings, which still take place today, the Bangkok Chess Club is also known internationally through the Bangkok Chess Open: With great joy and pride, Kai showed me the professionally prepared tournament brochure with many impressions and some statistics at a meeting that the traditional open has continuously developed over the years with increasing numbers of participants. For spontaneous travelers, the 21st Bangkok Chess Open will take place from 13th to 21st of April 2024. For more information about the club and the Open, visit the Bankgok Chess Club website. By now, already almost 350 participants signed up for the event - an incredible achievement given that the regulations were just published quite short-term!

Note that this article was first published originally in German in the April 2024 issue of the German chess magazine Rochade Europa.