Updates on Malaysia Chess Festival

With yesterday being the final closing date for the remaining 3 events, the number of participants playing in the Malaysia Chess Festival can now be confirmed as follows:

1. 8th IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open - 96 players (It was 133 players last year)
2. AmBank Malaysia Chess Challenge - 36 players (It was 52 players last year)
3. 2nd KLK Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng International Seniors Open - 24 players (It was 18 players last year)
4. Merdeka Individual Rapid Chess Tournament - 76 players (It was 107 players last year)
5. ASTRO Merdeka Open Rapid Team Chess Championship - 79 teams (It was only 70 teams last year)
6. SWENSEN Age Group Event - 367 players (It was less than 200 last year)

The number of participants have slightly increased for the Seniors Open event but the ASTRO Merdeka event attracted 9 team more this year compared to last year, and for the SWENSEN Age Group event, the number of children playing is almost double of last year's figure with a plane load of young players coming in from Iran to participate in this year's event.

Although some of the events are registering lesser number of participants compared to last year, the organizer is expecting some last minute entries to be received during the player's meeting tomorrow which may increase the numbers slightly but not drastic enough to exceed last year's participation.

Less than 48 hours to go before Round 1 officially starts.... 
WELCOME to the 8th Malaysia Chess Festival