when i was a little boy,7 years old...i was just like any other kids,play badminton,carom,football etc with my neighbours(they've shifted =[)...then mom introduced me to a game called "CHESS"...end of standard 1,i joined chess club in my primary school(Sek Keb Subang Jaya).i didnt know much about this game,but i do enjoy playing it...as long as "play"..haha..i do enjoy them=]
standard 2 i started learning chess as in seriously...cant remember when mr seto(who coached other top national players like LIM YEE WENG,WAN KHYE THENG) became my chess coach but by standard 4 i begin to participate in chess tournaments.first tournament i got 10th placing(8TH ROYAL S'GOR JUNIORS' OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT, APRIL 1994, U-12)...year 1994 was the first year i started playing in MSSD,MSSS and MSSM...n eventually represented malaysia in "msia-spore chess challenge"..
few years later(1997) i was the "top" chess player in malaysia....under 12 ler..lol...i won the national age group, U-12 chess championship and represented malaysia to WORLD YOUTH CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP in FRANCE. i did badly tho...that was the first time i've played in a "BIG" tourney...kena whack kaukau..lolz...great experience indeed =]
playing for selangor state was GREAT!...i was in the selangor chess team in the year 1995(perlis),1996(pahang) and 1997(selangor)...my 1st MSSM was at perlis,we managed to get a bronze medal.next year..we got gold=]...and 1997 i switced to individual event n have to settle for silver medal =[.
and then things started 2change after 1997. i stopped coaching. government excluded chess from MSSM for like...5 years?..due to budget or something...sigh..omg...what happened to the "chess world" in malaysia?...things CHANGED drastically..i was focusing more on my studies..ofcourse still join chess tournaments...performance was like a roller coaster ride...up and down..=[...then when chess was included in MSSM, i was studying lower 6 at samad,OVER AGE!!!..what the..=[
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the funny part was...until now,i dont have a FIDE RATING...even some amateurs in chess nowadays have a FIDE RATING..lolz..i feel ashamed whenever i meet mr hamid(international arbiter).he "watch" me play chess since i was a small kid...and till now,im a "nobody"..=[...the other day he was saying.."gerald,u go vietnam to enjoy ar?"...common mr hamid!...i tried so hard!..but was VERY UNLUCKY....=[
i know no matter what i say,nobody is going to believe me(except GOD). in the first event of ASEAN UNIVERISTY GAMES in hanoi,the standard category(1.5 hours each)was the worst tournament i've ever played in my entire life...WORST!..out of 6 rounds...i won once,got 1 bye and lost the other 4 games..OMG..2 miserable points. next event was blitz(3 mins each- my favourite)..i vowed to play GREAT chess...but again, i failed...i guess i was too nervous...lack of experience?..the last event...rapid(30 mins each)...marcus gave me some good advice..."if we cant beat our opponents,draw is a great result", he said.so i played with confidence n didnt lose a round until the last round to wei ming=[
i guess i was not used to the system,in malaysia if we get 3.5 points out of 6 rounds, we will get about 40+ placing?..that is if there are like 50+ participants ler...in vietnam there were 13ppl...i got 3.5 points in rapid category n i got 5th placing..lol...I STILL CANT BELIEVE IT!...marcus should have advised me EARLIER!!...guess i was pushing myself too hard for a win...and end up losing...=[
au yoong has got his FIDE rating finally!...he's just like me,we meet each other in chess tournament since we were small kids=]...same fate,same uni=]...now he's gotten his FIDE rating(2127)...i just need 1 more rated game to get my FIDE rating(hopefully)...coming tourneys are MASUM(MAJLIS SUKAN UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA) which will be held in USM,penang...then MERDEKA tourney(on merdeka day ofcourse) and GACC(world chess championship in dec)...these 3 main events that i enjoy playing for UM..u hv free accommodation,allowance,free food,free jackets,trackbottom,EVERYTHING!...n the best part is...the winning prize money,u get to keep it..haha..=]
my DREAM...year 2009 i will be 24 by then which is 12 years after i first represented malaysia to france. i guess it is time for me to prove to everyone that GERALD SOH HAN LOONG IS BACK!!!...after getting my FIDE rating(hopefully end of this year),i hope to join various FIDE rated tourneys and hope that i hv the chance to represent malaysia to "important" tournaments etc.
ULTIMATE DREAM : TOP 10 CHESS PLAYER IN MALAYSIA BY 2009.
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