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Champion: Leong Khai Shen

Position	Name	Country	Score
CHAMPION	Leong, Khai Shen	MAS	8
2nd Place	Olaybal, Christian Marcelo	PHI	7½
3rd Place	Paglinawan, Zeus Alexis	PHI	7½
4th Place	Adena, Lemmuel Jay	PHI	7
5th Place	Ordizo, Ericka	PHI	7
6th Place	Nelson, Lau	INA	7
7th Place	Narzabal, Joemel	PHI	7
8th Place	Satyam, Prakash	IND	6½
9th Place	Khoirullah, Muhammad Azmi	INA	6½
10th Place	Romero, Gladimir Chester	PHI	6½

Special Awards – Event 6

Award Category	Position	Name	Country	Score
FIDE Rating 1800 – 1600	Best	Ong, El Win	MAS	6½
	2nd Best	Mok, Jun Ji	MAS	6½
	3rd Best	Chen, Yu Kun Austin	MAS	6½
	4th Best	Shahar, Nur Ain	MAS	5½
FIDE Rating 1599 – 1400	Best	Mun, Hoy Yan	MAS	5
	2nd Best	Mohana Raj, Dharvindra Raj	MAS	5
	3rd Best	Leong, Khai Ling	MAS	5
	4th Best	Teoh, Siang Yew	MAS	4½
Unrated	Best	Ang, Jou Ching	MAS	5½
	2nd Best	Yong, Yanhe Jasper	MAS	5
	3rd Best	Hing, Mok Wen	MAS	4½
	4th Best	Hii, Hiong Fu Oscar	MAS	4½

KL Gateway Mall was packed. Chess boards barely had time to cool as 137 hungry players from everywhere descended for nine rounds of intense Swiss chess. It's Malaysian Chess Festival season, and if you're not part of it, you're sleeping on arguably the best chess vibes in town.

Finally, a Malaysian Champion for the Challengers!

Last year Indonesians and Pinoys made this section their playground. Not this time. Malaysia's very own Leong Khai Shen flipped the script and took the gold—8/9, unbeaten! Clean, clinical, and not afraid to grind out the tough points. It's about time Malaysia showed its depth!

The Filipino Charge—Olaybal and Paglinawan Deliver

You can never count the Philippines out. Christian Marcelo Olaybal and Zeus Alexis Paglinawan both finished with 7.5 points, pushing until the fat lady sang. Olaybal grabbed silver, Paglinawan bronze. Honour roll to Phl's Adena, Lemmuel Jay, and Ordizo Ericka. All hit that 7-point mark.

Top 10—A Chessboard United Nations

If you looked around, you'd see Indonesia, India, and Singapore players all throwing punches near the top. Special mention to Nelson Lau (INA), Narzabal Joemel (PHI), and Romero Gladimir Chester (PHI) for slugging it out with 7 and 6.5 points respectively. Satyam Prakash (IND), seeded way down at 24, made Malaysia sweat—6.5 points and plenty of upsets.

Young India Showing Teeth

Satyam's fighting spirit isn't just a fluke. The Indian juniors (keep eyes on Khandelwal Ananya, Aashrita Balaji Guttula) gave the adults more than sleepless nights.

Who Else Shined? Malaysia's Mid-Table Warriors

Malaysia didn't just creep up at the top. Players like Ong El Win grabbed best in the FIDE 1800–1600 category, and others—Mok Jun Ji, Chen Yu Kun Austin, Shahar Nur Ain—walked off with strong prizes. Dig deep and you'll find Mun Hoy Yan, Mohana Raj Dharvindra Raj, Leong Khai Ling, Ang Jou Ching, and more. Even unrated fighters made their mark.

Women Power!

WFM Claros April Joy (PHI) shows why she's a name to memorize—13th place with 6.5 points. Loads of other women led tough campaigns: shoutouts to Ordizo Kate Nicole and Rueda Joyce Rianna.

Overall Festival Vibes

I always say... nothing beats the atmosphere at Malaysian Chess Festival! We had flags from Indonesia, India, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, Italy, China—all sharing kopitiam tables between rounds. That's what chess is about—friendship, food, and taking names on the board.

Full Crosstable? Want every player's TB score?
Check the results yourself: Chess-Results.com Event 6 Crosstable