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| Chessnut Nova (courtesy of Chessnut FB page) |
Chessnut Nova was the strongest team based on their pre-tournament rating. They entered the championship with a very high average rapid rating of 2506.6. Malaysia Chess Hub had a tough pairing against them right out of the gate in Round 1 and lost the match 1-5.
The name comes from their sponsor Chessnut - maker Chessnut chess set something like the DGT board and is a smart electronic chessboard that combines the feel of a traditional wooden board with modern technology. It automatically senses where the pieces are on the board, allowing you to play real-life games against online opponents, artificial intelligence (AI), or friends without looking at a screen. Chessnut company is based in Hong Kong.
Their top player (2nd from the left) Raunak Sadhwani is a Grandmaster (GM) from Nagpur, India. He earned his title in 2019 at just 13 years and 9 months old, making him the 9th youngest Grandmaster in chess history. He is one of the brightest young stars in Indian chess. To our GM Yeoh Li Tian's credit Saunak was held to a draw.
Mongolia-Aldar was the strongest team based on the final tournament standings. While they had a lower average rapid rating of 2369.8, they ultimately finished in 16th place overall, the highest final rank of any team Malaysia played. Malaysia Chess Hub met them in Round 7 and was defeated 1.5-4.5.
Both of these formidable teams finished the tournament with 13 match points, with Mongolia-Aldar edging out Chessnut Nova (who finished in 18th place) on tiebreaks.
Team Composition & Individual Highlights The Malaysia Chess Hub fielded a strong roster of 8 players to tackle the rapid format (15 minutes + 10 seconds increment):
- Board 1: GM Yeoh Li Tian (2421 Rapid Rating)
- Board 2: FM Kavin Mohan (2240 Rapid Rating)
- Board 3: IM Tan Jun Ying (2123 Rapid Rating)
- Board 4: IM Mas Hafizulhelmi (2201 Rapid Rating)
- Board 5 (Female Board): WFM Mohd Afif Ainul Mardhiah (1796 Rapid Rating)
- Board 6: Jafri Malim Mohd Adam Hafiz
- Reserves: CM Chow Yi Chen and Mohd Kamal Eldin Hakimi.
As noted in our earlier conversation, GM Yeoh Li Tian led the charge exceptionally well, recording 5 points in his first 8 games with a stellar 2544 performance rating, while FM Kavin Mohan reliably secured 4 points in his first 8 games on Board 2. The team also benefited from the momentum of rising talents like WFM Ainul Mardhiah and young CM Chow Yi Chen, who had recently captured the PMX Trophy team championship with the Chess Hub Titans. (Please note: The specific individual player point totals, performance ratings, and the PMX Trophy details are drawn from our earlier conversation and are not present in the official tournament sources provided, so you may want to independently verify that specific information).
Round-by-Round Match Results Malaysia Chess Hub fought through a rigorous 12-round Swiss-system schedule, finishing with a record of 5 wins, 1 draw, and 6 losses:
- Round 1: Lost 1 - 5 against Chessnut Nova
- Round 2: Won 3.5 - 2.5 against Kindness On Board Infinite Team
- Round 3: Lost 2 - 4 against Chess Thulir
- Round 4: Lost 2.5 - 3.5 against Chongqing Kylin Chess Club
- Round 5: Won 3.5 - 2.5 against Caissa Hong Kong Chess Club
- Round 6: Won 4 - 2 against Davao Chess Eagles
- Round 7: Lost 1.5 - 4.5 against Mongolia-Aldar
- Round 8: Lost 1.5 - 4.5 against The Chess Academy Hong Kong Team A
- Round 9: Drew 3 - 3 against The Chess Academy Hong Kong Team B
- Round 10: Lost 1.5 - 4.5 against Blue Bulldogs
- Round 11: Won 4.5 - 1.5 against Street Chess Canberra
- Round 12: Won 4 - 2 against C.A. Silla Integrant Col-lectius
By securing back-to-back strong victories in the final two rounds (Rounds 11 and 12), Malaysia Chess Hub managed to successfully improve upon their starting rank to close out the tournament.
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