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KUALA LUMPUR − Earlier this month, the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) was honoured to send two representatives, FIDE Master (FM) Sumant Subramaniam and Woman International Master (WIM) Puteri Munajjah Az-Zahraa, to Sochi, Russia for ten days to represent the country in the 2021 FIDE World Cup.
The delegates were accompanied by Puan Shamsiah, WIM Munajjah’s mother who went on her own expenses, and MCF Head of Delegate (HOD) Muhammad Firdaus Ismail, throughout their time there.
In a championship that was deemed challenging even for Grandmasters, the MCF reported that although our athletes held strong, they were both unable to qualify past the opening rounds.
WIM Munajjah started the opening match strong when she drew against a much higher ranked Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Ana Matnadze from Spain after four gruesome hours, but failed to pull through in the returning match.
On the other hand, FM Sumant was stumped in his tracks by Grandmaster (GM) Samuel Sevian from the USA despite taking the lead in the beginning but was unable to regain control of the game after his King was left exposed with the loss of his two centre pawns.
While the highly competitive nature at the World Cup brought about much stress, it was not the only major stressor that the team faced.
HOD Muhammad Firdaus Ismail shared that throughout their time in Russia, they noticed that the country’s Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) were different from Malaysia.
“With over 24 thousand cases a day and an average of 780 deaths a day, I constantly reminded my team to stay vigilant and keep their masks on at all times,
“We actually decided on going when the cases were in the nine thousands, but after our final decision, the cases in Russia shot up to the 24 thousands. It felt like we were caught in a booby-trap.” shared Firdaus.
Thankfully, Firdaus and the team were able to complete their Covid-19 vaccination before flying off to Sochi, which he added was the only reason they felt comfortable in going.
At this point, the team were not only battling a war on the chess board, but it also felt like they were going to war for their country as Firdaus described the experience being “self sacrificing” into a Covid-19 war zone.
“It really felt like we were sacrificing ourselves for the country and leaving our families,
“FIDE had set up a strict SOP where only the players were allowed in the hall with masks on.”
The team did have quite a scare with the news of the new Delta variant spreading, and also receiving news that representatives from Indonesia as well as Russia were tested positive.
Regardless, the MCF is proud of both WIM Munajjah, who was able to draw against a two-time world girls and European champion; and FM Sumant who showed his potential going up against the USA chess prodigy.
“If our players are given even more opportunities to compete against elite players like they did in Sochi, we are confident that they will soon bring back international medals for the country.”
“At the end of the day, I am honoured to be able to bring a team to Sochi despite the pandemic, and although we were not able to fully enjoy the peaceful and beautiful city of Sochi and finding halal cuisine was a bit of a challenge, we wish to return post pandemic.” − The Vibes, 28 July, 2021
