Malaysian Open: Vampires and plagues
Four rounds in, and my tournament is nothing special. Wins with white and draws with black, all against lower rated players, sees me performing at level.
Some of the Aussies are having a tough time adopting to the Asian styles, however. I really have found through my chess travels that different countries and regions play chess in very particular ways, and this tournament is proving no exception.
Players from countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are known for their tactical, ‘coffeehouse’ approach to the game, with little regard for classical chess principles. New Zealand Olympiad captain Hilton Bennett describes such players as ‘Vampires’: “They know no opening theory at all and you quickly secure a winning position – but you still have to put the final nail in the coffin. If you don’t, suddenly a tactical mist will descend over your board, and by the time the mist clears, you’ve been bitten.”
This is broadly true, and some of our guys have been on the receiving end of such a Twilight game this tournament. One Aussie junior was less eloquent in his description, complaining that he was “sick of losing against these bull**** hack attacks”. I prefer the vampire metaphor, but the feeling is similar.
Fortunately, I’ve had my fair share of tournament experiences against these styles, so I’m coping respectably. But there lies another, more deadly threat that lingers in the tournament hall: disease.
On day one, Emma Guo’s opponent audibly filled the entire hall with his phlegm-laden coughs. Day two saw him joined by a handful of others with similarly loud splutterings. Today, day three, there wasn’t a moment’s cough-free silence in the four hour session.
Some of the players have taken to wearing face masks, and the whole hall looks a little like the footage of Asian cities during the SARS epidemic. (Ponomariov took a similar approach in the recent World Cup in Siberia, although I’m not sure the people of Khanty-Mansiysk had even heard of bird flu, let alone come into contact with it.)
After my food poisoning episode, I’m not sure I’ll cope with another bout of sickness. And the numbers keep growing – at this exponential rate, I expect a tournament coughing competition by round 8. Unfortunately of course, there’s really not much that we can do, except try not to breathe.
Like a vampire.