The DYTM Raja Nazrin Shah KL International Open 2014 has come to a successful end... and while probably forever, its was certainly on a high note.
Due to limitations of space there were room for just 88 players from 19 countries, a record 46 of them being titled players including 12 grandmasters, 5 woman grandmasters, 13 international masters, 3 woman international masters, 8 FIDE masters and 3 woman FIDE masters.
Clearly there are few events with the depth of field that is the KL Open as our event is popularly known and over the years so many players have achieved international title norms and even international titles outright.
Our roll of winners are all great champions in their own right and we are proud they have graced our closing ceremonies holding aloft the DYTM Raja Dr Nazrin Shah Challenge Trophy and they are Anton Filipov (Uzbekistan), Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Vietnam), Hou Yifan (China), Oliver Barbosa (Philippines), and Sergei Tivikov (Nederlands).
For seven years now we have operated on a tight budget, as little as one fifth that of say an event like the Malaysian Open and in many of them the Olympic Sports Hotel has been our home and year in year out participants from have returned and we have all become friends.
I am very pleased this year the largest number of players have come from the host country and even better that so many young players asked for the opportunity to take part as this bodies well for their future.
There is too much to be said and too many to thank but it is well known that KLCA President Dato' Sri Dr Edmund Santhara has been the main force behind both KLCA and the KL Open and we are very grateful for support from the Malaysian Intellect Development Foundation, Masterskill Education Group Berhad, Polgar Chess Asia and more recently the Kasparov Chess Foundation Asia-Pacific.