The website for the QCD-Prof Lim Kok Ann Grandmasters Invitational is up, and it is quite impressive (for a chess website). There has been an incredible amount of background work and negotiations by top coach Junior Tay, Dr Mark Liew, and their colleagues/volunteers to get this up and running, and we will get to enjoy the games from 7th-12th June – the tournament will be held at the Metropolitan YMCA at 60 Stevens Road.

Screenshot from the QCD-Prof Lim Kok Ann Grandmasters Invitation website.

The last grandmaster event in Singapore in my (admittedly hazy) memory was more than 20 years ago. This event has drawn a healthy list of sponsors including some older players of my generation who had given up competitive chess for more than a decade. These players have donated funds for some of the side prizes, including: Brilliancy Prize S$250, Best Game Prize $200, Tahan (best resistance) Prize $200. I am sure most people are scratching their heads over how to win the “Tahan” prize…