Over 150 players compete at 2nd UTAR Chess Open Competition 2025

The Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS) Student Development Committee of UTAR Kampar Campus successfully organised the 2nd UTAR Chess Open Competition 2025 on 30 August 2025, following the success of last year’s inaugural event. This year, the competition drew 153 players across various categories, including Open, IPT, U17, U17G, U12, U12G, U9, U9G, Best Lady, and Best UTAR. The event was held at UTAR Kampar Campus.

The competition provided a platform for players of all ages to test their skills against opponents of different experience levels, in line with UTAR’s commitment to fostering holistic student development.

The event began with a briefing by the Arbiter, who introduced the Swiss system that guided the seven rounds of play throughout the day. Players demonstrated focus, strategy and sportsmanship, reflecting their dedication to the game.

The competition concluded with a prize-giving ceremony and closing remarks by Organising Chairperson Ms Lee Mee Yung. In her speech, she expressed gratitude to CFS Director Ts Tan Lee Siew and Deputy Director Mr Lim Khiew Loon for their guidance and support, as well as to the committee members, volunteers, and the arbiter from Kelab Catur Sungai Siput (U) for the smooth running of the event.

Ms Lee concluded with an inspiring quote from chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, “Ultimately, victory comes to those who believe in it the most and believe in it the longest,” reminding players that belief, persistence and determination are key to lasting success.

Winners of the 2nd UTAR Chess Open Competition 2025

The list of winners of the UTAR Chess Open Competition 2025:

Category	First Place	Second Place	Third Place
Open	Loo Pin Xie	Muhammad Haziq bin Muhammad Nasruddin	Evan Timothy Capel
Best Lady	Aimy Najla binti Amir Hakim	Ibroh Nawwaarah binti Mohd Faris	Sofea Zahra binti Muhammad Izni
Best UTAR	Tan Kok Fu	Chin Li Wei	Koh Jia Khai
IPT	Iskandar Zulqanain bin Efendi	Low Zhi Xin	Lim Fang Yang
U17	Wong Zi Heng	Syed Muhammad Azeem bin Syed Mohd Azman	Cyrus Dharshan a/l Peter Johnson
U17G	Nur Adawiyah binti Abu Bakar Martin	Anjunna Vignesvaran Naidu	Kashmhira a/l Subramaniam
U12	Lee Guan Sheng	Vemal a/l Daamo	Anthon Chooi
U12G	Fatimah Az Zahra binti Muhammad Nasruddin	Ashmitta a/l Dorairaj	Deshna a/p Sunder
U9	Yeoh Yuan Hao	Syed Muhammad Azib bin Syed Mohd Azman	Gurutaran a/l Sambath
U9G	Reshika a/p Dorairaj	Ponessha a/p P. Sivaganes	Nihashini a/p Ravindran

The Arbiter briefing the players before the competition began

Players in action during the matches

Deputy Director of CFS Kampar Mr Lim Khiew Loon (right), presenting awards to the Open category winners:
Loo Pin Xie (Champion), Muhammad Haziq bin Muhammad Nasruddin (second place) and Evan Timothy Capel (third place)

Ms Ooi Siew Fong (right), Head of the Department of Science and Engineering, presenting the Best Lady award to Aimy Najla binti Amir Hakim, the first place winner

Tan Kok Fu (left), first place winner of the Best UTAR category

Iskandar Zulqanain bin Efendi (left), first place winner of the IPT category

Ms Lee Mee Yung (right), organising chairperson, presenting the U17 category first place award to Wong Zi Heng

Nur Adawiyah binti Abu Bakar Martin (left), first place winner of the U17G category

Lee Guan Sheng (left), first place winner of the U12 category

Fatimah Az Zahra binti Muhammad Nasruddin (left), first place winner of the U12G category

Yeoh Yuan Hao (left), first place winner of the U9 category

Reshika Dorairaj (left), first place winner of the U9G category