Crown Prince of Selangor Opens FIDE World Amateur Chess Championships in Klang

6 November 2026

# Crown Prince of Selangor Opens FIDE World Amateur Chess Championships in Klang

KLANG, Malaysia, 6 November 2026 — His Royal Highness Tengku Amir Shah, Crown Prince of Selangor, officially opened the FIDE World Amateur Chess Championships 2026 on Thursday, 5 November, at the KSL Esplanade Hotel in Klang.

The Crown Prince attended as the guest of honour and played a friendly blitz game against British Grandmaster Nigel Short. The game ended in a draw.

![Guests and players seated in the ballroom for the opening ceremony](photos/opening-audience.jpg)

![Tengku Amir Shah plays a friendly blitz game against Grandmaster Nigel Short](photos/crown-prince-nigel-short.jpg)

Chess-Results listed 392 players across six sections, with separate Open and Women’s events at the Under-2300, Under-2000 and Under-1700 rating levels. The Selangor Chess Association is organising the event under the auspices of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Malaysian Chess Federation. [Tournament statistics](https://s3.chess-results.com/Test/tnr1524183.aspx?art=27&flag=30&lan=1&turdet=YES)

## Malaysian players upset the top two seeds

The host nation made a strong start in the Open Under-2300 championship. On board one, Nik Ahmad Farouqi (1999) won with Black against Hungary’s top-seeded FM Gyula Mester (2277). On board two, Tin Shan Wen (1998) defeated Colombia’s second-seeded FM Ramon Junior Gonzalez Parejo (2261) with White. Malaysia also took a point on board six, where CM Shen Ree Herng (1976) defeated FM Ammar Sedrani (2223) of the United Arab Emirates. [Open U2300 Round 1 results](https://s3.chess-results.com/Test/tnr1524183.aspx?art=2&flag=30&lan=1&rd=1&turdet=YES)

In the Women’s Under-2300 championship, WCM Nithyalakshmi Sivanesan of Malaysia, WCM Kristina Kim of Kazakhstan and WCM Mumtozbegim Mansurova of Uzbekistan each scored a full point in the opening round. [Standings after Round 1](https://s3.chess-results.com/Test/tnr1524187.aspx?art=28&flag=30&lan=1&turdet=YES)

The championships run over nine rounds of standard chess, with 90 minutes per player and a 30-second increment from move one. Sunday, 8 November, is a rest day for Diwali. The final round and closing ceremony are scheduled for Thursday, 12 November. [Tournament regulations](https://wacc2026.chesstournament.org/regulations)