| THE PENANG SCHOOLS
STUDENTS CHESS COUNCIL 1. FORMATION AND AIMS An increasing awareness and demand for the establishment of an organisation representing student Chess interests in the State of Penang, can be emphatically detected in the early sixties. This realisation finally culminated in the meeting of 1966 by the representatives of the Chess Clubs from Chung Hwa High School, Chung Ling High School, Han Chiang High School, Methodist Boys School, Penang Free School and Saint Xavier's Institution, whereupori a decision was reached to initiate a body that would work for Chess interests in the schools of Penang. This body was thus created under the name of Organising Committee, and then Organising School. Later, this organisation was more appropriately renamed the Penang Schools Students Chess Council. In forming this Council, four major aims were effected :- (a) To stimulate and prornote Chess interests in the schools of Penang and raise the standard of play; (b) To introduce and organise inter-school Chess tournanents, and encourage competitive rivalry in Chess; (c) To coordinate all inter-school Chess activities in Penang; (d) To serve as a concrete body representing student Chess interests in the State of Penang. The majority of these aims were realised in one way or another - meetings were convened annually during which problems were worked out; but, perhaps, tho greatest achievements were the successful organisation of the annual inter-school and individual Chess tournaments for International and Chinese Chess. 2. MEMBERSHIP The founder-members of the Penang Schools Students Chess Council were Chung Hwa High School, Chung Ling High School, Han Chiang High School, Methodist Boys School, Penang Free School and Saint Xavier's Institution. This was in 1966. With the maturing of thc Council, membership later increased to envelope the Chess Clubs of High School Bukit Mertajam, Convent Light Street,. Chung Ling High School (Private), Jelutong Secondary School, Saint George's Girls School and Saint Mark's Butterworth. 3. TOURNAMENTS A] In accordance with the aims of the Penang Schools Students Chess Council, tournaments were organised annually to cater for players of both International and Chinese Chess. Initially, the organisation of these tournaments was in the hands of the Organising Committee. made up of members elected by the school representatives. Later, a decision was made to entrust the responsibility of organising the tournaments to each member-school on a yearly rotation basis. The organising schools concerned were :- 1966 - Chung Ling
High School These tournaments were purely an internal affair with the participants coming from member-schools. However, before the start of each tournament, circulars were issued to all Secondary Schools, irrespective of whether they have a Chess team or not, in Penang and Butterworth, inviting thern to join the Council and participate in the various tournanrents organised by the Council. B] The Individuals Championships for International and Chinese Chess had been conducted annually since 1964, and with the formation of the Council, it was decided that the existing trophies would continue to be used for further championships. Thus, in addition to the introduction of inter-school International and Chinese Chess tournaments, the year 1966 also saw the organisation of the Individuals Championships for International and Chinese chess under the wings of the Council. 1968 witnessed the initiation of the Girls Individual International Chess Championships and the inter-school International Chess Championships for Girls. The year 1970 was a great leap forward for student Chess interests in Penang. Being fully conscious of the developing interest in the game arnong the younger players, the Council unhesitatingly undertook the task of introducing the inter-school Under-16 International and Chinese Chess' Charripionships as well as Individual Championships for that age~group. 4. ADVISERS Although the Penang Schools Students Chess Council is essentially a student organisation, it is the practice of the Council to invite the Advisers of' the Chess Clubs of all member-schools to sit in the Panel of Advisers, the President ot whom is normally the Adviser of the Organising School; The pioneer Adviser to the Council during its budding years was Mr.Tan Yam San, a forrner Adviser of the Chung Ling High School Chess CIub. Mr Tan, a Chess enthusiast of great renown in Penang, was one of the prorninent figures behind the formation of the Council in 1966, and was one of the rrajor Advisers to the Council since its establishment and until even after his retirement in 1969. The Council is most grateful to Mr Tan for the invaluable assistance and guidance rendered. 5. RESULTS The results of the various Championships organised by the Council are as follows :- A. Penang Students
Chinese Chess IndividuaI Championships 1964 - Wong KooiFoi
(Chung Ling High School) B. Penang Students'
International Chess Individual Championships 1964 - Cheong Wee
Seng (Chung Ling High School) (Cup donated by Mr Cheong Yin Beng) 1967 - Cheong Yee
Khoon (Chung Ling High School) C. Penang
Inter-school International Chess Championships 1966 - Chung Ling
High School & Methodist Boy School D. Penang
Inter-school Chinese Chess Championships 1966 - Chung Ling
High School E. Penang
Inter-school International Chess Championships (Girls) 1968 - Methodist
Boys School F..Penang Girls
International Chess Individual Championships 1968 - Ng Yoke Ling
(Saint Xavier's Institution) G. Penang
Inter-school Under-16 International Chess Championships 1970 - Penang Free
School 'Unicorns' H. Penang Inter-school Under-16 Chinese Chess Championships 1970 - Chung Hwa
High School I. Penang Students Under-16 International Chess Individual Championships 1970 - Khaw Teik Kooi (Penang Free School), Khoo Chuan Keat (Penang Free School), Tan Seang Beng (Penang Free School) & Toh Weng Tuck (Methodist Boys School) J. Penang Students Under-16 Chinese Chess Individual Championships 1970 - Soon Teng Kiong (Penang Free School), Yeoh Cheang Tiat (Chung Ling High School) & Seng Guan (Chung Hwa High School) 6. DISSOLUTION On 17th June 1972 a meeting of the Penang Schools Students Chess Council was convened at Saint Xavier's Institution during which a motion proposed by Saint Xavier's Institution and seconded by Penang Free School, moving for the dissolution of the Council was unanimously passed. The motivating factors behind this move for dissolution were :- (a) that the original aims of the Council had already been realised; (b) that as encouragernent and support, both financially and morally, is now being given by the Ministry of Education towards the promotion of the game, the necessity for the existence of the Council is now secondary. (c) that the member-schools are in favour of participating in Majlis Sukan Sekolah-sekolah Pulau Pinang (M.S.S.P.P.) and Low Hooi Siah Chess Tournaments organised annually. At the meeting, the Penang Free School Chess Club was given an official mandate to prepare a short account of the history of the Penang Schools Students Chess Council, outlining the events leading to its formation, its progress and achievements, and finally its dissolution, and also to tie up all other loose ends. It was also resolved at this meeting that all the challenge trophies for the various Inter-school and Individual Chess Championships organised by the Council be collected by the Penang Free School Chess Club and presented to the Penang Chess Association for safe-keeping and exhibition purposes. 7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Penang Schools Students Chess Council would like to place on record its sincere gratitude to the following :- (a) All founder-members, including Cheong Wee Seng, for their praiseworthy efforts In initiating the Council, (b) All mernber-schools namely, Convent Light Street, Chung Hwa High SchooI, Chung Ling High School, Chung Ling High School (Private), Han Chiang High School, High School Bukit Mertajam, Jeluto'ng Secondary School, Methodist Boys School, Penang Free School, Saint George's Girls' School, Saint Mark's Butterworth and Saint Xavier's Institution, for their priceless support and participation in the Council's activities; (c) Mr. Tan Yam San and all Advisers concerned for sitting in the Panel of Advisers; (d) The folIowing donors for the presentation of the various Challenge Trophies:- Messrs Cheong Yin
Beng (e) Personnel of the Penang Free School Chess Club, particularly the Chairman, Khoo Chuan Keat, and Secretary, Quah Seng Sun, for the compiling of the Council's records and collection of the various Challenge Trophies for presentation to the Penang Chess Association. With the dissolution. of tho Penang Schools Students Chess Council, thus ends a chapter in the history of Chess in the schools of Penang. Requiescat In Pace 17th June 1972 Dated Obtober 1972
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