Monday, June 29, 2009

Kings and Queens For Special Children


After a break of one year, a chess competition for special children in Terengganu was held again, this time at Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort and Spa in Pulau Duyong on Saturday.

Jointly organized by the resort and Mumtaz Murad Ali Sdn Bhd, the event attracted participation from 12 special education students from schools in Kuala Terengganu, Marang, Dungun and Kemaman.

The contestants, aged between seven and 14, may be autistics, dyslexics, hyper-actives, hypo-actives or slow-learners but in front of chess boards, they were transformed into regular chess players.

They were a determined lot with only one mission: to be the champion.

Tournament favorite Muhammad Danial Zainuddin struggled in the preliminary round but the 14-year-old autistic student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Sheikh Abdul Malek managed to defend the title he won two years ago.

12-year-old dyslexic Muhammad Nur Firdaus Nor Azli, a Standard Six student at SK Padang Hiliran, had to be satisfied with the runner-up position again.

But it was debutant Tuan Mohd Sholihin Tuan Zahrin who represented SMK Ketengah Jaya, Dungun, who created a stir in the competition by finishing third.

The 14-year-old hypo-active student proved he was made of sterner stuff when he almost caused an upset by narrowly losing to the reigning champion in the semi-final game.

Fourth place went to Mohamad Amir Zulhilmi Dain, 12, of SK Pusat Bukit Besar after going down tamely to Sholihin in the battle for third.

Each of the top four winners received a trophy, certificate, cash and prizes while the rest of the contestants went home with a certificate, cash and prizes courtesy of Kedai kasut You, ANZ Engineering, Mydin, Giant, Nasir &Sahabat, Celcom, The Sports House and Hedaco Travel.

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