Mas Hafizulhelmi


Mas Hafizulhelmi Rahman or Hafizulhelmi Mas is a Malaysian chess International Master (IM) and a two-time Malaysian Chess Champion. He is the second Malaysian to receive the title of IM after chess veteran Jimmy Liew.

Chess career

Early years

Born and raised in Kelantan, Hafizulhelmi started playing chess at the early age of 4 where he was first introduced to the game by his father. His first recorded tournament was the Kelantan Closed in 1987 where he scored 1.5/7 at the age of 6. Throughout his life in chess, Hafizulhelmi idolized the former World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov and imitated his playing-style.

National champion

Hafizulhelmi won the Malaysian Chess Championship twice consecutively in 1994 and 1995. He has also represented Malaysia in nine Chess Olympiads, where he is ranked 4th in total appearances among all Malaysian chess players, the latest being in the 39th Chess Olympiad held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Notable games

Hafizulhelmi's best moment in chess was defeating 10 time World Chess Champion candidate, the late Grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi where he played the Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation (C69) in the 37th Chess Olympiad held in Turin, Italy. He also defeated GM Ian Rogers in the 2007 Sydney QVB GM Invitational Tournament which Rogers later on became his coach for the 2008 Malaysian Open. His last notable game was a draw against an 11-year-old Gukesh Domamaraju in 2017, who is currently the reigning World Chess Champion.

National chess records