Archive: Majalah Catur

Majalah Catur - actually, i’m not really aware of the magazine’s existence. But thanks to a friend of mine who sold a box of chess books and old magazines to me, i’m able to enjoy the articles inside. And what make it more unique is that it has been written in Bahasa Malaysia! On my desk right now, there are 6 issues of this magazine. I have scanned the front page of each issue and decided to share it here.


              

              

              


The first issue was published in January 1995. The following 5 issues came out monthly after that. I do not know if there was 7th issue but 6 is what i have in my hand now.

The people behind it as mentioned in the magazine:

Penerbit / Editor : Shaharudin A. Kadir
Pembantu Editor : Nor Azah Juperi

Penulis Panel :
GM Eduard Gufeld
IM Jimmy Liew
NM Mohd Kamal Abdullah
Quah Seng Sun
Eshah Hj Abdullah (M. Ed.)
Najib Abdul Wahab
Mohd Saprin Sabri

Pengurus Pemasaran :
Abdul Latif Mohamad F.I.A

Other than mentioned above, there are articles and analysis from strong names like Mok Tze Meng, Ismail Ahmad etc.

Curious, i sent an email to Mr Quah asking him about the magazine and below is his reply:

	Hi, Yusof, This Majalah Catur was not an official publication of any chess organisation in Malaysia. If my memory serves me right, some individuals tried to start up a magazine but these six issues may be all that came out. As I was an active chess writer at that time, it was quite natural for them to try and rope me in as a contributor. I readily gave them permission to reproduce some of my stories from The Star. You may find it amusing to know that personally, I haven’t seen any of the issues. Ha ha … The only officially sanctioned magazine that was ever published by the Malaysian Chess Federation was the Catur Magazine. Unfortunately, only two issues were produced and these were in the late 1970s. It has always been a big challenge to produce a chess magazine here because of the limited circulation. More so nowadays, chess news is readily available through the Internet and people don’t actually require chess magazines or chess books any more. SS Quah Penang, Malaysia

The email explains enough although i guess others behind the magazine has a lot more to say about it.

I should say i’ve a great respect to those who put an effort to make chess more popular in Malaysia. To publish a magazine is a very serious task. For example, the translation work - as i’m sure the late Gufeld didn’t write in Bahasa! haha! - would take a lot of time and it is not an easy task (i know because during completing my thesis, i’ve to do that also haha!). Kudos to them!

Anyone who has more information or stories about this magazine might contact me at chessdigest[at]gmail[dot]dom or just leave a comment.