Dato' Tan Chin Nam is No More

The father of Malaysian chess, Dato' Tan Chin Nam, born 18 March 1926, has passed away on 21 October 2018 at 93 years of age in his home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Since 1974 Dato' Tan had been at the helm of Malaysian chess - for many decades he the President of the Malaysian Chess Federation while also being its biggest patron - and from 1986 to 1990 also served as FIDE Deputy President for Asia and then from 1990-1994 as a member of the FIDE Executive Board. Not many people today know that it was Dato' Tan who originated and introduced Rapid Chess to FIDE and to the chess world. The FIDE and Asian events he brought to Malaysia are simply too many to list, and include a World Championship Match, Interzonals, World Youth U-16 Olympiad and numerous Zonals, the only one missing was perhaps the World Chess Olympiad, and even today it is because of his vision that we have the region leading Malaysian Chess Festival for 15 years now and still counting. D