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About ASEAN+ Age group Chess championships

Written by IA, IO Nguyen Phuoc Trung

 The ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships is the signature event of the ASEAN Chess Confederation, which is open to all players in the ASEAN region and all countries in Asia. The event has been held annually since 2000.

asean age 2000 41st ASEAN Age Group Opening Ceremony

Countries:
Initially, the tournament was named the ASEAN Age Group Chess Championships and was only open to players in ASEAN countries. By the 8th edition in 2007, the tournament was open to non-ASEAN countries and was renamed the ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships, a name which it has retained until now.
The inaugural event was held in Vung Tau City, Viet Nam, in 2000, with 155 players from 7 countries. By the 20th edition in 2019, the number of players had exceeded 400. Records show that the tournament had its biggest number of participants in Singapore in 2015, with 448 players from 16 countries. The largest number of participating countries was 22 in Macau in 2014, the only time the event was held outside of ASEAN.
Up until the 20th edition, a total of 30 countries and territories have participated in the tournaments, including nine ASEAN countries: Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The tournament has since expanded to include 21 countries: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Macau, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, and Chinese Taipei.

asean age 2000 3
1st ASEAN Age Group Closing Ceremony

Format:
For the first edition, the tournament was organized with individual Standard Chess on the Swiss System or Round Robin.
Since the 2nd edition, the tournament has adopted the Swiss system or Round Robin with team tie-break, and a new rule has been applied for Individual Medals: “Where there is a tie, not more than 3 players will receive the same colour medal. For each category, not more than 5 medals will be awarded”.
Since the 5th edition, Rapid Chess and Blitz Chess have been added with individual and team medals.
From the 4th edition in 2003, the event was reported for FIDE Rating (in the rating list of April 2004). Direct titles also have been awarded since the 4th edition in 2003.

aseanage16 00116th ASEAN+ Age group in Singapore 2015. The largest number of participants.

Tournament:
In 2000, the tournament had 10 categories: Boys and Girls U10, U12, U14, U16, U18.
From 2001, the tournament had an additional 2 categories: Boys and Girls U8.
From 2007, the tournament had an additional category of Seniors 50, and the boys’ groups were changed to Open.
Between 2009 to 2012, the tournament combined two age groups, 18 and 20, into one category: Open 20, Girls 20. In 2013, the ACC reintroduced categories Open and Girls U18.
From 2014, the tournament had an additional category of Seniors 65.
In 2014, the 15th tournament was organized for the first time outside the ASEAN countries, Macau.
At the 17th tournament in Thailand 2016, ASEAN chess was put one time into competition with 3 content Blitz, Rapid, and standard.
In 2019, the tournament had additional categories: Open and Girls U6, Men and Women U30, U40, and U50.
In 2020, the 21st tournament was scheduled to be held in Viet Nam, but it could not be held due to the impact of the COVID pandemic.
In 2022, the members of ACC met in Jakarta, Indonesia, and decided to hold the 21st ASEAN+ Age Group in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2023. The 22nd tournament will be held in Laos, and the 23rd tournament is scheduled to be held in either Viet Nam or Indonesia.

aag15 01
In 2014, the 15th tournament was organized for the first time outside the ASEAN countries, Macau.

aseanage2019
20th ASEAN+ Age group in Mandalay, Myanmar

Social night:
Especially in all tournaments, there is always a special event called the Social Night, which provides an opportunity for all players and participants to interact. Each participating delegation contributes an art performance, creating a joyful atmosphere and uniting the chess community of the participating countries.

aag17 socialA performance by the Malaysian team at the Social Night of the 17th edition

Host Nation and Competitions:

Time Year Host Nation Host City Date Format Fed Groups Players Chief Arbiters Top Nation
1st 2000
 
Viet Nam Vung Tau 02–08 Sep Standard 7 10 155 Abd Hamid Majid (MAS)
 
Viet Nam
2nd 2001
 
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 22–29 Dec Standard 7 12 211 Abd Hamid Majid (MAS)
 
Viet Nam
3rd 2002
 
Singapore Singapore 08–15 June Standard 7 12 236 Chan Tat-Wong (SGP)
 
Viet Nam
4th 2003
 
Brunei Brunei 19–26 Dec Standard 7 12 225 Abd Hamid Majid (MAS)
 
Viet Nam
5th 2004
 
Viet Nam Vung Tau 03–12 Sep S, R, B 6 12 188 Leong Ignatius (SGP)
 
Viet Nam
6th 2005
 
Thailand Pattaya 11–20 June S, R, B 8 12 244 Abd Hamid Majid (MAS)
 
Viet Nam
7th 2006
 
Indonesia Jakarta 11–20 June S, R, B 7 12 306 Maung Maung Lwin (MYA)
 
Viet Nam
8th 2007
 
Thailand Pattaya 13–22 June S, R, B 13 13 241 Maung Maung Lwin (MYA)
 
Viet Nam
9th 2008
 
Viet Nam Da Nang 11–20 June S, R, B 10 13 321 Maung Maung Lwin (MYA)
 
Viet Nam
10th 2009
 
Viet Nam Hue 06–15 June S, R, B 10 13 254 Maung Maung Lwin (MYA)
 
Viet Nam
11th 2010
 
Philippines Subic 04–13 June S, R, B 9 13 267 Wilfredo Abalos (PHI)
 
Viet Nam
12th 2011
 
Indonesia Tarakan 12–21 June S, R, B 10 13 289 Bunawan Bong (INA)
 
Viet Nam
13th 2012
 
Viet Nam Hue 10–19 June S, R, B 11 13 398 Maung Maung Lwin (MYA)
 
Viet Nam
14th 2013
 
Thailand Chiangmai 05–14 June S, R, B 14 15 390 Maung Maung Lwin (MYA)
 
Viet Nam
15th 2014
 
Macau Macau 03–12 June S, R, B 22 16 328 Li Jackson (HKG)
 
Viet Nam
16th 2015
 
Singapore Singapore 08–17 June S, R, B 16 16 448 Panupand Vijjuprabha (THA)
 
Viet Nam
17th 2016
 
Thailand Pattaya 27May–07June S, R, B 14 16 346 Abd Hamid Majid (MAS)
 
Viet Nam
18th 2017
 
Malaysia Kuantan 25Nov–04Dec S, R, B 10 16 253 Abd Hamid Majid (MAS)
 
Philippines
19th 2018
 
Philippines Davao 18– 28 June S, R, B 8 16 362 Mooi Kok-Onn Osric (SGP)
 
Viet Nam
20th 2019
 
Myanmar Mandalay 09–19 June S, R, B 9 24 421 S: Gan Yeow-Beng (SGP)
R&B: Brahmawong Patcharawee (THA)
 
Viet Nam
21st 2023
 
Thailand Bangkok 17–27 June S, R, B 15 16 349 Maung Maung Lwin (MYA)
 
Viet Nam

Note: S= Standard; R = Rapid; B= Blitz

acc 2000
The inaugural meeting of the ACC in Vung Tau city, May 29th 2000

Under the leadership of the ACC and with the cooperation of its member countries, the annual ASEAN Age Group Championship has become an important and noteworthy event for the ASEAN chess community and neighboring countries. Over the past 20 years, this tournament has produced several generations of players who have developed and matured into the top players of the world, such as Wesley So, Le Quang Liem, Tin Jingyao, Pham Le Thao Nguyen, Vo Thi Kim Phung, Sukandar Irine Kharisma, and many others.

In this new era, with a young and dynamic ACC executive team and the message "Make ASEAN Chess Great Again", we hope that the ASEAN chess community will continue to flourish and become a major chess center in the region. We also aim to contribute more talented players to the global chess community.


ACC meeting in Jakarta, November 19th, 2022

In the next menu section, you will see a lot of detailed data about the tournament, such as the number of participating players, a list of medal winners, the medal tally, and cross tables.
Due to the vast amount of data spanning 20 years, including thousands of medals and hundreds of cross tables, errors may occur. If you find any incorrect data, please mail to Vietnamchess Admin: info@vietnamchess.vn, to request correction or supplementation.