Ok maybe it's a bit crude to evaluate SUKMA results just by medals won. It's better or more accurate to see them with the overall standings and positions. Eg: if a state finished 4th place a few times but has zero medals to show for it, does not mean that state is rubbish.
This statistical analysis calculates the best finishing position of each state across every single one of the 12 tournaments. States with a lower average score (closer to position 1) are considered more consistent and possess the most balanced chess programs.
For states that did not field a team in certain team events (such as Negeri Sembilan and Sarawak), a default placement penalty (13th position) is applied for those specific categories.
| Rank | State | Average Finishing Position (12 Events) | Key Program Strengths & Insights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 👑 Pulau Pinang (PEN) | 2.33 | The most well-rounded chess program in Malaysia. Finished 4th or higher in all 12 events, anchored by individual stars like IM Poh Yu Tian and a strong female squad. |
| 2 | Selangor (SGR) | 3.08 | Absolute dominance in the Men's Team division (sweeping all three Gold medals in Standard, Rapid, and Blitz). |
| 3 | Wilayah Persekutuan (WP) | 3.67 | Highly competitive, particularly in the Women's Team events where they captured both Rapid and Blitz Gold. |
| 4 | Johor (JHR) | 4.67 | Relied entirely on the brilliance of WFM Mohd Afif Ainul Mardhiah, who swept all three female individual Golds. Their team performance, however, remained modest. |
| 5 | Perak (PRK) | 9.17 | Consistently fielded competitive entries across all events, highlighted by a Silver medal in Men's Standard Individual (Siva Kumar Nirish Kumar). |
| 6 | Negeri Sembilan (NSN) | 9.75 | Strong individual performances (such as Masli Muhd Nur Daie winning Rapid Silver), but their average was pulled down because they did not field teams in several team events. |
| 7 | Melaka (MLK) | 10.50 | Succeeded in breaking the dominance of the top-tier states with a surprise Silver medal in Women's Individual Blitz via Muzamil Mirza Irdina. |
| 8 | Perlis (PLS) | 11.83 | Though they missed the podium, Perlis was highly consistent in the mid-table, narrowly missing bronze in the Men's Individual Blitz event (placing 4th). |
| 9 | Kedah (KDH) | 13.50 | In a development phase. Their best performance was placing 5th in the Men's Team Rapid event. |
| 10 | Pahang (PHG) | 13.58 | Avoided a complete medal shutout by clinching a single Bronze medal in Women's Individual Rapid via Rabiatul Hasanah. |
| 11 | Sarawak (SWK) | 15.00 | Actively competed in the lower-middle tier, with their best team result being 5th place in the Men's Team Blitz. |
| 12 | Kelantan (KTN) | 17.92 | Lower competitiveness in individual formats, but their female team program bore fruit with a hard-earned Bronze in Women's Standard Team. |
| 13 | Sabah (SBH) | 18.42 | Struggled overall across individual events, but possessed a highly competitive Men's Team (finishing 4th in both Rapid and Blitz Team formats). |
💡 Key Takeaways
- Pulau Pinang proved that developing a balanced chess infrastructure across all sectors (both male and female, team and individual) is the ultimate key to long-term success. Their average finishing position of 2.33 stands as the best in the nation.
- While Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan successfully engineered high-performance team frameworks, states like Johor and Negeri Sembilan relied heavily on isolated, world-class prodigies to secure their medals, indicating a need for grassroot-level squad expansion.
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