Chess star Susanto beats Hoang<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Local chess star IM Susanto Megaranto, the youngest player in
\nthe Makita-Lakoni International Grand Master Chess Tournament,
\nenjoyed a stunning defeat of IM Hoang Thanh Trang of Vietnam of
\nthe opening round of the event here on Monday.<\/p>\n
Susanto, 16, shrugged off the pressure early in the game to
\nlaunch a punishing counterattack against Hoang, 24, for a victory
\nthat will undoubtedly give him a boost for the rest of the
\ntournament and in his race for a GM norm.<\/p>\n
The Makita event features six competitors, three Indonesian
\nmen and three foreign women, with total cash prizes of US$12,500
\non offer.<\/p>\n
In the other two pairings on Monday, GM Utut Adianto and IM
\nDanny Juswanto, both of whom are Susanto's mentors, agreed to a
\ndraw in an all-Indonesian match, as did GM Zhu Chen and GM
\nAntoaneta Stefanova.<\/p>\n
"I'm glad with the win," Susanto said, adding that it was a
\npositive development ahead of his next game against Stefanova.<\/p>\n
Each of the six players will face off against each other
\ntwice.<\/p>\n
The win was a surprise given that Susanto, who accepted
\nHoang's sacrifice of a pawn in a Queen's Gambit game, had been
\nunder heavy pressure early in the game.<\/p>\n
His buildup looked being cramped with most of his major pieces
\nremaining on the first line of the board, while Hoang, the 2000
\nAsian women's champion and 21st in the world rankings, had her
\npieces in an attacking position.<\/p>\n
Chess observers following the game agreed that defeat for
\nSusanto should have been imminent.<\/p>\n
But Susanto, who is renowned for his positional repertoire,
\nsaw the vulnerability in Hoang's position and began to counter,
\nwresting control of the game after about 30 moves.<\/p>\n
"Her position was too exposed and I launched a counterattack
\nwith queen, knight and rook, assisted by the bishop through the
\nking's side," Susanto said.<\/p>\n
The attack forced Hoang into submission over the next 20 moves
\nafter the Vietnamese saw that either her queen would be lost or
\nher king would be checkmated.<\/p>\n
The win should provide a boost in Susanto's race for a GM
\nnorm. A player needs to win at least three GM norms in different
\nevents before receiving a full GM title.<\/p>\n
Susanto won his first GM norm during the Southeast Asian (SEA)
\nGames in December, where he finished second behind eventual gold
\nmedalist Utut Adianto.<\/p>\n
Hoang, who helped the Vietnamese female team win the gold
\nmedal at the SEA Games, is also pursuing her GM title, requiring
\njust one GM norm victory after winning two in Budapest.<\/p>\n
Danny, with white, and Utut played only 20 moves before
\nagreeing to a draw.<\/p>\n
And in the third match, Zhu swung her attack to the king's
\nside of Stefanova's defense but saw no breakthrough, and the two
\nplayers agreed to a draw after 45 moves.<\/p>",
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