Irwanto wins, RI team draws with Zambia<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Irwanto Sadikin bounced back from his defeat in the previous
\nround to beat Nase Lungu of Zambia in the twelfth round of the
\nChess Olympiad in Bled, Slovenia, on Thursday, however the team
\ncould only manage a draw with the Africans, reports said.<\/p>\n
During the middle of the match, Irwanto, whose slot in the
\nteam was announced only days before the team's departure,
\nappeared to gain control over the center by creating a free pawn
\non the d-file.<\/p>\n
The pawn, helped by the maneuver of Queen and Bishop, marched
\nforward unhindered, forcing Lungu to sacrifice a Bishop. The game
\nwas \"viewed\" virtually live via www.35chessolympiad.com.<\/p>\n
With an inferior array of material, Lungu surrendered on move
\n45. It was Irwanto's fourth win, which came back to back from his
\ndefeat in Indonesia's tie with Iraq.<\/p>\n
Susanto Megaranto, a 16-year-old phenom, also contributed a
\nwin, over Stanley Chumfwa. He skillfully brought his Caro-kann
\ndefense to an endgame that gave him a clear advantage for his
\nwin.<\/p>\n
However, the team could only manage a 2-2 draw given the other
\ntwo pairings, in which the wins went to the Zambians.<\/p>\n
Ivan Situru and Awam Wahono were defeated by Amon Simutowe and
\nMalupande Lungu respectively. Cerdas Barus, the only unbeaten
\nteam member, was left off the team again.<\/p>\n
It was the second time in a row that Indonesia failed to beat
\nan opponent rated below it. The Iraqi match was an even worse
\nresult.<\/p>\n
Djamil Djamal, a former national player, speculated that
\nIndonesia's sluggish performances, especially in the last two
\nrounds, could be attributed to over confidence.<\/p>\n
\"In the past we would easily beat an Iraqi player or those
\nfrom African nations. It seems that the power has changed and
\nAfrica cannot be taken lightly anymore,\" he told The Jakarta Post
\nhere on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"And our players have not been alerted over the change and
\nthey might be too confident which backfired on them,\" Djamil, who
\nis secretary general of the Indonesian Chess Association
\n(Percasi), said.<\/p>\n
With 24 total team points and only one game to play against
\nWales in the final round, Indonesia looks doomed to end up in a
\nworse position than the 44 it finished in its last Olympiad
\nappearance in Turkey two years ago.<\/p>\n
Russia kept its two point margin intact atop the leaderboard
\nafter beating Croatia 2.5-1.5, while close rival Hungary beat
\nGeorgia by the same score.<\/p>\n
In another match, the best Asian team, China, beat England
\n2.5-1.5 to vault back into the top five overall.<\/p>",
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