RI junior chess team captures Merdeka Cup<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian team of four boys won the 17th
\nMerdeka Cup youth chess tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
\nwhich concluded Sunday.<\/p>\n
The quartet of Susanto Megaranto, Tirta Chandra, Taufik Halay
\nand Hastomo, who are all 11 or 12 years old, assured themselves
\nof securing the coveted trophy after downing closest rival Johor
\nfrom Malaysia 3-1 in the final match.<\/p>\n
Indonesian team manager Kristianus Liem said Susanto was the
\ntoast of the team for giving it a morale-boosting win in the
\nfirst game. Susanto made short work of Koh Keng Wee, needing only
\n22 moves to put Indonesia 1-0 up.<\/p>\n
Tirta scored a second point by beating Liew Kiat Siang. Taufik
\nand Hastomo managed only draws against their respective
\nopponents.<\/p>\n
Johor trailed Indonesia by four points entering the final duel
\nand had to sweep all four games to snatch the trophy. But the
\ndefeat on Sunday dropped Johor down to the fourth place overall,
\nbehind Perak and defending champion Pulau Pinang.<\/p>\n
The unbeaten Indonesian quartet, all students at Enerpac Chess
\nSchool, amassed 22.5 points to finish 4.5 points clear of Perak.
\nPulau Pinang garnered 17.5 points, while Johor ended with 16.5.<\/p>\n
Taufik, Susanto and Tirta also won gold medals for their
\nindividual performances.<\/p>\n
The Merdeka Cup was held to commemorate Malaysia's anniversary
\nof independence which fell on Monday. Seventy-four city teams
\nfrom Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia participated in the
\ntournament played over six rounds.<\/p>\n
The Enerpac team was the only Indonesian representative in the
\nannual tournament. (lnt)<\/p>",
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