Susanto secures GM title at chess Olympiad<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Rising Indonesian chess star Susanto Megaranto is assured of a
\nGrand Master (GM) title after securing a draw in the 12th round
\nof the chess Olympiad in Calvia, Spain, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The 17-year-old Susanto, who currently holds an International
\nMaster (IM) title with an elo rating of 2439, drew with GM Luis
\nGalego as the Indonesian men's team took a 2-2 draw with
\nPortugal.<\/p>\n
Veteran IM Dede Liu suffered his seventh loss of the event
\nwhen he fell to GM Antonio Fernandes, but the younger players,
\nTirta Chandra, 18, and Taufik Halay, 17, both scored points for
\nthe team.<\/p>\n
Tirta drew with Sergio Rocha while Taufik scored the only win
\nfor Indonesia with his defeat of FM Antonio Vitor.<\/p>\n
However, the day belonged to Susanto, who has been hailed as
\nthe likely successor to GM Utut Adianto as Indonesia's next great
\nplayer.<\/p>\n
His draw with Galego, one more higher rated player he managed
\nto draw with or defeat in the event, saw him earn an overall
\neight points from 12 games.<\/p>\n
Against opponents with an average rating above his, Susanto
\nhas registered five wins, five draws and two losses.<\/p>\n
His victims include Hungarian ace GM Zoltan Almasi (2462) and
\nBrazilian GM Henrique Mecking (2557), while two of his draws came
\nagainst Romanian GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (2687) and England GM
\nMichael Adams (2772).<\/p>\n
Susanto's performance has earned him a 66.7 percentage point
\nand a performance rating of 2635, far ahead of his real rating,
\nwhich automatically earns him the GM title.<\/p>\n
\"It's in accordance with FIDE rules. If a player reaches two-
\nthird points after 12 games and a performance rating of at least
\n2600, he is entitled to a GM title,\" Sebastian Simanjuntak, an
\nofficial of the Indonesian Chess Association, told The Jakarta
\nPost on Thursday, referring to a ruling by world's chess
\ngoverning body FIDE.<\/p>\n
\"The team can claim Susanto's achievement at the FIDE meeting
\nthat coincides with the tournament. And Susanto's title will
\nlikely be ratified during next year's meeting,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Susanto would become Indonesia's youngest player to attain the
\nGM title. His mentor Utut obtained the GM title at the age of 21
\nduring the 1986 Olympiad in Dubai.<\/p>\n
Kristianus Liem, a chess columnist, said Susanto had shown he
\ncould withstand the pressure of being the team's ace.<\/p>\n
\"Other players, except for Utut, tend to stagger when they
\nhave to play on board one,\" Kristianus said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian team has also been guaranteed of a medal in the
\nwomen's category courtesy of Irene Kharisma.<\/p>\n
Irene, 12, currently is the best board three performer in the
\ntournament, which has two more rounds to go.<\/p>\n
Already collecting nine points from 11 games, Irene did not
\nplay in Indonesia's 1.5-1.5 draw with Venezuela in the 12th round
\nof the event. She leads the standing with an 81.8 win percentage.<\/p>\n
WGM Zhao Xue of China, who was ahead of Irene going into the
\n12th round, dropped to second with an 80.0 win percentage,
\nfollowed by WGM Silvia Collas of France with a 77.8 win
\npercentage.<\/p>\n
The team hopes Irene, who has also landed a FIDE Master (FM)
\ntitle, will be able to hold onto the top position over the final
\ntwo rounds, but at the least she is assured of a bronze medal.<\/p>\n
\"The players below the top three are already mathematically
\nout of contention,\" Sebastian said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susanto-secures-gm-title-at-chess-olympiad-1447893297",
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