Aggressive Irene pounds Fernandez into submission in Greece

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Irene Kharisma Sukandar played an aggressive game to beat Ingrid Aliaga Fernandez in the fifth round of the World Youth Chess Championships in Halkidiki, Greece, on Monday.

Irene, the only Indonesian contender at the championships, forced her Peruvian opponent to concede in 26 moves in a Sicilian game, a release said here on Tuesday.

The result lifted Irene, who lost to Krishna Inapuri Ramya of India in the fourth round, into the top 10 in the provisional standings.

Irene is competing in the girls' under-12 category along with 84 other players. It was Irene's third win in addition to a draw and a loss, giving her 3.5 points overall. Another six rounds remain to be played.

The championships feature 10 age-group competitions -- five apiece in the boys and girls' categories -- with about 1,000 participants from 79 countries.

Women's FIDE Master (WFM) Sopiko Guramishvili of Georgia, who defeated WFM Alena Tairova of Russia in the fifth round, leads the girls' U-12 with a perfect five points.

Defending champion WFM Tan Zhongyi of China, a winner over Krishna Inapuri Ramya on Monday, is tied at 4.5 points with two other competitors.

Alena Tairova heads five players at four points each, while Irene is among 12 players tied at 3.5 points.

Playing the white pieces against Fernandez, Irene shrugged off her disappointment of the day before to stick to her style of aggressive play, according to Kristianus Liem, a chess columnist who is in Greece.

"Irene's typically offensive and sharp game forced Ingrid into the defense," Kristianus said in the release.

On move 16, with her king's side under pressure from a combined attack of bishop and queen, with the g7 square being the ultimate target, Fernandez fell to a costly mistake.

"She should have posted her own bishop on f6 instead of f8," Kristianus said.

The error was exploited by Irene, who piled on more pressure with a thrust of her f-square pawn. Another mistake by Fernandez on move 18 prompted Irene to march further forward, causing a loose connection among the pieces on her opponent's king's side.

A tactical rook-lift, by which the rook was pushed upward through the f1-f3-h3 squares, further cramped Fernandez's position.

Another dismantling of the pieces on the king's side on move 25 and the prospect of another attack by Irene forced Fernandez to abandon the game in the next move.

Irene will again hold the white pieces against Evelien Moernaut of Belgium in the sixth round.

(BOX) Irene Kharisma Sukandar-Ingrid Aliaga Fernandez: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.a4 Be7 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Ba210.Be3 Qc7 11.f4 Rd8 12.Qe2 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 b6 14.Rad1 Bb7 15.Qe3 Nd7 16.Qg3 Bf8?! 17.f5 e5 18.Be3 Nc5?! 19.f6 g6 20.Bd5 Rd7 21.Qh4 Qd8 22.Rf3 Rc7 23.Rh3 h5 24.Bxb7 Rxb7 25.g4 Nd7 26.Nd5 1-0