Andrean wins in seventh round game in Greece

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's sole competitor at the World Youth Chess Championship in Greece, Andrean Susilodinata beat David Recuero Guerra in the seventh round on Thursday.

"The seventh round matches started at 9:30 a.m. local (Greece) time. Andrean finished his game at around 11.30. It needed about two hours," Susilodinata Halim, Andrean's father and manager, told The Jakarta Post by phone.

But Susilodinata, who is a university lecturer by profession, failed to note the game details as to how many moves Andrean, who competes in the under-12 category, needed to stop his opponent and what opening did he choose in the encounter.

Susilodinata said Andrean, whose win over Andrea Dimant of Brazil in the sixth round on Tuesday had earned him a tenth position, claimed up further on the provisional standings.

"He may be in the fifth or sixth now, given his pairing in the eighth round in which he plays on board number three," he said.

Andrean, who, until after seven rounds has registered 5.5 points from five wins, a draw and a loss, is playing leader Yuriy Kuzubov of Ukraine and the game was underway until this article was written.

The tournament, which is being played according to the Swiss System in 11 rounds, features 847 players divided in the U-10, U- 12, U-14, U-16 and U-18 categories, according to www.fideonline.com.

Time control is FIDE-sanctioned 90 minutes for the whole game with 30 seconds increment for every move played.

Andrean, 11 years old, is a member of the national junior team. Given his record in international tournaments, he is no doubt one who can count his chess skills for the future.

However, he has appeared to be an cast-out in national chess in the past four months, having denied an inclusion in the team only because he was considered to unable to detach himself from his dependency on his parent.

He saw his name in the competitors list as one of the two juniors in the Surabaya International Championship last July only to find that he was canceled out.

During the World Youth Chess Olympiad in Kuala Lumpur the following two months, he was also excluded from the team, with the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) again citing Andrean's "childish" manner.

In Greece, Andrean may likely want to prove that he has not been affected by Percasi's treatment on him. "Pray for us and give us support. This must be a tough game against Kuzubov," said Susilodinata.

With points collection up to date, Andrean has fared generally well, according to Percasi executive director, Eka Putra Wirya, who insisted here on Thursday that Percasi's faith in Andrean should not be questioned.