Dao wins Japfa chess match in sudden death

Dao wins Japfa chess match in sudden death

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It came down to the wire, but in the end Vietnamese Dao Thien
Hai was too experienced for teenage GM Susanto Megaranto in their
best-of-six matchup.

Trailing by a game going into Saturday's final match, the
Indonesian fought back to even the score 3-3 in the Rp 80 million
Japfa Chess Festival.

They then split two five-minute blitz games before Dao, who
boasts an elo-rating of 2609 compared to Susanto's 2489,
overwhelmed his 17-year-old opponent in the sudden death for a 5-
4 victory.

In the sudden death odds game, white is given six minutes of
thinking time against black's five. In the event of a draw, black
is declared the winner.

Dao, playing black, stayed calm under pressure to seal
victory, garnering applause from spectators packed into the
office of the State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs.

Despite coming off second best overall, Susanto deserved
credit for drawing even in the main, or classical game.

"Susanto cleverly capitalized on Dao's overly exposed
position," Susanto's mentor, GM Utut Adianto, said. "Overall,
Susanto played well in the matchup. I would have loved him to
win. The only thing missing was that he let it slip after leading
2-0 early on.

"This is his first matchup. He might still be lacking in
concentration skills."

Susanto, after losing three consecutive games, had started out
focused on Saturday, and took a winning position after 30 moves,
with Dao's king exposed to attack and his knight stranded on his
queen's side.

With only classical games counting toward a player's rating,
the draw was a setback for Dao. His rating is expected to drop by
eight points while Susanto's will increase by eight, according to
tournament director Eka Putra Wirya.

"A draw isn't good for me," Dao, 27, acknowledged, adding that
he enjoyed his first visit here.

The players shared the prize money of US$2,250.

Meanwhile, FM Hamdani Rudin emerged the winner in the Open
category. He was tied with five players on 7.5 points but he won
on the "Progressive Score" rule.

Also based on that rule, Taufik Halay finished in second
followed by Jamaludin, Ruben Gunawan, Ardiansyah and Fikhrul
Saefudin.

Already crowned champion in the women's category, Irene
Kharisma consolidated her top position with a win over Stefani
Dian. She chalked up a perfect nine points. Lisa Lumongdong
finished runner-up, two points behind, followed by Evie
Lindiawati on 5.5 points.