Indonesia eases past Brunei in World Youth Chess Olympiad
Indonesia eases past Brunei in World Youth Chess Olympiad
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur
The Indonesian junior chess team got off to a flying start at the World Youth Chess Olympiad at the MidValley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur, posting a 4-0 victory over Brunei on Wednesday.
And away from the chess action, Indonesia had something else to be proud of, with Machnan Kamaluddin, the chairman of the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi), being conferred a gold pin by Kirsan Iljumzhinov, president of world chess body FIDE, at the Cititel Hotel.
The honor, according to Percasi vice chairman Eka Putra Wirya, reflects FIDE's appreciation for Percasi's commitment to developing chess in Indonesia.
Back on the boards, Tirta Chandra Purnama gave Indonesia its first point of the day, forcing Ameer Aziz Hakim bin Hj Abd Lani to surrender after an hour and 25 moves, using a Slav defense.
A quarter of an hour later Surya Wahyudi increased the team's lead by defeating Iqbal bin Pg Mohd Noor in 29 moves in a Sicilian game.
Indonesian ace Susanto Megaranto followed with a 41-move pounding of Hafizon bin Pg Mohd Noor with a Caro-Kann defense.
The final match of the day proved to be the hardest fought, pitting Indonesian Taufik Halay against Mohd Shaminan bin Hj Mohd Zulkifli. The Indonesian needed two and a half hours to stop Shaminan in 29 moves in a Sicilian game.
"Taufik seemed to suffer a few cracks in the opening moves. Luckily, he was up against a weaker opponent who seemed to overlook Taufik's errors. At the other end, Taufik managed to improve his position," team manager Utut Adianto said during a postmatch analysis.
Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Zambia would be unable to take part in the tournament and had been replaced by Malaysia D. The host team is now playing with four teams. There was no explanation given for Zambia's canceled trip.
Seven other teams ended the opening day of the tournament with 4-0 wins, including China A, Vietnam, England, Malaysia A, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and India.
India beat Malaysia C in the only match to be played later in the day
Top-seed Ukraine posted a 3.5-0.5 win over a depleted Turkmenistan side, with Kateryna Lahno, a women's international master, being held to a draw by Annaberdi Esenov.
Turkmenistan is playing with only three players following the disqualification of Mellis Annaberdiev, who was removed from the team during a technical meeting on Tuesday after he was found to be older than 16.
Also at the meeting, the participants' seedings were decided on. Based on the averages of the players' ratings, Indonesia is seeded seventh with an average of 2197. They are behind Ukraine (2412), China A (2362), Rumania (2300), India (2292), England (2225) and Iran (2224).