Indonesian boys and girls to compete in 2nd ASEAN chess championships
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) will send 13 teenagers to Kuala Lumpur to take part in the 2nd ASEAN Age Group Chess Championship scheduled from Dec. 22 to Dec. 29.
The championship will feature six age brackets: U-8, U-10, U- 12, U-14, U-16, U-18, in both the boys and girls categories.
Among the Indonesian representatives in the boys division are Tirta Chandra (U-18), Taufik Halay (U-16), Aris Haryanto (U-14), Surya Wahyudi, Ivanskhy Diary Johan (U-12), Boy Reinhard, Nicolas Sebastian (U-10), Mohammad Kevin and Olrenzo Diary Johan (U-8).
The girls, who will only compete in three age groups, are Evi Lindiawati (U-16), Amalia Audra (U-14) and Irene Kharisma Sukandar (U-10).
Another three players from Bandung, West Java, are to follow, but their names have yet to be disclosed.
Most of the players will pay their own way to Kuala Lumpur, with Percasi only supporting Tirta, Taufik, Aris and Evi. Parents and siblings will also be among the team's entourage, which will depart on Dec. 22.
"The parents are keen to pay for their children's tour as they can use the opportunity to spend the year-end holidays in Malaysia," Nike Setyawati, the team manager, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
"Aside from the self-financing players, we have also offered to pay half the expenses of some of the other players," she said.
Tirta is the only Indonesian veteran of the inaugural championship in Vietnam last year, where he finished fourth.
The junior players study chess at the Utut Adianto Chess School (SCUA) in Bekasi, 30 kilometers east of Jakarta. They are currently undergoing intensive training under the guidance of the coaching quartet of Maksum Firdaus, Irwanto, Hendra Johan and Aji Hartono.
ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The event will also coincide with the Asian U-16 Girls Chess Championship, in which Indonesia will be represented by Evi.
"I have to admit we are lagging a bit behind China and Vietnam at the Asian level. But we are not totally writing off Evi's chances. She does has a chance," Eka Putra Wirya, Percasi executive director, said.
"Given her international experience, I guess Evi has the potential to spring surprises," he said. Evi's latest international stint was at the 2000 Turkey Olympiad.