Indonesia's Irene tames Wild in Greece
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After being held to a draw in the opening round, Irene Kharisma Sukandar of Indonesia improved her play to beat Daleen Wild of South Africa in the second round of the World Youth Chess Championships on Friday in Halkidiki, Greece.
At Hotel Pallini Beach, Irene brilliantly displayed her endgame prowess to upset champion Wild, one of the five players with a Women's FIDE Master title in the girls under-12 competition, team manager Kristianus Liem said in a release.
Wild opted for an English opening, against which Irene had counter moves up her sleeve to gain a slightly better placement of her pieces early on.
On move 18, Irene wrested initiative from the Queen's side, thanks to a cleverly-executed c5 move, which, a few moves later, caused Wild to be stuck with an isolated, vulnerable pawn on the d4 square.
The weak pawn fell prey to Irene's next attack.
Falling behind in her number of pieces, Wild shifted her game strategy by targeting on Irene's rear field.
The South African tried to force a mating trap, but the rising Indonesian star did not seem daunted by her opponent's plot. Irene deliberately walked into the trap by taking the pawn Wild offered, then sprung a trap of her own, launching a decisive blow at the right moment.
Holding a two-pawn advantage on the Queen's side, Irene played the end phase adeptly to mate her opponent with a pawn on move 60th.
"I spotted the trap, but I had already found the line of moves in reserve to lead the game to a winning position for me," Irene said in a release.
Irene was held to a draw by Amy Officer of Scotland in the first game. Her next opponent is Dhyani Dave of India.
The 11-round championships feature 10 age-group competitions in the boys' and girl's category, with about 1,000 participants representing 79 countries.
The thinking time is 90 minutes, with increments of 30 seconds for every move.
WFM Daleen Wild - Irene Kharisma Sukandar 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 c6 6. d3 Be6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. 0-0 Be7 9. d4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 e4 11. Nd2 f5 12. Nb3 13. f3 exf3 14. exf3 Bf6 15. f4 Qc7 16. Bb2 Rad8 17. Qc2 Bc4 18. Rfe1 c5 19. dxc5 Nxc5 20. Kh1 Bd3 21. Qc1 Na4 22. Nd4 Bxd4 23. cxd4 Qb6 24. Ba3 Bfe8 25. Rxe8+ Rxe8 26. Bd5+ Kh8 27. Bc5 Nxc5 28. Qxc5 Qb2 29. Rc1 h6 30. a4 Rd8 31. Bf3 b6 32. Qc3 Qxc3 33. Rxc3 Rxd4 34. Bh5 Be4+ 35. Kg1 Rxa4 36. Bg6 Ra1+ 37. Kf2 Ra2+ 38. Ke3 Rc2 39. Ra3 a5 40. Rb3 Rc6 41. Bf7 g6 42. Rb2 Kg7 43. Be8 Re6 44. Bd7 Re7 45. Bb5 Bc6+ 46. Kd4 Bxb5 47. Rxb5 Re6 48. Kd5 Kf7 49. Kc4 Ke7 50. Kb3 Kd7 51. Rd5+ Kc6 52. Rd4 b5 53. Rd2 Re3+ 54. Kb2 b4 55. Rc2+ Kb5 56. Rd2 a4 57. Rd5+ Kc4 58. Rd2 a3+ 59. Kc1 Re1+ 60. Kc2 b3# 0-1