Wed, 09 Mar 2005

Irene faces Corke in chess matchup

JAKARTA: Teenage FIDE Master (WFM) Irene Kharisma of Indonesia will take on Women's Grand Master (WGM) Anya Sun Corke of Hong Kong in a five-day chess matchup starting on Saturday.

Irene, 13, won a silver medal as the second best point winner on board three in last year's Chess Olympia in Calvia, Spain. Corke, now 15, was the youngest woman to attain a GM title at 14.

They will play two rapid and four classical chess games in the matchup, with the contest opening at 2 p.m. at Utut Adianto Chess School in Kelapa Gading, East Jakarta, the organizer announced. Rapid chess allows the player 25 minutes of thinking time, while the classical format allots 90 minutes with 30 second increments for each move.

The winner receives US$1,000 and the loser half the amount.

-- JP