Irene held to draw in Greece

JAKARTA: The opening day of the 2003 World Youth Chess Championships, involving 1,000 young chess players from 79 countries, gave Irene Kharisma Sukandar, 11, a modest result as she was held to draw by Amy Officer of Scotland in Halkidiki, Greece, on Thursday.

Holding the white pieces, Irene, who is competing in the girls' under-12 division, grabbed material advantage but a blunder on move 26 gave her the draw after being involved in 50 moves of the game, according to a release.

"I made a blunder. It might be that I was just tired," she said after the game as quoted by team manager Kristianus Liem. The championships feature 10 age-group events in the boys and girls category. --JP