Irene leads Corke 2-1 in chess series

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Local chess prodigy Irene Kharisma, 13, pushed Anya Sun Corke, 15, to the limit to emerge the winner in their third game of the Enerpac Chess Match in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, on Sunday.

FIDE Master (FM) Irene, who played black, stopped Corke, the world'syoungest women's grand master, in 24 moves using a Slav defense, according to committee official Kristianus Liem.

Irene now leads 2-1 in the chess contest, which is scheduled for six games and will conclude on Wednesday. The two teenage stars each won one rapid game on Saturday.

Kristianus said Irene employed a complicated tactical strategy, which forced Corke to take a lot of time. Each player is given 90 minutes of thinking time with increments of 30 seconds for every move.

"Corke had only 40 seconds left on the clock while Irene had around 20 minutes at the end of the game," Kristianus told The Jakarta Post by phone.

"Irene sacrificed a pawn on move 14, followed by a bishop on move 20 to maintain the attacking initiative.

Corke resigned four moves later as checkmate would have been unavoidable in the next few moves, or she would have lost her queen, according to Kristianus.

The match, which will award US$1,000 for the winner and $500 for the loser, will continue on Tuesday with Irene playing white and Corke on black.