Irene up against world No. 2 in chess matchup
Musthofid, Jakarta
After a convincing performance, Indonesia's top young chess star Irene Kharisma is poised for another challenge when she meets world number two Sopiko Guramishvili of Georgia in Jakarta.
The series of matches are scheduled to take place at the Utut Adianto Chess School II in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, from July 12 to 16.
Two rapid and four classic games will be played. The rapid game allows 25 minutes of total accumulated thinking time for the match compared to classic's 90 minutes with an increment of 30 seconds per move.
"The match between the two young chess stars, one of which could be the next world champion, will energize the Indonesian chess scene," said a press release from the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) said here on Thursday.
Guramishvili, now 13, placed second in the girls' under-12 category at the 2003 World Youth Chess Championships, in which Irene finished ninth.
Guramishvili, who was born on January 1, 1991, has already attained her Women's FIDE Master (WFM) title with her current elo-rating of 2130 as of July.
Her career-high rating was 2149 in January. Her latest achievement was finishing tied for second place with two others in the boys' under-16 Georgia national chess championships in April.
Guramishvili is a member of the Nana Alexandria Chess School. The school is named after Georgia's best woman's player who has become the world title contender twice.
According to Kristianus Liem, a member of the organizing committee, Guramishvili will arrive in Jakarta on Monday, accompanied by father Tamaz and brother Ketevan Guramishvili.
"The match has been programmed as part of Irene's preparation ahead of the next world championships in Greece," Kristianus said.
The organizers will provide a total of US$1,500, two-thirds of which will go to the winner.
The match will be another test for the 12-year-old Irene after she scored a 4-0 victory over To Li-Cheng during the Indonesia- Singapore chess matchup in Jakarta in May.