Irwanto secures last Wismilak berth
Irwanto secures last Wismilak berth
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
FIDE Master (FM) Irwanto Sadikin took the last berth for the
US$6,000 Wismilak International Grandmaster chess tournament
after beating Yoseph R. Majella in a two-match, one-day playoff
at the F. Sumanti Chess Center here on Sunday.
Irwanto won both matches. He became the eighth Indonesian
player to be fielded at the Wismilak tournament in Surabaya, East
Java, from July 22 to 28.
The seven other local participants already confirmed for the
12-strong event are Edhi Handoko, Ardiansyah, Danny Juswanto,
Hamdani Rudin, Cecep Kosasih, Susanto Megaranto and Andrean
Susilodinata.
Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria, Zaw Win Lay, Nay Oo Kyaw Tun,
both from Myanmar and Enrique Paciencia of the Philippines are
the four foreign players rounding out the field of high-level
chess masters.
Irwanto was elated while speaking with The Jakarta Post after
his victory. "I am very excited about playing in a grandmaster
tournament. I'm glad that I finally get the chance," he said.
Saying that he had before endured "unfair treatment" when it
came to selecting players for international tournaments, he
applauded the playoff that the Indonesian Chess Association
(Percasi) used to decide Wismilak's last slot.
"I'd like to deliver my gratitude to the organizers for the
chance given to me," he said, adding that he would try to win
between seven and 7.5 points from a possible eleven at the
tournament.
Kristianus Liem, a chess columnist, hailed Irwanto's win as a
deserved reward for his 2001 national championship, who has more
experience in international tournaments than Yoseph.
"Although he has a lower rating than Yoseph, Irwanto has
proved himself to be more tested in international tournaments,"
he said. Irwanto's rating is 2362 compared to Yoseph's 2383.
The Surabaya chess event will concurrently stage an
invitational tournament with 32 local players, competing for a
total of Rp 35 million (about US$4,000) in cash prizes.
The 32-strong list, according to Kris was set up based on
inviting the top players from each region of the nation, and so
will include several qualifiers and a number of invitees.
The qualifiers are top eight players in the men's category,
the winners of the women's Under-20 and Under-18 categories at
the recently concluded National Chess Championship in Palembang,
South Sumatra.
The invitees consist of a representative from Sumatra,
Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua; five grandmasters and
international masters; three women's international masters; four
wildcard invitees from the host city; five selections by Percasi;
and one player representing the rest of the regions which are
considered to be behind other regions of the country in chess
development.