Irwanto wins, RI team draws with Zambia

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Irwanto Sadikin bounced back from his defeat in the previous round to beat Nase Lungu of Zambia in the twelfth round of the Chess Olympiad in Bled, Slovenia, on Thursday, however the team could only manage a draw with the Africans, reports said.

During the middle of the match, Irwanto, whose slot in the team was announced only days before the team's departure, appeared to gain control over the center by creating a free pawn on the d-file.

The pawn, helped by the maneuver of Queen and Bishop, marched forward unhindered, forcing Lungu to sacrifice a Bishop. The game was "viewed" virtually live via www.35chessolympiad.com.

With an inferior array of material, Lungu surrendered on move 45. It was Irwanto's fourth win, which came back to back from his defeat in Indonesia's tie with Iraq.

Susanto Megaranto, a 16-year-old phenom, also contributed a win, over Stanley Chumfwa. He skillfully brought his Caro-kann defense to an endgame that gave him a clear advantage for his win.

However, the team could only manage a 2-2 draw given the other two pairings, in which the wins went to the Zambians.

Ivan Situru and Awam Wahono were defeated by Amon Simutowe and Malupande Lungu respectively. Cerdas Barus, the only unbeaten team member, was left off the team again.

It was the second time in a row that Indonesia failed to beat an opponent rated below it. The Iraqi match was an even worse result.

Djamil Djamal, a former national player, speculated that Indonesia's sluggish performances, especially in the last two rounds, could be attributed to over confidence.

"In the past we would easily beat an Iraqi player or those from African nations. It seems that the power has changed and Africa cannot be taken lightly anymore," he told The Jakarta Post here on Friday.

"And our players have not been alerted over the change and they might be too confident which backfired on them," Djamil, who is secretary general of the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi), said.

With 24 total team points and only one game to play against Wales in the final round, Indonesia looks doomed to end up in a worse position than the 44 it finished in its last Olympiad appearance in Turkey two years ago.

Russia kept its two point margin intact atop the leaderboard after beating Croatia 2.5-1.5, while close rival Hungary beat Georgia by the same score.

In another match, the best Asian team, China, beat England 2.5-1.5 to vault back into the top five overall.