KONI wants more than three golds
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The National Sports Council (KONI) has set a modest target for the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) at the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in December.
The next biennial games, which will be hosted by Vietnam, will mark the maiden inclusion of chess on the list of sports.
The demand for a greater achievement was voiced by KONI chairman Agum Gumelar on Wednesday.
"Why is it only three? As a country with population of around 220 million, Indonesia should be one of the chess powers, not only in Southeast Asia but in all of Asia," Agum said while addressing the opening ceremony of the Japfa Chess Festival here.
Percasi has set itself a target of winning three of the eight gold medals on offer in the chess competition.
The festival, which features 536 chess players in five classes including one being exhibited among public figures, serves as the qualifying field ahead of the formation of the national team.
With a plan to send six men and six women to Vietnam and with four places having been awarded to four top national players, Percasi has been looking for another four each in the men's and women's field.
The new recruits will be selected from a shortlist of candidates picked from a series of tournaments, including the ongoing Japfa event.
Percasi chairman Machnan Kamaluddin said they would have good prospects in the men's competition with Grand Master (GM) Utut Adianto, who has just secured a place in the next World Championship, as the ace.
"I understand why Pak Agum asked about our target. He is still unaware about our real strength and the region in the general," he said, citing host Vietnam could be a strong contender along with the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Susanto Megaranto, who is assured of an International Master (IM) title after his impressive performance at the recent Gunadarma Open, was upset in the opening round of the master's competition at the Japfa event.
Susanto, 16-year-old, who is the top seed in the nine-round tournament, was held to a draw by non-master Nurji Kembi.
"Susanto should have beaten his opponent given their recent records. On the board it was an unexpected result that Susanto got," chess columnist Kristianus Liem said.
Kristianus said Susanto seemed to have a jinx with a defensive opponent.
"He will find difficulty against an opponent who plays a safe game and avoids taking risk. Nurji played a defensive game against Susanto," Kristianus said.
Other seeds showed their value with GM Cerdas Barus, GM Edhi Handoko and FIDE Master (FM) Hamdani Rudin beating their respective opponents.