Nguyen outclasses Andrean in chess meet
JAKARTA (JP): Junior chess player Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam became overall champion after outclassing Indonesian Andrean Susilodinata in the last day of the duel meet on Thursday.
Nguyen earned 3.5 Match Points (MPs) against Andrean's 0.5 MPs after ending the match at the 53rd move, using a Queen pawn opening. Nguyen bags US$500 while Andrean gets half of that.
Last Saturday, both 11-years old chess players shared a 1-1 tie from two rapid chess sessions but the result is not taken into account in the overall points tally.
Most chess observers who attended the duel meet venue at Sari Pan Pacific hotel here regretted Andrean's decision to seize Nguyen's pawn in e5 at the 39th move.
"Andrean should have just let Nguyen's pawn free and withdrew his own rook to e8 instead of catching it. This would give Andrean's king the opportunity to occupy the very strategic e6 square," National Master Bing Sardjono said.
"These moves could have brought victory for Andrean or at least forced a tie."
"Another alternative," Bing added, "was to let Nguyen's pawn in a7 free. Leaving this pawn unguarded would have enabled Andrean's rook to launch more offensive moves."
Bing praised Nguyen as a very talented chess player but he predicted that Andrean would reach his Grand Master title earlier than the Vietnamese.
"Andrean has many good instructors here to guide him. We can't just rely on talent alone," he said.
International Referee Djamil Djamal told reporters after the match that Andrean barely had a chance to win the final match.
"Nguyen controlled the board perfectly giving Andrean little space to move. On the other hand, Andrean didn't make any blunders today," he said.
"We have to admit that Nguyen is outstanding. He is one class higher than Andrean," he added.
Djamil highlighted Nguyen's ability to use the smallest opportunity to attack.
"Meanwhile, Andrean seemed reluctant to initiate any offensive. Perhaps it is because he is not mature yet," he said.
"However, this duel meet will contribute something to Andrean's future development. He can learn a lot from his defeat."
Andrean's instructor, Grand Master Utut Adianto said he was satisfied with Andrean's games despite the defeat.
"Winning or losing is a common thing. But the important thing is Andrean lost after putting up a tough fight and he gave his best. His ability is far beyond his years.
"We should be proud that a boy like him can play chess with such quality. Andrean, however, still has to increase his confidence and independence," he said. (nvn)