Susanto-Dao showdown highlights chess event

Susanto-Dao showdown highlights chess event

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Young chess grand master Susanto Megaranto will take on
regional heavyweight Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam in the main event
of the Japfa Chess Festival here in May.

Susanto, 18, who attained his GM title at the Chess Olympiad
in October, will play Dao, 27, in six rounds of classic chess
from May 2-7 at Wisma Karsa Pemuda building in Senayan, Central
Jakarta.

The clock time is an hour and half for one player, with a 30-
second increment for each move. The winner takes home US$1,500
and the loser $750.

"I contacted Dao three weeks ago and he confirmed he is
coming. He is happy and feels honored by the invitation,"
Sebastian Simanjuntak, the ad interim secretary-general of the
Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi), told The Jakarta Post
here on Friday.

The showdown will provide valuable matchplay for both players
before the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Manila in December, in
which Indonesia and Vietnam will be strong contenders in the
sport.

"Dao is the highest rated player in the region. We can expect
him to push Susanto to the limit," Sebastian said.

Although most of the attention will be on the Susanto-Dao
matchup, the festival also features competition in some other
categories: the women's Open division, under 20, under 14,
veterans and non-master team, with cash prizes totaling Rp 80
million.

The nine-round event, according to Sebastian, will use an
unprecedented system of prize distribution, particularly in the
men's Open division, in an effort to curb rampant match fixing.

"We will start distributing the cash, based on a player's
ranking, as early as round six. Players are encouraged to take
their games seriously for their possible rise on the
leaderboard," he said.

"Hopefully, this will be able to deter players from throwing a
a game to prize-chasing contenders with the expectation of
getting a portion of the cash."