Susanto wins as Stefanova pulls clear

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Susanto Megaranto, the only junior competing at the Wismilak International Chess Tournament, was the surprise winner in the fourth round of competition in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday.

Susanto, whose rating is 2364, stunned International Master (IM) Enrique Paciencia of the Philippines, who boasts a better rating of 2483. The Indonesian 15-year-old stopped his opponent after 52 moves in a Spanish game.

"Mid-game, Susanto launched a combined attack to win a knight in exchange for two pawns. Paciencia did not have compensation for the loss of the knight," chess columnist Kristianus Liem told The Jakarta Post.

"Susanto then kept his opponent at bay throughout the game. With his pawn on f-2 falling, Paciencia had an untenable position and abandoned the game," he said.

Susanto has now collected 1.5 points, equal to Paciencia and Indonesian FIDE Master (FM) Hamdani Rudin.

Grand Master (GM) Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria, the only woman competing in the US$6,000 tournament, pulled clear of the field with 3.5 points after beating Indonesian FM Irwanto.

Playing with black, Stefanova stopped the Indonesian player in 50 moves using a Queen's Gambit defense.

GM Edhi Handoko and IM Cerdas Barus were tied in second place on 3 points each. Edhi bounced from his defeat in the third round to edge IM Nay Oo Kyaw Tun, while Cerdas was held by Cecep Kosasih, in what appeared to be the only game ending in a draw.

Indonesian IM Danny Juswanto and GM Zaw Win Lay of Myanmar overcame their respective opponents to amass a total of 2.5 points each. The fifth round of matches was still underway at deadline last night.