Susanto wins second game by default

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Susanto Megaranto got away with a win by default in the second round of the Japfa Chess Festival here on Thursday while Tuti Rahayu and Yulianti Tjindarbumi shared the top place in the women's competition.

The 16-year-old Susanto, who is the top seed at the tournament, was getting outplayed as his opponent, veteran Fabian Lumentut, was looking unstoppable and on the verge of promoting his marching pawn.

Just as a loss seemed certain for Susanto, Fabian realized that he had run out of time and was declared the loser.

"I tried hard to race against the clock but there was too little time left and it was not enough to maneuver for a win," Fabian said.

It was a relief for Susanto, who had been under pressure due to his poor moves in the middle of the game.

"I had the edge in the opening, but I slipped on move 23. As a consequence, I had to endure serious pressure on the king's wing," he said.

"I have played some poor games," said Susanto, who was held to a draw in the opening round.

After two games, he is in the middle of the standings with 1.5 points along with other 32 others including the second-seeded Grand Master (GM) Cerdas Barus and International Master (IM) Danny Juswanto.

Third-seeded GM Edhi Handoko was among the leaders with 2 points, after he chalked his second straight win. He beat Black on Thursday.

GM Ardiansyah won over Thoha and is also tied atop the standings. There are over 200 players competing.

Meanwhile, Tuti Rahayu and Yulianti Tjindarbumi were the only two players with a perfect three points after three games in the women's competition, with 40 participants.

Tuti defeated Betty Makalew and Irene Kharisma in the second and third round respectively on Thursday, while Yulianti collected her points at the expense of Novianti Ginting and Sulung Wahyuningsih.

Susiana Handayani and Neiko Rasaki settle for a draw and are tied with 2.5 points each.

The Under-20 competition had a four-way tie atop the leaderboard with Surya Wahyudi, the bronze medalist at the 2002 World Youth Chess Olympiad, Hesnud Daulah, Endi Gunawan and Ferdinand Hutabarat all registering a perfect 3 points each.

The tournament, which will run until March 24 with a total of Rp 50 million on offer, also features an exhibition among celebrities.