IRENE KHARISMA SUKANDAR: (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

Chess prodigy Irene Kharisma Sukandar says it is a dream come true to have become Indonesia's first Woman Grand Master (WGM).

She achieved the feat at the tender age of 16 with an impressive performance at the chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany, late last month.

"What I've achieved now is definitely dedicated to Indonesian chess," well-mannered Irene told The Jakarta Post at her parents' home in Bekasi, West Java, recently. She resonated calm and maturity, dressed in a classic striped elbow-length shirt and brown trousers.

Irene was awarded the WGM crown after fulfilling the requirement of winning three GM norms with her latest victory in Dresden.

However, she remained oblivious to her achievement despite her victory until she was informed by ASEAN Chess Federation president Ignatius Leong during a regional tournament in Singapore in December.

The 11-round Dresden Olympiad was contested by 146 open teams and 111 women's teams from 152 countries.

Team Indonesia, which brought six male and six female players, had backed Irene to win the title and collect the WGM ranking.

Having secured victory with 6.5 points after the ninth of her scheduled 11 games at the competition, Irene had, according to team Indonesia's official Kristianus Liem, met the 2,409 career points needed to attain the a GM norm.

Irene chalked up another point in the last two games to bring her tournament total to 7.5.

None of Irene's past peers had ever achieved the feat, having only been able to reach International Master (IM).

While proud of her feat, Irene brushed aside the notion that her relative youth heightened the achievement.

"In Indonesia, people may consider it outstanding to take the title at my age ... but in the world it's quite normal," Irene said, adding that many world chess players, including a large number of men, had become (male) Grand Masters before turning 17, and that it was equally common for women to attain the rank before eighteen.

"I think this is all happening at the right time," said the chess player who was born in Jakarta on April 7, 1992.

Irene's pursuit of the title began early this year in Ukraine where she competed at the Cup of Rector International Chess Tournament in Kharlov in March.

Despite winning the tournament, she finished a point short of collecting her first GM norm, which eventually came at home at the Japfa Chess Festival the following month.

After helping the West Java chess team to five gold medals at the National Games in July, Irene collected her second GM norm at the Malaysia Open in August.

Irene notched 6.5 points from 10 games at the tournament, outwitting men's IM holder Richard Bitoon of the Philippines and WGM Wang Li of China to finish as the most successful woman at the tournament.

At Dresden, Irene secured six victories, three draws and two losses to help Indonesia's women's team finish 42 out of 111 teams and secure for herself a prestigious place in Indonesian history.

For Irene, the achievement is just the beginning. She aims to attain the rank of (men's) Grand Master and to break into the world's top 50.

The daughter of former national table tennis player Singgih Heyzkel and Cici Ratna Mulia said her experience playing competitive chess would make her an asset to society.

However, she said she was concerned about the negative connotations associated with the game.

"I'm sad about the fact that many Indonesians still associate chess with a lack of productivity, for example as a game for the unemployed."

She said it was a national mind-set that chess was associated with the blue-collar community.

"Actually, we can earn something from the game. By playing chess I want to become a role model for the kids," said the 12th-grader at Nusantara High School in Jakarta.

She received Rp 500 million in bonus prize money for her contribution to her province at the National Games.

Irene was drawn to playing chess by her older brother, national chess player Kaisar Jenius Hakiki. Although she began playing at the relatively senior age of 7, her talent became evident early on.

Helped by Eka Putra Wirya, owner of the Utut Adianto Chess School, Irene turned into a formidable chess player.

She won her first Master title at the age of 9, when she prevailed at a senior national tournament in 2001. A year later, she was crowned as the youngest Indonesian National Master.

In 2003, Irene joined the Indonesian team as the youngest member at age 12, contributing to two silver medals at the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.

The same year, she won her first international title -- FIDE Master (FM) -- after she, as a debutante, won a silver medal at the 36th Chess Olympiad in Spain.

She attributed her success to the support of her family.

"I think chess is the family's sport. Even my younger sister, 5-year-old Diajeng, has started competing in local chess tournaments," said Irene, who enjoys reading, swimming and learning Mandarin when she is not notching up international chess titles.

She admitted boredom was a real obstacle at times, but added that she had a technique to motivate herself before matches.

Next year will provide Irene with tougher challenges on and off the chessboard as she prepares to enroll at university, a time she says will be "a new chapter in my life".

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