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Susanto realistic about chances at Indonesia Open
Indonesiaâs number-one Grandmaster (GM) Susanto Megaranto is being realistic about his chances at the ongoing Indonesia Open Chess Championship (IOCC) in Jakarta
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ndonesia's number-one Grandmaster (GM) Susanto Megaranto is being realistic about his chances at the ongoing Indonesia Open Chess Championship (IOCC) in Jakarta.
Susanto said it was unlikely he would be able to emulate his performance in 2011, when he finished in the top 10.
'This tournament has many strong grandmasters. I don't think I can repeat [what I did in 2011],' he told The Jakarta Post after his game against Ronald Bancot in the opening round of the tournament at the Grand Sahid Jaya Hotel on Thursday.
He made a strong start by defeating the Philippine player in 36 moves.
After his impeccable run two years ago, when he stunned then-top seed GM Alexey Dreev en route to attaining a top-10 place, Susanto performed below par last year, finishing in only 16th place.
'I'm only seeded 20th now. I will be content with playing as well as possible in each game,' he said.
Against Bancod, Susanto capitalized on his opponent's blunder in the 29th move.
'The game was even until he made a mistake with his rook. The rook should have moved to d-file instead of a-file,' he said.
The mistake left Bancod unable to regain parity as he swiftly began to lose several pieces, according to Susanto.
Elsewhere, Medina Warda Aulia, who has just been awarded a WGM (Women's Grandmaster) title after her outstanding run in Turkey recently, could only book a draw but the result was a relief, given the higher rating of her opponent.
Medina drew with GM Ghaem Ehsan of Iran in a game of 37 moves.
'He offered me a draw and I accepted after playing a few more moves,' she said.
'Of course, I'm happy. He is a GM,' she said.
Her fellow women's player, Chelsie Monica Sihite, was less fortunate, losing to GM Antoaneta Stefanova, the former world champion from Bulgaria.
The first of 11 rounds saw the top seeds ease past their respective opponents. GM Alexander Moiseenko of Ukraine defeated Dede Lioe, while British GM Nigel Short overcame GM Ardiansyah.
GM Alexey Dreev (Russia), GM Ganguly Surya Sekhar (India) and GM Ivan Sokolov (Netherlands) also made it through to round two.
