The 2018 Japfa Chess Festival ended Saturday on a positive note as the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) chairman Utut Adianto said the country’s chess made good news in two events.

Utut’s statement referred to the success of Women Grandmaster (WGM) Medina Warda Aulia in winning a duel against the Philippine’s WGM Janelle Mae Frayna. In a five round battle held since Tuesday, Medina dominated Frayna with 3.5 against 1.5 points as their match on Saturday ended in a draw.

Medina deserved to bring home the US$1,000 in prize money from the duel, while Frayna had to settle for a $600 check.

Utut, one among few grandmasters in the country, also highlighted the success of young star Samantha Edithso, who won the 2018 World Cadet Chess Championship in the under-10 girls’ category in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain on Thursday.

The country’s firecracker, whose achievements have been rising rapidly after winning the 44th Selangor Open Chess Tournament last year, was triumphant after beating opponents such as Alexandra Shvedova of Russia and Yining Chen of China.

“All these achievements cannot be separated from the support from the sponsor of Japfa,” Utut said, referring to the almost 20-year-partnership between the two parties.

“Today’s festival is the most rousing festival. Every participant from the junior to the veteran is playing in a happy mood,” he said.

Through the festival, which entered its 11th edition, he went on to say that there had been a shift in success from senior chess player to junior chess players. The result of the festival in the men’s senior category, for example, the youngsters dominated the tournament by claiming the two top podium places.

International Master (IM) Novendra Priasmoro, 18, and FIDE Master (FM) Arif Abdul Hafiz, 19, clinched first and second prize in the men’s senior category, beating top names and seniors such as Grandmaster (GM) Susanto Megaranto, who won the festival’s open category last year, and GM Cerdas Barus.

Novendra collected eight points after competing in all nine rounds, followed by Arif with 7.5 points. Hamdani Rudin trailed in third place with seven points.

The festival was not only dominated by experienced chess players but also put new names into the spotlight. Evi Yuliana, 16, of East Kalimantan, who competed for the first time in the festival, finished third in the women’s senior category.

The achievement was significant for Evi’s career as she does not have any titles to her name, compared to her opponents in the category that included several Woman Fide Master (WFM) players.

“I actually didn’t set any target in the tournament. I previously planned to take part in the junior U-18 but decided to compete in the senior class to gain experience,” she told The Jakarta Post.

She admitted she was quite nervous competing with experienced players but tried to hide it.

“I learned so many things from this event. I need to work on my opening and also control my time better,” said the second year student at East Kalimantan’s International Sports High School.

At the same occasion, Japfa Comfeed Indonesia Independent director Rachmat Indrajaya emphasized his company’s commitment to supporting Percasi to further develop chess in the country.

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