Twenty four players from 10 countries, including Indonesia, started their title campaigns at the 2019 JAPFA Grandmaster and Women Grandmaster Chess Tournament on Thursday, day one of an eight-day battle at the Hotel Grand Inna Malioboro, Yogyakarta.

The winner of the men’s tournament will receive US$2,000, while the women’s champion will win $1,500. Eleven round-robin matches are scheduled for both the men’s and women’s events. The World Chess Federation (FIDE) set each game at 90 minutes with 30 seconds per move.

The men’s tournament was opened with a two-minute blitz exhibition between Indonesian grandmaster Susanto Megaranto and international master Sophie Milliet of France. The battle was won by the host player.

Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) chief Utut Adianto, a grandmaster himself, said Indonesia deployed 12 players for both tournaments, while the remaining 12 come from elsewhere in Asia and Europe.

Utut said the organizers chose Yogyakarta due to Java Island’s strong potential in chess. Aside from seeking new talents, Indonesia is also hoping to refine its players’ skills by having them face off against greats from Asia and Europe.

“We really hope our players can increase their Elo ratings here in order to create more grandmasters at a young age. The event is also a good training ground for [Indonesians] Susanto and women’s grandmaster Medina Warda Aulia, who are preparing for the upcoming World Cup,” said Utut.

Percasi’s head of development and achievement Kristianus Liem said Susanto and Medina earned spots in the World Cup after winning the FIDE Zone 3.3 Eastern Asia Chess Championship in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in April.

Susanto will compete in the qualification round of the 2019 World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, in September and October, while Medina will take part in the Women’s World Chess Cup in Minsk, Belarus, in September and October of 2020.

“The [Yogyakarta] tournament is our serious effort to push Susanto to be able to reach the second round of the World Cup. He often fails in the first round,” said Kristianus.

Chief organizer Kristianus said he invited international players with the grandmaster title and high Elo ratings for the Yogyakarta showdown. Some of the invited players are grandmaster Dmitry Kokarev of Russia, grandmaster Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands, grandmaster Rustam Khusnutdinov of Kazakhstan, women’s grandmaster Gong Qianyun of Singapore and women’s grandmaster Keti Tsatsalashvili of Georgia.

Susanto, who has an Elo rating of 2548, played against Sokolov on Thursday afternoon in the first round. He said his toughest competition was Kokarev (Elo 2609).

“It will be a tough battle,” he said, adding that such tournaments were needed to develop Indonesian players so that they could gain points for their Elo ratings.

In the women’s event, Indonesian international master Chelsie Monica Ignesias Sihite gave a surprise showing, defeating Milliet in the first round.

Meanwhile, JAPFA corporate affairs director Rachmat Indrajaya said the company was committed to supporting Indonesian chess, especially in searching for new talents.

“It is key for China and other Asian countries to topple the United States and Russia in the world of chess,” he added.

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