Indonesian grandmaster Susanto Megaranto has collected 4.5 points after defeating grandmaster Dmitry Kokarev of Russia following a tight four-hour match at the 2019 JAPFA Grandmaster and Woman Grandmaster Chess Tournament.

Susanto was left with little breathing room right from the get go, with Dmitry starting with an aggressive strategy.

After enduring strike after strike, he managed to edge out his opponent with a single-pawn maneuver.

“Dmitry has been my strongest opponent. He is also the number one seed in this tournament. This was a satisfying win,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Susanto acknowledged that defeating Dmitry was critical for him in the lead up to the 2019 World Chess Championship in Russia. Susanto is the only player to have defeated the Russian.

Prior to the tilt, Susanto scored a victory against grandmaster Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands, the tourney’s second seed.

Indonesian Chess Association development and achievement head Kristianus Liem praised the victory, saying it was positive for the entire Indonesian team.

“The win has been an extraordinary for us,” he said.

Grandmaster Rustam Khusnutdinov of Kazakhstan defeated international master Ravi Teja of India. Khusnutdinov tops the standings with 5 points, followed by Susanto Megaranto on the second position and on third with 4 points.

In the women’s grandmaster category, the sixth and seventh rounds of matches saw first-seeded international master Sophie Millet of France shine. She defeated international master Alina L’Ami of Romania and international master Keti Tsatsalshvili of Georgia. She seemed to have learned from her mistakes in the early rounds, when she managed to gain just one victory while losing three times and drawing once.

Also on the women’s side, international master Dewi Ardhiani Anastasia Citra of Indonesia surprised everyone, defeating second-seeded grandmaster Gong Qiayun of Singapore. Dewi also drew against international master Rucha Pujari of India, who, along with World Chess Federation (FIDE) master Ummi Fisabilillah of Indonesia, saw the biggest points jump with 5.5.

Ummi, who had to defeat fellow Indonesian FIDE master Monica Putri Wigustira to climb the ranks, only needs another half point to earn the international master rank.

“This victory has boosted my fighting spirit and is likely to pave the way to my future victory,” she said.

The tournament ends Friday.

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