It was sink or swim for the Indonesian chess players on the closing day of the 2019 JAPFA Grandmaster and Women Grandmaster tournament in Yogyakarta, and the swim did not last long as they failed to withstand the attacks of their opponents.

The country squad must content itself with the performance of International Master (IM) Novendra Priasmoro finishing third in the grandmaster event and Woman International Master (WIM) Chelsie Monica Sihite claiming fifth rank in the Women Grandmaster event for failing to produce a win in the 11th round on Friday.

Novendra finished the tournament with a draw against Grand Master (GM) Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands. Playing black, the 20-year-old could not overcome the pressure produced by his seasoned opponent.

“I lost a pawn in the beginning and eventually lost another three pawns,” said Novendra after the game. “Actually, I thought I was going to lose the game, but I think [my opponent] was quite tired, so he flunked to seal the victory.”

Novendra learned that a seasoned player like Sokolov was not easily tricked, as he tried to attack him but ended up losing a pawn, which forced him to play defensively mid-game.

Overall, Novendra collected 7 points, trailing Kazakh GM Rustam Khusnutdinov, who won the Grandmaster Tournament with 7.5 points. The second place went to GM Dmitry Kokarev of Russia, also with 7 points but ahead of Novendra in terms of tie break points.

Khusnutdinov concluded the tournament by recording another draw with his former main rival during his junior years, GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia.

The Kazakh told The Jakarta Post that he was quite surprised by Susanto’s approach in opening the game but tried to stay calm.

Khusnutdinov said the result was unexpected, as he had been absent for a long time from competitions. The last time the Kazakh competed in a tournament was in December.

“I did not expect anything much, as I don’t play professionally anymore. I am a coach now. I did not have a special preparation ahead of this tournament, but it’s good for me to come back once in a while to get fresh ideas,” he said.

Susanto, who took the JAPFA tournament as a training ground for the 2019 Chess World Cup in Russia in September, finished fourth, while woman grandmaster (WGM) Medina Warda Aulia was at the bottom of the leaderboard of 12 contestants.

In the concurrent Women Grandmaster Tournament, WIM Phuong Hanh Luong of Vietnam claimed the title after beating Indonesian hopeful WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite in the 11th round.

Luong said Chelsie was her toughest opponent in the tournament, especially as she played black in the last round against the Indonesian.

“I benefitted from a blunder she made at the end of the game,” said Luong.

Chelsie, meanwhile, came fifth in the final standings.

Despite flunking her last attempt to win the tournament, Chelsie nevertheless gained her second WGM norm in the tournament. She needs to collect more points to be awarded the WGM title.

Georgia’s WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili and France’s IM Sophie Milliet trailed Phuong in second and third place.

The Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) development and achievement head Kristianus Liem said he was concerned about the Indonesians easily offering draws in the tournament — especially when playing against compatriots.

“Sokolov told me there were many Indonesians who offered a draw quickly. That’s unfortunate, because they should’ve treated the tournament seriously,” he added.

Kristianus lauded Novendra as one the few players showing commitment throughout the tournament.

Besides Chelsie, other players who earned a norm were Luong and Pujari Rucha of India for their respective future WGM title, as well as Indonesia’s woman FIDE master (WFM) Ummi Fisabilillah for her future WIM.

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