It was GM Utut Adianto himself who encouraged him to achieve more. Novendra, who is sponsored  by heavy equipment distributor PT United Tractors, is the eighth Indonesian chess player to secure the title. Its has been 16 years since Susanto Megaranto claimed the same title in 2004 when he was 17.

“Novendra’s journey to grandmaster has been filled with many ups and downs. Is this the end of the journey [for Novendra]? I say no. Ideally, Novendra needs to be able to earn an Elo rating of 2,700,” said Utut, who is also the head of Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi).

“[Being] grandmaster is an achievement. Ideally, a grandmaster should stay in Europe, tour [the region] to compete in tournaments,” he added.

Utut, who is also a lawmaker, said Percasi was discussing a training program to increase Novendra's Elo rating.

Utut advised his junior to focus on his career and to not think about other things, like getting married. 

“Most of the problems faced by Indonesian athletes are non-technical. We should ask about his commitment. Success cannot be achieved without sacrifice,” he said.

“He has a chance to improve as he is just entering the prime age of 20 to 30 years old. Next, he will compete against the crème de la crème, such as Magnus Carlsen,” he added, referring to the current world chess champion from Norway. 

Novendra earned an Elo rating of 2,500 to earn his GM title after beating international master (IM) Klaudia Kulon of Poland at the Liberec Open in the Czech Republic.He collected 8.5 points after nine rounds. 

Novendra, who started playing chess at the age of 6 after watching his father play the sport, has an Elo rating of 2,502. Playing with a carefree attitude was his key to winning the Liberec Open, said Novendra who said he often struggled with stage fright while competing.

Percasi development and achievements department head Kristianus Liem said Novendra would need to work hard to improve his research skills. In an era where technology has influenced sports, Kristianus said many chess players had been doing a lot of research on their opponents. 

 “In chess, it is really hard to advance to the next level. But some players can advance [drastically] once they surpass a certain level. I hope that is the case with Novendra, as he has reached GM level,” he added.

Novendra said he would go all-out to achieve super GM status.

“It will be an uphill battle from here on. I have to set a target to increase my Elo rating to 2,600 in two or three years,” he said.