JAPFA Chess Festival

News on Irene Kharisma Sukandar's quest for a WGM norm: April 21, 2008 Irene edges 1st Grandmaster norm The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesia's chess star Irene Kharisma Sukandar is only one win away from earning her first Grandmaster norm after she beat the odds by outsmarting top seed Woman Grandmaster Li Ruofan of Singapore in the ninth round of the Japfa Chess Festival. The 16-year-old Woman International Master, who is expected to become the first Indonesian to claim the Woman Grandmaster title, ended Ruofan's unbeaten run on the 23rd move in Saturday's evening match at the Indonesian Sports Council in Central Jakarta. "I was surprised I won," she told The Jakarta Post. This was Irene's first win over the overnight leader. She drew Ruofan in both their meetings last year. "I guess she (Ruofan) was too tired so she made a fatal blunder in the middle of the game. She did not play her best," Irene said. Despite the victory, Irene, who has bagged 5.5 points from three draws and four wins during the tournament, must win the last round against Woman Grandmaster Jana Krivec of Slovenia on Sunday to garner 6.5 points, the points required to claim a Grandmaster norm. In the eighth-round match in the morning, Irene drew Pokorna on the 39th move. Irene admitted the final match would be tough for her. She will be playing the black side in the match, a position she believes is unfavorable for taking the offensive. "I hope I can play relaxed and do my best, because it is such a decisive match," she said. "I found I could play my best when I played with a lot of composure. I hate that I did not find my best earlier on," she The Jakarta Post. Irene dropped her third and fourth rounds to Woman Grandmaster Regina Pokorna of Slovakia and Slovenian Krivec before finally regaining her momentum. She will spend the night preparing tactics for Sunday's match with her coach Tiber Karolyi of Hungary. She said earlier she needs "a miracle" to win her first norm after missing a golden opportunity last month during the Rector International Cup tournament in Ukraine. During the Cup, she posted 6 points, only one point away from grabbing a Grandmaster norm. Despite her loss on Saturday, Ruofan still topped the standings with 6 points. The 30-year-old player acknowledged the competition was really tough. Irene and Pokorna share second place with 5.5 points. At the time of writing, Catherine Perena of the Philippines was taking on Slovenian Krivec. ... (ind)

JAPFA Chess Festival

An update - Irene is hanging in there - having won her last 2 games, yippee! So, she still has a chance to get that coveted WGM norm. Here's the story from The JarkataPost.com: Irene keeps Grandmaster norm hopes alive at Japfa The Jakarta Post, Jakarta April 19, 2008 Indonesia's chess star Irene Kharisma Sukandar was handed a lifeline to pursue her Grandmaster hopes by defeating Woman FIDE Master Thanda Aye Win of Myanmar in the sixth round and Catherine Perena of the Philippines in the seventh of the Japfa Chess Festival. The 16-year-old Woman International Master, who has collected four points from two draws and three wins, will struggle to acquire at least 2.5 points from the remaining three rounds in order to become the first Indonesian woman to hold a grandmaster norm. "I was sure I would win that match because I had good positions. She (Win) made a fatal blunder in the middle of the game, which made it easier for me (to win)," Irene said Friday after defeating Win on the 43rd move. Previously in the third round match on Wednesday, she lost to Woman Grandmaster Regina Pokorna of Slovakia and tasted another bitter loss from Woman Grandmaster Jana Krivec of Slovenia the next morning. She admitted she was emotional after she lost her third and fourth rounds, but she managed to bounce back in the sixth round match by trying to focus her mind on winning every match. "I realize that my chance to get the required points is very small with those qualified players as my contenders. But I will try my best," she said, adding that it would be a "miracle" if God allowed her to get her first norm in the tournament. Irene will face a tough battle against Pokorna and top seed Woman Grandmaster Li Ruofan of Singapore on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ruofan continued her impeccable winning campaign by defeating Philippine Catherine Perena and drew Pokorna to garner 5.5 points to top the leaderboard. Placing second place was Slovakian Pokorna, who collected 4.5 from three draws and three wins. Irene and Slovenian Krivec shared third place. In the men's second- and third-round match, Indonesia's youngest Grandmaster Susanto Megaranto failed to earn any points after succumbing to the world's youngest Grandmaster Wesley So of the Philippines. "He is more patient than in our last meeting," Susanto said. The tournament, being held at the Indonesian Sports Council's hall, is the fourth meeting between the two Grandmaster title holders, with the Filipino taking a 3-0 lead. (JP/ind)

JAPFA Chess Festival

Another update on the Japfa International Chess Festival from The Jakarta Post.com: April 18, 2008 Irene faces tough climb to gain WGM norm The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesian Woman International Master Irene Kharisma Sukandar faces a rougher passage to gain her first Grandmaster norm after falling in her third and fourth round matches of the Japfa Chess Festival, Central Jakarta. Posting 1.5 points from one first-round win and second-round draw at the Indonesian Sports Council hall, the 16-year-old Indonesian star who is expected to become the first Indonesian Woman Grandmaster must garner at least five points from the remaining six rounds in order to reach her first Grandmaster norm. Last month, Irene, who eventually won the Cup of Rector International tournament in Ukraine, missed her first norm by a whisker -- bagging six points, or one point away from the seven-point requirement. "I made a positional mistake in the middle of the game," Irene said after losing to Woman Grandmaster Jana Krivec of Slovania on her 91st move in the fourth round Thursday. Earlier in the third round match late Wednesday, she gave up to Woman Grandmaster Regina Pokorna of Slovakia. Irene was playing top seed Woman Grandmaster Li Ruofan of Singapore in the fifth round Thursday evening. In the next rounds Friday, she will take on Woman FIDE Master Thanda Aye Win of Myanmar and Catherine Perena of the Philippines. Leader Ruofan, meanwhile, extended her winning streak after outsmarting Krivec and Win in the third and fourth rounds to score 3.5 points. "Actually, I had some problems in the middle of the game when my pieces' developing positions were not good. But suddenly she (Win) made a positional mistake and I took the chance (to beat her)," Ruofan said. The 30-year-old who has an Elo rating of 2,423 said she is determined to win in every match, citing that she had got some practice with her husband, Grandmaster Zhong Zhang of China, before the tournament. Trailing in second place was Slovakian Pokorna with 2.5 points. Philippine Perena and Slovenian Krivec shared a third place with 2 points. Perena said she set a target of 4.5 points for the tournament, in order to get her decisive norm for a Woman International Master title. (ind)

JAPFA Chess Festival

The Jakarta Post.com reports on the chess femmes participating in the Japfa International: April 17, 2008 Irene, Ruofan lead chess 2nd rd The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Indonesian Woman International Master hopeful, Irene Kharisma Sukandar, shared the lead with top seed Woman Grandmaster Li Ruofan of Singapore in the second round of the Japfa Chess Festival at the Indonesian Sports Council's hall on Wednesday. Irene beat Woman FIDE Master Thanda Aye Win of Myanmar in the first round on Tuesday and drew with Catherine Perena of the Philippines in the second round on Wednesday to collect 1.5 points. "I played very badly in the second round match with most of my pieces in bad positions. From the beginning, I let myself feel the pressure," 16-year-old chess player said with a sigh. "My chances of winning were very slim. That's why I accepted Catherine's offer of a draw." At the time of writing, Irene, who is chasing her first Grandmaster norm in the championship to become Indonesia's first Woman Grandmaster, was taking on Woman Grandmaster Regina Pokorna of Slovakia in Wednesday's third round match. The Indonesian Chess Association said Irene needed at least 6.5 points from the 10-round contest to win a Grandmaster norm. Irene is expecting tough battles on Thursday, playing Krivec in the fourth round and Ruofan in the fifth round. Top seed Ruofan, who defeated Slovakian Pokorna in the first round, also saw her campaign held back by the Philippine national master Perena in the second round. Ruofan was not immediately available for an interview Wednesday. Another Woman Grandmaster, Jana Krivec of Slovenia, had a rough start after drawing her first and second round matches with Regina Pokorna and Thanda Aye Win, respectively. One of those on the bottom of the ladder, Win, said she had not set any goals for the tournament, but enjoyed the contest. "This is the first time for me to play Grandmaster players. I am here to get some experience," the 25-year-old Woman FIDE Master said. (ind)

JAPFA Chess Festival

Irene Kharisma Sukandar in hot pursuit of 1st GM at JAPFA April 13, 2008 From TheJarkataPost.com Sports News After a narrow failure in Ukraine, Indonesia's leading women's chess player Irene Kharisma Sukandar will be given another chance to win her first grandmaster (GM) norm at the upcoming JAPFA Chess Festival in Jakarta next week. The chess festival will bring together 700 players from across the country to play in several categories with cash prizes totaling US$10,700, at the National Sports Council (KONI) headquarters in Central Jakarta from April 15 to 20. A competition in which foreigners contend will be a highlight of the festival. 16-year-old Irene will compete against five other female players from overseas. Another highlight will be Indonesia's new star Susanto Megaranto taking on Wesley So of the Philippines, another young chess prodigy. Irene will need to score at least 6.5 to win the round-robin tournament against Women's Grandmaster (WGM) Jana Krivec of Slovenia, WGM Regina Pokorna of Slovakia, WGM Li Roufan of Singapore, Women's FIDE Master (WFM) Thandar Aye Win of Myanmar and Perena Catherine of the Philippines. "It will be hard to get the points but I am optimistic about my chances," Irene said, adding that she had met all of the players before. Irene missed out on earning her first norm at the Cup of Rector international tournament in Ukraine last month when she only scored six points, well below the required point score. The Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) has been relying on Irene in its efforts to produce the first women's grandmaster in the country. Percasi has taken its campaign seriously, with Irene undergoing intensive training under the supervision of Hungarian Tibor Karolyi. Karolyi said he held seven-hour training sessions every day to prepare her for future tournaments. "Right now, her lexical knowledge is still behind European chess. But I think she shows promise to place in the world's top 20 in two years to come," he said during a media conference on Friday. Percasi's executive director Eka Putra Wirya said the matches would be tight with world ratings at stake. Meanwhile, Susanto, in his match against the world's youngest grand master Wesley So, will seek a redemption for his three losses in a six-round match against 15-year-old Wesley, whose rating is 2,540. Susanto's rating is 2,561. "He (Wesley) is very good at opening, so I will concentrate on that part," Susanto said. In last year's festival, Susanto was tied 3-3 against GM Zhang Zhong of China while Irene was beaten 1-5 by WGM Li Ruofan, who is also Zhang's wife. (ind)