Indonesian chess stars

Though far from the spotlight, Indonesian chess players are confident they can shine at the upcoming Asian Games.

The Indonesian Chess Federation (Percasi) has prepared a tight schedule for its leading chess players — WGM Irene Kharisma Sukandar and GM Susanto Megaranto – in order to star at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in November.

“I always hope and do the best I can. But we will face very stiff competition there, and in my opinion, a bronze medal may be the best result for me. But nothing is impossible,” said Irene, who is Indonesia’s first woman grandmaster.

She finished eight in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, while Susanto was 17th.

Irene earned her WGM title in December 2008, when she was just 16.

Susanto became the youngest Indonesian full grandmaster at 17, breaking the previous record held by Utut Adianto, who earned his title when he was 21.

Irene and Susanto are now playing international duels at the Japfa Chess Festival in the Pyramid Building at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Jakarta.

Irene is playing WGM Tania Sachdev of India, while Susanto is pitting his wits against GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia.

Sachdev is not a stranger to Irene, as both women have met twice before, in 2008 and 2009. Both matches ended in draws.

Irene, 18, said Sachdev was not an easy opponent.

“She holds both WGM and GM titles, while she also has more experience than me as she has played in many more tournaments and duels,” she said.

But it is a different affair for Susanto, who had never met his opponent before.

After playing two matches on Thursday, Irene led Sachdev 1.5-0.5, while Susanto was 1.5-0.5 behind Mchedlishvili.

They will play six games through Monday.

Both Irene and Susanto have endured endless tournaments since March 20. Before playing in the duel, they took part in the Kuala Lumpur Open, which ended on Monday.