The surprise winner of the event was Johny Suwuh of DKI Jakarta. He won ahead of more heralded players IM Ardiansyah, Arovah Bachtiar, and defending champion Jacobus Sampouw. Suwuh was not really a new face in the chess arena. He had been playing since 1960s but had never made a breakthrough until this event.
Chess has been contested in the 15th Asian Games at Doha, Qatar, December 2-14 2006. The tryouts were part of Indonesian team’s preparation for the event. They consisted of three matches involving three members of Indonesian team and three overseas players: Adianto vs Timman, Megaranto vs Torre, and Sukandar vs Krivec.
A chess-master-turns-successful-lawyer Lugito Hayadi (aka Lim Hong Gie) has a habit to be ‘the first’ of many things. He is among the first Indonesian NMs. He got the title at only 15 that practically made him the first Indonesian chess wonder kid. ICCF awarded him an IM Corr title in 1965. He is the first Indonesian ever to get that title.
The chess event ended bitter for the first seed WGM Anastasia Gutsko. She placed herself at 5th, only better than the tailender Indonesian Yemi Jelsen. The Ukraine WGM actually started very well. She beat Jelsen and Russian WGM Anna Burtasova in the first two rounds. In round 3 she was hit by a shameful accident. Her cell phone was ringing that caused her got forfeited.
Indonesia had a new chess champion in 28-year-old Jacobus Sawandar Sampouw who employed an interesting style. The Ujung Pandang born tended to play positionally with a big attention to the opening details, something that we couldn’t find from the past champions such as Arovah Bachtiar or Ardiansyah.
Dominos Fritz Kilian Nicolas Harahap had an 8-year-stint as a Chairman of Percasi (All Indonesia Chess Federation) during 1956-64. Although he was no longer a Percasi official, he remained as a prominent figure among Indonesian chess community. The event was held by Percasi to pay tribute to him.
GM Utut Adianto was the heavy favorite to win the match. He not only had a rating upper hand but also had been involved in high profile blindfold matches with the likes of Judit Polgár and Anatoly Karpov. However GM Zhū Chén of China wasn’t to be discounted. Nevertheless she was the reigning Women World Chess Champion.
