FM Nurdin Askali of South Celebes surprisingly emerged victorious in the chess event. He collected 8 VP. FM Irwanto Sadikin (DKI Jakarta) gained the same VP but lost on the PS tie-break. At the third place was FM Kasmiran (DKI Jakarta). The Elo favorites FM Maksum Firdaus and FM Irawan Tjhin could only score 50%.
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.
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.
The event turned out to be GM Edhi Handoko’s exhibition. He scored mercilessly, 18 VP out of 20 games or 90%. The one man show was easy to predict since no other national chess élite participated. NM Nessy Suheri, NM Cecep Kosasih, and NM Abir Dipo were probably the closest ones that could give Handoko a decent game.
Bojonegoro, a city in East Java, held a national chess event for the first time. The event drew attentions of 80 players from five provinces. The players came from East Java, Central Java, DI Yogyakarta, Bali, and West Nusa Tenggara. The first three provinces practically sent their strongest players.
The old guard was back. It was too early to write off a veteran Arovah Bachtiar although he had been humbled in the last two National Chess Championships by his younger counterpart, IM Ardiansyah. Arovah won the National Championship crown for the fourth time. His first was almost two decades ago in 1953.
