Semarang City team won the event. It was no surprise since the team practically fielded the best players in Central Java: Joko Santoso, Nursiyo, Jumadi, Saiful Fajar, and Marwanto. The event was held in Ungaran, a capital city of Semarang Regency. The city is famous as one of culinary destinations in Central Java.
We in IndonesiaBase are still working on Indonesia National Championships facts and games. Let us know if you find something incorrect or missing. GM Ardiansyah is holding the record by winning the title five times but GM Susanto Megaranto most possibly would break the record sooner or later.
Overseas players dominated the arena. No Indonesian players were found in the big ten. The best Indonesian player was Denny Juswanto at 11th. A consolation prize for the host came from Sebastian Simanjuntak. He secured IM norm with Myanmar’s Zaw Win Lay and Philippines’ Luis Chiong Romero.
Indonesian ace GM Utut Adianto Wahjoewidajat added another highlight to his already glittering résumé although this time he had to share it with GM Jörg Hickl, an eccentric player from Germany. For Hickl the win should be a relief after his disastrous performance in a previous tournament in Indonesia that left him in the bottom of the table.
FM Salor Sitanggang took the title in the expense of much higher rated players such as IM Ardiansyah, IM Edhi Handoko, and IM Ronny Gunawan. The way Sitanggang handled the end games reminds us of a 2600+ rated player. The Elo favorites, Edhi Handoko and Ronny Gunawan, were surprisingly out of sorts, only placed in 4th and 9th.
World Microcomputer Chess Championship (WMCC) was an annual event organized by the ICGA. In this 14th WMCC in Jakarta, Stefan Meyer-Kahlen’s Shredder from Germany became the champion. Israel’s Junior had been denied entry to Indonesia and as a result a number of programs pulled out in protest.
Male players in a women chess event? Indeed. IM Irwanto Sadikin and GM Edhi Handoko played ruthlessly and placed themselves on the top two. The tournament winner, Sadikin, let only two draws and trounced the other nine. The best female player was Evi Lindiawati from Indonesia at fourth.
