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A great friendship match between players of Indonesia and India comes to an end

by Sagar Shah - 02/11/2019

The rapid and blitz match between players of India and Indonesia came to an end with the team ChessBase India winning the event with a score of 155.5 versus Indonesia's 144.5. The hosts had a 10-point lead after the rapid section and the score stood at 105-95. In the blitz event things were extremely close and India managed to edge out their rivals with a score of 50.5-49.5. This resulted in an overall victory of 155.5-144.5. The event proved to be a great learning experience for both sides. Apart from chess, it also created an atmosphere of friendship and camaraderie between two countries. The event was jointly organized by Percasi (Indonesian Chess Association), ChessBase India and Chess Gurukul. We thank each one involved in this endeavour for making it a big success.

At the end of the rapid section of the match, ChessBase India led with a score 105 points against 95 to the Indonesian team. The match next went into the blitz phase. The Indonesians started off really well, but towards the end, the hosts pulled back a few critical games and when the blitz ended the score was 50-49.5 in the favour of Indian players!

Blitz Match Results
Round - 1   Round - 6  
INDIA 3.5 INDIA 6
INDONESIA 6.5 INDONESIA 4
       
Round - 2   Round - 7  
INDIA 4 INDIA 5.5
INDONESIA 6 INDONESIA 4.5
       
Round - 3   Round - 8  
INDIA 3.5 INDIA 5.5
INDONESIA 6.5 INDONESIA 4.5
       
Round - 4   Round - 9  
INDIA 3 INDIA 7
INDONESIA 7 INDONESIA 3
       
Round - 5   Round - 10  
INDIA 7 INDIA 5.5
INDONESIA 3 INDONESIA 4.5

The first four rounds were dominated by Indonesian players, but then the Indians seemed to have got a measure of their opposition and won the remaining rounds.

Novendra Priasmoro, who is well known for his tactical skills, was unsurprisingly the highest scorer for the Indonesian team - 7.5/10. Susanto Megaranto and Muhammad Erwan played excellently to score 7.0/10.

Arjun Kalyan, who didn't have the best of rapid events, was back at the blitz wit vengeance. He scored 8.5/10 with a massive eight wins! The young lad Sreeshwan Maralakshikari scored 8.0/10 and Bharat Subramaniyam also played well to score 6.5/10.

The overall score of the match was:

Team ChessBase India 155.5 vs Indonesia 144.5

The Indonesian team received USD 400 for their efforts (from left to right): Muhammad Lutfi Ali, Novendra Priasmoro, Muhamad Ervan, Dede Lioe, Irene Sukandar, Chelsea Monica Sihite, Medina Aulia Warda, Susanto Megaranto, Ummi Fisibilillah and Sean Winshand Cuhendi | Photo: Kristianus Liem/Percasi

The players from India took home the winner's purse of USD 600. This prize fund was sponsored by the Indonesian Chess Federation. (From left to right): S. Rohit, Kristianus Liem, Rathanvel, Sreeshwan Maralakshikari, Suyog Wagh, Leon Mendonca, Arjun Kalyan, Bharat Subramaniyam (holding the money!), Karthikeyan Murali, Raghavi N., V. Varshini | Photo: Kristianus Liem/Percasi

In the evening, Microsense Managing Director Kailasanathan invited the Indonesian team for the felicitation ceremony of three Indian youngsters P. Iniyan, Raunak Sadhwani and Prithu Gupta by Vishy Anand. This picture is a nice memory for the Indonesian team.  | Photo: Kristianus Liem/Percasi

Kristianus Liem, the manager of the Indonesian team with India's latest GM Raunak Sadhwani | Photo: Kristianus Liem/Percasi

Feedback for the event:

Kristianus Liem, manager of Indonesian team: "The event was very useful for the Indonesian team. Because only by playing against strong opponents can we find and see the weaknesses of our players. We are sure this experience will help us perform better at the South East Asian Games."

Karthikeyan Murali: "It was a very nice experience. A good training for rapid and blitz format with strong players. Many thanks to the Indonesian team for organising this training match!"

Leon Mendonca: "1. Considering it was 'Chess' and a 'friendly match' I thoroughly enjoyed every moment !!!

2. I have not played many rapid  games so it felt good playing this particular time control. Besides I love playing blitz.

3. I understood the 'Indonesian style of play' which has added to my wealth of experience. 

4. I love Chennai for millions of reasons and will always look for an excuse to come back here!"

Arjun Kalyan: "It was a great experience both entertaining and instructive. The quality of both the teams was very good and we had fun analysis sessions after the games. It was also quite competitive and exciting. Thanks to ChessBase India and all others who organised this match."

Suyog Wagh: "It was great experience. I tried many different openings. Also learnt many different things from them." Suyog played excellent chess at the event scoring 7.5/10 in the rapid. He is now playing the National Juniors 2019. It will be interesting to follow his performance there!

A big thanks to GM R.B. Ramesh and Chess Gurukul for hosting the event at their academy!

Lastly, a big thanks to Kristianus Liem, the manager of the team, for organizing this entire trip. For coming to India which led to learning, training and exposure not only for the Indonesian players, but also ten Indian players. Not to forget the added benefit of friendships and camaraderie that were created in these four days between the players of these two countries. It was truly a unique match and we at ChessBase India are proud to have organized it.

The Indonesian team go back with a nice memory of their visit to India! | Photos: Kristianus Liem/Percasi