A ten-point lead for the hosts as we head to Blitz!

by Sagar Shah - 31/10/2019

Four rounds of rapid chess each were held on 29th and 30th of October 2019 between the ChessBase India team and Indonesia. After the first two rounds, we mentioned in our day one report that Indonesia had built up a commanding lead with 24-16. However, the Indians fought back and at the end of day two, and six rounds the lead had narrowed down to just two points - ChessBase India-59 and Indonesia-61. On day three, the Indian players managed to play some good chess and the rapid portion of the match has ended with a score of 105-95. A ten point lead for the hosts. But the match isn't over yet. We now move into the blitz section that will be played today (31st of October). There are 100 points at stake. Can the Indonesian team make a comeback?

What is this event about?

This event is a friendly match between 10 players of India and Indonesian national team. It has 10 rounds of rapid (15+10) and 10 rounds of blitz (3+2). The Indonesian team have travelled to Chennai for this event as a preparation for their South East Asian Games. The event is organized by ChessBase India along with Percasi (Indonesian Chess Federation) and Chess Gurukul. The event is hosted at Chess Gurukul in Chennai.

Day two and three of Rapid

When Day two began the scores were 24:16 (a win in rapid is two points) in the favour of Indonesia. The second round ended in a thumping win for the visitors with a score of 15:5. This is what happened on day 2:

Round 3: Indonesia 6 vs ChessBase India 14

Round three proved to be an excellent one for India. Raghavi got her first win against IM Dede Lioe, Suyog Wagh managed to beat Muhamad Ervan and Sreeshwan Maralakshikari got the the better of Novendra Priasmoro. Cumulative Score: ChessBase India 30 vs Indonesia 30

No.	White		Black
1	WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite [2252]	0 - 1	GM Karthikeyan Murali [2617]
2	IM Dede Lioe [2314]	0 - 1	WIM N. Raghavi [2162]
3	IM Muhamad Lutfi Ali [2399]	0 - 1	IM Bharath Subramaniyam [2417]
4	WFM Ummi Fisabilillah [2196]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Leon Mendonca [2388]
5	S. Rohit [2214]	0 - 1	IM Sean Winshand Cuhendi [2425]
6	IM Rathanvel [2410]	1/2 - 1/2	GM Susanto Megaranto [2550]
7	Suyog Wagh [2229]	1 - 0	IM Muhamad Ervan [2356]
8	IM Irene Kharisma Sukandar [2400]	0 - 1	IM Arjun Kalyan [2483]
9	IM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari [2449]	1 - 0	IM Novendra Priasmoro [2484]
10	WIM Varshini [2217]	0 - 1	WGM Medina Warda Aulia [2360]

Round 4: Indonesia 10 vs ChessBase India 10

No draws! This was a round of decisive games. Arjun Kalyan winning against Novendra was an important game. Medina Warda Aulia struck back with a nice win against Sreeshwan. The end result was a 10:10 round. Cumulative Score: ChessBase India 40 vs Indonesia 40

No.	White		Black
1	IM Bharath Subramaniyam [2417]	1 - 0	WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite [2252]
2	GM Karthikeyan Murali [2617]	1 - 0	IM Dede Lioe [2314]
3	IM Leon Mendonca [2388]	1 - 0	IM Muhamad Lutfi Ali [2399]
4	WFM Ummi Fisabilillah [2196]	0 - 1	S. Rohit [2214]
5	IM Sean Winshand Cuhendi [2425]	1 - 0	IM Rathanvel [2410]
6	WIM N. Raghavi [2162]	0 - 1	GM Susanto Megaranto [2550]
7	IM Muhamad Ervan [2356]	1 - 0	WIM Varshini [2217]
8	IM Irene Kharisma Sukandar [2400]	1 - 0	Suyog Wagh [2229]
9	IM Arjun Kalyan [2483]	1 - 0	IM Novendra Priasmoro [2484]
10	WGM Medina Warda Aulia [2360]	1 - 0	IM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari [2449]

Round 5: ChessBase India 7 vs Indonesia 13

Indonesians were back to their winning ways here. Both the top two seeds of India fell in this round when Sean Winshand Cuhendi got the better of Arjun Kalyan and Novendra Priasmoro beat Karthikeyan Murali. Things indeed looked bright for Indonesia as they raced to a solid six point lead. Cumulative Score: ChessBase India 47 vs Indonesia 53

No.	White		Black
1	WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite [2252]	1 - 0	WIM Varshini [2217]
2	IM Dede Lioe [2314]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Bharath Subramaniyam [2417]
3	Suyog Wagh [2229]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Muhamad Lutfi Ali [2399]
4	IM Rathanvel [2410]	1 - 0	WFM Ummi Fisabilillah [2196]
5	IM Arjun Kalyan [2483]	0 - 1	IM Sean Winshand Cuhendi [2425]
6	GM Susanto Megaranto [2550]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Leon Mendonca [2388]
7	WIM N. Raghavi [2162]	0 - 1	IM Muhamad Ervan [2356]
8	IM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari [2449]	1 - 0	IM Irene Kharisma Sukandar [2400]
9	IM Novendra Priasmoro [2484]	1 - 0	GM Karthikeyan Murali [2617]
10	WGM Medina Warda Aulia [2360]	1 - 0	S. Rohit [2214]

Round 6: ChessBase India 12 vs Indonesia 8

This was the final round on day two and it set the tone up for the rest of the match. 12:8 was the most common margin with which India beat Indonesia in most of the rounds in day 3. Rohit S. won against Monica Sihite, Dede Lioe fought back to beat Rathanvel, Sreeshwan scored big upset by outwitting Megaranto and Varshini struck gold by beating Irene Sukandar. Cumulative Score: ChessBase India 59 vs Indonesia 61

No.	White		Black
1	S. Rohit [2214]	1 - 0	WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite [2252]
2	IM Dede Lioe [2314]	1 - 0	IM Rathanvel [2410]
3	IM Muhamad Lutfi Ali [2399]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Arjun Kalyan [2483]
4	WFM Ummi Fisabilillah [2196]	0 - 1	Suyog Wagh [2229]
5	IM Sean Winshand Cuhendi [2425]	1 - 0	WIM N. Raghavi [2162]
6	GM Susanto Megaranto [2550]	0 - 1	IM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari [2449]
7	IM Leon Mendonca [2388]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Muhamad Ervan [2356]
8	WIM Varshini [2217]	1 - 0	IM Irene Kharisma Sukandar [2400]
9	IM Bharath Subramaniyam [2417]	0 - 1	IM Novendra Priasmoro [2484]
10	GM Karthikeyan Murali [2617]	1 - 0	WGM Medina Warda Aulia [2360]

Round 7: ChessBase India 12 vs Indonesia 8

Day two ended with India just two points behind Indonesia. But on day three Indians came well prepared. They took the lead in round seven with the help of wins by Varshini beating Dede Lioe and Suyog Wagh beating Megaranto Susanto. Leon's win over Irene Sukandar was an important one as well. Cumulative Score: ChessBase India 71 vs Indonesia 69

No.	White		Black
1	WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite [2252]	0 - 1	IM Rathanvel [2410]
2	WIM Varshini [2217]	1 - 0	IM Dede Lioe [2314]
3	IM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari [2449]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Muhamad Lutfi Ali [2399]
4	IM Arjun Kalyan [2483]	1 - 0	WFM Ummi Fisabilillah [2196]
5	IM Bharath Subramaniyam [2417]	0 - 1	IM Sean Winshand Cuhendi [2425]
6	Suyog Wagh [2229]	1 - 0	GM Susanto Megaranto [2550]
7	IM Muhamad Ervan [2356]	1/2 - 1/2	GM Karthikeyan Murali [2617]
8	IM Irene Kharisma Sukandar [2400]	0 - 1	IM Leon Mendonca [2388]
9	IM Novendra Priasmoro [2484]	1 - 0	S. Rohit [2214]
10	WGM Medina Warda Aulia [2360]	1 - 0	WIM N. Raghavi [2162]

Round 8: ChessBase India 12 vs Indonesia 8

Chelsie Sihite and Muhamad Lutfi were the only two players who scored a win in round 8 for Indonesia. Suyog Wagh continued his excellent run as he got the better of Sean Winshand Cuhendi. Cumulative Score: ChessBase India 83 vs Indonesia 77

No.	White		Black
1	WIM N. Raghavi [2162]	0 - 1	WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite [2252]
2	S. Rohit [2214]	1 - 0	IM Dede Lioe [2314]
3	IM Muhamad Lutfi Ali [2399]	1 - 0	WIM Varshini [2217]
4	WFM Ummi Fisabilillah [2196]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari [2449]
5	IM Sean Winshand Cuhendi [2425]	0 - 1	Suyog Wagh [2229]
6	GM Susanto Megaranto [2550]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Arjun Kalyan [2483]
7	IM Muhamad Ervan [2356]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Bharath Subramaniyam [2417]
8	GM Karthikeyan Murali [2617]	1 - 0	IM Irene Kharisma Sukandar [2400]
9	IM Leon Mendonca [2388]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Novendra Priasmoro [2484]
10	IM Rathanvel [2410]	1 - 0	WGM Medina Warda Aulia [2360]

Round 9: ChessBase India 10 vs Indonesia 10

Indonesian team managed to hold India in the penultimate round thanks to Dede Lioe's win against Leon, Muhamad Lutfi beating Rathanvel and Sean Winshand getting the better of Sreeshwan. But the big duel between Karthikeyan and Megaranto ended in India's favour. Cumulative Score: ChessBase India 93 vs Indonesia 87

No.	White		Black
1	WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite [2252]	0 - 1	Suyog Wagh [2229]
2	IM Dede Lioe [2314]	1 - 0	IM Leon Mendonca [2388]
3	IM Muhamad Lutfi Ali [2399]	1 - 0	IM Rathanvel [2410]
4	WIM Varshini [2217]	1 - 0	WFM Ummi Fisabilillah [2196]
5	IM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari [2449]	0 - 1	IM Sean Winshand Cuhendi [2425]
6	GM Karthikeyan Murali [2617]	1 - 0	GM Susanto Megaranto [2550]
7	IM Arjun Kalyan [2483]	1 - 0	IM Muhamad Ervan [2356]
8	IM Irene Kharisma Sukandar [2400]	1 - 0	S. Rohit [2214]
9	IM Novendra Priasmoro [2484]	1 - 0	WIM N. Raghavi [2162]
10	IM Bharath Subramaniyam [2417]	1 - 0	WGM Medina Warda Aulia [2360]

Round 10: ChessBase India 12 vs Indonesia 8

It was just a gap of six points, so Indonesia could have pulled things back here. Susanto Megaranto did provide the win by beating Bharath Subramaniyam but Leon, Raghavi, Rathanvel and Arjun Kalyan scored wins to give India a 12-8 win. This meant that Indians were now leading by a margin of 10 points before going into the blitz portion. Cumulative Score: ChessBase India 105 vs Indonesia 95

No.	White		Black
1	IM Leon Mendonca [2388]	1 - 0	WIM Chelsie Monica Sihite [2252]
2	Suyog Wagh [2229]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Dede Lioe [2314]
3	S. Rohit [2214]	0 - 1	IM Muhamad Lutfi Ali [2399]
4	WIM N. Raghavi [2162]	1 - 0	WFM Ummi Fisabilillah [2196]
5	IM Sean Winshand Cuhendi [2425]	0 - 1	GM Karthikeyan Murali [2617]
6	GM Susanto Megaranto [2550]	1 - 0	IM Bharath Subramaniyam [2417]
7	IM Muhamad Ervan [2356]	1/2 - 1/2	IM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari [2449]
8	IM Rathanvel [2410]	1 - 0	IM Irene Kharisma Sukandar [2400]
9	IM Novendra Priasmoro [2484]	1 - 0	WIM Varshini [2217]
10	WGM Medina Warda Aulia [2360]	0 - 1	IM Arjun Kalyan [2483]

Karthikeyan Murali was surely the best player for the ChessBase India team as he scored a mammoth 8.0/10 (16 out of 20). But the big surprise was 2229 rated Suyog Wagh who scored 15.0/20 and beat many strong players of the Indonesian team. Arjun Kalyan's 13, Leon Mendonca's 13 and Sreeshwan Maralakshikari's 12 helped India to win the rapid portion by a ten point margin.

Sean Winshand Cuhendi was the best player for the Indonesian team. He scored 15.0/20. Novendra Priasmoro was the next best with 13. Susanto Megaranto's 11.0/20 wasn't the best news for Indonesia. The 2550-rated GM will try and redeem himself in the blitz portion of the match. Muhamad Ervan and Muhamad Lutfi both scored above 50%.

Photo Gallery:

The Indonesian team along with GM R.B. Ramesh | Photo: Kristianus Liem/Percasi

The Indonesian chess federation t-shirt for R.B. Ramesh by manager Kristianus Liem | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

The setting of the match | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

12-year-old Bharath got some good practice against experienced opponents. He scored 10.0/20. | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

At the end of the day, this is exactly why the match is being held. You play a good game, you analyze, learn and grow as a player. | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

Karthikeyan was the higest scorer with seven wins, two draws and one loss. His 16.0/20 helped Indian team get a 10 point lead before the blitz section begins | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

The only person among the 20 participants who used to maintain his scoresheet! Sreeshwan showed flashes of brilliance at the event also by beating the top seed Susanto Megaranto (analysis below) | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

Suyog Wagh (left) was the surprise of the event as he scored 15.0/20 | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

The two strong players of Indonesia - Novendra Priasmoro and Medina Aulia Warda | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

Irene Sukandar and coach GM Ruslan Scherbakov pose in front of the auto rickshaw! | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

Kristianus Liem has a new friend in Chennai now! | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

Sean Winshand was the best player for Indonesia scoring 15.0/20 | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

Strong kibitzers - IM T.S. Ravi and Sai Meera Ravi | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

Some exciting moments for the Indonesian team before arriving for the game! | Photo: Kristianus Liem/ Percasi

Game analysis:

Susanto Megaranto vs Sreeshwan Maralakshikari - A very interesting game by Sreeshwan that shows how Black should play against the Catalan:

Arjun Kalyan vs Sean Winshand: A very interesting plan with ...Ng8 and ...f5 executed by Sean Winshand in this game.

Irene Sukandar vs Leon Mendonca: Youngster Leon shows his win against the top rated Indonesian women's player.

Dede Lioe vs N. Raghavi: The Indian WIM shares her attacking win.

Karthikeyan vs Susanto Megaranto: Learn from Karthikeyan, the art of sacrifice and attack in chess.

Sean Winshand Cuhendi vs Karthikeyan Murali: An interesting game in the Jobava London System:

Blitz:

The blitz portion of the match will be held on 31st of October 2019. There will be 10 rounds of blitz played in one day. A total of 100 points are at stake. In blitz, a win counts for just one point. The time control is 3+2. The Indonesian team have to bridge the gap of ten points. Will they be able to do it? The winning team gets US$ 600, while the losing team takes home US$ 400. Stay tuned for our next report.

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