GM-norm for Yoseph and IM title for Satria at the Indonesia Grandmaster Tournament 2025
IM Yoseph Theolifus Taher (INA) scored his maiden GM-norm at Indonesia GM tournament 2025. He scored an unbeaten 7.5/11 to secure his norm. GM Eltaj Safarli (AZE) won the event scoring 8.5/11. IM Sugar Gan-Erdene (MGL) finished third 7/11. GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy (UKR) clinched the IM tournament scoring 9/11. FM Satria Duta Cahaya (INA) scored 8.5/11 to finish second. He also earned his final IM-norm and crossed 2400 in the live ratings to become the latest International Master of India. IM Nayaka Budhidharma (INA) was placed third scoring 7.5/11. The top three prizes in the GM event was - US$ 4500, 2700 and 1700, for IM event they were - US$ 2500, 1800 and 1200 along with a trophy each. Photo: FM FT IA Peter Long
Safarli wins GM tournament, Bernadskiy claims IM
The Indonesia Grandmaster Tournament 2025 was held at the brand new Mewangi Hotel in Bandung, Indonesia from 15th to 25th February 2025.
As has long been the norm in Indonesia, when organized by the All Indonesia Chess Federation (PERCASI) under the leadership of GM Utut Adianto, these were played as two 12 player, 11 round robins, a GM tournament and an IM tournament.
Closing Ceremony
Eka Putra Wirja, PERCASI board member, in his time also a strong player and long time Indonesian Chess Patron, officiated the closing ceremony, where he congratulated the winners, thanked all for their participation, and acknowledged the hard work of the many officials involved to make the event a success.
He also announced PERCASI’s plans to hold such events quarterly in 2025, with the Mewangi Hotel located in the Indonesia Summer City of Bandung to again be the venue and thanked GM Utut Adianto for making the hotel available, hospitality being an Indonesian tradition and being their biggest cost when organizing international chess tournaments.
To ensure that such events would continue to get support from PERCASI and sponsors, he also exhorted the Indonesian players to show more ambition and to be more committed to achieving excellence.
Grandmaster Tournament
IM Yoseph Theolifus Taher had started well with 2/2 but then was bogged down by four successive draws, but when all hopes for his inaugural GM-norm looked lost in a difficult run in, he put together a series of fine results in the last five rounds.
After beating IM Gilbert Elroy Tarigan, once considered to be Indonesia’s best new GM hope, he drew with fellow GM title candidate IM Sugar Gan-Erdene from Mongolia, beating the veteran still No. 1 ranked Indonesian GM Susanto Megaranto who is having a horror tournament and then comfortably holding Indian GM Sethuraman S.P. and Australian GM Temur Koybokarov to reach the magical 7.5/11 score he needed and with that second place.
After beating IM Gilbert Elroy Tarigan, once considered to be Indonesia’s best new GM hope, he drew with fellow GM title candidate IM Sugar Gan-Erdene from Mongolia, beating the veteran still No. 1 ranked Indonesian GM Susanto Megaranto who is having a horror tournament and then comfortably holding Indian GM Sethuraman S.P. and Australian GM Temur Kuybokarov to reach the magical 7.5/11 score he needed and with that second place.
Mongolian IM Gan-Erdene is 22-years-old, and has long been considered one of his country’s most talented players.
While also remaining unbeaten scalped four GMs in this tournament, GM Etaj Sarfali, GM Temur Koybokarov, and GM Susanto Megaranto, arguably ruining the tournament early for two of the GM favourites.
Unfortunately, he could not convert his final game against GM Daniel Quizon and had to be content with third place and a 20 point rating increase.
GM Etaj Sarfali from Azerbaijan had written to the organizers for an invitation and the top seed did not disappoint despite a slow start including a loss in the second round to IM Sugar Gan-Erdene, scoring 8.5/11 to take sole first place.
Indian GM Sethuraman S P, together with Australian GM Temur Kuybokarov did not have good tournaments, their 6/11 scores giving them fourth and fifth places respectively.
International Master tournament
16-year-old FM Satria Duta Cahaya had earlier been covered in a previous article brought early happiness to Indonesia chess by completing the requirements for the IM title, both in terms of norms and rating, with one round to go already reaching the 7.5 point mark and then to be able to fight for first place in the final round in the IM tournament, even though his unbeaten final score of 8.5/11 was a half point short.
His secret might have been his ability to play successfully against women players, scoring wins against all the three WGMs and one WIM participating!
IM Nayaka Budhidharma, 19 years of age, is another of the new talented Indonesian talent coming through and has also impressed, in round nine inflicting top seeded GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy from Ukraine with his only loss.
Up against the tricky IM Hafiz Arif Abdul who was playing for the fourth place prize, he unfortunately fell at this last hurdle and had to settle for third place.
In the end, the winner was never in doubt, Ukrainian GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy, the Bangkok Open Champion 2024, leading by 0.5 point ahead of the two young Indonesians by taking care of business with a decisive last round victory to reach 9/11.
WGM Janelle Frayna Mae is the first and only women from the Philippines to have achieved that title and has one IM-norm. In recent years she has suffered from inconsistency but remains the no.1 player from her country and in the Indonesian Grandmaster Tournament was the standout performer amongst the women participants.
Final standings in GM tournament
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | Rp | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | GM | Safarli, Eltaj | AZE | 2609 | 8,5 | 0 | 41,50 | 7 | 3 | 2670 | 10 | 8,2 | |
| 2 | 10 | IM | Taher, Yoseph Theolifus | INA | 2439 | 7,5 | 0 | 38,25 | 4 | 2 | 2608 | 10 | 25,2 | |
| 3 | 12 | IM | Gan-Erdene, Sugar | MGL | 2439 | 7 | 0 | 38,50 | 3 | 1 | 2577 | 10 | 20,2 | |
| 4 | 1 | GM | Sethuraman, S.P. | IND | 2557 | 6 | 0,5 | 30,50 | 3 | 1 | 2500 | 10 | -9 | |
| 5 | 2 | GM | Kuybokarov, Temur | AUS | 2550 | 6 | 0,5 | 29,25 | 3 | 1 | 2500 | 10 | -7,8 | |
| 6 | 3 | GM | Priasmoro, Novendra | INA | 2437 | 5,5 | 1 | 28,00 | 3 | 1 | 2475 | 10 | 5,4 | |
| 7 | 8 | IM | Lee, Junhyeok | KOR | 2426 | 5,5 | 0 | 26,75 | 4 | 1 | 2476 | 10 | 7,5 | |
| 8 | 4 | IM | Arfan, Aditya Bagus | INA | 2402 | 4,5 | 1,5 | 20,50 | 3 | 1 | 2413 | 10 | 1,3 | |
| 9 | 6 | GM | Quizon, Daniel | PHI | 2471 | 4,5 | 1 | 22,75 | 1 | 0 | 2407 | 10 | -9,9 | |
| 10 | 9 | IM | Tarigan, Gilbert Elroy | INA | 2416 | 4,5 | 0,5 | 23,75 | 1 | 1 | 2412 | 10 | -1,1 | |
| 11 | 11 | GM | Megaranto, Susanto | INA | 2502 | 3,5 | 0 | 18,00 | 2 | 1 | 2336 | 10 | -24,9 | |
| 12 | 5 | IM | Setyaki, Azarya Jodi | INA | 2411 | 3 | 0 | 16,25 | 0 | 0 | 2302 | 10 | -15,1 |
Final standings in IM tournament
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | Rp | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | GM | Bernadskiy, Vitaliy | UKR | 2531 | 9 | 0 | 42,50 | 8 | 4 | 2576 | 10 | 6,6 | |
| 2 | 10 | FM | Cahaya, Satria Duta | INA | 2360 | 8,5 | 0 | 41,50 | 6 | 3 | 2541 | 20 | 52,2 | |
| 3 | 5 | IM | Budhidharma, Nayaka | INA | 2356 | 7,5 | 0 | 36,00 | 6 | 2 | 2463 | 20 | 33,4 | |
| 4 | 7 | IM | Hafiz, Arif Abdul | INA | 2349 | 6,5 | 0 | 31,25 | 4 | 2 | 2396 | 20 | 15,6 | |
| 5 | 3 | WGM | Frayna, Janelle Mae | PHI | 2286 | 6 | 0 | 24,50 | 4 | 0 | 2373 | 20 | 25 | |
| 6 | 9 | IM | Firman Syah, Farid | INA | 2375 | 5,5 | 1,5 | 28,25 | 3 | 1 | 2329 | 10 | -6,2 | |
| 7 | 11 | IM | Garcia, Jan Emmanuel | PHI | 2415 | 5,5 | 1 | 24,00 | 3 | 2 | 2325 | 10 | -12,3 | |
| 8 | 4 | IM | Ervan, Mohamad | INA | 2383 | 5,5 | 0,5 | 25,25 | 3 | 2 | 2328 | 10 | -7,4 | |
| 9 | 8 | IM | Wynn, Zaw Htun | MYA | 2387 | 4 | 1 | 15,00 | 3 | 1 | 2225 | 10 | -23,2 | |
| 10 | 6 | WGM | Nguyen, Thi Mai Hung | VIE | 2216 | 4 | 0 | 18,50 | 2 | 0 | 2241 | 20 | 6,2 | |
| 11 | 2 | WIM | Latifah, Laysa | INA | 2287 | 3,5 | 0 | 14,25 | 2 | 1 | 2204 | 20 | -25 | |
| 12 | 1 | WIM | Lasama, Ivana Maria Treopolsa | INA | 2044 | 0,5 | 0 | 2,00 | 0 | 0 | 1889 | 20 | -22,4 |
Links
PERCASI: Official site and fb page
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