Being a participant myself, I could not witness as many games as I would like. Still there were some interesting moments and results that I could see.
On the board next to me (in round three), the experienced Filipino IM Dimakiling found himself close to mated in his game against the young Indonesian who is only rated at 2181.
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| Setyaki Arzarya Jodi-IM Oliver Dimakiling, 1-0 |
The position is essentially correct except the king-side pawns may not be on their correct positions. Anywhere they do not have any effect on the result. Black has no defence to the threats of mate even though it is his move. The threat is
1. Ra1+ Kb8 2. Na6+ Kc8 3. Rb1 and mate on b8. A second mate threat is 1
. Ra1+ Kb8 2. Ra7 followed by
3. Na6+ and
4. Ra8 mate.
Fong Yit Ho may not be as successful as his brother, Yit San but still a good player . One still remembers his win against grandmaster Richard Bitoon two years ago. In the game below he held a rook ending a pawn down against an Ukrainian IM. Yit Ho seems to lack the motivation and confidence of his brother, Yit San, and he must overcome these in order to get better.
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| IM Borsos Bogdan-Fong Yit Ho, draw |
Talking of Yit San, I expected him to win his third round game against a young unknown local. Imagine my shock when he told me he only managed to draw and was losing when his opponent offered! His opponent,Aqil Ainuddin , is only rated at 1548. Those in the know may recognize him as our representative at the recent SEA Games where he competed in the Myanmar chess event! Still it is a big upset against the current national champion.
