Irene Kharisma Sukandar: For the love of the chess
Niken Prathivi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
January 06, 2009
Chess prodigy Irene Kharisma Sukandar says it is a dream come true to have become Indonesia’s first Woman Grand Master (WGM).
She achieved the feat at the tender age of 16 with an impressive performance at the chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany, late last month.
“What I’ve achieved now is definitely dedicated to Indonesian chess,” well-mannered Irene told The Jakarta Post at her parents’ home in Bekasi, West Java, recently. She resonated calm and maturity, dressed in a classic striped elbow-length shirt and brown trousers.
Irene was awarded the WGM crown after fulfilling the requirement of winning three GM norms with her latest victory in Dresden.
However, she remained oblivious to her achievement despite her victory until she was informed by ASEAN Chess Federation president Ignatius Leong during a regional tournament in Singapore in December.
The 11-round Dresden Olympiad was contested by 146 open teams and 111 women’s teams from 152 countries.
Here is the full article.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Well done Irene!
‘Chess prodigy Irene Kharisma Sukandar says it is a dream come true to have become Indonesia’s first Woman Grand Master (WGM).’
Why is everybody so obssessed with being THE FIRST? When others will follow, and will usually be much stronger than THE FIRST?
By the way, let it be noted that I WAS THE FIRST to ask this question.
Well because we’re humans…
First man to climb mount everest
First man on the moon…
Most people find it fascinating with such breakthroughs.