Indonesian Chess Team Takes Home 18 Gold Medals from Pre-SEA Games in Penang
Reporter
July 10, 2025 | 03:43 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian national chess team won a haul of gold medals at the Pre-SEA Games tournament held in Penang, Malaysia, which concluded on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
In individual events, Indonesian players earned eight gold medals and three silvers. Meanwhile, in team events, they secured ten golds and three silver medals.
The Head of the Development and Achievement Board of the All Indonesia Chess Association (Percasi), Kristianus Liem, said that the team had the potential to win even more medals. However, due to an unwritten agreement in this friendly competition, each country was allowed to take home only one medal per event.
"This means that if Indonesian players dominated the top three positions, which often happened during the tournament in Penang, only the gold medal would be awarded to Indonesia. The silver and bronze medals would go to lower-ranked players from other countries," said Kristianus in a written statement received by Tempo on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
In the individual category, Grandmaster (GM) Susanto Megaranto claimed three gold medals in Makruk rapid chess, ASEAN rapid chess, and FIDE rapid chess.
Additional gold medals were also won by GM Novendra Priasmoro, International Master (IM) Medina Warda Aulia, Woman International Masters (WIM) Ummi Fisabilillah, Chelsie Monica Sihite, and Laysa Latifah.
Chelsie earned her gold in the women’s Makruk rapid chess event. Laysa, a 19-year-old player, secured the top spot in the women’s ASEAN rapid chess event. She is part of the same generation as Shafira Devi Herfesa, who recently won the 2025 Zonal 3.3 Championship.
Laysa is seen as a strong contender to carry on the legacy of senior players like IM Irine Kharisma Sukandar and IM Medina Warda Aulia.
Kristianus noted that Indonesia nearly swept all the remaining gold medals in six other events. One gold slipped away after WIM Ivana Lasama, with 3 points, drew against Laysa, who had 3.5 points, in the fifth round.
With that result, it was hoped that Laysa's 4 points would be enough to stay ahead of her closest rival, WGM Gong Qiannyun from Singapore, who had 3 points and was scheduled to face WIM Ummi Fisabilillah. If Ummi had held Gong to a draw, Gong's score would have risen only to 3.5.
Unfortunately, Gong defeated Ummi and tied with Laysa at 4 points. The tie-breaker used was the number of wins. Gong was declared the winner for having four victories and one loss, compared to Laysa’s three wins and two draws.
Despite that, Percasi remains proud that the five remaining gold medals in individual events were won by different players, demonstrating the depth and balance of Indonesia’s chess squad.
According to Kristianus, this is a strong sign of positive development and healthy competition. "Moreover, our junior players are starting to enter the elite ranks of Indonesian chess," he said.
Indonesia Dominates Team Events with 10 Golds and 3 Silvers
In addition to the individual events, the tournament in Penang also included team-based competitions, similar to those planned for the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand in 2025.
The difference is that in Penang, due to time constraints and limited participation, team standings were calculated based on points accumulated from individual results.
"For instance, team medals were awarded based on the combined scores of the top two, three, or four players from each country. There were also mixed quintuple events, which calculated the total points of the top four male players and the top female player from one country," Kristianus explained.
There were 13 team events in total. Of these, Indonesia won 10 golds and three silvers. In total, the Indonesian national team brought home 18 gold medals and three silvers from the Pre-SEA Games tournament.
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