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Indonesia’s women chess grandmaster Medina Warda Aulia had her first real taste of grandmaster glory when she defeated Netherland grandmaster Ivan Sokolov during the JAPFA GM & WGM International Chess Tournament 2019 held at Grand Inna Malioboro Hotel in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on 14 June. Defeating Sokolov is a huge deal for Aulia because critics considered her an underdog and more importantly, Sokolov is among the world’s greatest chess players around.

Sokolov won the 1988 Yugoslav Championship and in 1995 and 1998 the Dutch Championship. Before earning the grandmaster title, he became a FIDE Master in 1985 and an International Master in 1986. In 1987 and 1993 he won the Vidmar Memorial. In 2000, he won the 1st European Rapid Chess Championship in Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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A post shared by Medina Warda Aulia (@medinawarda) on Aug 11, 2016 at 11:18pm PDT

Aulia and Sokolov battled it out for 3.5 hours at the JAPFA GM & WGM International Chess Tournament 2019. In the beginning, the match appeared to be heading towards a draw but Sokolov was forced to resign after making 54 moves. “I started the match a little slow but I managed to improve the pace before finally defeating (Sokolov),” The Jakarta Post reported Medina as saying after the match.

Chess commentator Kristianus Liem said Aulia’s kept up with Sokolov from the start, adding that her moves were more stable than Sokolov’s. The Indonesian had played confidently, exerting pressure on her opponent.

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Alhamdulillah🙏🏻 Berdua sama mas santo menjadi juara kategori putra dan putri Asian Zone Fide 3.3 2019 di Ulaanbaatar dan mendapatkan tiket untuk piala dunia catur✨ . . . Awalnya seperti biasa pas tanding berserah apapun hasilnya, main tanpa beban dan ga ada pikiran harus ke berapa dan gimana, dan babak terakhir pikirannya yang penting bermain yang terbaik (waktu itu lawan aku yang mimpin beda 1 poin) dan tadaaaa aku menang dong wkwk terus tetiba liat chess results aku jadi kesatu dong😂 . Terus untuk dapetin tiket piala dunia harus main lagi playoff 15 menit 10 detik dua babak dan hasilnya draw dua kali dan akhirnya main armagedon pegang putih. Sebelum main pertandingan terakhir yang aku pikirin cuma bersyukur udah bisa jadi juara 1, bersyukur masih ada kesempatan untuk dapetin tiket, jadi yauda tanpa beban, karna itu mungkin bisa mainnya tenang dan fokus😂 dan yeayyy aku menang! Wkwk . . Terimakasih semua atas doa dan dukungannya✨ terimakasih tim catur indo di mongolia khususnya ka chelsie dan ka santo partner jalan pagi terseru ini! Ka surya dan pepen tim bikin ketawa🤪 Terimakasih percasi dan Japfa yang sudah mensponsorin tim catur indonesia dan memberikan kami kesempatan ini✨

A post shared by Medina Warda Aulia (@medinawarda) on Apr 16, 2019 at 10:20pm PDT

Aulia became a chess grandmaster at the young age of 13. Her achievements include the 4th World Schools Chess Championships 2008, the 10th ASEAN+ Age-Group Championships, the 2nd Asean Chess Championships 2011, and silver and bronze medals at the 2011 and 2013 Southeast Asian Games.

The JAPFA GM & WGM International Chess Tournament 2019 is currently ongoing until 22 June among Indonesian chess players and 12 international players.

Sources: Mashable SE Asia, The Jakarta Post

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