Tired of Controversy, ‘God of Fan’ Quits

Indonesian chess player Dadang Subur, also known as the “God of Fan”, chose to quit and "say goodbye" to the world of chess, which had catapulted him into fame.

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

Chess Dewa Kipas (God of Fan) aka Dadang Subur (60) chats with International Master (IM) Anjas Novita via video call at his house in Bandung, West Java, Tuesday (16/3/2021).

Indonesian chess player Dadang Subur, also known as the “God of Fan”, had grown tired of the controversies and allegations surrounding him. He chose to quit and "say goodbye" to the world of chess, which had catapulted him into fame.

Dadang, 60, opened with flattering words in a video conversation with International Master (IM) Anjas Novita from his home in Bandung, West Java, on Tuesday (16/3/2021). Two days earlier, Anjas had sent an open letter calling for a quick 10 minute chess battle to test the ability of Dadang, the chess player who has recently made a name on social media.

"I am a fan of Mas Anjas and Bang Utut [Adianto]. Mas Anjas\' Elo rating is far above. That\'s great,” said Dadang with a smile.

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The retired man then talked about his victory over United States chess player, IM Levy Rozman, the owner of the Gotham Chess account on the online chess application chess.com, which made him famous. In that match, Dadang\'s step accuracy was 93 percent.

It just so happens that he [Levy] made some errors – or maybe he was not serious.

As for Levy, who is known as the "king" of online chess, his was only 76. A number of parties suspected that the victory was the result of computer assistance, especially since Dadang\'s stride accuracy in many matches is consistently above 90 percent.

However, Dadang was defended and praised by thousands of netizens who then cornered Levy. Dadang was considered a "hero" in the midst of a crisis in Indonesia\'s sports achievements in the world.

Later, the criticism turned towards Dadang, especially after the management of chess.com confirmed that the “God of Fan” had violated the principles of fair play. His account was blocked.

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However, Dadang defended himself. He denied the accusation. "It just so happens that he [Levy] made some errors – or maybe he was not serious," he said.

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

Chess Dewa Kipas (God of Fan) aka Dadang Subur (60) chats with International Master (IM) Anjas Novita via video call at his house in Bandung, West Java, Tuesday (16/3/2021). With the excuse that he was tired of the debates that had occurred in the last two weeks, Dadang refused to compete in chess with Anjas.

The controversy has made a number of people curious about Dadang\'s true ability, especially since he has no track record of national and international chess achievements.

Through his son, Ali Akbar, Dadang said he was willing to compete with national chess players to prove his abilities. However, Dadang later backed down. Yesterday, he said he had turned down invitations for matches, including from Anjas, apparently because he was tired of the controversy, which he said had drained his mind.

"I have done istikharah [prayer], and I really quit. My skill was far below [Anjas’]," he said.

Dadang said he would reject all invitations for matches from other parties. He said he hoped the controversy would end soon.

"Even if you say anything about me, I\'m not ashamed. I will not accept [an invitation for a match]. I just give up. I quit," he said.

Note-taking

Dadang is a former state-owned enterprise (BUMN) employee in the insurance sector. During his tenure, he lived in a number of areas, including Jakarta, West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan. Retiring in 2016, he returned with his family to Bandung.

I don\'t always win either. I often use this book to learn the opponent\'s steps

He has participated in several chess championships in Singkawang, West Kalimantan, one of which was the preparation for the 37th Regional Chess Championship in Singkawang in 2015. He won the preparatory tournament. After retiring, Dadang never took part in a chess championship again. However, he continues to play chess online against computers. He diligently records his moves in his matches.

The book is tucked neatly away under the living room table. On each match record sheet, he writes down the Elo rating of his opponent, along with the results.

"So I’m used to fighting against computers. I don\'t always win either. I often use this book to learn the opponent\'s steps,” he said later.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

The graphics of the God of Fan game on Chess.com are very stable and abnormal from February 22 to March 2, which was revealed in a press conference regarding Online Chess Education and Its Problems from the Fan God Case, Friday (12/3/2021).

He claimed the technique had allowed his play to improve on chess.com. In the second week of February, Dadang started playing on chess.com. He was in 800th place. Early in his streak, he often lost, with an accuracy of under 50 percent. However, in 20 days, his ranking jumped to 2,311. The move accuracy has passed 98 percent several times, which chess.com considers almost impossible.

“Initially, I was still learning to use the application, so I often took wrong steps. So, the accuracy was low. However, gradually, I got used to it. The accuracy has also improved,” said Dadang later.

Ali said his father still plays chess today but only against the computer, using the Shredder chess app. He now only plays from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. In fact, now he does not play on chess.com at all.

"His intensity [in playing chess] is much lower, but the capabilities of the opponents are getting greater. On chess.com, the opponent was random. Now [on Shredder] he plays against the bot [computer], and the skill is always set at the maximum level of 2,600," said Ali.

Clarification from Pak Dadang is needed to calm down the uproar.

Meanwhile, Anjas said he respected Dadang\'s decision to turn down his match invitation. However, he hoped Dadang would not stop playing chess with other people. For him, Dadang has left an unanswered mystery. "Clarification from Pak Dadang is needed to calm down the uproar," he said.

Devie Rahmawati, a mass communications observer from the University of Indonesia, said the “God of Fan” phenomenon reflects the digital shock among Indonesian citizens. They easily flatter and corner people without understanding the situation. Anyone, including Dadang, can easily become a victim.

This article was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko.