“Dewa Kipas” Beaten by Process and Tenacity

Dewa kipas was beaten by a score of 3-0 by Woman Grand Master Irene Kharisma Sukandar in a 10-minute fast chess match.

TANGKAPAN LAYAR YOUTUBE

A chess match between WGM Irene Kharisma Sukandar (left) and Dadang Subur aka "God of Fan",  aired by YouTuber Deddy Corbuzier, Monday (22/3/2021) afternoon. Irene won 3-0, in a 10-minute quick chess match that was scheduled to last four rounds.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Public curiosity over the skill and ability of the “Dewa Kipas” (god of fan) – or Mr. Dadang Subur – has been answered. He was beaten by a score of 3-0 by Woman Grand Master Irene Kharisma Sukandar in a 10-minute fast chess match aired by YouTuber Deddy Corbuzier on his streaming channel yesterday afternoon.

Dadang (60), who rose to popularity after a phenomenal performance during an online chess game on Chess.com was no match for Irene (28). He even conceded the last match of the duel, which broke the national record for YouTube streams as more than 1 million people watched the match.

Also read: Tired of Controversy, ‘God of Fan’ Quits

“That is enough. Irene is much better. Irene is a complete player. Her defense is strong. I did not have any chance to win. I made too many blunders, maybe almost all of my moves were blunders. Irene deserves to be recognized as a national chess player,” Dadang said after obtaining the ‘loser’ prize of Rp 100 million (US$6,958) from doing the match.

In that match, Dadang did not perform in the way he did when he beat International Master Levy Rozman from the United States on Chess.com. The man who lives in Bandung, West Java looked nervous during the match.

That is enough. Irene is much better. Irene is a complete player. Her defense is strong. I did not have any chance to win.

Dadang repeatedly touched his head because he did not know how to defend himself against Irene’s aggressive attacks. His nervousness showed as he dropped his chess pawn twice in the middle of the match. He returned the chess pawn to its original position after pressing the timer. “In an official match, one must return the falling chess pawn to its original position before pressing the timer,” Grand Master Susanto Megaranto said as commentator of the match.

KOMPAS/EMILIUS CAESAR ALEXEY

WGM Irene Kharisma Sukandar will move chess pieces in the match against Dadang Subur aka God of Fan, Monday (22/3/2021) afternoon.

Irene showed the opposite. Even though she fell behind in time during the second match, the woman, who has been learning chess since she was 8 years old was, very calm. She forced Dadang into repeated blunders, which eventually led to a checkmate.

“Professional players rarely make blunders like that. He (Dadang) is not a novice. Rather, he is an ‘almost master’ player,” Susanto explained.

Analysis of Dadang’s chess pawns movement shows that Dadang accuracy was far below his performance on Chess.com – before his account was banned due to fair play breach. In the apps, Dadang scored consistently with an accuracy rate above 94 percent, even above 99 percent on two occasions.

Also read: A New Pearl of Indonesian Chess

However, during yesterday’s three matches Dadang showed an accuracy rate of 33.8; 95.3; and 27.7 percent consecutively. His average accuracy rate was 52.26 percent. On the other hand, Irene’s aver-age accuracy rate was 94.6 percent.

Professional players rarely make blunders like that.

Since her childhood

The difference in Irene and Dadang’s performance is not surprising at all. Irene has been training since childhood. When she was 8 years-old, she was brought by her father, Singgih Yehezkiel, to play chess at chess stalls in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. She spent four hours a day playing games against chess players at the stalls. This tenacity has sharpened her mental strength.

KOMPAS/ADRIAN FAJRIANSYAH

Analysis of WGM Irene Kharisma Sukandar (white) against Dewa Kipas (black) in the third round of four 10-minute quick chess rounds conducted by chess observer Heri Darmanto at Chess Info Facebook Group, Monday (22/3/2021). In that match, Irene won with a step accuracy of 97.4 percent, while Dadang Subur aka God of Fan was only 95.3 percent.

Irene started learning to play chess formally at Utut Adianto Chess School (SCUA) in Bekasi, West Java and joined the national training center (pelatnas). At SCUA and the pelatnas, according to Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) head of development and achievement Kristianus Liem, chess players spend 6 to 8 hours a day training.

“The training regimen is stricter abroad. In China, for example, chess players need to train for 8 to 10 hours a day, but the result is impressive. Now, China is one of chess powerhouse taking over the place which was previously dominated by chess players from ex-Soviet Union countries,” Kristianus said.

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It took Irene 9 years to obtain the Woman Grand Master title in 2009, when she was 17 years old. She earned her International Master title in 2014 when she was 22 years old.

On the other hand, ‘Dewa Kipas’ did not have much official match experience under his belt. He also has no titles in the chess hierarchy. However, his rank soared to International Masters in just three weeks of playing at Chess.com.

“Chess is a sport that requires process and honesty. If you want make achievements, then you must keep learning and a have high level of understanding. It takes time, this cannot be achieved instantaneously,” Utut Adianto said.

This article was translated by Lionel Priyadi