Bandung-Indonesia, February 18, 2025
Jodi Forces Draw as Yoseph Taher Secures Second Place in the 2025 Indonesian GM Tournament. Heading into the third round, national player IM Yoseph Taher occupied second place with 2.5 points after forcing a draw on move 26 against IM Azarya Jodi Setyaki during the Indonesian GM Tournament at Hotel Mewangi, Bandung, on Tuesday (February 18, 2025).
In his third-round match, playing with the black pieces, IM Yoseph Taher deployed the Sicilian Defense. It appeared that Jodi was well-prepared in the opening, accurately handling the position to launch an attack on his opponent’s black king. However, despite establishing a promising position earlier, Jodi eventually fell victim to a counterattack and was forced to defend steadily. Unable to break through his adversary’s defenses, Jodi offered a draw—which was accepted by Yoseph on move 26.
With this result, Jodi currently sits in fifth place in the provisional standings, having accumulated 1 point from three games. He is also determined to recover ground by adding more points in the fourth round when he faces his senior opponent, GM Susanto Megaranto.
“I tried to play quickly because I had to perform again this afternoon against GM Quizon Daniel from the Philippines in the fourth game. With an eye on conserving my stamina, I opted for a fast game that eventually ended in a draw in the third round,” Yoseph explained.
Meanwhile, another Indonesian contender, IM Aditya Bagus—the champion of last year’s 2024 edition in the same tournament—remains in fourth place following his third-round game, which also ended in a draw against senior GM Susanto Megaranto.
Leading the overall standings in the third round with 2.5 points is IM Gan-Erdene Sugar (Mongolia), who recorded a victory over Australia’s top young talent, GM Kuybokarov Temur.
In the IM Tournament category, the highest-ranked Indonesian competitor so far is FM Cahaya Satria Duta. In his third-round match, Satria Duta defeated his compatriot IM Budhidharma Nayaka, thereby amassing 2.5 points. Yet, the category is currently headed by the formidable GM Bernadskiy Vitaliy (Ukraine), who has secured a full 3 points. This strong performance means that Indonesian players will need to work even harder in the upcoming rounds to notch victories, improve their ELO ratings, and achieve title norms.
“During this IM Tournament group event, I am aiming to gather 7.5 points with the hope of attaining my second IM norm, as well as improving my ELO rating,” Satria Duta stated with a serious expression.
