Young Indonesian Speaker Shafira Qualifies For The 2025 World Cup

JAKARTA The junior Indonesian women's chess player with the status of National Master (MN), Herfesa Shafira Devi, made a surprise to appear as the winner of the women's category of the Asian Zone 3.3 Chess Championship 2025 in Mongolia as well as win a ticket to qualify for the 2025 Catur World Cup.

This assurance was obtained after Shafira defeated the leader of the standings from Mongolia, WGM Turmunkh Munkhzul, who had elongation rating of 2301 through a dramatic struggle in the ninth or final round at Holiday Inn, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Thursday, May 1, 2025.

Shafira managed to maximize her very thin and almost impossible chances in the win. Despite holding the black fruit, Shafira dominated the match with the opening of Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense Exchange Variation.

Shafira won convincingly with the advantage of one elephant officer and stopped Turmunkh's resistance in the 44th step.

However, this victory did not immediately ensure Shafira won and only won tickets in the women's category because it was still very dependent on the results of the other two Mongolian chess players who finished second and third in the standings.

Luckily one competitor, namely WCM Khishigbaatar Bayasgalan, who was in second place with 6.5 points, lost against Filipino chess player WGM Janelle Mae Frayna Philippines.

However, another competitor who is also from Mongolia, namely WFM Amgalan Enkh Enkhrii, who ranks third with 6 points, won against Hoang Tu Linh Luong from Vietnam.

Therefore, the points are the same as Shafira's, which is 7 points. As a result, the women's category champion of the Asian Zone 3.3 Chess Championship 2025 as well as the determination of the ticket winner to qualify for the Chess World Cup must be determined based on the value of the tie break.

Shafira still lost 40 points in the tie break to the eighth round.

He collected 2206 points compared to Amgalan's 2246 points. However, thanks to his victory over Turmunkh Munkhzul in the ninth round, Shafira won the tie break over Amgalan with 2218 compared to 2208 or 10 points adrift.

With this achievement, Shafira became the fourth Indonesian chess player to ever qualify for the Chess World Cup after the Grand Master (GM) Utut Adianto, GM Susanto Megaranto, and the Women's Grand Master (GMW) Medina Warda Aulia.

For this result, Shafira also has the right to a trophy and prize money of 1,500 US dollars. In addition, Shafira 'the unseeded player in this event' also succeeded in increasing the elongation rating significantly, from the previous 1983 it rose sharply to 2378.