IM Nayaka Budhidarma Speaker Wins Ramadan Cup 2025

Speaker Nayaka Budhidarma (right) in the 2025 Ramadan Cup Fast Chess tournament (Ulfa Gusti/VOI)

JAKARTA Pecatur Nayaka Budhidarma came out as the champion of the 2025 Fast Chess Ramadhan Cup tournament for the open category. He outperformed big names such as GM Susanto Megaranto and GM Smart Barus.

The 2025 Ramadan Cup Fast Chess Tournament which took place at the Wisma of the Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora), Senayan, Jakarta, was completed on Sunday, March 16, 2025.

Nayaka managed to top the final standings in the open category after playing nine rounds. The East Java chess player collected a total of 8.5 points to lock the front position.

"This is a big tournament. So, being a champion feels good because there are many strong opponents. Actually, I didn't think I could win this tournament. This tournament is also one of the preparations for the 2025 SEA Games," said Nayaka, who held an IM (International Master) after the tournament.

On his way to become a champion in this tournament, Nayaka managed to beat his senior Susanto Megaranto in the eighth round and Arif Abdul Hafiz who also held an International Master in the last round.

In the open category, the runner-up position is occupied by Dzithauly Ramadhan with 8 points and Gilbert Elroy in third place with a collection of 7.5 points. As for Megaranto and Barus, they consecutively occupy 11th and 43rd places.

Nayaka said that the clash with Megaranto was his toughest match in this tournament. "It should be a loss, just lucky to finally win," said the 19-year-old chess player.

The Fast Chess of the 2025 Ramadan Cup was attended by 452 participants from 22 provinces with a total prize of IDR 70 million. The tournament which entered its 22nd edition this year took up three categories.

As the first winner, Nayaka was entitled to Rp10 million in cash. Meanwhile, Dzithauly and Gilbert brought home Rp6 million and Rp3 million in succession.

As for the U-16 category, the champion position was secured by Morado Simanjuntak. He was followed by Almagro Hasian Gultom in second place and Fitsal Azwa in third place.

Then in the U-12 category, the title was secured by Kenny Horasino Bach. The athlete from the Special Region of Yogyakarta was followed by Jessen Michael Aiji Pranata in runners up and Davin Belmiro Azfar in third place.

Chairman of the 2025 Ramadan Cup Committee, Hardiyanto Kenneth, admitted that he was very happy with the enthusiasm of the participants so high in this tournament. He said the winner of this tournament was likely to be sent abroad.

"We have a talent scouting process and coaching process. So, maybe we send it to eastern Europe because we know there are pretty good chess. They have tournaments every day. So maybe we will send them for two or three months there," said Kenneth.

The plan is for the champions in the 2025 Ramadan Cup to be prioritized to enter the chess national training camp (Pelatnas) which will begin in April.

Secretary General of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Chess Association (PB Percasi) Henry Hendratno said that the closest preparations were the 2025 SEA Games which will take place in Thailand later this year.

"Mr. Menpora (Dito Ariotedjo) has said that the National Training for all sports will continue, but it is still being reviewed for the budget," Henry said.

The chess board was attended by eight male athletes and eight female athletes. The national training has actually taken place from November to January, but had to be stopped on January 31 due to budget efficiency from the government.