August 2, 2025 | 06:11 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -Indonesian chess player Sean Winshand Cuhendi has officially earned the title of Grandmaster (GM) after fulfilling all the requirements set by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), including reaching the minimum rating of 2500 in the July 2025 FIDE ranking list.
This accomplishment makes Sean the ninth Indonesian to earn the prestigious title, joining the ranks of the nation's top chess players who have reached the highest level in the sport.
According to the All-Indonesian Chess Association (PB Percasi) in an official social media announcement, FIDE approved Sean's GM title after he attained a rating of 2509 during a tournament held at Mewangi Hotel, Bandung, last week.
Sean began his chess journey with a FIDE rating of 1685 in July 2009. Through consistent effort and determination, he gradually climbed the rankings and finally reached the GM rating requirement in July 2025.
Before this, Sean had already secured three GM norms—one from the JAPFA Grandmaster Tournament in 2015, and two others from international events in Slovakia and Serbia in 2017. However, since he had not yet met the rating threshold, FIDE initially marked his title application in 2018 as “conditional on rating.”
To pursue his goal of becoming a Grandmaster, Sean trained in Hungary for over a year between 2013 and 2017. He also competed in numerous international tournaments to accumulate norms and improve his rating.
PB Percasi described Sean’s success as a proud moment for Indonesian chess and expressed hope that it would inspire young players to aim for similar achievements.
Beyond his individual milestone, Sean also made history by becoming the first Indonesian chess player to form a Grandmaster couple after marrying Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Dewi A.A. Citra.
Prior to Sean, eight Indonesians earned the GM title: Herman Suradiradja (1977), Utut Adianto (1986), Ardiansyah (1986), Edhi Handoko (1994), Ruben Gunawan (1999), Cerdas Barus (2003), Susanto Megaranto (2004), and Novendra Priasmoro (2020).
With Sean's addition to the list of Indonesian Grandmasters, PB Percasi hopes that a new generation will emerge to become the tenth Grandmaster, or "la decima," for Indonesian chess.
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