GM Utut seeks to break jinx at chess worlds<\/p>\n
Musthofid, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian chess grand master GM Utut Adianto will go to the
\nworld chess championships hoping to improve his performance from
\nprevious years.<\/p>\n
The 2004 World Chess Championship will be held in Tripoli,
\nLibya, from June 18 to July 13. The knock-out tournament features
\n128 players but does not include three former champions who are
\nboycotting the event.<\/p>\n
GM Ruslan Ponomariov, GM Alexander Khalifman and GM
\nViswantahan Anand will not join the field because they disagree
\nwith the competition format applied by world chess governing body
\nFIDE.<\/p>\n
Other players have also opted out in protest against the
\nLibyan chess administration, which bars Israeli players from
\njoining the tournament.<\/p>\n
Utut's best performance in his previous appearances was a
\nsecond-round qualification in 1997 and 2000. He exited in the
\nfirst stage in 1999, while he failed to qualify in 2001.<\/p>\n
Despite his past results, Utut was optimistic about the latest
\nchallenge and said he would be fighting for a place in the
\nsemifinals.<\/p>\n
\"I will leave for Tripoli with confidence in my abilities. I
\nhope I'm still in Tripoli when the next presidential election
\ntakes place here,\" Utut said, referring to the poll on July 5.<\/p>\n
Despite being an underdog, Utut said it was possible to have a
\ngood run, citing the South Korean team's performance at the 2002
\nWorld Cup.<\/p>\n
\"After taking part in a number of World Cups, Korea finally
\nbeat the odds to reach the semifinals,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's now or never. I'll return home with the best result,\"
\nUtut said.<\/p>\n
Although the tournament is deprived of an elite group of
\nplayers, it is by no means an easy field.<\/p>\n
Utut's first challenge will be against GM Evgeny Alekseev of
\nRussia, who has a world rating of 2616 compared to Utut's 2591.<\/p>\n
If he overcomes this first hurdle, an increasingly stronger
\nmatch awaits with GM Vladimir Akopian (2689, Russia), GM Viktor
\nBologan (2665, Moldova) and GM Nigel Short (2712, England) being
\nthe likely opponents.<\/p>\n
Utut, who took his ticket for the world championship after
\nfinishing in the top ten in the qualifying tournament in Dubai in
\n2002, has recently finished a 10-day training regime with GM
\nTibor Karolyi of Hungary in Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gm-utut-seeks-to-break-jinx-at-chess-worlds-1447893297",
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