RI youths set to challenge chess queen Kosteniuk<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After a year's absence, an international chess match is scheduled
\nto be held in Indonesia next week with three junior stars taking
\non Women's Grand Master (WGM) Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia, the
\nrunner-up at the recent World Championship.<\/p>\n
Susanto Megaranto, 15, Tirta Chandra, 16, and Andrean
\nSusilodinata, 12, are set to challenge the 18-year-old Russian,
\nwho holds the record of being the youngest female player ever to
\nattain a grand master title.<\/p>\n
The six-day Japfa Chess Match, to be held at the VOC Cafe and
\nGallery in North Jakarta from March 18 to March 23, will be the
\nfirst international event in a year after Andrean, then 11 years
\nold, was beaten by his Vietnamese rival Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son in
\ntheir match-up.<\/p>\n
\"The youths have progressed rapidly over the past year. And
\nI'm sure they can beat Kosteniuk,\" Indonesian team coach GM Utut
\nAdianto said on the upcoming prospects for the match at a press
\nconference on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
A number of officials at the Indonesian Chess Association
\n(Percasi) were present at the conference along with the
\nrepresentatives from the event sponsor, Japfa Comfeed.<\/p>\n
Utut hinted that he was not blowing the issue out of
\nproportion when he recalled the 2001 junior world chess
\nchampionship in Spain.<\/p>\n
Susanto and Andrean were close to taking their unprecedented
\nworld titles when they slipped up in the final round, which left
\nthem in the fifth and sixth places of their respective age
\ndivisions.<\/p>\n
A recent stunning achievement for Susanto unfolded when he
\nbeat the odds in winning the Pusam Open, a strong chess
\ntournament, which featured many senior grand masters, in
\nSamarinda, East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Tirta has been more mediocre with his accomplishments than his
\ntwo compatriots, but he still deserves acclaim as the best player
\nin the Southeast Asia region with his run last year.<\/p>\n
\"The matches should be tight going. Kosteniuk is typically
\noffensive and the opponents are likely to be engaged in a wild
\nexchange of attacks,\" Utut said.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the organizing committee, Eka Putra Wirya, was
\nmore cautious about expectations of the event.<\/p>\n
\"Our youths are beaten statistically. But if they can turn the
\ntables, it will really be big news,\" Eka, who is also Percasi's
\nexecutive director, said.<\/p>\n
Kosteniuk landed her grand master title when she was 13 years
\nand 10 months old and has since made herself one of the strongest
\nplayers in her field.<\/p>\n
At the world championship played on her home turf early this
\nyear, she marched on to the final stage before being stopped by
\nZhu Chen of China by a narrow margin.<\/p>\n
Ironically, it was because of her high status as the world's
\nrunner-up that almost spoiled Indonesia's bid to bring her here.<\/p>\n
Kosteniuk may have reevaluated her worth after the
\nchampionship was over, demanding a higher appearance fee and that
\nthe event be arranged with simultaneous games.<\/p>\n
Eka was close to abandoning hopes at the time, but the
\nnegotiations continued and they settled at an agreed US$6,000 for
\nthe fee, excluding two tickets for her and her mother and a
\nvacation in Bali.<\/p>\n
Eka said Kosteniuk's date of confirmation came about two weeks
\nago.<\/p>\n
Koseteniuk is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on a KLM flight
\non Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
She will take on the youths in two games each, with Andrean
\nbeing the first opponent on Monday and Tuesday, followed by Tirta
\non Wednesday and Thursday and Susanto on Friday and Saturday.<\/p>",
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