Utut holds Shirov in 12th round<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian grand master Utut Adianto needed
\nthree hours to hold top seed Alexei Shirov of Latvia in the 12th
\nround game of the Master Invitational chess tournament in Biel,
\nSwitzerland on Friday.<\/p>\n
Utut, who took the advantage of playing white pieces, defied
\nhis inferior elo rating to keep even with his world number seven
\nopponent. He exploited his favorite King Indian opening to
\nmaintain his attacking game.<\/p>\n
However, Shirov, whose elo rating of 2,690 outshines Utut's
\n2,590, defended strongly and avoided making unnecessary mistakes
\nas Utut attempted a number of tricky moves.<\/p>\n
Utut gained a pawn advantage after 15 moves, but Shirov
\nmanaged to force a complicated end-game. After 27 moves, the
\nIndonesian had no more strong pieces to scare Shirov, and
\nimmediately accepted the Latvian's offer of a draw.<\/p>\n
\"I did my best but he was so strong,\" Utut said after the
\nnerve-racking game. \"I'm quite satisfied with a draw,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The draw kept Utut in the second place of the provisional
\nstandings along with Shirov and Belarusian Boris Gelfand, who
\nalso managed an equal ending with Germany's Stefan Kindermann.
\nThe three have collected seven points each, and all are one point
\nbehind leader Alexei Dreev from Russia.<\/p>\n
All but one of the seven matches on Friday ended with a draw.
\nHome favorite Lukas Brunner beat Briton Julian Hodgson to become
\nthe only player to score a win.<\/p>\n
Utut now has only a slim chance of winning the US$40,000
\nchampionship as he plays his final round match against Vadim
\nMilov. Dreev, who was held by Jan Timman of the Netherlands on
\nFriday, needs only a draw to claim the title.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not going to give up the title until the game is over.
\nThere is going to be a miracle tomorrow,\" forewarned Utut. (amd)<\/p>\n
Results
\n Dreev - Timman 0.5 - 0.5
\n Gelfand - Kindermann 0.5 - 0.5
\n Zvjaginsev - Tkachiev 0.5 - 0.5
\n Gravrikov - de Firmian 0.5 - 0.5
\n Campora - Milov 0.5 - 0.5
\n Utut - Shirov 0.5 - 0.5
\n Brunner - Hodgson 1 - 0<\/p>",
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