Brand masters plan battle in Jakarta

Brand masters plan battle in Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Two grandmasters, Indonesia's Utut Adianto and Great Britain's Nigel Short, will test each other's nerve in a series of chess duels beginning on Thursday.

Utut, ranked 70th in the world, and Short, ranked 15th, will fight for the US$ 15,000 cash prize in a six-round tournament held at Hotel Indonesia.

For Utut, who has an elo rating of 2,610 points, playing Short (2,665) will help him prepare for the interzonal tournament in Yerevan, Armenia, in April 1996.

"There will be a number of interesting games," Short said yesterday.

"I have prepared myself well for this prestigious match," he said, denying that he would play halfheartedly against Utut.

Utut said they had met three times, he lost once and they drew the other two times.

"I lost to him in 1986. The match had gone for eight rounds and each of us had 6.5 points. In the last round I changed my strategy and started to play Sicilian defense," Utut said, "Unfortunately Short was very good with it and stopped my next moves."

Utut said he had studied Short's last ten games to analyze his strategy.

"I'm well prepared and ready for the duel," Utut said.

According to Utut, Short's is an aggressive and very tactical player. Utut claims to be a strategic player.

Djamil Djamal, the Indonesian Chess Association secretary- general and an international judge, will officiate the tournament sponsored by IndoEkspres.

Meanwhile, Machnan Kamaludin, executive chairman of the Indonesian Chess Association, expressed his hope that the match will be one of the biggest events in the world and a game to remember.

According to Machnan, Utut needs 2.5 points to keep his present ranking.

"If he earns three points, his rank will be five places higher but if he's only able to collect two points, his points will be reduced by five," Machnan said. (05)