Chess meet breaks local record

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A record 9,122 people took part in The Mega Chess 12000 festival here on Friday but the competition fell short of its aim to break the world record.

The number was below the world record of 11,320 chess players, who played simultaneously in one tournament in Havana, Cuba, in December.

However, it easily broke the national record, a 2000-strong chess meet in Surabaya in which Grand Master (GM) Utut Adianto played simultaneous matches with 833 amateurs.

It will be registered by the Indonesia Records Museum (MURI), which sent its officials to the event.

Opened by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the competition was staged inside two halls at the Kemayoran Fair Ground in Central Jakarta.

The failure to meet the expected 12,032 target was blamed on late withdrawals by some participants.

"We registered 13,000 players before the tournament," Bambang Sukotjo, from the organizing committee, told The Jakarta Post.

MURI manager Paulus Pangka said that he found 1,455 seats in the sprawling two halls unoccupied, meaning the organizers missed 2,910 of the targeted 12,032 players.

However, even the accuracy of the 9,122 figure was questioned, with committee chairwoman Santi Diansari disputing the way participants were counted.

Controversy could have been avoided if organizers had proceeded with their plan to put a barcode on the participants' shirts, which would automatically record their presence, she said.

"We scrapped that because we were still sure we could count the number of participants accurately," Bambang said.

However, world records aside, the tournament was a success for Indonesian chess, with participants coming from as far as Indramayu, about 200 kilometers to the east of Jakarta.

"We came here in 10 buses," a traveler from Indramayu, West Java, said.

The participants got free T-shirts with the color representing one of the political parties contesting the general elections. Meals were also provided free.

The matches were played in 14 rounds with an elimination format. In the first seven rounds players took moves alternately every 10 seconds, with 15 minutes to complete the game.

Each move was marked with a gong from the podium stage.

The remaining seven rounds were played in blitz chess, permitting only five minutes to complete the game.

The winner received the grand prize -- a Daihatsu Xenia.

While only amateurs with no titles were allowed in the gala tournament, titled players took part in the team's master competition.