Chess team lacks fund

Chess team lacks fund

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) has
been expecting financial support for the SEA Games training
program, but KONI says there is no funding allocation for the
chess team.

The association is preparing nine players -- five men and four
women -- for the chess competition at the SEA Games, to be held
in Kuala Lumpur from Sept. 8 to 17.

Chess, which is among the 30 events Indonesia will be
participating in, will be contested as an exhibition event in its
bid for inclusion as a medal event at the following games in
Vietnam in 2003.

The national team will start a nine-day training session on
Saturday in Cipanas, West Java.

Prior to the Cipanas camp, the association remains desperate
in its search for financial assistance.

"We are very hopeful of receiving cash from KONI, which we
need to finance the preparations," Djamil Djamal, the
association's general-secretary, told The Jakarta Post on
Thursday.

Separately, Putera Astaman, the national training director,
said that there had been no allocation of funds for the chess
squad.

"If they are to participate, they shall go at their own
expense," Putera said.

"We only tackle the financial costs for medal events, not non-
medal events," he added. Nevertheless, Putera said that he still
saw a possibility of KONI being able to draw on its routine
operational expense budget for the chess team.

The nine players include GM Edhi Handoko, IM Danny Juswanto,
FM Irwanto, Salor Sitanggang and Susanto Megaranto in the men's
team; and Upi Damayanti Tamin, Ai Zakiah, Tuti Rahayu and Evi
Lindiawati in the women's team.

Djamil, who will be one of the three officials traveling to
Kuala Lumpur, said that, although chess will be played as a non-
medal event, the team would not take the games lightly.

The team means business in the competition, which is reflected
by its squad selection, Djamil said.

Among the nine, only two are juniors, Susanto and Evi, both
national junior champions.

Djamil dismissed suggestions that more juniors should be
included in the team, fearing that they might return home empty-
handed.

With KONI unlikely to provide any cash assistance, Percasi
will certainly need turn to private sponsors, as it has often
been required to do in the past in order to meet tournament
commitments, according to Djamil. (01)