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)