Danny, Stefanova vie for Makita chess title
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
IM Danny Juswanto continued his winning run by beating Chinese GM Zhu Chen in the penultimate round of the 10-round Makita- Lakoni International Grand Master Chess Tournament here on Tuesday.
Danny forced the world women's champion to surrender after 59 moves and jumped for a tied top spot with GM Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria, each with six points.
Stefanova let Danny catch her at the top after she could only draw with IM Hoang Thanh Trang of Vietnam in the Graha Kita Karya building, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.
The co-leaders will meet each other in the final round on Wednesday, in which the Indonesian contender will seek to avenge his defeat of their first meeting.
The winner of the game will be crowned the Makita champion. A draw will still give GM Utut Adianto, currently half a point behind the front-runners, the chance to share the top prizes, provided that he wins his final game against Hoang.
On the other board, Indonesia's young star IM Susanto Megaranto, who has suffered seven losses on the trot and collected 1.5 points, will try to take some pride in his game against Zhu.
On Tuesday, Danny admitted that as their Nimzo game was nearing the end he was looking for a draw when Zhu, who held white, made a wrong move with her king.
Danny apparently capitalized on his opponent's blunder to press ahead with his rook and knight. Zhu was forced to give up his rook for a knight, after which she shook Danny's hand in submission.
"As the match was about to conclude, I would have been happy with a draw, but Zhu Chen made the wrong move with the king. It was fatal," Danny told The Jakarta Post after the game.
Zhu Chen was obviously upset with her defeat and immediately left the room.
Tournament favorite, Utut, recovered from Monday's mishap, in which he squandered the chance to win over Stefanova, to collect another point with a win over Susanto in 55 moves.
"He was just better than me," Susanto said, adding that he had been trying hard for a draw but to no avail.
Utut praised his 16-year-old apprentice, saying that Susanto played well. "It is not easy to take on him," he said.
Meanwhile, Stefanova expects a tough game against Danny in the final round.
"It will be a tough game. I have met him twice and won both. But it does not mean that Wednesday's game will finish in the same way," said Stefanova, whose other win over Danny was registered during the 2002 Wismilak tournament in Surabaya, East Java.
White: GM Zhu Chen (2490) Black: IM Danny Juswanto (2505)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 0-0 5. a3 Bxc3 6. Qxc3 h6 7. g3 d6 8. Bg2 Re8 9. e4 e5 10. d5 a5 11. b3 c6 12. Ne2 cxd5 13. cxd5 b6 14. O-O Ba6 15. Re1 Nbd7 16. b4 Rc8 17. Qb2 Qc7 18. Bd2 Qc2 19. Ra2 Qxb2 20. Rxb2 Bxe2 21. Rxe2 axb4 22. Bxb4 Rc1+ 23. Re1 Rxe1+ 24. Bxe1 Rc8 25. Bd2 Kf8 26. f3 Ra8 27. Bb4 Nc5 28. Bf1 Nfd7 29. Kf2 Ke7 30. Ke3 g6 31. Bb5 f5 32. Bc6 Ra7 33. exf5 gxf5 34. Rb1 h5 35. Kd2 Na6 36. Bc3 Nc7 37. a4 Ra6 38. f4 e4 39. Bd4 Nc5 40. Rb4 Ne8 41. Ke2 Nf6 42. Kf1 Nfd7 43. Kg2 Nd3 44. Rc4 Ndc5 45. Kh3 Ne1 46. Kh4 Nf3+ 47. Kxh5 Nxd4 48. Rxd4 Kf6 49. Kh4 Ra7 50. Kh3 Nd3 51. Kg2 Rg7 52. Kf1 Rh7 53. Kg1 Ne1 54. Rb4 Nf3 55. Kf2 Rxh2+ 56. Ke3 Ne1 57. Rc4 Nc2+ 58. Rxc2 Rxc2 59. Bd7 Rg2 0-1