Female masters to face Alexandra

JAKARTA (JP): The trio of Indonesia's best female chess players are hoping to improve their elo rating when they take on Georgian grandmaster Nana Alexandra in Jakarta and Surabaya from June 8 to June 21.

Upi Darmayana Tamin, Lisa Karlina Alydia Lumongdong and Maria Lucia Ratna Sulystia, who each hold a Master International title, will play Alexandra as they gear up for their fight to become Indonesia's first grandmaster.

"We really hope they improve their performance because we want to see a female Indonesian grandmaster before 1997," Cholid Ghozali, executive director of the Indonesian Chess Association, said yesterday.

Alexandra, 49, has an elo rating of 2300. She was Soviet Union's three-times champion, European champion in 1970, and six times Olympics winner in 1969, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1982 and 1986.

The Georgian woman will play each Indonesian in a 40-move FIDE match. The winner of the duel will bag US$2,000 in cash, and the loser $1,000. (yan)