Indonesia fell to Georgia in Moscow Chess Olympiad

Indonesia fell to Georgia in Moscow Chess Olympiad

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian men's chess team on Wednesday
fell 0.5-3.5 to a strong Georgian team in the seventh round of
the 31st Chess Olympiad in Moscow.

The Indonesian women's team, on the other hand, finished the
round in a contrasting style by beating Cuba 2-1, the Indonesian
Chess Association announced yesterday.

One might attribute the loss to the absence of Grand Master
Utut Adianto, currently Indonesia's number one, who was
reportedly exhausted and could not be fielded.

Grand Master Eddy Handoko, who replaced Utut on the first
board, though trying hard to defend, finally cracked under the
powerful pressure of Grand Master Azmai Parashvilli, whose elo
rating far exceeds his.

Parashvilli, who started the game with the Pirc opening,
stopped Handoko at the 41st move.

The same fate was destined for international masters Jonathan
Situru and Salor Sitanggang.

Situru bowed at the 48th move to Grand Master Georgadze, who
also started with the Pirc opening.

Sitanggang could no longer move his king which was trapped at
the 46th move by another Georgian grand master, Zeichik.

The only Indonesian player who managed to tie with strong
Georgian players was Cerdas Barus. In a long drawn battle, Barus
succeeded in forcing International Master Supa Tashvili to a draw
at the 52nd move.

Indonesia's victory over Cuba in the women's team was nailed
by international women masters Upi Dharmayana and Lindri
Wijayanti.

Dharmayana and Lindri outwitted Y. Hernandez and her sister T.
Hernandez at the 40th and 60th moves, with the popular Sicilia
opening and the Ruy Lopez opening, respectively.

Another Indonesian female player, Maria Ratna who played
brilliantly in the previous rounds was able to keep her pieces
moving only until the 69th move. She was stopped by Cuban FIDE
master Slometa in a game started with the Modern opening.

This result continues the almost regular wins and losses
recorded by both the Indonesian men's and women's teams.

In the sixth round, it was the men's team which trashed
Tunisia 3-1 while the women's team fell 1.5-2.5 to the strong
Latvian team. (arf)