Indonesia keen to produce woman chess Grand Master

JAKARTA (JP): Upi Darmayana Tamin will undergo a six-month intensive training stint as Indonesia tries to produce its first female grand master.

"Upi has been selected because she is ready to dedicate her life to chess and because her company fully supports her," says Eka Putra Wirya, owner of the Enerpac Chess School, the only school of its kind in Indonesia.

"We approached Lisa Lumondong, another top female chess player, but she was unable to meet our expectations," said Machnan R. Kamaluddin, president director of Upi's employer, PT Kiani Kertas. Kamaluddin is also executive director of the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi).

PT Kiani Kertas, which is owned by tycoon Mohammad Hasan, will continue paying Upi's monthly salary in full even though she is skipping work for six months.

During the six-month project, Upi is required to train seven hours a day from Monday to Friday. On Mondays she will be required to study by herself. From Tuesday to Friday she will study under the tutelage of Indonesia's number one Grand Master, Utut Adianto, and head coach Grand Master Edhi Handoko. Every Saturday she will be pitted in a duel against a male chess player, with FIDE Master Ruben Gunawan acting as her second.

After six months of this exacting regime, Upi's performance will be evaluated. If it is not satisfactory but Upi shows a very strong determination to make it, the project will be continued for another six months, Eka says.

If Upi completes the six-month program commendably, she will be sent abroad to take part in various competitions in order to boost her present elo rating of 2,135.

A female grand master should have an elo rating of at least 2,300.

Upi said she was very grateful for the chance given to her and was ready for the challenge. She said she had no problems about the time not spent with her four-year-old daughter.

Upi comes from a "chess family." Her first coach was her own father, Darmawi Tamin. Her sister, Darmayanti Tamin, was the 1980 and 1981 national champion. Darmayanti quitted the game when Upi stepped into the chess spotlight by becoming the champion of the Under-16 Asia-Pacific Chess Championship in Australia in 1985.

Yesterday, Eka, who is also Percasi's research and development chief, announced that he will open a new chess school in Surabaya on Oct. 18.

Percasi chairman Akbar Tanjung said that Percasi also plans to open such schools in other cities where chess is of particular popularity, such as Medan, North Sumatara, and Manado, North Sulawesi. (arf)