Indonesia keen to produce woman chess Grand Master
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)