Indonesian chess association misses mark on female GM

Indonesian chess association misses mark on female GM

JAKARTA (JP): Executives of the Indonesian Chess Association
(Percasi) will complete their term in July on a low note,
particularly because of their failure to meet a target to produce
a woman grandmaster, a chess observer says.

Djamil Djamal, who is also the chess body's secretary, did not
blame the failure solely on the chess body yesterday, saying he
found no women chess players who qualified for the most
prestigious chess title.

"It is not because Percasi did not do their best to help
national woman chess players wrest the grandmaster title, but the
players failed to match their world-class rivals," Antara quoted
Djamil as saying.

He said Percasi gave the country's top three woman players --
Upi D. Tamin, Maria Lucia and Lisa Karlina Lumondong -- many
opportunities to claim the distinction and improve their elo
ratings.

"We have sent them to the Olympics of Chess and a number of
tournaments in Europe under the tutelage of a foreign coach,"
Djamil said.

Distinguished female grandmaster Nana Alexandria of Georgia,
who competed in an international tournament here last year, said
then that Upi, Maria and Lisa lacked maturity and might need at
least two years to obtain the title.

Djamil rejected Alexandria's analysis.

"It's not true that our players are immature. Upi has proven
this by winning the 1996 Asian Chess Championship," said Djamil.

But he also noted the chess body's failure to deliver on
another goal of having 100 players in the world rankings.

In the past five years, Indonesia has produced only 82 players
who met the minimum elo rating for ranking by the world chess
body FIDE.

"The target is indeed very difficult to achieve," Djamil
conceded.

The chess body will hold a national congress in Bali in July
to elect its new executives. The congress will coincide with the
national championships.

"We hope that Akbar Tandjung will be reelected as the
association's chairman. But we will welcome newcomers from the
younger generation in the association," Djamil said. (lnt)