Karpov outlasts Utut in thrilling tussle
Karpov outlasts Utut in thrilling tussle
JAKARTA (JP): World champion Anatoly Karpov displayed rock-
steady nerves to beat Indonesian challenger Utut Adianto in a
tense quarterfinal tiebreaker at the Intercontinental Rapid Chess
tournament in Cap d'Agde, France, on Wednesday.
Both chess masters had scored one win each in the normal two-
round quarterfinal format, before Karpov sent Utut reeling in the
blitz-chess decider played over two five-minute games.
Karpov took total control of the first tiebreaker game despite
the fact that he was playing black. His persistent attacks left
Utut no choice but to resign although he still had one minute
left, compared to Karpov's 30 seconds.
In the second game, a relaxed but flawless Karpov never let
Utut take command. Two back-to-back checks from Karpov gave Utut
no other option but to agree to a draw.
Utut blamed his defeat on a blunder he committed in the first
game of the scheduled matches. Playing black, he had a clear
possession advantage before he initiated an unlikely exchange of
bishops on the 41st move.
The swap dented Utut's efforts to isolate Karpov's king in the
center of the board, and worsened his chances of forcing a draw
or win. Karpov struck back, needing just three moves to make Utut
resign.
Smarting from the blunder, Utut blitzed Karpov in 26 moves in
the second scheduled game to pull level. It was Karpov's first
loss in the tournament.
Utut's manager Eka Putra Wirya was far from disappointed,
despite his player's defeat in the tiebreaker.
"Fantastic. He played a nearly excellent game that matched
those of the world-class masters. I'm proud of him, despite the
upset defeat," Eka said.
He added he would give Utut more opportunities to play in
international tournaments next year in a bid to increase his
current elo rating of 2,610 to 2,700.
In the World Age Group Chess Championships in Valencia, Spain,
Indonesia's Susanto Megaranto maintained his unbeaten run after
drawing with fourth seed Andre Volokitin of Ukraine in a marathon
fourth-round match on Wednesday.
Competing in the Under-12 category, the 11-year-old Indonesian
defended strongly to frustrate an attack-minded Volokitin. They
agreed to a draw after 67 moves played over five hours.
The result put Susanto half a point clear of Volokitin on top
of the standings with 3.5 points.
Fellow Indonesian Taufik Halay notched up his first draw, in a
match against Bulgarian ninth seed Andre Chevalinov. Taufik has
now accumulated 1.5 points after a win, two losses and a draw.
(amd)