Karpov shows his class to beat Utut in JAPFA Classic
By Ivy Susanti
SANUR, Bali (JP): Indonesian Grand Master (GM) Utut Adianto bowed under pressure to chess legend GM Anatoly Karpov in the fifth round of the JAPFA Classic International Tournament 2000 on Thursday.
The country's top player said after the match that he was seeking a draw with Karpov but the Russian's precise moves and experience were too strong. Utut gave up to Karpov in the 41st move, using the "Queen Indian defense".
Another Indonesian player GM Ruben Gunawan agreed to a tie with GM Yasser Seirawan of the United States in the 22nd move, also with the Queen Indian defense. GM Jaan Ehlvest of Estonia drew with GM Jan Timman of the Netherlands in the 30th move using the Sicilia defense, and GM Gilberto Milos Jr. of Brazil tied with GM Alexander Khalifman of Russia in the 24th move with the Nimzo Indian defense.
GM Judit Polgar of Hungary, the only woman chess player in the 16th category tournament, defeated International Master (IM) Zaw Win Lay of Myanmar in the 70th move in an arduous match which took about six hours and 30 minutes.
Using the Sicilia defense, Polgar retained her black knight, bishops and two pawns while Zaw was left with his knight and bishop at the end of the match, which was held at Grand Bali Beach hotel here.
With the result, Polgar remains atop the standings with 4 Match Points (MP), followed by Karpov (3.5 MP), Khalifman, Seirawan, and Milos (3 MP each), Ehlvest (2.5 MP), Utut and Timman (2 MP), Ruben (1.5 MP) and Zaw (0.5 MP).
Utut attempted to innovate in the 16th move by fielding his black pawn to c5 instead of c7, the usual approach.
Karpov was unfazed and turned on the pressure.
"I give an aggressive response in the 16th move but I was under constant pressure after that. Although I won one pawn against him, it wasn't enough for me to escape from the pressure because his arrangement become more centralized," he said.
He said he held a second chance on the 24th move to make matters even.
"In the 24th move, my knight should have seized his pawn at a4. But I fielded my bishop at b7 instead. In the next move, he got my rook. I was forced into making the wrong moves."
Utut was not downcast from the loss.
"I lost but I still have other games to play tomorrow. I'm happy with my performance, because I produced a new initiative and the iniative was played in a high-level tournament."
Mastery
He also praised Karpov for his mastery of the game.
"Karpov's performance today was superb. It reminded me of his form when he was still in his golden years. His moves were very accurate and precise. He had the answers to all my moves."
Thursday was the ninth time that Utut challenged Karpov, who was the FIDE world champion from 1975 to 1985, and then again from 1993 to 1999. Utut won two of the matches, drew three times and lost four times.
Ruben and Seirawan traded praise after their match. Ruben acknowledged that Seirawan was accurate with his moves and Seirawan lauded Ruben's choice to move his white knight from e4 to c5 in the 20th move.
On Friday, the matches are Ehlvest vs Seirawan, Ruben vs Milos, Polgar vs Khalifman, Utut vs Zaw and Timman vs Karpov.