Lisa, Norasa in chase for SEAG slots

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Women's International Master (WIM) Lisa Lumongdong and Norasa Verdiana moved a step closer to joining the national chess team for the next Southeast Asian (SEA) Games after both took the two places provided at the Anniswati Cup.

Lisa and Norasa finished in second and third place respectively behind eventual champion Evie Lindiawati, who has been assured of an automatic berth in the next six-strong team.

The two will be among an initial shortlist of eight players to be included in a selection field for the Vietnam games in December in which chess will feature for the first time at the biennial multi-event sporting showcase in the region.

Lisa put behind her upset defeat at the hands of teenager Irene Sukandar the day before to bounce back with an additional 1.5 points collected from the last two rounds of the seven-round tournament on Sunday.

The former national team member at the past Chess Olympiad won over Yulianti Tjindarbumi in the sixth round and drew with Evie in the seventh round.

Norasa also added another 1.5 points to her collection. The two players are tied with 4.5 points each in the final standings, but Lisa built a better progressive score than Norasa.

Also finishing with 4.5 points, albeit with an inferior progressive score, were WIM Upi Darmayana Tamin and Yulianti.

Upi, the 1997 Asian women's champion, scored a perfect two points, winning over Amalia Andra and Irene Sukandar while Yulianti could only register a win.

Upi, who is the other of the two players assured of a place in the national team, admitted being disappointed with the result, blaming an unexpected result in her opening match and lack of matches for her modest performance.

"I drew with Irene in the first match, which devastated me. It affected my concentration in the subsequent games," she said.

Looking ahead for her next duty in the team for the Vietnam mission, Upi said that she would definitely need more matches and practice to hone her skills.

"I should up the play frequency to make up for lost time," said Upi, whose performance at the 2000 Chess Olympiad in Turkey was her last appearance in international tournaments.

The Anniswati Cup will resume competition with the rapid games, five rounds on Monday and four rounds on Tuesday. The rapid games, which allow 25 minutes of thinking time compared to 1.5 hours in classic games, will bear no influence on players' bid for membership in the national team.