Local champion Utut suffers second defeat

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's number one chess player, grandmaster Utut Adianto, plummeted to his second shock defeat in the BNI international tournament yesterday.

It was compatriot Danny Yuswanto who blew away Utut's bid for his first title of the year. Playing with the advantageous white pieces, Danny employed constant attacks to tear down Utut's Caro- Kann defense in 39 moves.

The win helped Danny leapfrog to second place, sharing it with German grandmaster Joerg Hickl, according to the provisional standings of the 12-man tournament. Hickl and Danny have adjourned their match.

England's grandmaster Julian Hodgson remained on top of the table with three points, thanks to a lackluster draw with Hickl in a game that lasted just 16 moves yesterday.

Utut, smarting from his loss to fellow Indonesian Ruben Gunawan on Tuesday, opted for an open game in response to Danny's rapid battling style. But it proved costly. Utut made a number of major sacrifices which led to his defeat.

Utut shared fourth spot with grandmaster Ardiansyah, grandmaster Ye Jiang Chuan and grandmaster Vladislav Tkachiev with two points each.

Analysts said that Utut still has a chance to win the title, with seven games left to play.

Now unbeaten, Danny is getting close to grandmaster standard. He needs 7.5 points to take the highest title in the chess world. The world chess body FIDE will grant him an international master title if he collects 5.5 points.

FIDE refused to recognize Danny's international master title he clinched in an international tournament in Yogyakarta last year. The world chess body reasoned that tournament organizers failed to apply conventional rulings regarding time. (amd)