Local champion Utut suffers second defeat

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)