Lone woman player Polgar keeps lead in JAPFA Classic

By Ivy Susanti

SANUR, Bali (JP): Grand Master (GM) Judit Polgar of Hungary held her lead on Friday with 4.5 Match Points (MP) after she drew with GM Alexander Khalifman of Russia in the sixth round of the JAPFA Classic International Tournament 2000.

Russian chess legend GM Anatoly Karpov shared second place with GM Gilberto Milos of Brazil with 4 MP each, followed by Khalifman and GM Yasser Seirawan of the United States with 3.5 MP.

Karpov, who is now the world's 11th ranked player, drew with GM Jan Timman of the Netherlands in the 62nd move after a six- hour tussle, using the Caro Kann defense. Their match ended in checkmate as they were left with a king, queen and a pawn.

Timman, who is ranked 32 in the world, collected 2.5 MP.

Indonesia's top player GM Utut Adianto managed to improve his point after defeating International Master (IM) Zaw Win Lay of Myanmar in the 20th move by Queen Indian defense. Utut earned 3 MP while Zaw is the bottom finisher with 0.5 MP.

Another Indonesian player GM Ruben Gunawan conceded to Milos in the 32nd move in the Sicilia defense. Ruben collected 1.5 MP.

At another table, Seirawan beat GM Jaan Ehlvest of Estonia in the 48th move with the Indian Bogo defense. Ehlvest has 3 points.

Polgar said after the match she was happy with her performance in the tournament. She was modest, however, about her chances of winning the 16th category tournament held at the Grand Bali Beach hotel here.

"I'm happy with the result. Of course I want to win. But there are still three other games ahead." Polgar has won three games and tied three.

Climate

Khalifman offered Polgar a draw after he realized that both of them would have to repeat their knight movement at the central board.

Khalifman, the 1999 FIDE world champion, blamed his poor performance on the local weather.

"I'm not used to playing in the hot and humid climate like here. I don't like this climate and the climate doesn't like me either. So I'm not in my best form. I lack energy. I remember when I was younger, I played in Manila, which has a similar climate, and I faced the same problem there. Staying in the air- conditioned room is not enough," he said.

He expressed his hope that he could play better in the remaining games.

"I regret my performance. I want to play better. I still have three games to go. To win a game we need some energy. I still hope the tournament is not over. But sometimes, things do not go on perfectly," he said.

Utut said after the match that Zaw apparently did not like his style. He said he needed one more points to maintain his elo rating.

"I hope I can win two more games against Khalifman and Seirawan but it won't be easy. I still have the chance because I will play the white pieces," Utut said.

Zaw said mental pressure led him to give up easily to Utut.

"Yesterday (on Thursday), I fought longer with Judit. I'm very tired. I also lost my confidence because I earned the fewest point of 0.5 MP. But I have to try, I will never give up," he said.

Zaw lost to Polgar in a momentous struggle lasting about six hours and 30 minutes in the fifth round match on Thursday.