'New board must approach government'

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With Jeffrie Geovanie taking over as chairman of the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) on Tuesday, the country's number one Grand Master, Utut Adianto, is urging the association to seek financial support from the government.

Jeffrie was elected chairman after winning the support of 26 of the 27 provincial chapters at the association's conference in Semarang, Central Java.

The 36-year-old, who acted as deputy chairman of the association last term, succeeds Machnan Kamaluddin.

"Given the support from the provincial chapters, which appears to be huge, Jeffrie should not waste this momentum to carry on with what he already has on his agenda for national chess," Utut told The Jakarta Post.

"Institutions with structural links to the government should be approached. The government must show its goodwill toward chess.

"Look, Vietnam (chess) has enjoyed total support from its government," Utut said, referring to Indonesia's biggest chess rival in the region.

"Consolidation within the provincial chapters must also be pursued in an attempt to produce more strong players in areas outside of Java," he said.

The new chairman will lead a five-strong team to establish the new board of Percasi.

Utut is a member of the team, despite a previous announcement that he intended to resign from the organization to concentrate on his chess.

"It is a difficult for me to reject (the offer to join the team). But I will have to bargain. If possible, I do not need to be included on the board," said Utut, who will compete in the World Chess Championship in the Netherlands in December