Palembang, Padang finish in top five

JAKARTA (JP): Chess teams from Palembang and Padang have maintained Indonesia's pride in the sport when they finished in the top five at the Asian Intercity Tournament in Genting Highland, Malaysia.

Palembang, spearheaded by national top chess players International Master (IM) Danny Juswanto and IM Cerdas Barus, collected 27.5 victory points for third place, while Padang was fourth with 20.

The Bali Jeff Center said in a media release yesterday that Danny and his company drew level with second-placed Tashkent but, the Uzbekistan team was rated better on Sholhov rulings.

China's Shijiazhuang won the annual tournament with 29 points. It earned the winner's US$3,000 cash prize. Tashkent received $2,000, Palembang $1,000 and Padang $500.

Unbeaten during the tournament, which concluded Wednesday, Danny gave Palembang a consolation victory when he took the individual gold medal for scoring the most points, 8.5, just half a point shy of the maximum mark. (amd)