Percasi to stage Olympics selection

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) will hold a selection tournament which will determine the men's and women's teams that will compete in the Chess Olympics in Istanbul from Oct. 28 to Nov. 14.

The tournament will take place at the F Sumanti chess hall on Jl. Tanah Abang I, Central Jakarta, from Aug. 1 to Aug. 10.

Out of 24 male chess players, the top four will be selected to join Grand Master (GM) Utut Adianto and International Master (MI) Cerdas Barus as part of the Chess Olympics. Four strong candidates to join the team are GM Ruben Gunawan, MI Danni Juswanto, GM Edhi Handoko and GM Ardiansyah, who have all received a first-round bye in the tournament.

On the women's side, out of 16 players the top two will be chosen to MI Upi D Tamin and National Master (MN) Ai Zakiah in Istanbul.

Percasi is providing Rp 15 million (US$1,670) in prize money for the men's side of the tournament and Rp 4.25 million for the women. (yan)