Players seek SEAG slots at Anniswati Cup

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Anniswati Memorial Cup, a women's chess tournament, began its grand final matches here on Wednesday with a view to select players for a national chess team for the biennial Southeast Asian multi-event competition in Vietnam in December.

The 14-strong list of competitors at the tournament comprises seven top players from the preceding two series of the tournament, the winner and runner-up of the recent Gunadarma Open, the winner and runner-up of the qualifying matches on Tuesday, and three wild-card entrants.

The wild-cards have been given to national champion Ai Zakia, teenager Amalia Andra and veteran Lisa Lumongdong, one of the Indonesia's few women's international masters (WIM) who has just returned from her self-imposed exile.

The Anniswati Cup is one of the four selection fields planned by the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) for its preparation for the next multi-event Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam where chess will be competed for the first time.

"We will pick two players from each of the tournaments. The eight candidates will be pitted against each other to fight for four places on the team," Hendry Jamal, Percasi chief in charge of training workout, said.

Along with six men, Percasi plans to send six women to Vietnam. WIM Upi Darmayana Tamin and Evie Lindiawati have been awarded automatic slots in the women's team.

The tournament, which will run until Tuesday next week, is scheduled to play seven rounds of classic chess games followed by nine rounds of rapid games.

The opening round on Wednesday saw four players win over their respective opponents. Evie beat Tuti Rahayu, Yulianti Tjindarbumi defeated Irene K. Sukandar, Stefani Dian stopped Sulung Wahyuningsih and Amalia Andra was awarded a win by forfeit as Ai Zakiah failed to turn up.