RI chess team loses to Japan

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's chess players got off to a shaky start in the 34th Chess Olympiad at Istanbul's Convention and Exhibition Center on Saturday.

The national men's team lost to Japan 1.5-2.5 while the women's team went down 0.5-2.5 to Rumania.

International Master Danny Juswanto was the only Indonesian to chalk up a win with the defeat of Tomohiko Matsuo in the men's competition. Grand Master Ruben Gunawan lost to Akira Watanabe and International Master Cerdas Barus was beaten by Yuuki Tanaki, while Hamdani Rubin played a draw with Ryuji Nakamura, as reported in www.ututadianto.com.

Indonesia's top two grand masters, Utut Adianto and Edhi Handoko, were benched in the first-round match.

In the women's event, the country's best bet Upi D. Tamin lost to Cristina Foisor. Rumania inflicted a further blow to Indonesia when Irina Ionescu Brandis outclassed Yeni Riayaningrum. Indonesia avoided a complete humiliation when Ai Zakiah held Elena Cosma to a draw. (ivy)