RI seeks another slot in chess event

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia will be seeking another slot at the 2003 World Chess Championship when it sends seven players to the regional qualifying tournament in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in the next two weeks.

The players are Grand Master (GM) Cerdas Barus, FIDE Master (FM) Irwanto Sadikin, Tirto, International Master (IM) Salor Sitanggang, IM Danny Juswanto, Susanto Megaranto and Tirta Chandra Purnama. Susanto and Tirta are members of the national juniors' team.

Vietnam's qualifying matches have been moved to June from April due to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Two slots for the world event will be provided at the tournament, which will run from June 20 to June 30 and feature participants from 18 countries grouped in Zone 3.2a.

The 2003 World Chess Championship will be staged in the Netherlands in December, where Indonesia has been assured a spot, thanks to GM Utut Adianto.

"We expect another ticket for the world championship. It would be good for our development if we can have a player to accompany Utut," Eka Putra Wirya, the executive director of the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi), told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.

Utut, who is the No. 1 grand master in Indonesia, netted a ticket after he finished in the top ten at the Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar, in early March.

Warning about rivalry, particularly from tough contenders Vietnam and the Philippines, Eka said Indonesia should have good prospects with Cerdas and rising star 15-year-old Susanto to follow Utut.

Cerdas will be heading to Vietnam with high confidence after his impressive performance at the World Olympiad in Bled, Slovenia, in October last year. Cerdas grabbed a gold medal after emerging as the best scorer among the first-board players.

However, he should keep in mind the tournament's challenges given the past failure of Utut to survive the competition and sit out the 2002 event in Moscow, Russia.

"It will be a tough competition again. Apart from Utut and Dao (Thian Hay) of Vietnam, who have qualified, the grand masters of the host country and the Philippines are expected to join," Eka said.

Utut's appearance in the Netherlands will be a comeback for him after he played in Groningen, Las Vegas and New Delhi, but missed his chance at the 2002 season in Moscow.

Given the Zone 3.2a, which includes 10 countries from Southeast Asia, the tournament could prove to be a prelude to the chess competition at the SEA Games in December, also in Vietnam.