Stefanova punishes Danny's erratic play in Makita

Stefanova punishes Danny's erratic play in Makita

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

GM Antoaneta Stefanova took advantage of a flurry of mistakes
by IM Danny Juswanto to secure a win and a point in their fourth-
round game at the Makita-Lakoni International Grand Master Chess
Tournament here on Thursday.

Another visiting grand master was also victorious, with GM Zhu
Chen stopping IM Susanto Megaranto, while GM Utut Adianto had to
settle for draw with IM Hoang Thanh Trang.

Zhu from China, who won the female world championship in 2001
against Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia in Moscow, now leads the
standings with three points.

Stefanova follows with 2.5 points while Utut and Danny are
tied half a point behind. Susanto, the youngest player in the
field, remains in fifth with 1.5 points followed by Hoang with a
point.

It was Stefanova's second win over Danny, following the 2002
Wismilak tournament in which the Bulgarian emerged as the winner.

Thursday's game was a comeback performance for Stefanova after
her loss to Utut on Wednesday.

Asked if she thought she had a chance to win the tournament,
she said: "Yes, at the moment. But there are still many rounds to
go. Each of us has an equal chance of winning."

Stefanova punished Danny for loose play which saw him make a
string of early mistakes.

After 43 moves, Stefanova ended their Queen's Bishop game in
her favor.

"Danny made many mistakes in the opening," the 2002 European
champion told The Jakarta Post.

"From the early stage, Danny built a terrible position. He
sacrificed three pawns for an attacking initiative but it proved
hard for him to break in. Stefanova had her free pawn on the d
column, which Danny could not stop from being promoted,"
Kristianus Liem, a chess columnist, said.

In other matches, Susanto put up a tough fight against Zhu,
both extending their balanced position to the end of the game.

"They were fighting until the end. Susanto was running out of
time, making him uneasy and erratic," Kristianus said.

Kristianus, who is the spokesperson for the Indonesian Chess
Association, said the visiting women's players had proven that
they are truly strong contenders in the tournament.

Utut said that the draw was a fair result in his encounter
with Hoang, given that Hoang played good defense throughout.

"I tried to take an attacking initiative as early as the 13th
move by trading my rook for two minor pieces. I got an extra two
pawns as compensation.

"However, Hoang defended well. She always had an answer to
every move I made," he said.

With both players finding headway impossible, a draw was
agreed to after 43 moves.

Utut will face Susanto, his prodigy whom he has touted as
Indonesia's next great player, in the fifth round of the
tournament on Friday.

Hoang will play Stefanova while Danny will try to bounce back
against Zhu.