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.