Upi sets sights on becoming first RI woman grandmaster
Upi sets sights on becoming first RI woman grandmaster
JAKARTA (JP): Upi Darmayanti Tamin is training hard in an
effort to realize her liftetime ambition: to become Indonesia's
first woman chess grandmaster.
" I have been training six hours regularly every day for the
past two months in preparation for a series of international
tournaments in Europe next May.
"The tournaments will give me every opportunity to achieve my
ambition to become the country's first woman chess grandmaster,"
Upi said yesterday.
She said she was determined not to blow the chance. "I cannot
afford to fare badly in the events because I have fixed my eyes
firmly on attaining the grandmaster title. It's now or never."
The 25-year-old Asian champion and Indonesia's No. One woman
chess player has been under the tutelage of Grandmaster Utut
Adianto, International Master Ruben Gunawan and another
Indonesian Master Edhi Handoko, the country's top three male
players, for the past three weeks at the Enerpac chess school in
Jakarta.
Upi said tremendous moral support from her parents has further
strengthened her optimism and confidence that the coveted
grandmaster title is within her reach.
"In fact my parents have been the driving force behind my
chess career for years," said Upi, whose current elo rating is
2,175.
She said that since the Indonesian Chess Association sought to
make her the country's first women's grandmaster last year, she
has made remarkable headway in her chess technique, both in her
attacking patterns and in defense.
He cited her performances at the 32nd Chess Olympiad in
Yerevan, Armenia, last September, and last month's Asian
championships as what she described as "clear examples of her
significant progress."
In the Olympics, Upi, who has a penchant for the conservative
Sicilian defense, managed to collect 6.5 points out of a possible
10. At the Asian meet, she emerged as the undefeated champion by
amassing 8.5 points out of a possible 10.
Pending an official decision by the international chess
federation, FIDE, Upi's elo rating will be increased by 40 on the
strength of her title success in the Asian championships.
To further polish and hone her chess skills, the Indonesian
Chess Association will soon hire a reputed Russian coach, Nikolai
Andrianov, prior to her participation in the European
tournaments. (bas)