Utut Adianto prevails in Biel Master '94

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's leading chess wizard, Grand Master Utut Adianto, prevailed in the chess tourney Biel Master '94 in Switzerland after beating German Grand Master Lev Gutman in the 11th round on Saturday.

Utut's victory was sealed after his opponent, who was playing black, proposed a draw in the game's 23rd move which effectively gave him the highest amount of victory points in the championship, 8.5, and the 8,000 Swiss Franc prize (Rp 12 million).

The victory did not come easy for Utut, a player with elo rating of 2.520, who was seeded 15th in the event.

Utut's big boost came in the 10th round after he neutralized Russia's Master International Konstantin Landa, a development which jumped his points to 8.

In contrast, both of his two main rivals - Sweden's Grand Master Ulf Anderson whose rating was 2.620 and Hungary's Grand Master Alex Chermin whose rating was 2.615 - only managed to collect 7.5 victory point at that stage.

In the world of chess, the 2.600's rankings are an arena reserved for the sport's elites which includes Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.

At the end of the tourney, these two players gathered 8 victory points.

Analysts estimate that judging from Utut's performances in three previous international tournaments in the United States and Europe, he should increase his elo rating to 2.556.

This achievement, apparently, is way of ahead of schedule.

"It has been six months since we started this tour and he is already ranked at 2.556," said Eka Putra Wirya, a manager of Utut's club Makita All Stars Jakarta, to Jawa Pos daily on Sunday.

"We've been prompting him to try and reach the 2.600's by next year," Eka said.

Utut's next stop in his tour is the Lloyd's Bank chess tournament in London which is scheduled for Aug. 20.

In that meet, Utut will face such famous contenders as Grand Master Nigel Short of England, who has an elo rating of 2.685. (hdj)