Utut Adianto sets modest target for Dutch competition
Utut Adianto sets modest target for Dutch competition
JAKARTA (JP): The Donner Memorial tournament in Amsterdam this
August will be a daunting test for Indonesia's top chess wizard
Utut Adianto, in his bid for greater international recognition.
Grandmaster Utut, playing in what will be his toughest
tournament ever, said yesterday he has set a down-to-earth target
of improving his elo (world computer) rating by 15 in the Aug.
17-24 invitational meet.
World professional champion Grandmaster Garry Kasparov of
Russia is expected to join the 12-field event. Home favorites Jan
Timman and Jeroen Piket have confirmed their participation.
"For me, the Dutch outing will be the most crucial tournament
of the season. I won't waste the opportunity the world chess
society has offered me," an enthusiastic Utut said.
"I have something to prove there, whether I can survive in a
tough tournament like I did last year," he added.
Utut carved out a distinction last year by finishing third in
Biel, with surprising wins over Belarusian world number eight
Boris Gelfand and Timman in the process.
The Donner Memorial will be the second out of four major
events Utut has planned this year. The 31-year-old grandmaster
will open the season in the Biel Masters in Switzerland, two
weeks before going to Amsterdam.
Utut has also planned to play in the Chess Olympiad in
Yerevan, Armenia this September and the World Championship,
scheduled for December. The venue for the season-ending
championship will be decided during the Chess Olympiad.
"Increasing my elo rating by 15 is a realistic prospect I
think," Utut said of his campaign this year. Utut, the youngest
Indonesian to hold the grandmaster title, joins the world's elite
group with an elo rating of 2,610.
In preparation for the four major events, Utut will stay in
Hungary for a month to have a series of discussions and games
with local players, including former eight-times world champion
contender Lajos Portisch.
Utut said that he would stay out of chess for the first half
of the year following a late announcement from the world chess
body FIDE to change the world championship format.
Utut was scheduled to play the Interzonal Tournament, the
qualifying round for the world championship elimination matches
in April. FIDE dropped the tournament and introduced a more
popular format for the world championship, where the top 100
players will be drawn in a straight knock-out competition. (amd)