Utut Adianto to play Kasparov in Holland

Utut Adianto to play Kasparov in Holland

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Grand Master Utut Adianto has
received a rare invitation to play world chess professional
champion Garry Kasparov of Russia in the Donner Memorial
tournament, scheduled for Aug. 17 to Aug. 29 in the Netherlands.

The newly inducted research and development official of the
Indonesian Chess Association, Eka Putra Wirya, said yesterday
that the organizers of the invitational tournament picked Utut
among the 12 participants due to his commendable record.

Eka and 21 other Indonesian chess body officials were swore in
by Chairman of the National Sports Council Wismoyo Arismunandar
yesterday. Akbar Tandjung has been named the chairman for the
1994-1998 period.

"The chess world has now begun to turn its head to the East,
and Utut is one of the best choices for such a prestigious
tournament," Eka said.

The tournament will feature grand masters with average elo
rating of 2,650. Utut now holds an elo rating of 2,610, following
his 1-4 defeat to British grand master Nigel Short here last
December.

Utut is tipped to play in round-robin matches at the annual
chess meet which offers each participant 3,500 gilders appearance
money.

Eka said the organizers are waiting for Kasparov's
confirmation. Kasparov is now playing an experimental duel with a
computer in Philadelphia.

The Donner Invitational is one of four big tournaments
included in Utut's agenda this year.

Utut will play in the Masters Invitational in Biel,
Switzerland, two weeks before going to the Netherlands. Utut won
the 1994 Biel tournament but had to be satisfied with runner-up
the following year.

After the two invitational meets, Utut will lead the
Indonesian team in the Chess Olympiad in Armenia this September.

World c'ship

Utut will cap the season in the US$5 million World
Championship, slated for Dec. 20, 1996 to Jan. 12, 1997. Eka said
that the venue for the annual world championship will be decided
during the Chess Olympiad.

The world chess body FIDE has changed the format of the world
championship into a more equitable one, with a title holder
playing in a 100-field tournament which applies a knock out
system.

In the past, a defending champion only had to wait for the
contender who had to play a series of exhausting qualifying
matches en route to the world championship duel.

"The world championship now gives all the chess players a
better chance to win. Utut is expected to shine if the draw
favors him," said Eka.

Each qualifier will receive $6,000 for the first round and the
amount will double if he goes through the next round. The winner
of the championship will bag a whopping $1,350,000 prize money.

Also yesterday, Machnan Kamaluddin, the re-elected executive
chairman of the association, said that Indonesia will host an
international women's grand master tournament for the first time
ever in May.

"We want to show that we pay attention to women as well as
junior players," Machnan said. Indonesia played host to the
women's interzonal championships in 1993, a tournament to pick
candidates to be world champion contenders.

Machnan said three top national players, Upik Damayanti Tamin,
Lisa Lumongdong and Maria Lucia, have been groomed for the world
tournament. Russian coach Nikolai Andrianov will help them
prepare for the event. Andrianov also coached the national
players for the interzonal tournament in 1993.

Machnan said that the association will send its junior players
to take part in the Junior World Championships in Malaysia on
June. (05/amd)