Utut admits mental lapses after week of hard training

JAKARTA (JP): A better position does not always guarantee a victory. This truth was once demonstrated in a national chess championship in the former U.S.S.R, in which grandmaster Eduard Gufeld of Georgia lost to fellow Georgian grandmaster Tigran Vartanovich Petrosyan despite holding a strong positional advantage.

"I have a better position," Gufeld said mid-way through the game. "I have a better head" was Petrosyan's reply. He was right.

This was how Utut Adianto, Indonesia's number one chess player, acknowledged his weakness after a week of intensive training with internationally-acclaimed chess coach Mark Dvoretsky of Russia.

"I learned that maintaining focus is important once a positional advantage is gained. I often find myself buoyed by a positional lead and lose concentration to maintain that lead. Yes, this is a weakness I have to admit," Utut said at a press conference at the Enerpac chess school yesterday.

Utut has been under the 49-year-old Russian's tutelage since Nov. 4 and will be training with him until Nov. 17. The training is aimed at preparing him for a duel against Hungary's Judit Polgar, currently the only female player in the world to hold the grandmaster title. The duel is scheduled for Dec. 10. Judit ranks 18th in the world with an elo rating of 2,665 and Utut 62nd with 2,605.

Utut trains with Dvoretsky, dubbed the world's best chess coach. His students have included world number six Viswanathan Anand of India and world number four Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

Dvoretsky is known for his strict discipline. While coaching, he forbids smoking, phone calls and questions unrelated to chess. Eka Putra Wirya, Utut's patron and owner of the Enerpac school, declined to say how much Dvoretsky was being paid to coach Utut.

Utut said he also tended to undermine seemingly weak or out-of-form opponents. In last month's Gunadarma International Chess Tournament, for instance, a very attack-minded Utut lost to Germany's Joerg Hickl.

"I thought Hickl was on the decline because he had lost three times in a row before. So I was very excited about finishing him off as quickly as possible. But this made me vulnerable and error-prone," said the 31-year-old grandmaster. (arf)