Utut admits mental lapses after week of hard training

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)