Utut dreams of top four in Tripoli
Utut dreams of top four in Tripoli
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's No. 1 chess grand master Utut Adianto will be
heading to the world chess championship with high hopes for a
place in the semifinals.
"I have a lot of confidence (that I'll do well in) this
tournament. Hopefully, I can reach the semifinals," Utut told The
Jakarta Post here.
The world chess championship will run from June 18 to July 13.
The majority of the matches will be played in Tripoli, Libya,
while others will be in Valetta, Malta.
Utut qualified for the tournament at the Asian Championship in
Dubai last year.
It is the fourth time that Utut has qualified since 1997.
Although he was unable to get past the second round in his
previous appearances, Utut says he thinks he can do it this time.
"For me, it's now or never. Surely, I still have some good
weapons," he said.
Utut gave the Indonesian chess team its only gold medal at the
recent Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in December but put in a
somewhat discouraging performance later by finishing only in
third place at the Makita Grand Master tourney.
"After you watch someone lose, you may expect a backlash from
him," he said.
With a total of US$1,508,000 in cash prizes on offer, the
tournament has drawn world's best players. A first-round loser
will still pocket $6,000.
To boost his chances, Utut has hired a foreign coach, Tibor
Karolyi of Hungary, to help him prepare for the tournament.
Karolyi, whose coaching record includes a past stint with world
No. 5 Peter Leko, is expected to arrive here on May 9.
"I know him well. We were together more than two years in a
junior competition. I will need to build further on my chess
repertoire and Karolyi can help me find some ideas on the chess
board," Utut said.
Karolyi, a 43-year-old International Master (IM) title holder
will work with Utut for only two weeks but an extension is
possible.
"We'll see whether I need to extend the partnership by
bringing him along with me to Libya," Utut said.
Utut will be among 128 of world's best chess players in the
championship, which uses a knockout format.
With him expected to be the 83rd seed among the contenders,
Utut, currently ranked 135 in the world, will probably face Smbat
Lputian of Armenia, whose world ranking is 60th.