Utut finishes fifth in Calicut

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's number one chess player, Grandmaster Utut Adianto, ended his Indian tour on a low note when he crashed to host player International Master P. Konguvel in the final match, finishing fifth in the Grandmasters Championships in Calicut on Monday.

Utut only managed to score six points after 11 round-robin matches. He had his elo rating of 2,615 slashed by 15 points following his poor result.

Home favorites dominated the chess tournaments, with IM Abhijit Kunte triumphing with 7.5 points, followed by his compatriot IM Ziaur Rachman, who scored seven points. Fellow Indian, IM Sashikiran and GM Kurtaev of Russia, collected 6.5 points each to finish third and fourth respectively.

Utut left India for Manila yesterday to compete in the Far East Bank championship. The Philippine meet, now underway until March 30, sees five grandmasters and five international masters. (lnt)