Utut, Hickl share laurels in chess meet

JAKARTA (JP): Home favorite Utut Adianto clawed his way back to win the decisive match on the final day of the BNI international chess tournament yesterday.

His impressive 25-move victory over England's grandmaster Julian Hodgson put the Indonesian on top of the standings on 8 points, sharing the laurels with German grandmaster Joerg Hickl.

Overnight leader Hickl ended the tournament by drawing with Chinese grandmaster Ye Jiangchun.

"The outcome's more than satisfactory after such a disastrous start. The tournament taught me a great lesson on how to bounce back despite the mounting pressures," said Utut, who is preparing for the prestigious Donner Memorial tournament in Amsterdam next month.

Utut and Hickl shared the winner's and runner-up's cash prizes, with each of them pocketing US$4,000. It was Utut's first championship title since triumphing in the Interzonal tournament in Kuala Lumpur two years ago.

Indonesian players shared Utut's happy ending as Ruben Gunawan clinched his first qualification for the grandmaster title after scoring 7.5 points and Danny Yuswanto ended his long wait for the international master title. (amd)