Utut, Hickl share laurels in chess meet

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)