Utut in hot pursuit for world tour

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Grand Master Utut Adianto will begin his quest for a ticket in the World Chess Championship by participating in several overseas tournaments.

He will warm up in Liepaja's Super Tournament, which only features rapid chess, in Latvia from Aug. 2 to Aug. 5. Each game takes 25 minutes and Utut will play some world-class players including Alexander Khalifman of Russia, Alexei Shirov of Spain, Maxim Dlugy of the United States and woman chess player Victoria Cimylte of Lithuania.

The Indonesian will also perform in the Continental Chess tournament in Calcutta, India, from Aug. 8 to Aug. 19.

Artsanti Alif, spokeswoman of PT JAPFA Comfeed Indonesia Tbk, said that three top chess players from JAPFA Chess Club, where Utut also serves as an instructor, will compete in the first ASEAN International Open Chess Championships, starting on Sunday until Aug. 5 in Brunei Darussalam.

They are Salor Sitanggang, Fahmi Jauhari and Novian Siregar.

The Brunei event is offering US$3,000 for the winner, $2,000 for the runner-up and $1,000 for third place. It is scheduled to be an annual event.

For the JAPFA team, the championship will also serve as a warm-up before competing in an exhibition at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur from Sept. 8 to Sept. 17 and the Jakarta League also in September. (ivy)