Utut keeps on winning in Biel

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Grand Master Utut Adianto maintained his winning form on the second day of the Biel Master chess tournament in Switzerland on Tuesday.

Utut used the full advantage of playing white to beat host player International Master Hans Juerg Kaenel after 32 moves of the two-hour game. The Indonesian exploited the Queen Gambit opening to wear out his opponent's patience.

Utut admitted Kaenel, whose elo rating of 2,395 is far below his mark of 2,610, offered strong resistance throughout the game.

"It was a tough match in which I had to sacrifice one of my knights in the 13th move. The match developed into a more complicated one after 22 moves," Utut said in his faxed release made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Running out of time, the Swiss failed to keep his composure in the intricate game. A blunder just a few minutes before the clock cost him the match. A player is given two hours in the first 40 moves.

Russian IM Alexander Cherniaev produced the biggest upset of the day when he scalped top seed GM Vadim Milov of Switzerland. Cherniaev has an elo rating of 2,415 compared to Milov who is 2,640.

The victory put Utut on top of the standings together with Cherniaev, Yugoslavia's GM Milos Pavlovic and IM Dejan Antic, IM Tomas Polak of the Czech Republic and IM Alexander Mikhaellevski of Israel.

In the third round, Utut will play Polak, whose elo rating of 2,525 matches that of a Grand Master.

Earlier on Monday, Utut got his title bid off to a flying start with a win over GM Neboisa Ilijin of Rumania in the 43rd move through Sicilian Dragon defense. This defense is Utut's favorite variant.

It took Utut four hours to force the Rumanian to resign.

A total of international 58 players are competing in the annual chess meet, vying for the total purse of 42,000 Swiss francs. Of the participants, 13 are Grand Masters -- including one female -- 14 International Masters and 15 FIDE International Masters.

The winner will receive 7,000 Swiss francs. (lnt)