Utut tied with Wang in opener

Utut tied with Wang in opener

JAKARTA (JP): Grandmaster (GM) Utut Adianto of Indonesia failed to earn a full point in the first round of the sixth Tan Chin Nam Cup, a 16-category chess championship being held at the Hua Yuan Hotel in Beijing.

He offered a draw to host player GM Wang Zili after playing for six hours and 20 minutes. Utut led the game until the 35th move when he managed to arrest Wang's black pawn in b4.

Utut seemed to be on course for a rapid victory but he lost his concentration despite numerous opportunities. Wang easily anticipated Utut's next moves and managed to develop counterattacks, said Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) spokesman Kristianus Liem from Beijing.

"Maybe I'm not too fit. I felt exhausted after playing for six hours," Utut was quoted by Liem as saying. "But Wang Zili played very well using the Italian catenaccio (defensive) style."

GM Peng Xiaomin of China and GM Viktor Bologan of Moldova both made a good start on Sunday. Peng beat teammate GM Ye Jiangchuan and Bologan beat another host player GM Xu Jun. China's GM Zhang Zhong also tied with GM Alexander Onischuk of Ukraine in the 40th move using a Spanish defense. (ivy)