Utut to play Smyslov for 2600 elo rating

JAKARTA (JP): Grand Master Utut Adianto, currently Indonesia's number one chess player, is scheduled to play Russian Vassili Smyslov, the former world champion in 1957 and 1958, in a six- round duel starting from Nov. 17 at the Enerpac chess school, presently the only school of its kind in Jakarta.

"Utut needs at least a 4-2 victory to increase his elo rating by 10 to 2600 and boost his world ranking from 72 to 60," Eka Putra Wirya, the school's owner, told reporters yesterday.

As of July, the world chess body FIDE rated Utut at 2520, but he now raises his elo rating to 2590 after recently taking part in various tournaments in Europe and the U.S.

Utut said he recorded his best performance during the three- month tour when he became the champion of the Biel Masters in Switzerland last August. He added that his personal ambition was to reach an elo rating of 2650 in the first half of next year.

On the other hand, 73-year-old veteran Smyslov has an elo rating of 2510. Smyslov recorded his best performance recently came when he beat Yasser Seirawan of the U.S. in the first round of the prestigious tournament in Tilburg, the Netherlands, last month.

Eka said Utut was initially targeted by his club, the Makita All-Star chess club, to reach an elo rating of 2600 within one year from July this year to July next year.

Whether or not the 29-year-old grand master would succeed in increasing his elo rating to 2600 during his duel with Smyslov, Utut is already scheduled by the Indonesian Chess Association (Percasi) to join other nine players to the Moscow Chess Olympics slated for Nov. 30 to Dec. 17.

Irrespective of his rating after the Moscow Olympics, Utut is scheduled to take part in the Wijk aan Zee chess tournament in Scheveningen, the Netherlands from Jan. 4-14, in Switzerland's Geneva Open from Jan. 21-29 and Bern Open from Feb. 10-24, Eka said. (arf)