Utut waits for a miracle

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Grand Master (GM) Utut Adianto looks set to abandon his dreams of playing in the 2001 World Chess Championship after losing his eighth-round match at the Asian qualifier in Calcutta on Tuesday.

Utut was outwitted by unknown International Master (IM) Odeev Handszar of Turkmenisten to concede his third defeat in the tournament. Having three games in hand, Utut is placed 30s with four points from three wins and two draws.

Only the top 10 in the event qualify for the World Championship in Monte Carlo this November.

To keep his dimming chances, not only does Utut have to win the remaining games, but his fate depends on other players' results.

The other Indonesian contender, IM Dede Liu, chalked up an upset win over GM Dao Thian Hai, but his collection of 3.5 points is already far from beating the odds.

Top seed GM Xu Jun of China leads the standings with seven points, ahead of GM Saidali Iuldachev of Uzbekistan, who Xu drew on Tuesday, with six points. The chasing pack with 5.5 points include GM Alexei Barsov of Uzbekistan, IM Pentala Harikrishna of India, GM Nguyen Anh Dung of Vietnam, IM Viktor Takhidov of Uzbekistan and IM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan of Iran. (01)