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Holidaying Utut back to the chess board after 5 years
A five-year break does not seem to have made GM Utut Adiantoâs chess skills rusty
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five-year break does not seem to have made GM Utut Adianto's chess skills rusty.
At the Biel Chess Festival, his first competition in five years, the 48-year-old athelete-turned-lawmaker has managed to collect 3.5 points after five rounds.
'It has coincided with my vacation. I just want to avoid losing my touch,' Utut told The Jakarta Post from Biel, Switzerland.
The Biel Chess Festival, featuring a number of tournament categories, is popular with competitive players including Utut who triumphed in 1994 in the masters category.
He has booked three wins, a draw and a loss. His loss came at the hands of Jan Smeets in the third round.
Overall, Utut has reason to savor his performance. 'But after five-years of idleness, I get a bit burned out after a game,' he said.
Utut is the country's unsurpassed chess icon. He participated five times in the world chess championship, represented Indonesia nine times in the Chess Olympiad and has gone head-to-head with the world's top chess stars including Anatoly Karpov of Russia and Jan Timman of the Netherlands.
His last game was in South Korea in December 2008 where he came out on top with other four players.
Back from Korea, Utut ventured into politics and became a House of Representatives member in 2009 representing the Indonesian Democratic Party Struggle (PDI-P).
Asked whether he was planning a serious return to his old game, Utut said, 'I haven't thought about it yet. I still have to finish my work in the House.'
He said that he planned to run for another five year stint in the House.
While Utut is treating the Biel event as a vacation, his fellow Indonesian players are trying hard to impress the Indonesian Chess Federation with a view to being called up for the Southeast Asia (SEA) Games in Myanmar next December.
Susanto Megaranto, who has become the country's number one in the absence of Utut, has three points, equal with Farid Firmansyah, Masruri Rahman and Medina Warda Aulia, followed by Chelsie Monica Sihite (2.5), Irene Sukandar (2.5) and Dewi AA Citra (two).
Medina proved her killer instinct in the fourth round when he stunned Russia's GM Alexander Cherniaev.
Her performance has impressed national chess patron Eka Putra Wirya, who says he is confident about the team's prospects in Myanmar, particularly in the women's category.
'The women have shown solid games, but in the men's the chance is not so good. Vietnam and the Philippines will be too strong for us,' Eka said.
Ten men and eight women are currently undergoing a training camp. The number, according to team manager Kristianus Liem, will be reduced to 14 for the Myanmar challenge.
'Six gold medals will be on offer in the rapid, blitz, random and transfer chess games,' he said.
