Indonesia's chess contingent will take part in the Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany, with hopes high of maintaining the performance the team showed in the last Olympiad two years ago.
Indonesia finished in 40th place in both the open and women's division in 2006 in Turin, with the men's team spearheaded by the country's No. 1, Grandmaster Utut Adianto.
In Dresden, where the world's biggest chess competition will be played in a new format, Indonesia looks content to maintain its previous position, although it does not rule out a possible rise in the standings.
"All 15 former Soviet countries must be above us. Ten western European countries and ten eastern European countries must also be better than us," Utut said at press conference Sunday in Jakarta.
"We also have fellow Asians China, India and Vietnam, who are the teams to beat. Therefore to finish in 40th place will be a good achievement.
"But we harbor optimism of improving our ranking."
Utut will not join the team this time around, leaving the "striking role" of the team to 22-year-old Susanto Megaranto.
The team members attended the media conference before departing on Monday for Germany.
The competition, which features open and women's teams from 154 countries, will be played in 11 rounds -- a change from previous editions. The 2006 Olympiad was played in 13 rounds, while those held before 2006 featured 14 rounds.
The number of players has also changed. Each team used to have six players in the open and four players in the women's division, but are now allowed five -- four starters and one reserve -- in each division.
Indonesia's open team, led by captain Edhi Handoko, comprises Susanto, Irwanto Sadikin, Tirta Chandra, Johanes Simbolon and Farid Firmansyah.
Sebastian Simanjuntak heads the women's team, which consists of Irene Kharisma Sukandar, Evi Lindiawati, Kadek Iin Dwijayanti, Desi Rachmawati and Dewi Citra.
Susanto will try to build on his achievement in 2004, when he stunned some of the world's top grandmasters en route to attaining a grandmaster (GM) rating.
Susanto acknowledged it was his best run to date. He tops the team's list for most Olympiad appearances, having played in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
On the other hand, it will be the first Olympiad for Johanes, who won a place on the team following his impressive performance during the recent National Games.
"We have worked intensively on the opening repertoire. I guess we are well prepared for the competition," said the 41-year-old Johanes.
Sumber :www.thejakartapost.com
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