1987.03.04-21. 20 players.
Preliminary A. Round Robin 9 rounds. Rating average 2393. Category VI. IM norm 5.5.
Preliminary B. Round Robin 9 rounds. Rating average 2388. Category VI. IM norm 5.5.
Final B. Round Robin 5 rounds. Rating average 2280. Category II.
Final A. Round Robin Carry-Through 6/5 rounds. Rating average 2459. Category IX. GM norm 8.5. IM norm 5.5.
FIDE Zonal 11 Championship constituted a preliminary round for the World Chess Championship 1987 preceding the Interzonal. Only the top two of this event were going to the Interzonal.
Since the beginning the tournament had experienced tough challenges.
Firstly the system employed in the final stage was questionable. The system was called carry-through, i.e. the results between finalists in preliminary rounds will be carried through the final stage. The system definitely was a disaster to a finalist who lost to other finalists in preliminary stage.
The heavy rain and storm soaked the playing hall in early days. Those forced the tournament to move away from USSU Hotel, Cisarua, Bogor to Kartika Plaza Hotel, Jakarta.
Apparently the bad omen was still hanging.
At the final stage Chinese players played the infamous ‘I let you win’ strategy. IM Qī Jīngxuān started at the final stage with only 1 point. If he could beat all of his 6 opponents he would have 7 points which was still unclear to be in the top two. Rather than pushing all the way to get maximum points, Qī, as accused by non-Chinese finalists, deliberately lost to his countrymen Xú Jùn and IM Lǐ Zǔnián.
The combination of the unethical play, the fact that China had four out of twelve finalists, and the carry-through system damaged the tournament so badly to the extent of beyond repairable. GM Ian Rogers was the first player to pull out as a protest. GM Utut Adianto and GM Rosendo Balinas Jr were the next ones to do so. Finally all players, except the winner Xú Jùn, signed an open letter to the organizer asking to replay the final stage.
Prof Dr Max Arie Wotulo, the President of FIDE Zonal 11 and an IM himself, agreed. He declared that the final stage was void. The twelve finalists were expected to be at Jakarta in May to replay the final stage. However, for a mysterious reason, the FIDE governing body ruled out this decision and endorsed the top two of the event, Chinese Xú Jùn and Filipino GM Eugenio Torre, as the Zonal 11 representatives to Interzonal Championship. Case closed.