Karpov Calls Timeout; 20th Game Monday

Challenger Anatoly Karpov called a timeout before the 20th game of the world chess championship was due to get under way Friday, the Soviet news agency Tass said.

Karpov won the last game Thursday, inflicting an unprecedented third successive defeat on titleholder Gary Kasparov.

The rivals are now level with 9 1/2 points each in the 24-game series. The first to reach 12 points takes the crown. Each player may take three timeouts, and both have now used their allotments.