CHESS : CHESS OLYMPIAD
The Chess Olympiad ended predictably in Moscow on Thursday with the first-seeded Russian team taking the gold medal in the men’s competition. However, the Russians did not overwhelm the record 122-team field. England held a half-point lead with two rounds to go, and only their 1-3 loss to Russia in the penultimate round enabled the winners to slip into first place.
Final scores: Russia-1, 37 1/2-18 1/2; Bosnia, 35-21; Russia-2 and England, 34 1/2-21 1/2; Bulgaria, Netherlands and United States, 34-22; Georgia, Ukraine, Hungary, Belarus and China, 33 1/2-22 1/2; Armenia and Israel, 33-23. On tiebreak, Russia-2, a team of junior stars, edged England for the bronze medal.
Russia-1, which totalled the lowest winning score in many years, suffered from a poor performance by its team leader, Garry Kasparov. Kasparov started with 3 1/2-3 1/2, but he redeemed himself by defeating Nigel Short in the crucial Russia vs. England match.
The U.S. team had its worst result in the biennial tournament since 1972. Thanks to seven straight wins by Yasser Seirawan of Seattle, the team recovered from a horrible start and contended for a medal. Their last-round 2 1/2-1 1/2 victory over Yugoslavia left them just behind the leaders. Seirawan won the fourth-board prize with a score of 8 1/2-1 1/2.
The 81-team Women’s Olympiad finished much less dramatically, as defending champion Georgia dominated from the start. Despite easing up at the finish, Georgia totaled 32-10, a point ahead of Hungary. China took the bronze medal on tiebreak over Romania, both teams scoring 27-15.
Florencio Campomanes, president of the sponsoring World Chess Federation (FIDE), and Kasparov, leader of the rival Professional Chess Assn. (PCA), announced an agreement to hold a world championship reunification match in 1996. The organizations plan separate championship matches in 1995.
LOCAL NEWS
Ben Nethercot, Calvin Powell and John Rodman shared first prize in the 45-player Late Fall tournament at the Santa Monica Bay Chess Club. Rodman upset Powell in the final round to create the three-way tie at 5 1/2-1 1/2. Ron Hanoian, Alan Berger and Klaus Schmahle earned class prizes.
The club, which meets Monday evenings at 1450 Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica, will start a six-round tournament on Jan. 9. For information, call Steve Hughes at (310) 450-7201.