CHESS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The world’s best player, Garry Kasparov of Russia, had a disastrous finish in the Euwe Memorial tournament in Amsterdam. After starting 2 1/2- 1/2 in the six-round event, Kasparov lost Tuesday to Joel Lautier of France and again in the final round Thursday to Jeroen Piket of the Netherlands. Lautier went undefeated and took first prize with a score of 4-2. Kasparov settled for second place at 3 1/2-2 1/2; Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria had 2 1/2-3 1/2, and Piket trailed with 2-4.
LOCAL NEWS
Harutyun Akopyan, the Los Angeles seventh grader who has won many national scholastic titles, garnered another last weekend in Dearborn, Mich. At the 994-player National Junior High School Championship, Akopian topped the Middle School Championship (grades K-8) section with a perfect 7-0 score. William Surlow of Los Angeles and Michael Bennett (who defeated Surlow and lost only to Akopian) of Contra Costa tied with three others for second place, at 6-1. David Petersen of Arizona earned the National Junior High (grades K-9) title with a 7-0 score in his section.
The Memorial Day Classic takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Long Beach Airport Marriott, 4700 Airport Plaza Drive in Long Beach. Chess Palace and The Chess Set will sponsor this year’s tournament, the 16th edition of the chess extravaganza created by the late Lina Grumette in 1980. The action begins Friday with a lecture and simultaneous exhibition at 7:30 p.m. by Zsuzsa Polgar, the world’s second-ranked female player, and a World Blitz Chess Assn. tournament at 8:00 p.m.
The three-day main event, offering a minimum of $20,000 in prizes, starts at 11:00 a.m. Saturday. At least three grandmasters (Polgar and the 1995 National Open co-winners, Walter Browne of Berkeley and Julian Hodgson of England) will compete. The Western States Scholastic Championship, a tournament for students in grades K-12, will be held May 29. For information, call (310) 471-3435 or (310) 634-8477.
Polgar will also give a lecture and simul at Chess Palace, 3255 E. South St. in Long Beach, on Wednesday, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Chess Palace owner Charles Rostedt hopes to arrange a lecture by Hodgson sometime after the tournament. Call him at (310) 634-8477 for the latest details.