CHESS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The World Chess Federation (FIDE), split by controversy, will hold its most important meeting in many years Nov. 18-26 in Paris. FIDE President Florencio Campomanes of the Philippines has come under fire for his failure to organize FIDE’s 1995 men’s and women’s world championship matches. In addition, Campomanes has been heavily criticized for not fulfilling his campaign promise to forge an agreement with the rival Professional Chess Assn.

The most obvious victims of FIDE’s inaction are FIDE world champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia and 21-year old New York grandmaster Gata Kamsky, the two scheduled combatants in FIDE’s men’s championship. Both players claim that sponsors are interested in hosting their match, but two bidding deadlines set by Campomanes have passed without a formal bid.

Karpov has been shunned by FIDE since Campomanes unexpectedly aligned himself with PCA world champion Garry Kasparov at the FIDE meeting last December in Moscow. Last week, Kamsky sent a letter to the 360 delegates and voting members of the U.S. Chess Federation, thanking them for passing a resolution in August urging the USCF to compel FIDE to organize a Karpov vs. Kamsky match. In the letter, Kamsky worries that Campomanes may try to set up a Kasparov vs. Karpov match, ignoring Kamsky. This seems unlikely, but stranger things have happen in the chess world. Perhaps the Paris meeting will surprise us with a solution to FIDE’s problems.

The world’s best female player, Judit Polgar of Hungary, crushed Dutch grandmaster Jeroen Piket, 6-2, in an exhibition match in Aruba. Polgar won Games #1, 4, 6, 7 and 8, losing only Game 3. Piket suffered his second match defeat in a month. He lost, 4-6, to Jan Timman in a Best of the Netherlands match in October.

AMERICAN OPEN

The American Open, the traditional Thanksgiving weekend tournament organized by Jerry Hanken and the Santa Monica Bay Chess Club, will take place Nov. 23-26 at the Renaissance Hotel, 9620 Airport Blvd. in Los Angeles. This year’s edition, the 31st in the series, features an eight-round tournament in which entrants can complete either three or four days. The six-section event guarantees a total of $18,200 in prize money. But it’s the extra attractions that make the American Open unique.

There will be free chess lectures and continuous chess movies for both players and spectators on all four days of the tournament. Veteran grandmaster Arthur Bisguier will be available for free analysis of players’ games. And four side events fill the schedule: a World Blitz Chess Assn. five-minute tournament on Nov. 22, beginning at 7:30 p.m.; the American Open Scholastic on Nov. 25, beginning at 10 a.m.; a Quick chess (10-minute games) tournament on Nov. 25, beginning at 8 p.m., and a booster tournament (for newcomers and players rated below 1200) on Nov. 26, beginning at 11 a.m.

For all of the details, call Hanken at (213) 257-9839 or Randy Hough at (818) 282-7412.

LOCAL NEWS

There is a new place to play chess in Los Angeles. The Barnes and Noble bookstore in the Westside Pavilion welcomes chess players from noon to 5 p.m. on the first three Sundays of every month. For more information, call Michael Jeffreys at (310) 473-6291.

The Caltech Chess Club has resumed an active schedule. The club runs a three-round Action chess (30-minute games) tournament every Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Winnett Student Center in Pasadena. Call Gary Ware at (818) 566-7365 for information.