CHESS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The Magistral tournament is underway in Madrid. Under ordinary circumstances, this Category 17 (average rating of 2651) round robin would be a historic event. But the Magistral tournament ranks only third in Spain, behind the supertournament in Linares in March and the Category 19 blockbuster scheduled to begin Monday in Dos Hermanos.
After seven rounds in Madrid, Spanish Grandmasters Miguel Illescas Cordoba and Valery Salov share first place with scores of 5-2. Veselin Topalov, the young Bulgarian who performed spectacularly in Linares, is close behind at 4 1/2-2 1/2. Other scores: Zurab Azmaiparashvili (Republic of Georgia), Boris Gelfand (Belarus) and Alexey Shirov (Spain), 4-3; Michael Adams (England) and Alexander Morozevich (Russia), 3-4; Victor Korchnoi (Switzerland), 2-5; and Pablo San Segundo (Spain), 1-6.
LOCAL NEWS
One of California’s premier chess tournaments is scheduled for the holiday weekend. The 17th annual Memorial Day Classic will take place May 25-27 at the Long Beach Airport Marriott, 4700 Airport Plaza Drive, Long Beach. Chess Palace will run the tournament in memory of Lina Grumette, who organized the first eight Memorial Day Classics.
The six-round tournament will pay at least $20,000 in prize money to the top scorers in seven categories. Top contenders in the Open section are former U.S. champion Walter Browne, Grandmaster Yona Kosashvili of Israel and WGM Zsofia Polgar of Hungary, one of the world’s best female players. For all of the details, call Charles Rostedt of Chess Palace at (310) 634-8477.
Throughout the weekend, Grandmaster Eduard Gufeld, the current U.S. Senior co-champion, will give lectures and analyze games between rounds. Gufeld is a lively speaker with a host of entertaining chess anecdotes.
Three more chess events will be held at the Long Beach Airport Marriott over that same weekend. The World Blitz Chess Assn. (WBCA) will conduct a speed tournament at 8 p.m. Friday. Register at the site before 7:45 p.m.
John Surlow will direct the Western States Scholastic Championship on May 27. Students may compete in three sections: Open (for grades K-12), Under-1100 (for grades K-8) or Under-800 (for grades K-6). For full information, call Surlow at (310) 479-8377.
A workshop for chess teachers will begin at 6 p.m. May 24. Call Javier Pinedo at (407) 694-0661 for information.
Polgar will give an exhibition at Chess Palace, 3255 E. South St., Long Beach, on May 23, beginning at 7 p.m. She will charge $20 for each game. Call Rostedt to reserve a board.
The Just Play Chess tournament, a six-round event on Friday evenings, begins May 24 at the La Habra Chess Club. The club meets at 7 p.m. Fridays in the Veterans Memorial Hall, Orange at Erna in La Habra. For information, call Bob Goulet at (310) 947-6739 or Jerry Schain at (310) 691-2393.