CHESS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

In the wake of Anatoly Karpov’s victory over Gata Kamsky in the World Chess Federation (FIDE) world championship, FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Russian Chess Federation president Andrei Makarov announced that they had reached “an agreement in principle” to conduct a $2 million match in 1997 between Karpov and the Professional Chess Assn. world champion, Garry Kasparov. It’s uncertain how such a match would affect Ilyumzhinov’s proposed $5 million annual world championship tournament.

Kasparov, the world’s highest-rated player, formed the PCA in 1993 and won PCA world championship matches in 1993 and 1995. He recently said that he would defend his title against anyone for $1.5 million. But Kasparov’s first public comment on the possibility of a sixth match against Karpov was not encouraging. He said: “I haven’t spoken to Ilyumzhinov. I think FIDE should resolve its problems first and then come up with proposals for a match.”

A super-tournament, averaging 2676 in rating, in Dortmund, Germany, featured several potential challengers to Kasparov and Karpov. Viswanathan Anand of India and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia tied for first place with undefeated scores of 7-2. Boris Gelfand of Belarus also went undefeated, finishing third at 6-3.

Other scores: Michael Adams (England) and Judit Polgar (Hungary), 4 1/2-4 1/2; Alexey Shirov (Spain) and Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), 4-5; Robert Huebner (Germany), 3 1/2-5 1/2; Eric Lobron (Germany), 2 1/2-6 1/2; and 16-year-old Peter Leko (Hungary), 2-7. This was the first disappointing performance of the year by Topalov, who had won four straight tournaments.

U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP

Who could predict the early results of the 1996 U.S. Championship in Parsippany, N.J.? After five of 13 rounds, the youngest and lowest-rated player has moved into first place. Tal Shaked, 18, of Arizona, has scored 4-1, including an upset of 1995 U.S. co-champion Alexander Ivanov. Shaked, who earned an invitation to the tournament by winning the 1995 U.S. Junior Championship, also defeated GM Dmitry Gurevich and IM Igor Khmelnitsky.

The 1993 U.S. co-champion, Alex Yermolinsky, is second at 3 1/2-1 1/2, and 1994 champion Boris Gulko has the only other plus score, 3-2. Close behind at 2 1/2-2 1/2 are Gurevich, Gregory Kaidanov, and former champions Joel Benjamin, Larry Christiansen, Roman Dzindzichashvili and Alexander Shabalov.

LOCAL NEWS

Marc Leski has taken the lead in the Southern California State Championship. Leski scored 3 1/2- 1/2 last weekend, including a win over former state champion Cyrus Lakdawala. Levon Altounian, William Longren and Lakdawala are tied for second place at 2 1/2-1 1/2. Other scores: Valdis Saulespurens, 2-2; Charles Van Buskirk, 1 1/2-2 1/2; Elhami Ibrahim, 1-3; and Carl Wagner, 1/2-3 1/2.

Spectators are invited to watch the conclusion of the tournament this weekend at the Rancho Senior Center, 3 Sandburg Way in Irvine. Rounds are scheduled Saturday at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The final round begins at 10 a.m. Sunday.

The Continental Open, the richest California tournament of the year, will be held July 24-28 at the Wyndham Hotel, 6225 W. Century Blvd. in Los Angeles. Organizer William Goichberg has guaranteed at least $50,000 in prizes. The wide variety of time limits and playing schedules allows players to complete their seven games in two, three, four or five days. For details, call Randy Hough at (818) 282-7412.

The West Valley Chess Club will begin its Summer Swiss and Round Robin on July 25. The eight highest-rated entrants will compete in a round robin, and everyone else will play in a seven-round Swiss system tournament on Thursday evenings. The club meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays in the West Valley Jewish Community Center, 22622 Vanowen St. in Canoga Park. For more information, call Herman Hess at (818) 346-5959 or John Price at (818) 363-1379.

The Gallant Knights Chess Club has reduced its schedule. The club will continue to meet at 30933 Rue Valois in Rancho Palos Verdes, but only on Wednesday evenings, beginning at 7 p.m. For more information, call Rick Okubo at (310) 544-1140.