INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Belgian grandmaster Mikhail Gurevich won a double round robin tournament in Belfort, France, with an undefeated score of 7-3. More newsworthy, though, was the undefeated 6 1/2-3 1/2 performance by Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine, who turned 15 in October. In 1997, Ponomariov became the only 13-year-old in history to earn a grandmaster title. His result in Belfort may boost him into the world’s top 20. The January rating list issued by the World Chess Council ranks Ponomariov 25th, at 2625.
Sergey Tiviakov of Russia and Vadim Milov of Switzerland shared first place with scores of 6-4 in another GM double round robin in Groningen, Netherlands. Next were Zoltan Almasi (Hungary), 5 1/2-4 1/2; Jeroen Piket (Netherlands), 4 1/2-5 1/2; and Karen Asrian (Armenia) and Alex Yermolinsky (Ohio), 4-6. Yermolinsky, the 1996 U.S. champion, did not win a game.
LOCAL NEWS
San Diego’s two best players, state champion Cyrus Lakdawala and Valdis Saulespurens, contested a training match recently at the San Diego Chess Club. Lakdawala won, 6-2, although he drew and lost the final two games.
Fereidon Geula scored 6-1 to take first prize in the 42-player Holiday Swiss at the West Valley Chess Club. Carlos Garcia, Maxim Sorkin, Chaba Mehes, Marcial Nieto, Vigen Haroutunian and Vernon Rhyne won class prizes.
The West Valley Chess Club meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays in the Jewish Community Center, 22622 Vanowen St. in West Hills. The club’s next event, the seven-round club championship, begins Jan. 7. Call John Price at (818) 363-1379 or Duane Cooper at (818) 999-0837 for information.
The Santa Monica Bay Chess Club will conduct a six-round tournament on Monday evenings, beginning Jan. 4. The club meets at 7:00 p.m. Mondays in Joslyn Park, 633 Kensington Drive in Santa Monica. For full information, call Mike White at (310) 446-7908.
The La Palma Chess Club, which meets at 6:00 p.m. Fridays in Central Park, 7821 Walker St. in La Palma, kicks off its two-tournament Winter Chess Program with a five-round tournament starting Jan. 8. For details, call Brian Scanlon at (714) 523-2550.
A Peachful Chess Tourney begins Jan. 8 at the La Habra Chess Club, 209 N. Orange (at Erna) in La Habra. It’s a six-round event, with no sudden death time controls, on Friday evenings. For more information, call Jerry Schain at (562) 691-2393 or Bob Goulet at (562) 947-6739.
The Pasadena Chess Club, which runs tournaments continuously on Friday evenings in the Pasadena Senior Center, 89 E. Holly St. in Pasadena, will begin the five-round Dr. Richard Lewis Memorial on Jan. 8. Call Neil Hultgren at (818) 243-3809 for details.