INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The eighth annual Amber tournament started Tuesday in Monte Carlo. The unique event features rapid (25 minutes per player) and blindfold games between a dozen of the world’s top grandmasters. Dutch patron Joop van Oosterom treats the players lavishly and provides a substantial prize fund of $137,000.
The Russian duo of Anatoly Karpov and Vladimir Kramnik has taken the early lead with scores of 4 1/2-1 1/2. The world’s second-ranked star, Viswanathan Anand of India, has only 2 1/2-3 1/2. He lost to #3, Kramnik, 1/2-1 1/2, but defeated #4, Alexey Shirov of Spain, 1 1/2- 1/2.
Women’s world champion Susan (formerly Zsuzsa) Polgar gave birth to a son, Tom, on March 11. Pictures are posted on her Web site, www.polgarchess.com.
Ukraine grandmaster Georgy Timoshenko won the Manhattan Chess Club March International, a round robin at the New York City chess landmark, with an outstanding 8-1 score. Maurice Ashley scored 6-3 to take second prize and fulfill the final requirement for the grandmaster title. The 33-year-old resident of Brooklyn will become the first African-American grandmaster.
Other scores: GM John Fedorowicz (New York), 5 1/2-3 1/2; IM Adrian Negulescu (Romania) and Gregory Shahade (Pennsylvania), 4 1/2-4 1/2; IM Josh Waitzkin (New York), 4-5; IM Ron Burnett (New York), 3 1/2-5 1/2; and Jonathan Ady (Hong Kong), GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (Republic of Georgia) and Igor Shliperman (New York), 3-6. Shahade achieved his first norm toward the International Master title.
LOCAL NEWS
Alex Huff of Irvine is the new state high school champion. He scored 5 1/2- 1/2, including wins in his first five games, to lead a field of 134 players in the 1999 Southern California High School Championship last weekend in North Hills. He will represent the chess state of Southern California in the Denker Tournament of High School Championships in Reno in August.
Second prize went to Rodion Jouvagin, who scored 5-1. Seventh-grader Austin Ong, who took two half-point byes and won all four of his games, also finished with 5-1 but was ineligible for a top prize.
The host school, Monroe H.S., earned the team title in a hastily arranged speed chess playoff against La Jolla Country Day School.
Francisco Boral swept the Under-1400 section with a perfect 5-0 score. Both Tung Hoang and Edward Tesoro achieved perfect 5-0 scores in the Under-1000 section.
Mark Duckworth scored 4 1/2- 1/2 to take first prize in the 24-player Super Sunday tournament last Sunday at Chess Palace in Los Alamitos. David Bassett, Ed Cohen and Honorio Nocon tied for second place at 4-1.
Chess Palace owner Charles Rostedt has scheduled another Super Sunday event March 28. For details, call him at (562) 598-5099.
The Wilshire Chess Society’s monthly tournament takes place March 28 in the Community Room (third floor, near the food court) of the Westside Pavilion, Pico at Overland in Los Angeles. Each entrant will play three 45-minute games against similarly rated opponents. Register at the site at 10:00 a.m., or call Michael Jeffreys at (310) 473-6291.
The winner of the 1999 U.S. Amateur Team Championship West, “Censure Countergambit,” will contest a telephone playoff against the winners of the USAT East, South and MidWest regionals on March 27-28. Censure Countergambit will play from Labate’s Chess International, 1016 N. Tustin Ave. in Orange. Games start Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and Sunday at noon. The host, Edward Labate, offers free admission to spectators and promises free pizza Sunday if the team wins the national title.