CHESS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The World Chess Federation (FIDE) has begun the penultimate round of its 1995 world championship in Sanghi Nagar, India. Former U.S. champion Gata Kamsky of New York has taken a 2 1/2- 1/2 lead over Valery Salov of Spain in their 10-game match. Kamsky won the first and third games. The favorite, current FIDE champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia, trails Boris Gelfand of Belarus, 1-2, after losing the third game.
The winners of the two matches will play each other later this year for FIDE’s world championship title.
The rival Professional Chess Assn. will pit Kamsky against Viswanathan Anand of India next month in the Canary Islands. The winner will challenge PCA champion Garry Kasparov of Russia in the 1995 PCA world championship, scheduled for September in Cologne, Germany.
LOCAL NEWS
The U.S. Amateur Team Championship West will be held Feb. 18-20 at the Holiday Inn, 7000 Beach Blvd. in Buena Park. This is the 12th year for the lighthearted event, which offers six rounds of chess and plenty of fun. There are no cash prizes, but the winning team will represent the West in a match for the national title against the representatives of the East, South and Midwest. Any collection of four players averaging less than 2200 (master level) in rating qualifies as a team. For more information, or for help in joining a team, call Jerry Hanken at (213) 257-9839, Randy Hough at (818) 282-7412 or Paul Shannon at (714) 891-6398.
The Winter Open at the Arcadia Chess Club drew a record turnout of 61 players. Levon Altounian and Dante Bagain shared first prize with scores of 4 1/2- 1/2. Paul Asmar and Russell Laidman split the “A” prize, William Smith took “B” honors, Reilly Moss and Richard Williams tied for top “C” and Steve Berlin was best “D-E-unrated.”
The club, which meets Monday evenings in the Senior Citizens Building, 405 S. Santa Anita Ave. in Arcadia, begins its six-round club championship on Feb. 13. For details, call Mel Clark at (818) 447-9355.
Gym for the Mind, 4907 Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Woodland Hills, will conduct a five-minute tournament on Feb. 17. Register at the site at 6:30 p.m. All entry fees will go to charity. Call David Esser at (818) 710-8042 for more information.