Silicon Graphics May Acquire Kasparov Firm

Russian Grand Master Garry Kasparov may have been beaten by a computer this week, but the world chess champion may get a payback today if Silicon Graphics Inc. goes through with plans to acquire a computer company he helped found. Sources close to the situation said Mountain View-based Silicon Graphics was near an agreement to acquire privately held ParaGraph International Inc. Founded in 1989 by Kasparov, Stepan Pachikov and a group of prominent Russian scientists, Campbell-based ParaGraph has become a leader in virtual reality and three-dimensional Web tools and software as well as pen-based technologies. Kasparov still holds a stake in ParaGraph, but the company declined to comment on the size of his holdings. No price for the deal was immediately available, although one source said it would probably be valued at less than $50 million.