CHESS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

At last, the Professional Chess Assn. world championship has heated up. Viswanathan Anand and Garry Kasparov traded victories on Monday and Tuesday, then Kasparov scored his second win Thursday when Anand made a crude error in an even position. Friday’s draw, though not very exciting, lasted 43 moves, the longest of the match. With eight games to go, Kasparov leads, 6 1/2-5 1/2.

During the run of eight straight draws that opened the match, Kasparov played timidly, a far cry from his usual style. On Tuesday, though, he displayed a much more aggressive attitude, both on and off the board. He caught Anand in a prepared variation, played 21 moves in only six minutes, banged a piece on the board and slammed the door of their soundproof playing chamber. Patrick Wolff, one of mild-mannered Anand’s helpers, commented, “Vishy didn’t slam the door Monday when he was winning.”

LOCAL NEWS

The North County Fall Open ended in a four-way tie for first place last weekend in San Diego. Stephen Booth, state co-champion Cyrus Lakdawala, IM Marc Leski and top expert David Bassett all scored 3 1/2- 1/2 in the Open section. Michael Nagaran, Virgilio Reyes and Howard Vihon shared the expert prize.

James Malowney swept the Amateur (under 2000) section with 5-0, a half-point ahead of top “B” Manuel Abundo. Henry Chiu (best “C”), Chris Beverly (“D”) and Reynaldo del Pilar (top unrated) led their classes.

The sponsoring North County Chess Club was pleased with the turnout of 73 players. The tournament overcame a hotel scheduling mix-up that forced everyone to move to a different Holiday Inn for one of the rounds.

Senior Master Matthew Beelby will teach two chess courses at Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. His “Chess for Beginners” class meets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on two Saturdays, Oct. 14 and 21. The eight-session “Chess for Amateurs” will be held at 7 p.m. Thursdays, beginning Oct. 19. For registration information, call the Community Education Office at (818) 585-7608.

The High Desert Chess Club will conduct an Action chess (30-minute games) tournament on Oct. 8 at American Legion Post 771, 39463 10th St. East in Palmdale. Register at the site at 1:30 p.m., or call Dec Cuerdon at (805) 946-5305.