CHESS : NATIONAL NEWS
The 1995 U.S. Championship, the nation’s premier invitational tournament, began last weekend in Modesto. The round robin tournament, organized by Robert Tanner for the U.S. Chess Federation, features 14 of the country’s best players. Interplay Productions, Inc., the software company that publishes Battle Chess, contributed the prize fund of $25,000.
After four rounds, six players share the lead with scores of 2 1/2-1 1/2. The leaders are IMs Georgy Orlov of Washington and Josh Waitzin (the hero of the movie “Searching for Bobby Fischer”) of New York and GMs Roman Dzindzichashvili (New York), Sergey Kudrin (Connecticut), Patrick Wolff (Massachusetts) and Alex Yermolinsky (New Jersey). The 13-round event ends Dec. 5.
The 1995 U.S. Women’s Championship began Friday at the same site. The two highest-rated contenders, Elena Donaldson of Washington and Irina Levitina of New Jersey, withdrew, opening a spot for 12-year old Irina Krush of New York. Krush is the youngest American ever to compete in the national championship.
LOCAL NEWS
The last two rounds of the American Open are scheduled for today at 10:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel, 9620 Airport Blvd. in Los Angeles. Spectators are welcome.
Chess Palace, 3255 E. South St. in Long Beach, plans another busy month of chess activity in December. The club will run an action chess (30-minute games) tournament every Sunday at noon and every Thursday at 7:30 p.m., plus a quad tournament every Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The five-round Wednesday Knights tournament begins Dec. 6. The club also offers a wide selection of chess books for sale. For more information, call Charles Rostedt at (310) 634-8477.
