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Contents:
 International News this
Week
Zonal Results
USA News this
Week
US Team Named for Olympiad, Governor's Cup
August Top 50 lists
Now includes Top 50 Correspondence and Quick Chess Players
Corr Chess News
for September Scholastic News
for August
Chess Life Online
Archive Feature section on the 1997 FIDE World Chess Championship!
Editor's Note
Chess Buzz: Chess Geography
Archives
Back Issues
This page is updated
weekly to help chess enthusiasts keep up with the latest
news on U.S. players and major events.
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Issue 75
updated each Monday
Several FIDE Zonals Complete
Several FIDE Zonals completed this week. These events cover a specific geographic area and help determine the qualifiers for the next World Championship cycle. In most cases the top 1 - 4 players will qualify for the December event in Las Vegas. Zonals were underway in Eastern Europe, South America (2 events), and Denmark. In South America, three Brazilians tied for the top at the 2.4 Zonal: Sunye Nieto, Milos, and Leitao. In the 2.5 Zonal in Argentina, Grandmasters Rodriguez and Hoffman took the top two spots to qualify for the FIDE World Championship Tournament in Las Vegas. (official site) The Nordic Zonal in Denmark was run as a knock-out event, and favorite GM Curt Hansen was eliminated in the first round with a 0 - 2 loss to GM Rune Djurhuus in their mini-match. Djurhuus himself then fell to GM Hannes Stefansson. The top 3 finishers were Ralf Akesson, Hannes Stefansson and Peter
Heine Nielsen. (official site)
Kasparov-Shirov Match Reported Cancelled!
Inside Chess includes a news interview with GM Garry Kasparov in which he reports that the WCC has been unable to find a sponsor for the Kaspaorv-Shirov World Championship match that was due to begin next month in Spain, and that the match will be cancelled unless an alternate sponsor can be found.
FIDE Confirms Las Vegas Site for December World Championship Tournament
Meanwhile, the World Chess Federation (FIDE), in conjunction with the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF), has officially announced that it will hold the 1998 World Chess Championship in Las Vegas, Nev. from Nov. 29 through Dec. 27 with a guaranteed prize fund of $3 million. The Bellagio Casino Hotel will serve as the host property for the event. FIDE also announced that it has hired Fishman & Associates to handle the advertising and marketing duties for the event.
This event will bring together about 100 of the world's top players in a knock-out format to compete for the title. Last year GM Kasparov was invited, but declined the invitation because he did not like the knock-out format. He is not expected to participate in this year's event, either. There is also some question as to whether Karpov will play, as he has publicly said that he is uncomfortable with the change from a two-year format to an annual. The total prize fund will be about $3 million, with a minimum prize of $6,000 for those eliminated in the first round, and about $650,000 to the eventual first-place winner. Official US Chess Federation Press Release.
FIDE Posts Agenda for 69th Congress
Along with the Olympiad, the 69th FIDE Congress (administrative meeting) will be held in Kalmykia in two weeks. The agenda is now available.
GM Joel Benjamin Takes First at Governor's Cup
1997 US Champion Joel Benjamin took first at the 2nd Annual Governor's Cup held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, September 11 - 13. Tied for second were Grandmasters Serper, 1997 FIDE World Junior Champion Shaked, IM Ziatdinov and National Masters Ron Luther and Alex Betaneli. The event featured 60 players in the Open section, and another 100 or so in the two reserves. Official Site
Featured games now available in a java viewer!
[Event "3rd Governor's Cup"]
[Site "Sioux Falls,SD"]
[Date "1998.09.13"]
[Round "4"]
[White "GM Joel Benjamin 2662"]
[Black "IM Rashid Ziatdinov 2538"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. Bxc6+ bxc6 6. d4 f6
7. Nc3 g6 8.Qd3 Bg7 9. Be3 Nh6 10. Qc4 Bd7 11. h4 Ng4 12. h5 Nxe3 13. fxe3 g5 14. h6 Bf8 15. O-O-O Qe7 16. Rdf1 Qe6 17. d5 Qg8
18. Qb3 c5 19. Qb7 Rc8 20. Qxa6 Qg6 21. Qb7 Bxh6 22. Nb5 g4
23. Nh4 Qxe4 24. Nxc7+ Kd8 25. Nb5 Bxb5 26.Qxb5 Bxe3+ 27. Kb1 Qb4 28. Qa6 c4 29. Rxf6 Kc7 30. c3 Qb6 31. Qxc4+ Kb8 32.Qb3 Qxb3
33. axb3 Rcf8 34. Rxd6 Bf2 35. Re6 Bg3 36. c4 Rhg8 37. c5 Rf2 38.
b4 Rgf8 39. Ka2 Rd2 40. Rb6+ Kc8 41. d6 e4 42. Nf5 Rxf5 43. Rxh7 Bxd6 44.cxd6 Rc2 45. d7+ 1-0
US Teams Named for 1998 Olympiad
GM Larry Christiansen will captain the US team that will play in Kalmykia at the Olympiad. The event will take place 26 September to 13 October
1998. 120 men's and 81 women's teams are expected. Russia, as the home federation (Kalmykia is a semi-autonomous republic within the Russian complex), will field 3 men's and 3 women's teams.US Chess Federation Press Release on US Teams. FIDE Press Release on the event in general. This week's Chess Buzz includes a list of all countries registered to play.
US Chess Federation to Assist in Organization of 1998 FIDE World Championship Events
Along with the championship, there are plans to hold a number of side tournaments and special events in Las Vegas in December. All details of these events, player lists, package information and other news highlights will be released in the coming weeks. See Official Press Release.
Editor's Note
By Duif ("Dove") Calvin
 Ready or Not, Here We Come! That seems to be the attitude of many of the world's players as they head for the Olympiad in Elista. 120 men's teams have registered and are expected to arrive this week for the 2 and a half week event which promises nothing but lots of chess, players from every part of the world, and a chance at a medal. Or should we say, "nothing less"? It's not Las Vegas, and it's not a three million dollar prize fund, but events of this type are part of what makes chess an international sport as well.
Don't forget to check the Updates Page
each Monday to see just what we've added to the site.
Until next time
--Duif
p.s. This column will focus on events in the chess world each week. Your ideas, comments, and suggestions for the site are always welcome at our feedback address. To contact individual US Chess Federation departments, see the e-mail directory.
Chess Life Online, a publication of the U.S.
Chess Federation, is produced in accordance with the USCF
mission statement serving its members and others.
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Chess Life Online: Chess
Life Online is our weekly news column covering events on
the international chess scene as well as US Chess
Federation news. It also includes Chess
Buzz, the lighter side of the news.
