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Newspaper Serving Upper Mercer County............. 11lt; ilie. !*«.. Monday. July 18, 1^8323 (.ml** I lail. B lt;itrricr I* 1.23 % «•«*kIChess Played Out . . .Battle o I N ervesandphysicallyna usted iGREENVILLE Pa. (AP) — Tucked away in a quiet dormitory of a nearly deserted college campus, almost unseen in this rural community. 14 of America’s best chess players are wielding kings, queens and their cnessboara servants in a silent but brutal war.A victor will emerge after two weeks, possibly asand mentally ex-as any warrior, with $5,000 cash and the title of United States Champion. The elite round robin tournament, which began Friday, is sponsored by the U.S. Chess Federation.“It’s a mental war, it’s a war of nerves, of logic, of reasoning, of being a good fighter, ’ said Waiter Browne, 34, of Berkeley Calif, an internationalS-andmaster and four-time merican champion “Don’t let them fool you, they’re all nervous, very nervous,” said tournament director Richard Verber. “Chess is a big part of their egos. For most, it’s 98 percent of their lives For the saner ones, it’s only two-thirds ”The 14 chess masters and ;randmasters. including six oviet emigres and one Iranian, duel up to 10 hours a day in an intense mental game of chess strategy, tactics, attack, counter-attack, defense and even psychology.Their battlegounds are seven plain green and tan chessboards, each bristling with 32 contrasting chess pawns andf pieces TheirYork Post reporter, Soltis is one of the tournament’s few competitors with another job He admitted to nervousness and little special preparation.“Chess is a very com pulsive game. Some get swallowea by it and it affects their lives,” Soltis shrugged. “My chances of winning this tournament are nil If I win, I’ll demanda recount* *One of the strong Soviet-born players is Lev Alburt, defelt;who defected in 1979 achieving the privileged status of international grandmaster. Albut, 37, lives in New York.“I was a privileged slave, but I was still a sJave,” he said of his days in Odessa A doctor of physics and philosophy, Alburt said, “I am bright in many areas, but stupid in others I can play chess, but I can’t solve a puzzle.”Both Soviet-andAmerican-born grandmasters say they still play in the shadow of Bobby Fischer, the well-known Brooklyn-born grandmaster who became world champion in 1972 and pushed American chess to itsCONTEMPLATION —Sergey Kudrin, an international chess champion, contemplates his next move inthe first round of the U.S. Invitational Chess Championship being held at Thiel College. (UPI)peak of popularity The colorful andobjectives are victory or at least, as in about half oftheir games, an honorable draw to score points in a 14-player standing.Browne, who is favored tohis fifth straightchampionship, is one of only about two dozen Americans who earn their living from chess tournaments in the United States and Europe.Browne, described by competitors as confident and flamboyant, is obviously nervous and intense at the board, often contorting his face or arms as his eyeswinflash across the pieces. Asked if he is brignt, Brownereplied, “I should think so. I’m the best all-around sportsman in the world.”He prepared for the tournament by abstaining from play for 34 months exercising with tennis and racquetball, sleeping and eating fresh foods.Andrew Soltis, 36, of New York, is an international grandmaster with an opposite temperament. A Newtempermental Fischer, who defeated Soviet Boris Spassky in a publicized tournament in Reykjavik, Iceland, held the title for three years and then dropped out of organized chess for religious causes in southern California. Fischer was U.S. champion eight times.Still, the spartan but wholesome conditions of a small Lutheran college have shown some temperamental flashesonce shown by FuicherBenjamin, Gurevich Hold LeadGREENVILLE, Pa. (AP) — A New York teen-ager and a Soviet emigrant were tied with a half-point lead after three rounds of play in the U.S. Invitational Chessonthrough July at Thiel Col-lesharp threats on both sides. Benjamin, the U.S. juniorchampion, played against Kudrin’s Benoni Defense,characterized by an ag-thday night and was played to move 57 before Gurevich’sextra pawn proved to be enough of an advantage towin.senior master Jay Whitehead, 21, of San Francisco. Grand master Andy Soltis, 36, of New York City defeated internationalChampionship going jn July at Thielge.Joel Benjamin, 19, thegressive position for bot sides, which was slow to develop in the game.Benjamin was not neces-In other games from theI *third round Sunday, grand master Larry Christiansen,master Boris Kogan, 43, of Stone Mountain, Ga.youngest player in the tour-nament, and Dmitry Gurevich, captured the lead Sunday after two sessions ofplay.Benjamin, an international master from Brooklyn, N.Y., defeated international master Sergey Kudrin, 23, of Stamford, Conn., in a game that hadsarily winning all along,” said tourney Director27, of Los Angeles, beat grand master James Tar-Ruptured TankSpills MolassesRichard Verber, a senior master from Chicago.Benjamin had a strong attack on Kudrin’s king's position But Kudrin had a dangerous pawn that was threatening to advance.Gurevich, 26, an interna tional master from Brooklyn, N.Y., beat international master Kamran Shirazi, 30, of Los Angeles. Their game, not completed during the five-hour afternoon session, resumed Sunjan, 31, also of Los Angeles.Defending U.S. cochampion grand master Walter Browne, 34, of Berkeley, Calif., drew with grand master Roman Dzindzichashvili, 39, of Queens, N.Y., and grand master Lev Alburt, 37, of New York City, drew with grand master Anatoly Lein, 52, of Union City, N.J.Also during the evening session, internationalmaster Nick deFirmian, 26, of Oakland, Calif., beat U.S.In a game adjourned from the first round Lein defeated Tarjan. I .ate on Saturday, a draw was agreed to in an adjourned second-round game between Lein and Snirazi.After three rounds, Benjamin and Gurevich had three points; Browne, Dzindzichashvili and Christiansen had 21 a points; Lein and deFirmian had twoKoints; Alburt and Soltis ad one point, and Kudrin, Kogan and Shirazi had 4 point apiece. In last place were Tarjan and Whitehead with no points.
Newspaper Details
Greenville Record Argus
Greenville, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, Jul 18, 1983
Page 1
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Los A.
CA, USA 05 Feb 2023
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