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Chess opponents check each other during verbal sparCOMPETITION: Worldchamp Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short exchange insults on eve of the tournament for a disputed title.By EDITH M. LEDERERThe Associated PressLONDON — Like heavyweight boxers preparing for a title fight, reigning world chess champion Garry Kasparov and challenger Nigel Short have engaged in nasty verbal sparring ahead of their first match Tuesday.They’re fighting for a disputed title. Kasparov and Short, founders of the Professional Chess Association, are partners in an attempt to knock out the established International Chess Federation.The International Chess Federation, known by its French acronym FIDE, refuses to recognize the association. It has stripped both Kasparov and Short of their ranks and promoted its own championship.That match, between Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman, both of whom lost to Short in qualifying matches set up by FIDE, starts today in Zwolle, the Netherlands.Short has been the aggressor in the verbal round against Kasparov.The 28-year-old British challenger accused the 30-year-old champion of posing in the West as “the great European democrat” while playing down his Communist past and KGB connections.“I don’t think anyone can take seriously the accusations from the English boy, who never lived through what I and my compatriots lived through,” retorted Kasparov, an ethnic Armenian who was born in Azerbaijan and lives in Moscow.He said Soviet authorities usedchess “to prove the efficiency and superiority of the Communist regime,” and some didn’t want him to beat former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov “because Karpov was a symbol of the system.”“In 1983 I had two offers: either to defect or to join the party. I have never hidden my membership of the party. I always say I wouldn’t be world champion otherwise. I resigned in 1990,” Kasparov told The Sunday Times.But Short stood by his remarks at a news conference Thursday, and got in another jab when asked why he previously had likened Kasparov to an ape.“Anyone who has seen Kasparov by a swimming pool will know he’s very hairy,’’ Short replied. “In fact, the Norwegian women’s team refers to him as ‘the rug.’ ”Kasparov, whose training includes working out with a punching bag, said at a news conference Friday that he saw no need to respond in similar language.“I assume it’s kind of pre-war preparation,” he said.Kasparov, a four-time world champion and the highest-ranked chess player in history, is the clear favorite in the 24-game match at London’s Savoy Theater.“I have a very bad score against Kasparov. I believe I’ve lost about 10 games and won only one,” Short said. “But I feel in pretty good shape ... and I’m ready to do battle.”“I like to think of chess as mental boxing,” he said. “Kasparov has weaknesses ... I hope to demonstrate a few of them in the coming days.”Kasparov said he knows Short’s weaknesses — “and probably my chances to use his weaknesses are slightly better.” The London match is offering $2.55 million in prize money, one of the largest purses in chess history.
Newspaper Details
Santa Ana Orange County Register
Santa Ana, California, US
Mon, Sep 06, 1993
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Los A.
CA, USA 29 Nov 2022
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