U.S. champ falls in chess tournament

Monday, Aug. 2, 1999 | 10:35 a.m.

One American advanced and three were eliminated, including the current U.S. champion, during weekend action in Round 1 of the World Chess Championships at Caesars Palace.

Boris Gulko of the United States drew with Dimitri Reinderman of the Netherlands Sunday after beating him in the first game Saturday to advance 1 1/2-1/2. (Players are awarded a point for a win and half-point for a draw.)

Gulko joins fellow American Gata Kamsky in the second round. Kamsky, who has taken a brief leave from medical studies to play in the tournament, drew a bye into Round 2 because of his high ranking.

One hundred of the world's top players are vying for the crown that is in dispute because defending champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia declined to play in Las Vegas and is taking the issue to an international court in Lausane, Switzerland, in an attempt to keep his title.

Nine Americans, many of whom were born in other countries, including the former Soviet Union, but are now American citizens, entered the tournament.

U.S. Champion Nick deFirmian was among the Americans to make an early exit. He played Russian Kobalija to a draw on Saturday and lost to him on Sunday.

Also eliminated from the monthlong tournament were Americans Alexander Ivanov and Sergey Kudrin.

Ivanov lost to Brazilian Milos when he ran out of time on the clock Saturday and drew with him Sunday.

Kudrin lost quickly to Sokolov of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday and drew with him Sunday.

A pleasant surprise in the first game of Round 1 was Tal Shaked of Arizona who upset the higher ranked Vlastimil Babula of the Czech Republic. However, Babula came back to win Sunday and tie the showdown, 1-1.

Other Americans who are still alive in the event are Joel Benjamin, Dimitri Gurevich and Alexander Yermolinsky.

Benjamin drew with Denmark's Nielsen both days to knot the match, 1-1.

Gurevich and the Russian Tiviakov drew both days for a 1-1 score.

Yermolinsky played to a pair of draws over the weekend with Canadian Spraggett for a 1-1 deadlock.

The fates of Shaked, Benjamin, Gurevich and Yermolinsky were hanging on the results of match three today.

The top seeds in the tournament are Vladamir Kramnik of Russia and Alexei Shirov of Spain, both of whom have received byes to Round 2.

The tournament is featured live on the Internet at uschess.org.