World Chess semifinals off to explosive start

Monday, Aug. 16, 1999 | 10:01 a.m.

Armenias Vladimir Akopian of Armenia unseated favored Michael Adams, the No. 5 seed from England, Sunday in the World Chess Championship semifinals.

Adams is the last surviving player ranked in the top 25. Having lost with white, he faces an uphill battle to advance to the finals. Players in this tournament average about 40 moves. Since white always moves first, playing that color is a significant advantage.

Liviu Nisipeanu of Romania managed a draw with Alexander Khalifman of Russia in a game where each player had a winning advantage at different stages.

Adams sacrificed a knight for two pawns and an overwhelming attack early in the game. By move 25, each player had used almost all of the 100 minutes allotted to make the first 40 moves.

Having to make 15 moves in a few minutes, plus 30 seconds each player receives after making a move, Adams was unable to find the crushing blow.

Akopian managed to hold his extra piece and go into the offensive. Adams tried to construct a defensive fortress. After nearly seven hours and 86 moves, Akopian was able to break through, and Adams was forced to resign.

Nisipeanu, unknown outside his native Romania, gained a sizable advantage against his veteran opponent. But just when it appeared that Nisipeanu had constructed an overpowering position, he incorrectly advanced a pawn.

Khalifman was able to build some threats of his own, and soon it was Nisipeanu who was on the defensive.

As both players ran short of time, Khalifman overlooked a move that would have led to a clear win. Nisipeanu was able to force the exchange of most of the pieces, and the game was agreed drawn.

Sunday's games were the first of four in the semifinals of the seven-round elimination tournament. Round two will be played Monday. The Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) is sponsoring the month-long event.

The winner will be named world champion and collect $660,000 of the $3 million prize fund.

Three of the world's top players are not competing at Caesar's Palace.

Garry Kasparov, considered the world's top player, and Anatoly Karpov, current world champion, are involved in disputes with FIDE.

Viswanathan Anand, among the top three in the world, was not present due to contractual conflicts.

The score of the semifinal round, game one between Khalifman, playing white, and Nisipeanu:

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O d5 8. a3 Bxd2 9. Bxd2 Nbd7 10. cxd5 Bxd5 11. b4 c5 12. Bc3 c4 13. Bc2 Ne4 14. Be1 f5 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Qg5 17. f4 Qg6 18. Qe2 Rfc8 19. Rc1 b5 20. h3 Rc7 21. Kh2 c3 22. Bxe4 fxe4 23. Rf2 Rac8 24. Qxb5 Bc4 25. Qa4 Bd3 26. Qb3 c2 27. f5 Qe8 28. f6 g6 29. a4 Kf7 30. b5 Rc5 31. Qb2 Qd8 32. Bb4 Rc4 33. a5 Qd5 34. Bd6 Rc3 35. b6 axb6 36. axb6 Qb3 37. Qxb3 Rxb3 38. Bc7 Rb2 39. Rd2 Ra8 40. Rcxc2 Rxc2 41. Rxc2 Bxc2 42. b7 Re8 1/2-1/2