Underdog stays alive in chess semifinals

Thursday, Aug. 19, 1999 | 9:12 a.m.

Displaying nerves of steel, Liviu Nisipeanu of Romania defeated Alexander Khalifman on Wednesday at Caesars Palace to force a playoff in the semifinals of the World Chess Championship.

Nisipeanu, seeded 46 out of 100, faced elimination after either a loss or draw but pulled another major upset by besting his experienced Russian opponent.

After gaining a slight advantage in the opening, the 23-year-old Romanian forced a position where he had the advantage despite each player having the same amount of pieces.

Several grandmasters commenting on the game believed Khalifman would be able to draw. He made a few small errors, however, and Nisipeanu was able to force a position that he was sure he could win. He made no mistakes and secured the point.

The players will face each other again Thursday in two-game sets of tie-break matches. These games will last less than an hour in contrast to the normal seven-hour maximum.

The victor in the playoff will meet Vladimir Akopian of Armenia in the finals which begin Sunday. Akopian eliminated England's Michael Adams, the fifth seed, on Tuesday.

Thursday's winner will be guaranteed $396,000 with a chance at $660,000 and the title of world champion. The loser will receive $172,800.

This is the second time the world championship will be decided by a knockout-style tournament.

For the first time, the current champion, who previously played a long match against a challenger every three years, will not have the opportunity to defend his title.

The Federation Internationale des Echecs, organizer of the event, plans to have a championship every year.

Khalifman, seeded 36th, remains the favorite in this match. He has long been respected as a top grandmaster, although he has never quite reached the top echelon.

The 33-year-old Russian twice came through in must-win situations earlier in the tournament. In the first two rounds, he lost his first game against Dibyendu Barua of India and the fourth seed, Gata Kamsky of the United States, respectively.

Nisipeanu is virtually unknown outside of his country, but has upset superstars Alexei Shirov of Spain and Vassily Ivanchuk here.

Anatoly Karpov, the current world champion, and Garry Kasparov, considered by many to be the world's top player, refused to play here because of disputes with the federation.

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

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nxc6 Qf6 6. Qd2 dxc6 7. Nc3 Ne7 8. Qf4 Qe6 9. Bd3 O-O 10. O-O Ng6 11. Qg5 Qe5 12. Qxe5 Nxe5 13. Be2 Bg4 14. Bxg4 Nxg4 15. h3 Nf6 16. Re1 Rfe8 17. Kf1 Bb4 18. f3 Rad8 19. Bf4 Rd7 20. Rad1 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Red8 22. Rxd7 Rxd7 23. Ke2 Kf8 24. g4 Ne8 25. h4 Nd6 26. h5 Nb5 27. Bd2 f6 28. Rg1 h6 29. Rd1 Ke7 30. Be1 Rxd1 31. Kxd1 c5 32. Kd2 Nd6? 33. Kd3 Nf7 34. f4 b6 35. c4 Ke6 36. Bg3 Ke7 37. Bh4 Ke8 38. Be1 Kd7 39. Bd2 Ke7 40. Bc1 Ke6 41. Bb2 c6 42. Bc3 b5 43. Be1 Nd6 44. cxb5 cxb5 45. Bf2 Nb7 46. f5+ Kf7 47. e5 fxe5 48. Ke4 b4 49. Kxe5 c4 50. Kd5 Na5 51. Bd4 a6 52. Be5 Kg8 53. Kc5 b3 54. axb3 cxb3 55. c4 Kf7 56. Kd5 Ke7 57. c5 Kd7 58. Bxg7 Nc6 59. Ke4 1-0