Karpov chess game to benefit victims of Hurricane Mitch

Friday, Jan. 15, 1999 | 11:12 a.m.

Some like it hot, so move like a butterfly and deliver a stinging checkmate like a bee -- all while writing upside down through butter.

These fractured lyrics could be used to promote an exhibition chess game in Las Vegas Saturday featuring Muhammad Ali, Tony Curtis, Paul Fisher and World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov. The match will benefit victims in Honduras of Hurricane Mitch

Ali, who thrilled the world with his "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" style, is set to kick off the game with a "a surprise first move."

Tony Curtis, who counts the 1959 movie "Some Like it Hot" among the many films in which he has starred, will be there as ambassador for Friends of Foundation Maria de Honduras.

And Paul Fisher, Boulder City businessman and inventor of the space pen that writes through anything, anywhere in any position, will be there, across the table from Karpov.

Before sympathy cards are readied for Fisher, note that he will have American chess grandmaster Walter Browne at his side, offering expert advice on how to handle the world champ. Browne is a 10-time winner of the National Open and five-time winner of the North American Open, two international chess tournaments held annually in Las Vegas.

The game is set to be played from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the All American Sports Park, 121 E. Sunset Road. The game will depart from the standard rules and feature a new style -- Fischerandom -- that places the pieces on the back rank in different starting positions. This style is being popularized by the American grandmaster Bobby Fischer, who won the world title in 1972 and now lives in Hungary.

Free to the public, the event is being held to draw attention to the relief efforts to aid Honduran victims of Hurricane Mitch. A house measuring 16 feet by 28 feet will be built at the Sports Park, courtesy of the Fisher Space Pen Co., and delivered to Honduras.

The Foundation Maria de Honduras is based in Las Vegas and named in honor of the first lady of Honduras, Mary Flores. The Fisher Air and Space Educational Center, now under construction in Boulder City, is cooperating with the foundation to help rebuild the infrastructure in Honduras.

Hurricane Mitch tore through Central America in October, particularly affecting Honduras. More than 9,000 people were killed and homes and crops were destroyed. More than 80 percent of the country's bridges were wrecked. Tens of thousands of people were left homeless and without food, shelter and clean water.

The chess match will be carried live on the Internet (http://www.chess.net/ events).