Competition begins Saturday in wake of international wrangling

Robert Macy

Tuesday, July 27, 1999 | 2:04 a.m.

After months of international wrangling and threats of lawsuits, the World Chess Championship kicks off here Saturday with the defending champion, Russian grandmaster Anatoly Karpov, expected to be a no-show.

The month-long competition will draw 100 chess grandmasters and masters from 52 countries, with the winner receiving $660,000 out of $3 million in prize money.

The legal ramifications are expected to continue long after the new champion is crowned Aug. 29 at the tournament site, Caesars Palace hotel-casino.

The event was originally scheduled here in late 1998, then moved to January, then to July to placate Karpov. The current champion held the title from 1975 to 1985, then 1993 to the present.

Karpov complained that the title he won in January 1998 in Lausanne, Switzerland should have been his for two years, as has always been the case.

But the sponsoring Federation Internationale de Echecs (FIDE) decided this year to hold the championship annually.

Karpov contends his contract called for him to be consulted on a competition date, and that he had made engagements around the world that would prevent him from playing in Las Vegas over the next month.

Originally the stumbling block was compensating the champion for giving up the engagements, according to his agent, Shiloh Quinn. Now, Quinn says, it's a matter of where Karpov would enter the competition.

In December 1997, 68 chess grandmasters and masters from around the world met in Groningen, Netherlands for international playoffs, with the winner, Viswanathan Anand of India, meeting Karpov in Lausanne for the world championship. Karpov defeated Anand in a six-game shootout.

Quinn said the legal hassle between Karpov and FIDE now boils down to seeding for the upcoming championship. Instead of pitting Karpov against the winner of the upcoming event, as in the past, he was seeded into the second round. That means he would have to compete with 63 others beginning next Tuesday, rather than walking into the six-game final round beginning Aug. 22.

"The only issue on the table at the moment is that he will play only the challenger, he will not play anyone other than the winner of this series," Quinn said Tuesday. "That's exactly the way they did before, the winner of the series got to play the champion. This is the way it has always been in chess. FIDE is supposed to find a challenger for the champion."

"Karpov has come to a mutual understanding with FIDE that the issue will be put before the court of arbitration for sports" in Lausanne, Emanuel Omuku, FIDE executive director, said in a statement Tuesday.

Michael Cavallo, executive director of the U.S. Chess Federation, said the championship planned here in late 1998 was delayed in part because of negotiations with Karpov.

Quinn said Karpov will definitely not play in the Las Vegas tournament.

"He hasn't gone into training for the tournament," Quinn said.

Under contract, Karpov owns the world champion title through the year 2000 and will go to court to defend it, Quinn said.

Any settlement such as eventually matching the Las Vegas winner against Karpov for a world title is sure to be opposed by the new world champion, Quinn said.

The 100 players were selected from qualifying tournaments in 21 zones worldwide, according to Barbara DeMaro, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Chess Federation.

Of the entrants, 72 will compete in the first round and 28 will be seeded into the second round. Each of six rounds will feature two games plus a tie-breaker if needed. The six-game final round will begin Aug. 22, with a tie-breaker to be played Aug. 29 if needed.