Chess tournament set for July; role of defending champion uncertain

Robert Macy

Tuesday, June 1, 1999 | 3:59 a.m.

LAS VEGAS - The World Chess Championships - delayed last winter in a move to placate defending champion Anatoly Karpov - will be held here next month.

Karpov's agent said Tuesday he would not participate.

Caesars Palace hotel-casino will host the event, with 100 of the world's top players beginning competition July 30. Final play is set for Aug. 22-28, with closing ceremonies Aug. 29.

Shiloh Quinn of Montreal, Canada, who represents Karpov, said the Russian champion would not be on hand to defend his world title, but would file a lawsuit to try and block next month's tournament.

"He absolutely will not participate," Quinn said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He's already scheduled to do things. They were supposed to consult with him and they didn't do that."

Karpov was scheduled to hold a news conference in Munich, Germany Wednesday to discuss the actions he planned to take to block the Las Vegas competition.

Karpov won the world title in January 1998 and was to have held it for two years. But the World Chess Federation, known by its French acronym as FIDE, decided the championship should take place annually. A total of 150 countries belong to the federation.

Plans to hold the tournament here Nov. 29-Dec. 27, 1998 were scrubbed, in part because of Karpov's opposition to the plan and his vow not to participate.

There was also opposition to a change in rules that would have had Karpov competing from the start of the tournament. In the past, 100 top chess players from around the world have competed against each other, with the lone survivor playing the reigning champion for the world title, Quinn said.