CHESS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

After months of uncertainty, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) has completed plans for its 1996 world championship match between Anatoly Karpov of Russia and Gata Kamsky of New York. The 20-game match will begin June 5 in Elista, Russia. The winner will receive about $690,000 of the $1.1-million prize fund.

Kamsky, the 21-year-old former U.S. champion, agreed to play under protest in Elista. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who lives in Elista, put strong pressure on Kamsky, even threatening to replace him with Valery Salov (whom Kamsky smashed, 5 1/2-1 1/2, in the Candidates matches) if Kamsky demanded another site.

FIDE pushed back the starting date four days to let Kamsky compete in a super tournament ending June 2 in Dos Hermanos, Spain. If all of the invitees play, the Dos Hermanos tournament will boast the highest-rated field in history.

NATIONAL NEWS

The largest tournament ever held in this country took place last weekend in Tucson. The 1996 National Elementary School Championships, a tournament for students in grades K-6, attracted 1,712 entrants. Samson Benen of New York and Rubin Miller of Ohio shared first place in the Open section with perfect 7-0 scores. Hunter College Elementary of New York earned top team honors in both the K-6 and K-5 sections.

St. Paul the Apostle School, the Westwood school that excels in local scholastic events, had a somewhat disappointing result but still took fifth prize among teams in the K-5 Open section. Juan Lois, a fourth-grader at St. Paul the Apostle, tied for first place in the K-6 under-1000 section. Julian Landaw of Warner School in West Los Angeles finished fifth in the 88-player Kindergarten section.

LOCAL NEWS

The 17th annual Memorial Day Classic will be held May 25-27 at the Long Beach Airport Marriott, 4700 Airport Plaza Drive in Long Beach. This year’s special guests are IM Zsofia Polgar of Hungary and GM Yona Kosashvili of Israel. They will compete in the seven-section main tournament, which offers at least $20,000 in prizes.

Side events include a World Blitz Chess Assn. tournament at 7 p.m. May 24 and the Western States Scholastic on May 27. For more details, call Charles Rostedt at (310) 634-8477.

Dante Bagain swept the Spring Special at the Arcadia Chess Club, scoring a perfect 5-0. Class prizes went to Miroslav Stroukal and Fred Brock, best “A”; Roy Kamen, best “B”; Robert Head and Reilly Moss, best “C”; and Cain Garcia, best “D-E-unrated.” There were 41 players.

The Arcadia Warmup, a five-rounder on Monday evenings, starts May 13. The club meets at 6:30 p.m. Mondays in the Senior Citizens Building, 405 S. Santa Anita Ave. in Arcadia. For information, call Fred Brock at (818) 331-1638.

The Santa Monica Bay Chess Club, which meets at 7 p.m. Mondays in Joslyn Park, 633 Kensington Drive in Santa Monica, will run a handicap blitz tournament on May 20. Call Pete Savino at (310) 827-2789 for details.

The Gallant Knights Chess Club, 30933 Rue Valois in Rancho Palos Verdes, has a new schedule. The club will conduct tournaments with a variety of time controls at 7 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, plus fast tournaments at 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For full information, call Rick Okubo at (310) 544-1140.