Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.life From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Adams speeds to victory at Interpolis Date: Sat, 14 Nov 92 16:22:11 EST Message-ID: \SE B;LIFE;COMICS;CHESS \HD Adams speeds to victory at Interpolis \BY Ed Albaugh Michael Adams of Britain, one of the best rapid players in the game, defeated Boris Gelfand of Belarus in the finals of the seven-round Tilburg, Holland, Interpolis after two 30-minute tiebreakers, 2 1/2-1 1/2. The victory was worth nearly $60,000 for Adams; Gelfand received about $30,000 as runner-up. The Interpolis insurance company of the Netherlands, which has sponsored the most distinguished, sustained series of tournaments anywhere since 1977, this year went to an innovative knockout-match format, a contrast with previous round-robin groupings of from eight to 12 of the FIDE elite. Interpolis assembled a more democratic cast of 112 (16 of whom were seeded into the second round). Rounds were played over three days, the last reserved for swift resolution of a match. Each player had white and black on consecutive days. The time limit for regulation maneuvering was as in normal competition - 40 moves in two hours and 20 in one. After that, 30 minutes of sudden-death playoffs were invoked. The laid-back Adams, who turns 21 on Nov. 17, is the second-ranked Briton (behind Nigel Short) and at 2610 on the verge of joining the world's top 30. "Mikey" dazzled chessdom in early July with his $50,000 victory at the SWIFT rapids, a Brussels knockout event featuring numerous luminaries. At Tilburg in the final round, Adams (seeded 15th) and Gelfand (fifth) drew on Oct. 26 and 27, then went to sudden death next day. Adams saw his advantage as white dissolve in the first game but won on the black side of a Benko gambit in the second. "I got into an enormous position very quickly," Adams said afterward, "and it was just a case of not doing anything stupid." Adams eliminated unseeded Ilia Smirin of Israel with a victory in their second game, and Gelfand erased U.S. champion Gata Kamsky, the eighth seed, 3 1/2-2 1/2, to reach the finals. Many Tilburg observers had envisioned Adams meeting Kamsky to decide matters, including Gert Ligterink, longtime columnist for the daily Die Volkskrant. Of Adams, he said: "A very strong player in a nondescript style. He defies categorizing. He rarely makes mistakes and absorbs pressure well." For anyone who missed them, reports out of Belgrade and Budapest indicate that Bobby Fischer's comeback includes an exhibition match against Judit Polgar of Hungary, at 16 the world's youngest grandmaster, early next year. The prize fund would be $2.5 million. Flashback, Tilburg, 1983 (20 years of coverage): The tournament is held in the gracefully modern Interpolis office complex at Tilburg's west end, removed from downtown congestion.The third-floor playing room is decked with flowers and impeccably illuminated. Small, yet more than adequate for six boards. Few spectators - either press or Interpolis VIPs. The players apparently prefer being sequestered. Quietness is intense. A whisper, a cough, a door closing, a soft drink being poured. Muffled sounds that raise the decibel level. The public - as many as 5,000 chess enthusiasts per round - watches the moves on demo boards in the cafeteria, while titled Dutch players offer analysis. One game is shown via closed-circuit TV. Young people mount a charge for autographs when the GMs enter or leave the building. Players are lodged at a comfortable hotel in proximity to fens and woods 20 minutes by taxi from Tilburg. Each is given an honorarium, based on FIDE rating. All GM expenses are accounted for. No one competing in the Interpolis loses money. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM