Chess

PLAY SHOULD begin this afternoon in the 33rd Chess Olympiad. But for the first time, an olympiad will not be held under one roof.

Arrivals at Elista, which is the capital of the Russian autonomous republic of Kalmykia, situated north of the Caspian Sea, have found the five-storey Chess Palace still lacking its cover. It could be ready by round eight of the newly agreed thirteen...

Competitors from the 118 competing nations include 49 players from the six home country teams (England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Guernsey and Jersey) - with the first four fielding separate women's teams.

The local Children's Palace of Art, where Karpov and Kamsky met in 1996, will house the top-seeded matches for the first few days. The remaining teams will be meeting in each other's apartments. Let's hope that they will find their way, and that their results eventually filter through to us.

A new problem arises for successful teams. According to Fide and the Kalmuk President, Kirsun Ilyumshinov, they will be presented with Kalmykian horses. Will they be able to afford to keep them?

An old-fashioned Muzio Gambit surfaced in a Stockholm event recently: 11...Ne7 with ...Qg6 may offer a better face; there is a quicker mate.

White: S-G Samuelsson

Black: C Sohlberg

Gambit tournament, Stockholm

1 e4 e5

2 f4 exf4

3 Nf3 g5

4 Bc4 g4

5 0-0 gxf3

6 Qxf3 Qf6

7 e5 Qxe5

8 Bxf7+ Kxf7

9 d4 Qf5

10 g4 Qf6

11 Nc3 Bd6?!

12 Nd5 Qg5

13 Bxf4 Bxf4

14 Nxf4 Ke8 See diagram

15 Nd5 Qg7

16 Rael+ Ne7

17 Rxe7+ Qxe7

18 Nxe7+ d6

19 Qf7+ Kd8

20 Nd5 Bd7

21 Qf6+ Kc8

22 Ne7+ Kd8

23 Nc6++ Kc8

24 Qe8+ Rxe8

25 Ne7 Mate