Anatoly Karpov and Susan Polgar played to a draw in the first meeting between men's and women's world champions during a weekend match in this central Kansas town. Activities in the town of 3,200 known included a parade and a series of games between students who faced off against each other on tables that filled a downtown street. The match between Karpov and Polgar concluded Sunday with two blitz games, each lasting about 10 minutes. The players had five minutes to make their moves in each game, with play continuing until one player ran out of time or was defeated. "For those of us who love this game, it has been tremendous," said Ralph Bowman, chairman of the scholastic committee of US Chess Federation, which sanctioned the match. Equal opportunitySuch events are becoming increasingly commonplace in Lindsborg, which was named this year by the Federation as its 2004 Chess City of the Year. In the past, the award has gone to large cities such as New York City, Seattle and Miami. Lindsborg is also the site of Karpov's first chess school in the United States. The weekend visit was the first to the city for Polgar, who will lead the US women's team in the 2004 chess Olympiad in Spain next month. "Unlike any other sport, a woman can compete (in chess) with equal opportunity with a man," said Polgar, a four-time women's world champion. Karpov won the first of his seven world championships in 1975, when Bobby Fischer refused to defend his title. The Russian grandmaster has established more than 30 chess schools around the world. (AP)
World chess champions battle to a draw
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