Chch bids for world chess final

Press, 28 September 1988, Page 72

Chch bids for world chess final

Christchurch is a possible venue for the world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, of the Soviet Union, to defend his title in 1990. The head of the world governing body of chess (F.1.D.E.), Florencio Campomanes, of the Philippines, will be in New Zealand from today until Saturday assessing the capability of New Zealand to hold the event. 'Hie physical requirements

for staging such a championship are substantial and Mr Campomanes, as a guest of the Hillary Commission for Recreation and Sport and the New Zealand Chess Association, will be inspecting the Christchurch Town Hall and the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington to judge their suitability. “Staging this event would require a significant upfront cost. However, it is a major international event and will

attract world attention. The potential for international sponsorship appears to be very considerable especially since the event may take up to four months to complete. It could be a good investment for New Zealand,” the chairman of the Hillary Commission, Sir Ronald Scott, said. A bid for the championship was initiated earlier this year and an international competition was held in Wellington in March, featuring among

others the former Soviet world champion, Boris Spassky, and New Zealand’s England-based grandmaster, Murray Chandler. Sir Ronald said that it was the commission’s policy to assist national sports and recreation organisations to bring viable international events to New Zealand. He said that he received an encouraging response when he discussed the matter with Soviet sports