Despite its subtle elegance, world-championship chess ranks among the most soporific of all spectator sports. Take the inconclusive contest between reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov, 34, and fellow Soviet Grand Master Gary Kasparov, 22, that ended abruptly last February. Victory was to have gone to the first player to win six games. But 48 grueling confrontations, held over five long months, produced just five wins for Karpov, three for Kasparov and an astonishing 40 draws. World Chess Federation President Florencio Campomanes finally halted the match, explaining, some thought lamely, that the players were exhausted. But no one nodded off last week...
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