ISRAEL: Israeli seeks to break world chess record

Record ID: 396956

  • Title: ISRAEL: Israeli seeks to break world chess record
  • Date: 23rd October 2010
  • Summary: CLOSE OF CHESS PIECES
  • Embargoed: 7th November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAAKD743ZPPZH63QSCNVA1LV7BQ
  • Story Text: Israeli Chess Grandmaster competes against more than 500 players in a bid to break a Guinness world record.
    An Israeli grandmaster made 525 opening moves on Thursday (October 21) on tables that filled a city plaza, hoping to break a world record for simultaneous chess games set in Iran.

    Alik Gershon, 30, said he expected the outdoor marathon of matches, in Tel Aviv's Yitzhak Rabin Square, to take 18 to 20 hours. He must win at least 80 percent of the games to claim the Guinness simultaneous chess crown.

    Last year, Iranian grandmaster Morteza Mahjoob broke the record in Tehran, taking on 500 players and scoring 397 wins, 90 draws and 13 losses.

    Noting the hostile relations between Israel and Iran, Gershon said besting a record set by a chess champion from the Islamist republic would be "a big bonus" for the Jewish state.

    "The record I'm going to break today belongs an Iranian Grandmaster and as you know the relationship between Israel and Iran is quit tough. Breaking an Iranian record is always a big bonus for Israel but hopefully all of our wars will be on the chess board or something cultural and not real wars. I hope so," he said.

    "The record now belongs to an Iranian Grandmaster which set it a year ago on 500 boards. I'm going to make it 525 boards and hopefully break it," Gershon added.

    Representatives of the Guinness Book of Records are expected to arrive at the Rabin Square later on Thursday to observe the game. They are expected to determine whether a new record had been set only early on Friday (October 22) when the simultaneous games are over.
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