Prague, 22 August 1996 (RFE/RL) -- Anatoly Karpov, International Chess Federation champion, will take on the world in a first-of-its-kind chess match on the Internet on August 26.
According to a posting on Tele Chess, a Finnish World Wide Web page, (www.tele.fi/karpov/homepage.htm), the champion will confront however many people log on to the page beginning Monday at 13:00 Central European Time (7 a.m. EDT).
The posting says after every move by Karpov the rest of the world will have 10 minutes to enter moves against him through the Internet. A server will select the most frequently proposed move and execute it.
Karpov is to begin a three-day visit to Finland, where he will play several exhibition matches.
Karpov retained his title as International Chess Federation (FIDE) world champion in July when he defeated Russian-born U.S. grandmaster Gata Kamsky in a match held in Russia's semi-autonomous Kalmyk republic.
The world's top-ranked chessmaster, Garry Kasparov of Russia, broke from the federation in 1993 to found his own Professional Chess Association.