Kamsky, 22, who defected from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1988, is challenging Karpov in Elista, capital of Russia's semi-autonomous Kalmyk Republic, near the Caspian Sea. Players score one point for a win and half a point for a draw. If they are level after 20 games, the match will continue until one of them wins another game.
Victory for either contestant will be tainted by the absence
of world number one Garry Kasparov, who is not challenging
because of a split with FIDE.