Lindsborg ? A central Kansas chess tournament is attracting stars of the game from as far away as Russia and Chile.

Participants in the Lindsborg Rotary’s open chess tournament will include five international masters and five grand masters from around the world, along with five U.S. National masters and more than 100 adults and 125 students.

Anatoly Karpov of Moscow will arrive in Lindsborg, population 3,321, on Monday and open the adult tournament on Dec. 17.

Karpov was world champion from 1975 when Bobby Fischer forfeited the title until 1984 when he lost it to Garry Kasparov. After Kasparov broke away from the FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and was stripped of the title, Karpov was FIDE world champion from 1993 to 1999.

Wes Fisk, founder of the Lindsborg Chess Club, said Karpov’s visit would influence young chess players – and impress older players, too.

“Meeting a grand master such as Anatoly Karpov is like meeting Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky or any other international sports hero you could name,” Fisk said.

Karpov will be working with students on Dec. 14. Fisk encouraged the public to come out and watch the tournament.

“To the spectator, the game of chess equals the stillness of paint drying,” Fisk said. “For the participants, every piece comes alive.”

Karpov will be joined by Ukrainian-born grand master and top-ranked U.S. player Aleksander Onischuk, from the University of Maryland; international grand master Yuri Shulman, from the University of Texas; international grand master Igor Novikov of New York; and grand master Ivan Morovic, from Chile.

Two other grand masters – Camilla Baginskaite of California and Anna Zatonskih of Ohio, both from the former Soviet Union – also have registered to play.