Tough stance from Europe on Iran

Washington Britain, France and Germany took a tough line Tuesday in response to Iran’s announcement that it has decided to resume work at a key nuclear facility.

In a letter to Tehran, foreign ministers from the three European countries said such an action would end two years of negotiations, and left open the possibility of taking the issue up with the United Nations Security Council, something the Bush administration has advocated and Iran has sought to avoid.

So far, neither the Europeans nor the Iranians have taken irreversible steps that could terminate their negotiations to resolve the crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The maneuvering, which officials said they considered to be serious, was reminiscent of a weeklong crisis last May.

That stand-off was eventually resolved when the Europeans agreed to speed up the pace of negotiations and Iran backed down from threats to restart the uranium conversion facility in the town of Isfahan.

The Europeans have continuously held out the prospect of a lucrative package deal for Iran as long as it maintains suspension of all work related to the production of highly enriched uranium, a key ingredient in a nuclear weapon. If Iran breaks the suspension, the deal would be off and the matter could move to the Security Council, which has the authority to impose economic sanctions.

Chess champ breaks multiple world records

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. All hail the queen of chess.

Former women’s world champ Susan Polgar is believed to have broken four international chess records this week after playing more than 1,700 games over 17 hours.

The records, which still have to be confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records:

• Most games played at once. Polgar, 36, had 326 simultaneous games going Monday afternoon. Of those, she won 309, drew 14 and lost three.

• Consecutive games played. When the chess marathon ended at 3 a.m. Tuesday, Polgar had played 1,131 consecutive games, said Barbara DeMaro, managing director of U.S. Chess Trust, an event sponsor.

• Highest number of wins in a marathon of this sort.

• Highest percentage of wins – 96.93 percent.

Polgar’s opponents, who ranged in age from 4 to 95, sat before identical chess boards at long rows of tables at the Palm Beach Gardens mall. Polgar remained standing, walking from board to board.

She watched one person make a move, then moved her own piece, before taking a step to the next board. By 3 a.m., she had walked more than nine miles.

Polgar started playing at age 4 in her native Hungary and was ranked the top women’s player in the world by age 15. She has won the women’s title four times.

In 1986, she became the first woman to qualify for the Men’s World Championship, and she earned the men’s grandmaster title five years later.

Republican defeats Iraq vet in Ohio race

Cincinnati A Republican former state lawmaker claimed a seat in Congress on Tuesday by narrowly defeating an Iraq war veteran who drew national attention to the race with his military service and a series of harsh attacks on President Bush.

With all precincts reporting, Jean Schmidt had 52 percent, or 57,974 votes, compared with Democrat Paul Hackett’s 48 percent, or 54,401 votes. Schmidt’s margin of victory amounted to about 3,500 votes out of more than 112,000 cast.

Schmidt, 53, will replace Republican Rob Portman, who stepped down this year after being named U.S. trade representative by Bush. Portman held the seat for 12 years, consistently winning with more than 70 percent of the vote in the Cincinnati-area district.

Democrats had viewed the race as a bellwether for 2006, saying even a strong showing by Hackett in such a heavily GOP district would be a good sign for them in the midterm elections.

“We began this race way back in late March, and no one had thought we’d be the focus of the national media or be the so-called first test of the Republican Party and the Bush mandate. Well, ladies and gentleman, we passed that test,” Schmidt said.