Briefly.

Byline: The Register-Guard

South Eugene student

is state chess champion

Oleg Zaikov, a 15-year-old freshman at South Eugene High School, became the reigning state chess champion after beating nine adult competitors - most of them considered master-level - in the Oregon State Chess Championship, held in Portland over the past two weekends.

Jerry Ramey, coach of the esteemed South Eugene Chess Club, called Zaikov's victory nothing short of amazing.

"He's playing almost all masters, and Oregon is pretty high as far as the quality of players that it has at the adult level," he said. "I expected he would maybe be in the middle someplace, but he actually went up there and won it. I think it's the most outstanding thing that any of my kids have ever done."

Zaikov emigrated with his parents to the United States from Siberia when he was in first grade. He started playing chess when he was 5, but didn't start playing seriously until about four years ago.

Last year, he won the state middle school chess championship, and he did the same this year in the high school championship. Another Eugene student, 17-year-old home-schooler Morgan Griffiths, won the National High School Chess Championship last month. Zaikov struggled in that tournament, placing 28th.

Students to show talents in ACT-SO competition

About 25 African-American students will display their talents Saturday at the annual ACT-S0 competition at the Hult Center's Soreng Theatre.

The event, sponsored by the Eugene-Springfield chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is free and open to the public.

The high school students will compete in 14 categories: dramatics, essay, drawing, poetry, photography, dance, architecture, mathematics, music instrumental, oratory, music vocal contemporary, painting, chemistry and sculpture.

Entries in photography, drawing, painting and architecture will be on public display beginning at 5:30 p.m. Contestants in the performing arts will be on stage beginning at 7 p.m. Winners will be announced immediately afterward.

Students from Thurston, Springfield, Willamette, North Eugene, South Eugene, Sheldon and Churchill high schools will participate. First-place winners in each category will be eligible to compete at the NAACP's national convention in Miami.

ACT-SO stands for Afro-Academic Cultural Technological and Scientific Olympics. For more information on Saturday's event, call 684-4716.

NORTHWEST

Bill would subject judges to Senate confirmation

SALEM - House Republicans moved toward checking the power of the governor on Tuesday, passing a bill to make his judicial appointments subject to Senate confirmation.

The measure passed 31-27 in the Republican-controlled House and now moves to the Senate, split 15-15 between Republicans and Democrats.

Because the change would require a constitutional amendment, the bill would send the decision to voters in the next general election.

The governor appoints judges for the Oregon Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the circuit courts. Though judges, who serve six-year terms, are subject to elections, their initial appointment isn't approved by the Legislature.

``Now the governor can appoint his high school buddy or member of his legal council,'' said Rep. Rob Patridge, a Medford Republican. ``This lets the public and the press have an examination.'' Opponents of the bill said the current system keeps the appointments from becoming political.