India’s future looks bright: Anand
Sports Reporter
Chennai:
For a man whose sport permits eccentricity as a professional hazard, Viswanathan Anand’s humility and straightforwardness are striking.
Speaking to The Hindu after playing chess with 20 enthusiasts (20 more were to follow) at the programme `Vishy versus Everybody’ to raise funds for `Vidya Sagar’, an NGO working for the differently abled, he was clear and articulate, as always.
The World Championship fiasco has not gone down too well with the 36-year-old (Veselin Topolov accused Vladimir Kramnik of taking too many bathroom breaks, suggesting that he was cheating). “It’s great entertainment, no doubt. But there is no place for such things in sport. He (Kramnik) was accused not of something he actually did, but something he could have done, and losing a game was extremely unfair to Kramnik. To say that it could have been handled better would actually be putting it mildly. The event is tainted now,” he said.
On the future of re-unification, he added that the validity of the event was in doubt now. “The Mexico Championship will be the legitimate World championship. Most of the top players play there,” he said, adding that the hunger to win the World Championship had barely diminished. “It’s very much there.”
The rest can be read here. 
I posted it in the Topalov interview comments section before Susan put it up.
The final nail in TOpalov’s coffin.
His reputation is now officially flushed down the toilet when even Anand is willing to take the risk and lambaste FIDE.
(Oh and to anon, no one cares that you found it first, I think Susan found a “FEW” more things before you)
“… the validity of the event was in doubt now.”
Yes, if Topalov wins.
Ya, Anand normally is very reserved and does not get involved into controversy. However, this time things have just gone for crazy to well…more crazy…
“… the validity of the event was in doubt now.”
Yes, if Topalov wins.”
I think the controversy has affected the play of both players. However, I cast the blame for all this solely on Topalov and his croonies.
“Oh and to anon, no one cares that you found it first, I think Susan found a “FEW” more things before you”
True but this I found first because I live in India.
And bit disappointed that I never got a “thnak you” from Susan whereas Xargon did despite posting the link after me.
Topalov has no way to save his ass anymore. Whatever he does he loses. And all this is premeditated and self-inflicted. What a great manager he has…
* True but this I found first because I live in India.
And bit disappointed that I never got a “thnak you” from Susan whereas Xargon did despite posting the link after me.
Thank you 🙂
I must have missed your post between countless other spams this afternoon. But thank you very much!
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
anon
YOU DIDN’T give your name, whereas Xargon did
Also his post was read by her before yours
but thanks anyhow, since it IS a very important article since ANand declared that Topalov was the villain not Kramnik
I feel warm and fuzzy inside 😛
When is the Mexico City Championship? Who cares what happens now at Elista…. Topalov will probably win the Championship there… but I’ll be rooting for Kamsky if plays. Kramnik is the worst thing to happen to chess… the most boring play there is…
Of course the Mexico City tournament, will be a qualification tournament to play Kramnik. Hensel has said this. Kramnik will not play there. He is the world champion.
“but I’ll be rooting for Kamsky if plays. “
I don’t believe Gata will play in Mexico based on what he kibitzed at ICC during Saturday’s match with his handle there: “Talion”.
Of course, Anand is not playing now (and he is the second rated player), so from his point of view the Mexico will decide.
Could he have said something less obvious? (and less selfish)
Of course, Anand is not playing now (and he is the second rated player), so from his point of view the Mexico will decide.
Could he have said something less obvious? (and less selfish)
This argument can then be extended to any chess player who has an opinion about this and is not playing here.
Even Topalov in the Trud Daily (largest Bulgarian daily newspaper) interview reprinted earlier in this blog maintains that Kramnik is not “from the FIDE and the traditional Soviet ‘old-school'” and instead joined Kasparov and Short in their fight for independence from FIDE:
“Q: After all, Kramnik was one of the “breakaways” and stayed away from the FIDE tournaments.
VT [Veselin Topalov]: True.”
Thus, even comparing Kramnik’s tactics to those used by the Soviet “old-school” is absurd.
Ooops…Sorry, I posted my last response in the wrong thread.
Who cares what four eyes think? After all he is Anand and And AND, AND AND AND, gaaaaaaaa!!!!!
>>Who cares what four eyes think? >>After all he is Anand and And AND, >>AND AND AND, gaaaaaaaa!!!!!
You are having a flurry of intellectual moments today, aren’t you?
Anand said:
“The Mexico Championship will be the legitimate World championship. Most of the top players play there.”
I assume Anand is playing in Mexico and if he wins, then he will consider himself the World Champion. LOL!
You can understand Anand’s frustration; being virtually left out in the cold for years while the various champions have tried to get their act together and produce a unified title.
But if he thinks the schism can be solved by FIDE just waving a wand and saying this champion is the only one, well, why should this time be any different than all the other times FIDE tried to do that? That’ll only work if we have a Unified Champion and he agrees to defend his title in Mexico.
But matches are still the most exciting contest. A match between the winner of this match and the Mexico Winner would be far superior to naming a new champion there.
I will consider anybody who wins Mexico a champion, but it will be unpleasant if this happens to be Topalov. I don’t mind phlegmatic players, like Leko and Kramnik, or less stable players like Morozevich. They sometimes play like geniuses and sometimes don’t, but it’s ok. But Topalov means also Danailov, strange outbursts in the media, embarrasing scandals, etc. I’d rather skip all that.
After Anand’s comments join Kasparov’s, Karpov’s, Korchnoi’s, Spassky’s, Svidler’s, th Bulgarian president’s, etc., only Fisher has yet to make a statement about the Elista WCC match. Really wonder what he’d have to say about this.
Ionnis I have an idea what fischer will say…He will probably say that this was all fixed, it is some how a jewish conspiracy and this all is rediculous as he is STILL the TRUE world champion! 😀
I read somewhere that fischer worked with Polgar sisters for some time…I wonder what susan will think about his post of mine! 🙂
Actually if todays game is drawn or won by Kramanik,he will be considered a world champion by almost all GMs and serious players. The point Topalov got in game 5 is totally stupid. To claim SOME part of his “championship” title, topalov must now win both games or no one will think he is a better player than kramanik.
I do not consider the winner of an FIDE tournament a World Champion. Only the tradition of beating the lineage of champions from Steinitz to Kramnik in match play. Regardless of which side one takes in this match, this is a lot more exciting than any FIDE so called world championship tournaments. With two games left, Kramnik is +1 in games played against Topalov and this should prove to everybody he deserves respect since after all, he is the one who defeated Kasparov when no one thought Kaspy would lose! I disagree with Anand’s stand but do see where he is coming from. As for Fischer, no one ever defeated him in match play over the board so he is much like Morphy, never beaten in chess by any human in match play. Think who else can claim that!
Anonymous said…
“You can understand Anand’s frustration; being virtually left out in the cold for years while the various champions have tried to get their act together and produce a unified title.”
He wasn’t “left out in the cold”. He played both Kasparov and Karpov for their respective titles. Once FIDE changed their version of the WC into a Mickey Mouse club, he even went on to win it and call himself “World Champion”.
I vote for Susan to be declared the “Absolute World Champion” and stop all these nonsense of “I am the world champion too”. If you want an objective way to know who is the undisputed world champion at a given time just look at his rating. During any era the real champion had always the highest rating (chessmetrics.com). Thus, Topalov is the one and only true champion today.
I agree. Having the highest rating means that you have played against many different opponents under many different conditions (and played often). A single match is not really a proper way to decide a champion (too many things can affect it just like this one is being affectet). How can Kramnik claim to be the world champion after defeating Kasparov if he refused to play a rematch?. This type of title is as useless as a piece of paper. The real champion plays, and plays over and over again and this is reflected in his rating. No shady organization can take this away from him. Having the highest rating does not depend on sponsors, creepy organizations, public opinion, hordes of star struck fans, etc. It depends ONLY on strenght of play. If this is not the supreme definition of the best in the world I do not know what is (besides, in this age of scientific objectivity rating is THE measure of a players strenght).
I agree with Anand, the mexico championship will decide who is the true world champion.
Its also true that after Kasparov no world champion looks invincible. On a given day anyone in top 100 could beat a top ten ranked GM.