‘Looks like anyone can buy his way into a rematch’
B Shrikant, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, August 18, 2007
First Published: 22:28 IST(18/8/2007)
Last Updated: 22:29 IST(18/8/2007)
There is a limit to how much discrimination one can take. Viswanathan Anand, just like a number of people associated with chess, has been unhappy with the world chess federation (FIDE) granting special privileges to Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov in the World Championship cycle.
You cannot make special rules for every individual. Kramnik and Topalov both get two chances at the title, which means that the current rules are definitely not detrimental to them. Of course it is unfair. But I have stopped fretting over FIDE. They always do the same. It would be so nice if they did not keep discarding their own rules. — Viswanathan Anand.The wizard from Chennai blasted FIDE for breaking its own rules and giving the two players from powerful associations two shots at the title.
Topalov, who was left out of the Mexico competition after losing the unification match to Kramnik, was included at the last minute. He gets to play a super match against the winner of the World Cup and take on the winner of the match between Kramnik and the world champion.
The world No. 1 said he was sick of the way FIDE messed up the World Championship cycle, but said: “It is pointless fighting against the impossible.” Anand though played down chances of a boycott in Mexico, saying that all players were looking forward to the event.
“You cannot make special rules for every individual. Kramnik and Topalov both get two chances at the title, which means that the current rules are definitely not detrimental to them.
Here is the full article.
Anand has always been treated poorly by fide. He was cut out of the 2005 cycle. Now he gets minimum recognition in this cycle. Mexico needs to be a candidates match to choose a challenger for Kramnik. It should include Ivanchuk and only the top players.
It seems that Anand’s major fault is that he is not from Eastern Europe (otherwise he would get another shot at the title). FIDE mixes politics and chess. This is the very reason for mismanagement of the top players and failure to get any corporation (except for Gazprom) aligned with FIDE. IOC is not better. Kasparov spoke candidly about it: “It was a clear case of corruption. Putin himself met with fifteen members of the International Olympic Committee and had some very convincing monetary arguments in his briefcase. After he had won the bid in this way the state will invest twelve billion dollars in Sochi. You can count on it that most of the money will end up in the pockets of companies close to Putin.” http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4055
To second Anonymous: Once again, it is not FIDE who mixes politics and chess: it is the anti-FIDE (Kasparov, Kramnik etc.) group who has made sure through their arm wrangling that Kramnik kept getting unfair chances. FIDE implemented the most democratic way to World Championship (unpopular as it may have been), which saw people like Kasimdzanov etc become World Champions. It is exactly people like YOU who have been the biggest problem: blaming FIDE for everything but actually promoting such twisting politics.
Give me a break. Chess fan is a problem. And FIDE that makes and brakes their own rules is so trustworthy. Depriving Anan from equal player rights so democratic. I see. So nice, building chess hotels.
“[FIDE] intends to build hotels in 165 countries. All hotels are said to be in the shape of chess figures…According to FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, at the first stage nearly US$1 billion is to be allotted for bringing the plans to life. The total cost of the project is estimated at US$50 billion. … Another grandiose part of the FIDE project is building of a chess city that will consist of 32 hotels in the shape of chess in the UAE.”
http://www.russia-ic.com/news/show/4516/
Looks like Anand is getting really frustrated he will maybe never become World Champ….
GENS una SUMUS!
FIDE rocks. It’s possibly the most successful sports organization in history.
Right. Human Trafficking Ltd.
I don’t understand why Kramnik is playing in Mexico – if the purpose of Mexico is to choose a challenger for the World title. He’s already the World Champion.
By the same token, I don’t know why Topalov wasn’t at Mexico from the beginning: he’s a valid challenger.
Topalov should be in Mexico instead of Kramnik
I just hope that Kramnik can win Mexico. Not that I’m necessarily a great fan of his but because it preserves the line of World Champions from 1. Steinitz to 14. Kramnik (leaving out the joke “FIDE World Champions” – How many of these would be capable of beating Kramnik/Kasparov in a match (Topalov/Anand – maybe, the rest – not a chance!)
Whoever the next world champion is I want them to beat Kramnik in a long match (min 12 games, preferably 18-24 games).
Remember Boxing was one of the most popular sports out there 20 or 30 years ago with 8 World Champions many of whom were known to the general public and in order to be a WC you had to beat one of these fellas over 12-15 rounds. Now you have about 4 or 5 so called World Champions at about 14 different weights – and few people could name one of them (not the only reason boxing is not so popular anymore mind you)
The World Championship is a very special prize and should be protected and promoted by the Chess World. Winning one tournament is too random to allow the victor to claim the WC title. A match is the best way, that’s why there have been so few WCs up until FIDE started destroying it.
Personally I would love to see Vishy as the real WC but only if he can beat the incumbent in a match – he already failed to do so once before.
I hope Vishi will win in Mexico, and Kramnik-Anand will be great match.
A couple comments… first in response to
“you cannot make special rules for every individual”
Well, sure, but it is not two random people. There was a split, remember? The reason that Anand is not a former world champion is simply that FIDE gave up control over the WC when it allowed a schism with Kasparov. His dominance made it clear he was the “real” champion. So then Kramnik, practically the only person with a good lifetime record against Kasparov, took the title in a legit match. I mean, does anybody really seriously believe the FIDE line that Karpov was then champion, and defended successfully, _after_ Kasparov?! Gimmee a break!
So who are these two? The legit champ, and FIDE paper champ. Was it ugly? Yes. Would it have been less ugly if dealt with in the 90s? Yes. Did FIDE give away too much? Yes. Did FIDE listen to it’s own guy (Topalov) too much in the negotiations, resulting in the “loser doesn’t play in Mexico” clause? Yes.
However that was all agreed on as part of a “whatever it takes to re-unify” process. So it was understood by most of the chess world that the hard part was making it happen, so short term weirdness is acceptable. As long as, and only because of, reaching the goal of a unified World Chess Championship that is broadly respected and follows Classical concepts.
The only part that wasn’t from that agreement is the odd World Cup vs Topalov challenger issue. The good news is it is a one time thing that was added into the process of getting to a new cycle. This is clearly political, and I should say, it has more to do with past misdeeds by FIDE than with Topalov’s actual case. However, FIDE has a history of being too cozy with the former USSR, and so the accusations of Russian favoritism have much heavier political weight than real weight.
It is too bad that somebody who 20 years ago would have been on the Russian side of that, now is one of the ones cashing in that political chip. But they flung it up at the wall, and for a minute at least it stuck. If a person doesn’t know much of the details, it’s easy to say, well, FIDE president is (in US terms a Governor) President of Kalmykia, which is a Russian state, and Kramnik is Russian, and so there is some political penalty as far as, taking extra consideration of such accusations.
Please, I beg everybody, including Anand, to not worry about the short term, but focus on healing and returning honor to the WC title. We have the unified champion, we have a route to solidify a believable title, all that remains is to see if the chess community is capable of dignity.
Rubypanther, ‘Don’t worry about the short term’ ? Why not? And how do you define short term ? 20 years ? I don’t understand how doing something dumb-assed is ok. The current situation is unfair for Anand and everyone in the world by 2 players and he is correct in saying so. I dont see why he is supposed to keep quiet.
– Vinay
Why hasn’t Anand tried to challenge under the 2700 Rule himself? A lot of us were hoping he would as soon as it was announced. Instead, he sat on his hands, and Radjabov got in a challenge first. He could certainly have gotten funding if he tried, but he was just content to just wait around for Mexico instead.
>I don’t understand why Kramnik is playing in Mexico – if the purpose of Mexico is to choose a challenger for the World title. He’s already the World Champion.>
Because “officially” (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), this is a world championship tournament, not a candidates tournament. We’re going to pretend like the winner is world champion even if he hasn’t beaten the world champion in a match, until a match can take place afterwards and straighten things out again. We have to do it that way, because the Mexican organizers are legally entitled to something called a world championship
“it is the anti-FIDE (Kasparov, Kramnik etc.) group who has made sure through their arm wrangling that Kramnik kept getting unfair chances.”
Oh, yeah. A champion getting to defend his own title is like unprecedented, isn’t it? Wonder how much he had to pay for that?