04.06.10 14:03
Chess: FIDE confirms Aronian won’t play in Baku
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow Deputy Editor
International chess’s governing body has confirmed that next year’s World Champion candidates’ matches will be held in two countries, saving Armenia’s top player the trouble of playing in Azerbaijan.
International chess’s governing body has confirmed that next year’s World Champion candidates’ matches will be held in two countries, saving Armenia’s top player the trouble of playing in Azerbaijan.
As the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2009 Levon Aronyan is one of eight chess grandmasters to play in a Candidates Tournament to decide the next World Championship challenger.
The Armenian chess ace indicated in April that he won’t take part in World Chess Championship qualifying matches if Azerbaijan’s capital Baku was picked as the [only] venue. And the Armenian Chess Federation had sent an official letter to FIDE over the matter.
Armenia and Azerbaijan warred in the early 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh and remain at loggerheads over the disputed territory today. On rare occasions Armenian and Azeri athletes exchanged visits, but, by and large, the two countries view each other as hostile environments, including for sporting events.
According to an armchess.am report, FIDE has said this week the candidates’ matches will be held in two countries. In particular, four of the eight qualifiers are planned in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, and the other four, including Aronyan’s fixtures, in another country that will be adjusted additionally.
Six out of Aronyan’s seven rivals are already known. They are: Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Gata Kamsky (USA), Boris Gelfand (Israel) and Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan).
According to a preliminary decision, the matches will be held under the knockout system, commencing March 1, 2011.
The winner of the eight-man tournament will challenge the reigning FIDE chess champion Viswanathan Anand (India) in 2012.
Source: http://armenianow.com
He should play in Baku to show how good he is.
Gens Una Sumus is what FIDE constantly say: “We are all one family”. So why have separate events for the family members? And what about when players in the Women World Championship 2008 were worried about the Sussian-Georgian conflict nearby? Did FIDE allow them any alternatives? No, Ilhumzhinov said that politics (conflict) and sport must not be mixed, and that the organisers would provide full security. So what is different in this case then??
first para is copied twice.. is it so to emphasis that?
strange concessions to Aronian! If he wants to win the world championships,he should have the guts to play anywhere!