Baku 06.05.2013
Press release
Since the Candidates’ Tournament ended, and GM M. Carlsen became the challenger of the coming World Championship Match there have been several developments, mails exchange between all parties (Carlsen, Anand, FIDE), questions asked, and also speculations.
FIDE would hereby like to put forward the current situation regarding this event.
Directly after the 2012 match was awarded to Moscow, FIDE agreed to grant an option to Chennai. The PB and its meeting in Armenia in January decided that FIDE and AGON, who holds the rights for organizing the whole cycle of the World Championship, were advised that India would take up its option organize the World Championship match. This was done on January 24 in Athens, where both parties agreed not to open a bidding procedure, but to grant an option to India, as requested. We should emphasize that according FIDE rules the World Championship cycle is not included in the list of events, for which FIDE is obliged to do so (like Olympiads, for instance). This has been deliberately done, because in many cases FIDE, having the priority in mind to secure the match and the cycle, was ready to give an option or even to grant the match if the proposal was attractive enough.
Consequently three of the last matches were given to an organizer without a bidding procedure.
On March 15th India asked to extend the option until April 10th and FIDE agreed to it because it was clear that the bid would be accepted and just needed an approval of the Tamil Nadu State Parliament, a session which took place on April 8th. One could ask why was the extension given to a date when the name of the challenger will be known already, and the simple answer is that FIDE, being convinced that the positive answer was just a matter of technicality, did not want to lose this bid for an alternative that gave no guarantee for a better result or any result at all.
When the approval of the bid by India was published and FIDE representative was called to formalize it, on April 8th, GM Carlsen’s manager contacted FIDE and asked to have a meeting to discuss this matter before a formal move is done with India.
Carlsen and FIDE’s representatives met in FIDE office on April 15th, when all claims were brought up by Carlsen’s representatives and were answered by FIDE. Among the points raised and answered we would like to emphasize one and this is the issue which was also raised in media – the question of neutrality. Unfortunately it has always proved difficult to find a sponsor to such a match when the name of the challenger is not known yet. Therefore most of matches in the past were organized in one of the participant’s countries. Consequently both World Champions Anand and Topalov played in their opponent’s country – a natural result of the situation.
On that day both parties signed a paper whereby it was agreed to give Norway an option to come up with an organizer for half of the match, provided that India would accept such a solution.
FIDE tried its hardest to convince India to split the match, but they refused India wanted to fulfil what has been approved by the government of the Tamil Nadu State and FIDE had to keep its obligations, and consequently an M.O.U was signed in Chennai on April 19th. One day later, the FIDE President visited France, where he got a proposal to organize the match in Paris. Mr Ilyumzhinov promised to bring the proposal before the Presidential Board. The French proposal was higher than the Chennai one, with more contributions offered. However, the Board decided (unanimously with one abstention) that FIDE must respect its obligation and thanked the French federation and the city of Paris for their proposal, hoping that there will be another opportunity to have a big event in Paris.
FIDE has acted with full transparency during the whole process, trying its best to secure the match and standing by its obligations and reputation. FIDE will do everything to secure equal conditions for both players and also will try and still trying to increase the prize fund for the match.
FIDE wishes these two great players a successful match, and is sure that India, the homeland of Chess will bring to the world a fascinating event.
Gens Una Sumus.
FIDE is probaly the most scandalous federation in all sports/games. So pathetic for chess!
The statement says:
“Directly after the 2012 match was awarded to Moscow, FIDE agreed to grant an option to Chennai.”
And why would the FIDE in the first place grant Chennai an option to organise the next World Chess Championship WITHOUT ANY KIND OF BIDDING PROCESS?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was just one of those backdoor dodgy and illegitimate deal that the FIDE President did and that he should have decided to abandon!!!
WHO ON EARTH DID ENTITLE CHENNAI TO HAVE ANY KIND OF RIGHT TO ORGANISE THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WITHOUT ANY BIDDING PROCESS?!!!! THE CURRENT DICTATOR IN CHIEF, THE FIDE PRESIDENT!!!
Moreover, to grant a country a right to organise the World Chess Championship without a bidding process is HIGHLY DETRIMENTAL TO BOTH PLAYERS, TO CHESS IN GENERAL AND TO THE FIDE!!!
There is no excuses to have done such a promise to Chennai. There is no rational justifications to grant favors to a particular country, especially considering the fact that the current World Champion V. Anand is from India!!!
This promise to Chennai is therefore null and void and the FIDE President should explain to Chennai that his promise could not been kept for many reasons, one of them is the need for an open, fair and transparent bidding process for the location of the World Chess Championship!!!
Most importantly, ALL the chess players who played for the right to challenge V. Anand did it on the basis of the set of new rules for the new World Chess Championship cycle and, in these rules, a bidding process was planned for the location of the World Chess Championship.
Worse, the legitimate demands of one of the two players, Magnus Carlsen, have not even been considered at all!!! It is simply inadmissible and highly disrepectful to Magnus Carlsen.
The FIDE President made a backdoor dodgy and illegitimate deal with Chennai and he feels that he has a right to keep his illegitimate deal as promised!!! Sorry, FIDE President, you do not have the right to keep implementing your mistakes, not matter what promise you made to Chennai!!!
NO, FIDE PRESIDENT, when you do a mistake like this backdoor shameful and illegitimate deal with Chennai, the only way to solve this mistake is by explaining to Chennai that this past promise made to Chennai cannot be followed through because it is illegitimate, it also goes against the current regulations of the World Chess Championship, and, most importantly, Magnus Carlsen has very justifiably demanded a fair, open and transparent for the location of the World Chess Championship.
That is how one corrects one’s mistakes, not by imposing the mistake made with Chennai on Magnus Carlsen as a fait accompli (a done deal) by going to sign a final contract with Chennai against the legitimate demands asked by Magnus Carlsen.
Therefore, MAGNUS CARLSEN MUST NOW KEEP ASKING THAT THERE IS AN OPEN, FAIR AND TRANSPARENT BIDDING PROCESS TO BE HELD IN THE COMING DAYS.
CARLSEN SHOULD ASK THE FIDE TO EXPLAIN TO CHENNAI THAT IF THEY WANT TO ORGANISE THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP, THEY WILL HAVE TO DO IT THROUGH A FAIR, OPEN AND TRANSPARENT BIDDING PROCESS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO ORGANISE THIS CHESS MATCH SHOULD GO THROUGH. NOT WITH AN COMPLETELY UNJUSTIFIED ADVANTAGE WITHOUT ANY COMPETITION OF ANY KIND FOR THE ATTRIBUTION OF THE LOCATION OF THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
MAGNUS CARLSEN, TAKE A STAND AND INFORM THE FIDE THAT THEY MUST GO THROUGH A FAIR, HONEST AND TRANSPARENT BIDDING PROCESS TO ATTRIBUTE THE LOCATION OF THE COMING WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP.
Chennai was selected for the Anand-Gelfand Match. Since Moscow was keen on organizing ( Israeli Gelfand was from the former Soviet Union) , at the last minute Chennai let Moscow have the match instead of slapping a law suit on FIDE. Like a honest person does FIDE agreed for the next match in chennai. What’s wrong? This business of putting $1 more at the last minute after knowing the other city’s hand is causing problems. Like FIDE said, it is not as if sponsors are competing with wads of cash..in chess..
nakamura will win this one..LOL
hey troll where are you?
unfair advantage to anand..really. he was the first champion to do away with draw odds. All the ‘fair play’ pretenders like Gazza, tolya had a draw odds cluase to keep their title in case of level scores.. Topa was worse… just stole a full point off vlady.. Magnus should be lucky he is playing a gentleman
I am sure magnus was advised by garry to pull out. Magnus did the wise thing. Garry is great in doing what Tal said ‘ shaving on other persons face’
They should scrap the Chennai agreement and come play in my house.. I offer good lemonade drinks to both players 😀
FIDE did the right thing here. As for the players,the only thing that matters is the two chairs and table with chessboard in between. Everything else is blocked out. Spraggett in his blog expects Carlsen to throw in the towel and decline to play the match,thus handing over the rights to Kramnik. Now, I really like Spraggett’s blog – brings some much needed humour to the serious game of chess. But Ha! Ha! This was most hilarious!1 Why should Carlsen give up this hard won golden opportunity to dethrone Anand and cement his fame in chess history? Only Kasparov would want him to do that!! Not even Bobby Fischer – may his soul be in a good place.
Amar
Yep. C’est la vie. FIDE again shows who is the boss, and there is nothing the Carlsen camp can do. Even Anand said: “I agree selection of WC venue may have been unfortunate. But now looking forward to match”
Federations, wake up please, not all of you need FIDE to play chess.
Lasker, in his 50s, lost his World Championship to Capablanca in 1921 during a very hot Cuban summer in Havana. Talk about a home court advantage. But Magnus will win in Madras. Go, Magnus.
If FIDE’s bloviating explanation were less mendacious, it would begin with “We robbed the players in the championship match of a million dollars and marginalized the most important chess event of a generation because….” Or, speaking more broadly: “We acted against the interest of our top players and against the interests of chess at large because….” Even without such candor, FIDE’s explanation makes sense only to those with abbreviated mental faculties who believe that they commune with space aliens. If one assesses the express premises upon which FIDE’s explanation is built, it is like surveying the strata of a Pompeian latrine. Any federation can bid, but FIDE can simply reject it. FIDE’s strategy of promising India to get a first option for a three-month period, then extending that period for almost a year and then declining a higher bid still hasn’t been explained properly with this weapons-grade BS press release. Yet FIDE asserts that it “has acted with full transparency during the whole process.” Yet again FIDE vomits up offal, pukes bile, and farts noxious guff in the faces of the chess public, which it trusts will be credulous and accepting.
— Calvin Amari
This is cool!