Announcement of FIDE President in respect of Candidates Matches
Moscow, 16 November 2006
Dear friends of chess,
On behalf of FIDE I am pleased to announce that both rounds of the Candidates Matches for the 2007 World Championship Tournament will take place in Elista, 26 May – 14 June 2007. The prize fund for each match of both rounds will be USD 40,000. I shall personally contribute 320,000 USD towards the total prize fund and a further USD 160,000 will be contributed by FIDE.
The 16 Grandmasters who will participate in the Candidates Matches are:
01. Levon Aronian (ARM)
02. Peter Leko (HUN)
03. Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR)
04. Boris Gelfand (ISR)
05. Etienne Bacrot (FRA)
06. Alexander Grischuk (RUS)
07. Judith Polgar (HUN)
08. Alexei Shirov (ESP)
09. Michael Adams (ENG)
10. Evgeny Bareev (RUS)
11. Vladimir Malakhov (RUS)
12. Gata Kamsky (USA)
13. Rustam Kasimjanov (UZB)
14. Sergei Rublevsky (RUS)
15. Mikhail Gurevich (TUR)
16. Magnus Carlsen (NOR)
Out of the above 16 Grandmasters, the top 4 will qualify for the 2007 World Chess Championship Tournament in Mexico, 11 September – 1 October, joining the defending World Champion Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) and GMs Vishy Anand (IND), Peter Svidler (RUS), Alexander Morozevich (RUS) who have already qualified from the previous World Championships. We are all looking forward for another world class event to be held successfully in Elista.
Gens Una Sumus!
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
FIDE President
Source: FIDE
So, has Topalov retired? Lose one match and you are toast…
Just when you think FIDE cannot possibly be more corrupt, they surprise you with more.
My question exactly: where is Topalov? Is it not completely ridiculous that the loser of the last WC match (by such a narrow margin) be excluded from the next cycle? I don’t think it’s corruption; it looks much more like plain stupidity. More controversy ahead, just when we thought we were through. Kirsan is the king of idiots.
He’ll take Kramnik’s spot.
Remove the defender
1)Rb8…Qxb8
2)Rxf7…Kxf7
3)Qe7+…Kg8
4)Qg7#
if
2)…Kg8
3)Rg7#
Kramnik was not going to play originally. One of the terms of the reunification match was that if Kramnik wins, he and Topalov switch places in Mexico, i.e., Kramnik plays and Topalov does not. I do not think forcing one of the participants to give his/her place to Topalov is an option.
This clause with the loser from Elista out of Mexico 2007 is total stupidity and absolutely unfair – both Topalov and Kramnik should be qualified automatically being among the top 5 players in the world this year (currently number 1 and 3).
so once again Kirsan has to dip into his own pocket to make a tournament of any sort happen, in this case the candidate matches.
Once again sponsors want nothing to do with Fide on a large scale basis.
Relying on one person’s gratituity- if that is the word for it- is never healthy long term.
anonymous 10:20:48
The problem is that the Mexico tournament was already set up before Elista, with Kramnik declining the invitation. That is why Topalov was out when he changed places with Kramnik. It was a risk Topalov knew he was taking before accepting the Elista match.
Exclusion of Topalov is just one more win for Kramnik’s contractual chess. Next comes the heavy weapon – Kramnik’s medical certificates.
If I understand correctly Anand, Svidler and Morozevich qualified by being the #2-4 in last years WC-tournament. Topalov was #1 and is excluded!? I cannot understand it…
This is so foolish…
World Champ without the best active player?!?! – V.Topalov
Of the 16, only 5 non-Russian, 11 with Russian origin. The old Soviet days in chess in a new variant. Go, Kramnik, only 3 more contracts to win and you will be a champion for life. And the chess crown in its homeland Elista forever.
what a stupid clasification system!!! Kirsan is the number one!!!
it shows you how desperate world chess is if they need this guys money
———————-
Kerry Liles said…
So, has Topalov retired? Lose one match and you are toast…
Just when you think FIDE cannot possibly be more corrupt, they surprise you with more….
————————
this is what a lot of people think and know
People are writing as if Topalov’s status is news. It was announced right from the beginning that if he lost to Kramnik, he would not have a place in the next WC tournament.
If he were included, whom should he replace? Everyone else on the list qualified fair and square, and shouldn’t have to relinquish their place just because Topalov couldn’t beat Kramnik.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
It’s a shame about Topalov. I don’t like him personally, but he is a great player and should play in any event determined by level of chess as opposed to the symphathies of the sponsors.
Usually the criticism is about the corruption of FIDE – but in fairness in this case, it is probably BOTH corruption and incompetence.
There is a saying which originated with big city governments. The government can be honest or corrupt. It can be effective or incompetent. The best is when the government is honest and effective. The least is when it is corrupt and incompetent. FIDE is the latter.
OK, first about the absence of Topalov. Those who scream their complaints here obviously haven’t followed the latest events.
There was NO WAY to change the fromat of Mexico when talks about Elista began. Kramnik and Topalov want to play their match? Fine. But there is only one spot in Mexico for the two of them! So that is why they BOTH have agreed that the loser has to skip Mexico.
Topalov knew what he was getting into.
Second, about lots of players of russian origin. This, as well as the dominance of soviet grandmasters starting from Botwinnik to nowadays with only notable exceptions being Fishcher and Anand, is a result of chess being promoted on the governmental level in the USSR, I believe. It began in 1920s, obviously with training kids, and so by 1945 you russkies had your Botwinnik.
Unless US does something similar (chess in the school curriculum etc – the stuff Susan is fighting for), the trend of seeing lots of people of ‘soviet origin’ on the top will remain the same.
Support Susan!!!
Nick
Something I don’t understand – Kirsan contributes $320 000, and FIDE contributes $160 000 towards the prize money, adding up (if my math does not fail me) to $480 000.
Yet the total prize money for the 2 matches comes to $80 000.
How does that work?
> How does that work?
Easily! You need to get 4 people out of 16. That means 8 matches first tyo get down to 8 and then 4 matches more to get 4 candidates.
12 matches X 40k = 480k
Nick
[] What elite grandmaster’s name is absent from the list of 16 just announced for the candidates’ matches (and is not already seeded into Mexico 2007)?
V.Ivanchuk is ranked #6 on FIDE’s 2006/10 rating list, yet he is absent: Why absent??
Who else is questionably absent?
[] Too many players from San Luis 2005 were seeded into Mexico 2007. Mexico 2007 should seed only 2 players into Whereever 2009, not 4 players.
[] I doubt today’s players of Russian origin will collude the way yester-year’s Soviet players colluded.
[] Good or bad, I am guessing Kirsan’s reasoning for excluding Topalov from Mexico 2007 might be like the following:
Topalov is not “excluded”. Rather Topalov already got his reward for winning San Luis 2005. Topalov’s reward was in the form of a 1-on-1 title match against the classical WCChamp Kramnik in 2006/10.
Appropriately, this was a much better reward than Svidler got. Svidler merely got seeded into Mexico 2007, where he will have to beat 7 others simultaneously to become the WCChamp.
Must Topalov be allowed to challenge in every WCC title match? Botvinnik might say yes. But I prefer that others be given a chance instead?
Remember, all this was agreed to by Topalov before Topalov lost to Kramnik.
[] I am glad to hear that not one dollar of the $320,000 Kirsan is donating to the candidates’ prize fund is coming from the Kalmykian treasury.
Gene Milener
http://CastleLong.com/
woowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. this is news to me obviously i havent been paying much attention. Why is Topalov not seeded into the candidates match proposal? Holy Smokes i hope they got some reasoning to back this up.
It does not matter being one of the top 2 or 3 players in the world on the rating list should be enough to qualify for the candidates match. This is ridiculous and the turmoil will continue.
Where is Radjabov and Mamedyarov?
It is sad to see that the top rated player is not going to play the World Championship.I was with Kramnik in the last match,but both must play.
And why Ivanchuk is not playing?Somebody thought in him?.Please send the best players to the WC or nobody will say seriusly “i am the champion”.
For me without Topalov and Ivanchuk, it is not a REAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.It is just a joke.
How do you have such a tourn. Without Topalov. I am a long time chess fan, Sports Fan. This may be the funniest thing I have ever seen. Short of professional wresting. NO example can be found in any other sporting event to compare this to. So, This MUST not be a sporting event. Proff positive, Fan’s be damned. Show them the MONEY!!!!
RonMC21
I see a lot of Chinese, Indian, and western European women among the best of the women. How is it that residents of and emigres from the old Soviet bloc countries and Soviet republics do not dominate among the top rated women the way they do for men?
Because they all thrive to be a Kournikova wannabe instead of focusing on chess.
Some people are either stupid or never read anything before come to conclusions…
1) Topalov CANNOT play and he knew it when he signed to play Kramnik. The reason was that Kramnik (before Elista) qualified due to ELO but then rejected the offer and got replaced by the next person (Shirov).
It is not Kirsan or FIDE fault. They could not change the rules everytime, according to your taste.. It is this unrelibility that you, on the one hand accuse them, and on the other you require them to do!
2) There are clearly stated rules about qualifying that give the oportunity to the best to play.
People mention Radja and Mamed.. Well they played the qualifying (word cup) and failed to qualify. As their rating at the time of the begining of the circle was not high enough to give them direct qualification, they cannot play. Too bad. Next time!
Same with Ivanchuk. Despite having now higher rating than, say, Shirov that qualified by rating, this was NOT the case in the list that counts (when the circle of championship begun).
3) People will accuse FIDE for everything. They change the rules? bad. They don’t? bad. They have low prizes? Bad. They increase the prizes? Bad (it is Kirsan money)
Who told you that there would be funding for the candidates if it weren’t fide? Why couldn’t Kasparov make a proper candidate circle (the Shirov-Kramnik hardly qualifies as a circle)? Why Kirsan came in first place? (Fide was about to bankrupt when USSR collapsed and there was no funding from there..)
just think before accusing fide for all… They are far from perfect, and have made and are making some mistakes, but they are not the source of all problems! And people have to acknowledge when something good is done by Fide..
It is the first time we are having a full qualifying system for the world cham,pionship since zonals and interzonals… (world cup, matches and final at Mexico)
derida said…
Some people are either stupid or never read anything before come to conclusions..
It is not Kirsan or FIDE fault. They could not change the rules everytime, according to your taste.. It is this unrelibility that you, on the one hand accuse them, and on the other you require them to do!
——HOGWASH DRIBBLE——
Kirsan the FIDE and Putin just recently chanced all the rules to manipulate the so called World Title Match outcome…
Kramnik was written off by Kasparov as a has been… (due to his medical illness his physocal health detoriated as did his Fide rating slumped) befor his world championship match. Now he is world champion Kasparov has to eat humble pie. Kramnik plays better in 1 on 1 match. Where as in a round robin it is more luck.. you need luck to win a few good games to put you ahead of the pack. 2 different formats uit different players of temperament and style . A risk take or aggressive player like Anabd can win the tournament. A sold play like Tigran Petrosian you would have difficulty beating in a match. I think there should be t world chess champion one for matches 1 on 1 and the other for round ronin.