Press Release 7
World Chess Championship MatchTomorrow – 6th Game of the Match
After the numerous rounds of the negotiations with the teams of Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov managed to reach the considerable progress.
As it was informed before, the question on the bathrooms was solved positively by mutual agreement of both teams.
After the voluntary resignation of the members of the 2006 World Chess Championship Appeals Committee, the new members of the Committee, who have already arrived to Elista, were assigned.
The FIDE President has made several proposals for further continuation of the match, which unfortunately were not accepted. After the detailed study of the current situation and the consultation with the FIDE Legal Advisor, the FIDE President decided:
Tomorrow, 2 October 2006, at 15.00, the 6th Game of the World Chess Championship Match Topalov-Kramnik with the score 3:2 in favour of Kramnik, will take place.
Source: FIDE
Is it confirmed that Kramnik agrees to this? I don’t think so…
I totally agree with FIDE’s decision on this.
I am not against kramnik as a chess player.
I am against him because he lacks common sense and wisdom.
In order to get the score he should have given something.
This is how things happen in the business world (which is what I am intimately familiar with).
Kramnik’s problem is that he refuses to give an inch. This is the consequence which is very similar to how things happen all the time in business.
Is Kramnik jewish? Isn’t it Yom Kippur… will he play on the most holy holiday for jews?
Oh boy.
This would be such a injustice that it bodily harms!
Really, I will inform my chess material providers about cancellation of all my chess related subscriptions which deal somehow with Topalov stuff.
Shame on you, FIDE World Champion!
I can’t wait to tune in tomorrow to watch the starting position with Kramnik’s clock ticking for one hour.
Way to go – at least one sound, strong decision by FIDE.
As I said before, the one thing FIDE should not allow is to leave the match with still 2 Champions. If all endeavours were made (as I understand they were) and there is no agreement, then FIDE needs to step up and make a decision – which in this case I believe it was a thoughtful one.
At last some consistency.
Kramnik never accepted such things!
Shame on Ki,no better than his previous officers!
Shame on liar rat danailov for all
Shame on Topalov if he presents himself in the playing room tomorrow!
If he ‘ll do so then: kramnik will be the sol thrue world champion!
It’s unlikely that Kramnik agreed to this when supposedly he was offered 3-1 with the stipulation that he had to play additional games. Once again, reunification is smashed. Another sad day for chess.
The wording of the release suggests almost certainly that Kramnik did not accept this. Most likely we will have another photo of Topalov facing an empty chair, and another forfeit awarded.
What a sad day for chess!
Why not 3-2 Topalov?? I also doubt there will be a game tomorrow… But I hope Kramnik turns up und crashes this stupid guy on the board. Topalov lost so many fans in the last days due to his manager and probably didn’t realize it yet.
This announcement is an absolute disgrace.
Kirsan has got what he wanted, Danailov has got what he wanted and Kramnik has been cheated.
Kramnik wanted to play the match under the conditions in the contract BOTH teams signed.
An illegal and completely unfounded appeal was made, not proven at all, and then the match conditions changed in view of it.
Susan, can I ask you, do you really believe for one second that there has been fair play here?
The rest of the chess world would appear to be hugely in favour of Kramniks position here. He has been insulted, accused of cheating and had his personal life exposed to the worlds media, all in an effort to try to save what was a losing situation for Topalov.
I suspect at this point that Kramnik will be packing his bags and contacting his lawyers. I would be totally supportive of him if he did this.
If cheats and scoundrels can distort the game of chess so horribly in this way, I am not surprised the world is not interested in chess anymore.
I am so surprised that mr. Ilyamzhinov has a face to do something so indecent. Seems that it’s been all one big theatre. I don’t believe that the idea ever was to give Kramnik a chance to continue the match.
Shame on Topalov!
He had realized he would have not be able to win the match, so he has tried to find a way to take a point for free, with a BIG smile on his face! What a sad day for chess. I REALLY hope Kramnik will CRUSH HIM on the board!
For vvchess: what did Topalov give to get this point? He raised an absurd thesis because he was losing (missing the Kramnik’s blunder on game 2 – probably during that game the Kramnik’s copy of Fritz stopped working wen he was in the bathroom…), didn’t he?
OMG! What a disgrace for The Royal Game. This is as bad as the steroid scandal and Barry Bonds. Tainted records tarnish the GAME. What about the GAME. The Lovers of THE GAME like Susan et al? Reminds me of The Music Business…90% Business and 10% Music…(explains all of the crap we hear there, too!). I wonder…The Colonel got 50% of Elvis and sued his estate to collect after his departure. What are we looking at here? In biz they say Fear and Greed: we have it all here!
The Darkness has won over with petty selfishness again. Perhaps they should play the game with ALL BLACK PIECES to symbolize what these egomaniacs have done to THE GAME!!! I don’t care how smart you are, but if you take advice from a FOOL it makes YOU FOOLISH. Hypocrites!!!
In response to…
what did Topalov give to get this point? He raised an absurd thesis because he was losing (missing the Kramnik’s blunder on game 2 – probably during that game the Kramnik’s copy of Fritz stopped working wen he was in the bathroom…), didn’t he?
I believe (my opinion) that kramnik is a better chess player.
But he is really a fool off the board. This outcome is the result of his handling of this situation.
Is it too much to ask that chess players we admire should also be wise and intelligent?
After all Fritz is a better chess player than both of them. We don’t necessarily admire it!
(Phil Harris: Susan, can I ask you, do you really believe for one second that there has been fair play here?)
No. Many things went terribly wrong. It was very poorly handled.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Susan don’t be naieve, things didn’t go wrong FIDE did this on purpose. The committee did it 2 wrong to believe it was a honest mistake.
Wrong answer. This “free” point will taint the tournament forever for all involved and for all those around the world watching. Topalov did not earn this point, yet it puts him within easy distance of Kramnik now! How unfair!
Bad, bad choice, if true!
“the photos from ChessBase shocked me”
They said it all…
What a “great” tactical money game by Topalov, winning with black vs Kramnik. Kasparov couldn’t even do it with white…
FIDE Code of Ethics has been flushed.
The best outcome for chess and chess fans: Kramnik shows up and wins the match going away even with the forfeit.
The worst outcome is that Kramnik doesn’t show up and FIDE and Danailov (sorry, Topalov) win.
Second worst scenerio is Kramnik shows and Topalov wins the match 6.5-5.5* (yes, with an asterick).
I started out favoring Topalov, but am now definitely in favor of Kramnik. I seriously doubt that the players or managers realize (or care) right now what the chess world thinks. They will only wake up to find out after the match. This will be unfortunate for Topalov as he could have been a very good champion.
And yes, the manager no doubt pulls more strings that we could imagine. That would be his job, to take care of everything off the board and let the player concentrate on the games. Topalov has to take blame for selecting and agreeing with Danailov’s decesions, but I feel it was the Manager’s work that ruined this match.
JD in Chicago
FIDE could not set a bad precedent (yet another one, but this would be of a ne type) to allow a player simply decide not going to play no matter how right he might be.
Kramnik could at least go to the game table and tell the arbiter that he was playing under protest for the sole purpose of not forfeiting, but that he was not going to recognize the result of the game if his claims remained unlistened.
Again, Kramnik could be as right as each one of us can understand. Unfortunately, he proceeded carelessly. If FIDE accepts this, then any player in the future would be entitled to fo the same – protest and not playing.
However, I still believe that in the future important additions must be included in the agreements:
– Anti-cheating measures.
– Clear definition of a “playing under protest” procedure.
I am sad for Kramnik – I am one of the people disappointed with Topalov, as he could simply be a gentleman and offer to resume the match 3-1. However, IMO, FIDE has proceeded properly to solve the issue that, for the sake of truth, FIDE itself created.
Personally, I don’t like Kramnik’s play style at all (like a soccer team which happens to score one goal and then the 11 guys go to defend the rest of the time, destroying rather than creating) so I was rooting for Topalov. I am no longer sure whether I will continue rooting for him – probably not. In any event, Kramnik is still ahead and I believe he can hold the advantage.
This just goes to say that Chess is not controled by the FIDE but Mother Russia
Mother Russia didn’t like a Hungarian woman to be #1 so they gave other women 100 free points but Zsuzsa. They don’t change. They’ll do anything to keep their superior status.
It is my hope that chess players do not spend money on any products that support Topalov and in the future he loses considerable income on his shameful behavior.
I agree with Bessel Kok.
“Game five was started under playing conditions that were not mutually agreed by both players (and in fact explicitly rejected by one of them), so the game should be considered null and void.” Oh how the mighty have falled. Kramnik is the true champion.
Kramnik never played a real World Chess Championship. His match with Kasparov wasn’t official.
Topalov won the San Luis WCC, with crushing wins and a clear margin, and since then he won 2 of the 3 super-tournaments he participated in.
So, I don’t understand all those people who are criticizing Topalov and supporting Kramnik.
I was rooting for Topalov at the beginning, but now if he wins with this default point, I will be unconvinced that he is world champion (it would have to be a margin of at least 2 points in favor of Topalov). Topalov’s chess is far more interesting to watch, but his endgame skill leaves something to be desired lately. Also, he needs to maintain concentration–his results are less stable.
no it looks more like Kirsan is going to forfeit Kramnik. there is no confirmation that Kramnik has agreed to play. Only that Kirsan has decided to start the clock tomorrow with the score at 3-2. then Kramnik will not show up and Topalov will be 3-3. then Kirsan will declare Topalov to be the Unified Champion. end of match.
I hope I am wrong. but a careful reading of the fide web site gives that impression. No place does it mention that Kramnik has agreed. not on fide and no place else on the internet as of now.
FULL INTERVIEW
The truth behind the events in Elista · Oct 2, 01:03 AM
The continuation of the Wcc 2006 match is not sure after the press release by FIDE a few hours ago. However, we are not really sure what has happened in these meetings and what are the “non-press release” reasons for the scandal.
Mr Silvio Danailov throws some light on the events in an interview for the Bulgarian newspaper Standart . The original article is much longer than the English version
Here we offer you a translation of the conversation. The interview is probably a phone call, that is why the communication is not very smooth. It explains some strange things around the scandal, but at the same time rises a lot of new questions. Expect a detailed analysis of Mr. Silvio Danailov’s words.
– Will there be a match tomorrow?
– Yes, there must be. It is an order from higher political circles in Russia
-*What does that mean?*
– By all means there must be a game, if not it will be bad for the image of Russia
-*How much time did the negotiations continue last night?*
– A lot. We decided the bathrooms problem. We let Kramnik keep the one he wants. However, it will be inspected by our people. Rooms will not be changed, every player has it’s own. For Kramnik is the bigger one because he likes to walk a lot. There will be audio and video vigilance in the rooms. One arbiter is assigned just for that. The question is decided.
Now the question is about the score. There is a lot of pressure on us the game to continue from 3:1. But how can we accept this since all our actions were according to the law? We just sent a protest declaration to the appeals committee because strange things were happening. 9 hours the video records have been revised and 5 people decided that there is something wrong. Nobody ever said that there was something (red. meaning a device or other type of aid). But it was very strange. We had a meeting with the FIDE president and Mr. Kramnik was very arrogant.
-*Arrogant?*
– Well, yes, he believes that he has political support behind his back. I asked him, “Why don’t we change the toilet?” and he answered, “Because I can do whatever I want. I decided about this toilet and you cannot tell me what to do.” The new one that was offered to him was 4 meters away from the playing area. I told him, “You are a chess player, you have to be more on the scene.” Mr. Kramnik cannot be away most of the time. He answered, “This is my right, I can do whatever I want.” He behaved as a man with a lot of support, as if everybody was doing what he orders.
-*Do you believe Mr. Kramnik has a health problem?*
– No, we know each other for 20 years. He claims that he needs to go to the toilet 30 times per game. But in the airplane from Moscow both delegations traveled together for two hours and then we were 3 hours around Elista. Five hours he did not step in the toilet.
-*Probably it is the pressure during the games and it is different*
– No matter how worried you are, you can go 5-10 times, not 30. We asked doctor Mihail Iliev, the doctor of the soccer national team, and he said that the only case is that Kramnik has problems with the prostate. First, he is too young and it is not probable that he has such. And if you know that you have such a problem and an important match is to come you have to find some solution.
When a man goes out of the toilet he washes his hands and does typical movements. There is no such a thing with Mr. Kramnik and it is obvious from the video. Inside there is a screen with the game on it. What does Kramnik do? He talks to himself and watches it. He gets an idea and goes to the toilet. He stays for a minute and goes out. Than he goes in again.
One more time I insist, there is no proof that he gets outside help, but his behavior is more than strange.
-*You made a compromise with the bathroom. What do you expect from their side?*
– Nothing, just the game to go on. There is an official score. For example if Levski and Chealsea play and the English team decides to stay in the locker rooms, the referree will blow the whistle and the score will be 3:0. Imagine now that Chealsea decides that they want to fire the whole appeals commission of UEFA and replay the game two days after? If they say that the score is 3:1 we quit. We did everything possible the match to continue. However, one man tries to play with FIDE with his childish requests.
-*People say this is the biggest scandal in the history of chess?*
– For sure a bigger scandal was the game between Krochnoi and Karpov, maybe Spaski and Fisher. These are matches with a lot of interest, but the times were different. The fun things were less, especially in countries like Bulgaria and Russia. The match should continue, it will be a shame if it doesn’t. We are the first that want the match to go on, but it is not simple.
-*What do you think about the definition “WC match”?*
– It is good that everybody around the world talks about chess. As an American friend of mine says, “Even the bad ad is an ad”. There is great interest and if the match continues it will be a good promotion for chess, no matter if people connect it with the WC. People will remember the Topalov-Kramnik game was different.
-*Do you have any other contracts, besides the one for the match?*
– The people I work with are above money at this time. The sums that are in the Wcc are not big. All of us believe that the match can make a revolution in professional chess. And if the Grand Slam becomes reality it will be great.
-*What is the opinion of Topalov?*
– Veselin has great desire to play, but he is disturbed by the behavior of Kramnik. As I said, we know him for 20 years and he has never behaved like that. Besides, he did not even greet Veselin in the 5th game. He was offended to wait an hour on the board while Kramnik was relaxing in his room.
-*Will Topalov shake hands with Kramnik?*
– We will see. For sure he does not want to give press conferences with him. Kramnik was very arrogant to him. Besides, he was constantly offering him draws and making him nervous. Maybe a handshake in the name of fairplay will be present.
-*Kramnik wants a written excuse from you*
– This is childish and he will not receive one. There is nothing to apologize about. In Russia and around the world his family and friends made a PR campain against us. They called us cheaters. Then the public opinion formed. He plays his own games but the trick will not work.
-*Russian journalists ask how you understood he goes to the bathroom*
– There are records and our technical experts requested them. The referee did not say much, except that he has noticed the fact. Even people that do not play chess noticed the fact that when Kramnik comes out of the toilet he plays almost immedeately. That is not normal and we requested the records.
-*The manager of Kramnik claims he likes to drink a lot of water and walk around.*
– The “likes to drink water” part is not true. For 5 hours he drank half a cup. “Did you even see that?” Kramnik asked me. Yes, and it is on the records. Regarding the walks, he enters in the toilet and closes the door. The toilet is a very small place and he spends a lot of time there.
-*Kremlin is behind Kramnik. Do you feel alone in the battle?*
– The vice premier of Russia, Alexander Zhukov, said that the match should continue with score 3:1. He is a politician and, besides, he should be neutral since he is a part of the organizing comittee. I believe it is not a bad idea Bulgarian politicians to show some support because we are under a lot of pressure.