Anand-Carlsen World Championship match could move out of Chennai
Press Trust of India
Chennai: There is some uncertainty over Chennai as the venue for the eagerly-awaited World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen after the World No 1 player from Norway expressed unhappiness with the FIDE’s choice of venue.
The FIDE has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with All India Chess Federation and Tamil Nadu state association for holding the World Championship match in Chennai, the home city of Anand.
However, it has been learnt Carlsen’s team is apprehensive about playing in Chennai given unfamiliar food and weather conditions as the Norwegian has no experience of competing in hot climate.
The fallout could be Carlsen’s refusal to sign the contract as both players are needed to sign the agreement despite FIDE’s MoU with the TN state association.
According to Carlsen’s agent, Espen Agdestein, what irked the 22-year-old challenger was the way the MoU was signed without following a bidding process as described in the FIDE regulations for the World Championship match.
Agdestein said there should be an open bidding process and a neutral venue for the match and that the world body should have a dialogue with both players before arriving to a final decision.
The MoU, uploaded on the FIDE website, says that the match could be held in Chennai from November 6 to 26.
Chennai had lost out on the last World Championship match between Anand and Boris Gelfand after Moscow offered a higher prize fund of USD 2.55 million to the organisers.
At that time, the FIDE president, Kirsan Ilymzhinov had promised the Tamil Nadu government that the state will get the first preference for the next match.
It has also been learnt that the earlier preferred locations for hosting the match were New York, Miami, St Tropez, Paris and Tromso. The Norwegian town is already hosting the 2013 World Cup and the 2014 World Team Olympiad.
If Carlsen insists on a neutral venue, FIDE may have little option but to move the game out of Chennai.
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com
It should be held in Elista.
What if half the match is in Tromso, Norway and half the match is in Chennai, India (they could both have home-field advantage)?
From Michael,
They could hold it in Anand’s living room and he will still lose.
Being confident is good, but being over confident is stupid. Topolov had it once.
The WC should always be held at a neutral site.
Venue won’t matter to Anand. He undoubtedly will retain his world chapinship title.
First it was match play structure, now it’s food and climate. Carlsen’s shaping up to be a real Fischer.
Young Carlsen should shut his mouth and be willing to play anywhere. He is young and hardy enough to play in the Amazon jungle if need be. Anand played the great Topa in Sofia and Gelfand in Moscow ( Gelfand was born in Minsk and was a citizen of the USSR ). Shame on Carlsen! That apart we certainly welcome Carlsen vs Anand, but if Carlsen declines to play on some trival excuse, his esteem on the world stage will take a plunge!
What will be best for all is a neutral place and a sponsor of the WCC that has the power to make the match something special. Copy the playing conditions from Fischer-Spassky in Iceland and minimize the influence of the environment on the gameplay (also minimizing cheating opportunities). Home support? This is not football, it’s not that important, isolation is better. Let the game begin!
San Francisco! City by the Bay!
Beautiful city, great weather, friendly people. Will be an experience of a lifetime for visitors/organizers and players!
Btw, here are the results between Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik and Aronian in recent times (since 2010).
http://goo.gl/5dOpA
Based on results amongst themselves, you can’t tell who will win.