New York Times and International Herald Tribune
September 28, 2006
Chess Player Says Opponent Behaved Suspiciously
By DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN
And on a day of rest, accusations were hurled.
The match for the world chess championship taking place in Elista, the capital of the Russian republic of Kalmykia, took a bizarre turn today as one side — in this case, and unsurprisingly, the player who is trailing — accused the other of suspicious behavior during the games and threatened to quit.
On a day in which no game was played, Silvio Danailov, the manager of Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, sent a letter to the appeals committee of the match detailing what he said were an excessive number of bathroom breaks — more than 50 per game — by Vladimir Kramnik of Russia.
The letter stopped short of accusing Mr. Kramnik of cheating, presumably by getting the assistance of a computer, but it noted that there was no surveillance equipment in the private bathrooms used by the players and it demanded that both players be required to use a public restroom from now on and then only when accompanied by a match referee.
The letter concluded by saying that Mr. Topalov might withdraw from the match if the demands were not met.
After four games, Mr. Kramnik leads the match 3-1, with 6.5 points needed to win.
E-mails to Mr. Danailov and Carsten Hensel, Mr. Kramnik’s manager, asking for additional information and comment on the letter were not answered.
The article went on to say:
Interestingly, Sergey Dolmatov, a grandmaster and a trainer for the Russian national team, accused Mr. Topalov of cheating at the world championship tournament that he won in San Luis, Argentina, last year. Mr. Danailov strenuously denied the charge.
Yasser Seirawan, an American grandmaster who has been providing live commentary on the match at playchess.com, said the charges by Mr. Topalov’s camp were probably a reflection of nervousness and that Mr. Kramnik was probably not cheating.
“I don’t think that is happening,” he said. “I think at this moment tensions are so high that they are just grasping at straws.”
The real problem, said Mr. Seirawan, is Mr. Topalov’s standing in the match. “I’m sure that he is saying to himself, ‘This can’t be happening to me. It can’t be that he is a better player.’”
The rest of the NY Times article can be read here.
The International Herald Tribune article can be read here.
I would go to the bathroom 50x, too, if I were playing Topalov the great!
Going to the bathroom too often was annoying the opponents 100 years ago, why wouldn’t it now??
Topalov should be working on his moves instead of thinking about Kramnik.
I say if Topalov wants to walk then let him walk. the world knows he is busted. he will be completely dead if he walks out. he is ruining himself.
Topalov needs to fire Danailov. He needs people who are good on his side. not fruit cakes like Danailov. Even Kirsan will probably desert him if he walks out.
I really think Topalov should sit down at the table and take a string of draws. if offered to Kramnik right now he will be willing to play all draws. then Topalov loses by only 2 points. that is much better than getting crushed or walking out.
He might even be honest and up front and admit to the world that he is offering all the rest of the games as draws. the world will accept that.
of course his name will be mud.
I think Kramnik’s frequent bathroom visits are to distract attention from his true nefarious plan, which is to post Topalov’s brain-chip’s email address on the Internet, so every time he starts to calculate an intricate sequence, he finds himself thinking about PHAgxmRMA and Ch33p R0lexes.
If Kramnik is going to the bathroom to get into Topalov’s nerves, he got it.
If Danailov is blaming Kramnik to cast a doubt and soften Topalov’s defeat, he got it.
Chess, however, is the poorer because of this clown-like behavior.
Going go the bathroom fifty times during a game, or even half that, is either a sign of mental illness, or of bladder problems, or an ill-devised strategy to psy-op Topalov. If it is a physical problem, it must be acknowledged. If it is a psyop tactic, it must be stopped.
In any event, Topalov should not worry too much. Kramnik’s capture with the bishop is proof enough that, even if he’s behaving wierdly, Kramnik is making blunders too. A little less focus on Kramnik’s toilet and more focus on Kramnik’s king will serve Topalov better.
Let the best player win.
Topalov should not walk out. If he does, he risks the anger of many fans who wanted reunification. When Ponomariov and Kasparov could not come to terms about a match, it was Ponomariov who got the brunt of the anger. For a long time, Ponomariov did not play at all. This could happen to Topalov if he leaves now.
This increased tension is just wonderful, especially if it reflects itself into the next games, making them a bit more interesting than number 3 or 4.
The incident is a clear sign of how much the Bulgarian still lacks in matchgame experience: That he has been letting Kramnik go to the bathroom 50 times pr game in four consecutive games is unforgivable. It’s just the same as letting Kramnik dictate the terms of the match, and that’s just plain stupid.
Maybe this match will once again fail to reject the view that matches are won by the players with a psychological edge obtained by experience, resourcefulness and creativity – not necessarily by the players with the highest elo-ratings.
If matches were won by player with higher rating, there would be non need to play matches.
50 bathroom breaks per game! That’s about one per move. That truly is beyond excessive unless Kramnik has some sort of documented stomach problem.
In fact the bathroom should be monitored to resolve this; using a public restroom is less good but maybe OK also. There is no reason for there to be room for this suspicion.
10 bathroom breaks would seem an awful lot. 50 is actually very suspicious in my opinion. The number matters when it’s so extremely high.
“Interestingly, Sergey Dolmatov, a grandmaster and a trainer for the Russian national team, accused Mr. Topalov of cheating at the world championship tournament that he won in San Luis, Argentina, last year. Mr. Danailov strenuously denied the charge.”
I don’t trust Sergey Dolmatov. He sounds like a fake grandmaster, whohas left no impact on chess, and will never be remembered by anything.
My opinion of Topalov has just gone through the floor (via the toilet.)
“15.54 – Kramnik plays move 15
15.55 – Goes into the bathroom
15.56 – Goes out of the bathroom
15.57 – Goes into the bathroom 15.59 – Goes out of the bathroom
16.03 – Goes into the bathroom 16.04 – Goes out the bathroom
16.07 – Comes out for move 16″
my explanation:
15.54 Kramnik plays qd3
15.55 Kramnik lights a cigarette in the bathroom and places it near the window
15.56 Kramnik walks up and down, calculating the position, he needs to open the bathroom door, leave the bathroom, enter the bathroom again by opening the bathroom door to have the opportunity to smoke; at least he stubbed out the cigarette 15.59 still calculating the position
16.03 Kramnik enters the bathroom again to open the window and to eat a peppermint.
16.07 Topalov has played rc8, and kramnik plays the pseudo sac bg5
i’m a smoker, too, and being nervous, e.g. during chess games, i can not sit for longer than one move, i’m in need to walk up and down, even outside the tournament room, and sometimes i place burning cigarettes outside, to have the opportunity to come back, have a look on the position, going out to my cigarette, and so on.
calm down folks, there is nothing suspicious with Kramniks bevaviour.
just my two pence, Vohaul”
Does Kramnik really smoke that much?
Well, what do you know! Everyone is up in arms and protesting!
Shades of the 1972 Fischer and Spassky world championship match in Reykjavik when Fischer threatened to walk after game 1 and forfeited game 2!
What’s next on the script?
[Videos of Kramnik chain smoking in the bathroom?]