FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DES ECHECS
Recognized by the International Olympic Committee
9 Syngrou Ave., 11743 Athens, Greece
Tel: (+30) 2109212047, Fax: (+30) 2109212859, Email: office@fide.comwww.fide.com
Moscow, 1 March 2007
Dear Chess Friends,
Following the decision of the Presidential Board at its meeting in Antalya, I was tasked to take a decision on the World Chess Championship cycle and the World Chess Cup.
After a thorough examination of the responses from the top Grandmasters and ACP and based on my consultations with national federations and various representatives of the chess public, I have resolved as follows:
1. In respect of the World Championship Cycle, to approve Proposal A. The proposal is very simple and seems to me to be easier to explain to sponsors, the mass media and chess lovers throughout the world. This proposal gives more prestige to the World Cup and its winner. Choosing this proposal, we are going to continue the long tradition of chess championship matches,, established in 1886. I am sure that everyone will like the clash of different styles, characters and approach to chess during these matches.
2. In respect of the World Chess Cup: 126 participants. First stage – 14 groups, 9 players each. Second stage: 14 group winners + 4 best of those who came second in the groups. At the second stage 18 players are divided into 2 groups, 9 players each. The group winners play a match of 4 games. The duration of the tournament is 26 days.
Taking into consideration the experience of other sport Federations and the opinions in favour of the tournament of 8 players, I am proposing hereby to organize “FIDE Masters` Cup” in November and /or December of each even year for the first 6 players according to the rating list (Double Round Robin system), with the minimum prize fund of 500,000 (five hundred thousand) USD.
Gens Una Sumus,
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
President
Proposal A
The proposal is to terminate the World Championship Tournament and keep the World Cup as a Candidates tournament to find a challenger for a World Championship match. So in every odd year there will be only the World Cup (2007, 2009, 2011, etc.) and the respective winner will play every next year (2008, 2010, 2012, etc.) a match against the World Champion.
The chronological breakdown:
a1. 2008: The winner from WCCT 2007 in Mexico plays a World Championship match against the previous World Champion. If Kramnik does not win the WCCT 2007, then Kramnik can challenge the winner of Mexico in the first part of 2008. If Kramnik wins in Mexico, then the right to challenge goes to the previous World Champion, ie Topalov.
a2. 2009: The winner of the “a1” match plays a World Championship match against the winner of the 2007 World Cup which will be held in Khanty-Mansiysk.
a3. 2010: The World Champion (winner of “a2”) plays a World Championship match against the winner of the 2009 World Cup,
a4. 2012: The World Champion (winner of “a3”) plays a World Championship match against the winner of the 2011 World Cup,
a5. 2014: The World Champion (winner of “a4”) plays a World Championship match against the winner of the 2013 World Cup,
and so on.
Source: FIDE.com
My goodness, he got something right.
So if Kramnik wins Mexico tournament then that means Kramnik-Topalov will play again in 2008 for title.
If Kramnik won’t win in Mexico then winner (who will be surely not Topalov) will play with Kramnik in 2008 for title.
This is ok everything is nice for Kramnik, we will see which way he will choose 🙂
great and FAIR news … !!! i’m astonished and satisfied and … out of words!
(but – the devil in details – if Kramnik won’t win Mexico, the winner of Mexico will face Kramnik next year, doesn’t he? so, Topalov is forced to keep all his fingers (and “devices” – e.g. his manager) crossed for Kramnik to win Mexico. delicate, isn’t it?)
This plan will make Kramnik lifetime world champion, because it will eliminate Topalov from the picture for 6 years.
To make the plan work FIDE must let Topalov play in Mexico with or without Kramnik.
Wow – Topalov ought to become the 2nd for Kramnik in this tournament and send Danailov over to help as well!
Topalov is the righfull World Champion now! How can he be excluded for six years. Doesn’t the wires and the bathroom visits count for anything? A raw deal if you ask me!
Susan,
How do you like these proposals ?
If you don’t like them, what would you propose ?
This is an execution. Topalov’s career is over.
Topalov and Danailov bit the hand that feed them. And they are executed.
I must say I like the format, cause it is indeed very clear and no misinterpretation can arise. However in current situation FIDE must include Topalov in Mexico players, otherwise it seems quite unfair to him indeed. I agree with vohaul that Kramnik may be excluded since now Mexico becomes a candidate tournament and since Kramnik’s place in 2008 title match is guaranteed then he is not really a ‘candidate’…
This is really funny:
“Topalov is the righfull World Champion now! How can he be excluded for six years. Doesn’t the wires and the bathroom visits count for anything? A raw deal if you ask me!”
The guy loses in a match and this knucklehead is still in denial.
Topalov vs. Kramnik, 2006? $1 Mil…
Crybaby Topalov fans…PRICELESS!
The rule in Elista match, which states the loser can’t play in Mexico, assumes that Mexico winner is the new World Champ. Since it is not true anymore this rule must be declared void and Topalov should play in Mexico!
Topalov should do what Garry Kasparov did and break from FIDE again. I think the world and other chess professionals would recognize him as the rightful world champion after the swindle that occurred in Elista. I don’t know how he could have produced more evidence to invalidate that so called world chamionship match than he did. This is all a scandalous conspiracy against Topalov!
Then for kramnik is better not win in Mexico, and Mexico WCC 2007 is not a real WCC is just other candidates tournament.
Just another Russian ploy to keep Bulgarians and non-Russians out of the championship.
Remember what they did to Spassky when Fischer won!
Chopin,
I agree this is too much of a great deal for Kramnik.
It does not make any sense for Kramnik to play in Mexico as there is no incentive for him to win as he would end up facing Topalov.
Topalov should replace Kramnik in Mexico.
Topalov is not the righful WolrdChampion but we need to find a way to include him in the Mexico championship. Since, for practical purposes, this would probably not be possible, we need to provide him with a backdoor entrance in the world championship cycle.
Rgds M.
I hope Anand wins in Mexico, so we can see an Anand-Kramnik match in 2008. That will be GREAT for chess
this is something ive been stressing that there should be world title matches every year or at least every other year. this makes the world champion not sit on his title but defend it like they have to do in every sport. This is good to hear and finally that guy got something correct. this is really going to make the players step up there game and try and win tournaments in mexico or world cup matches that qualify them for world title matches. kramnik cant just call himself world champion anymore and do nothing. hes going to have to earn it!!! since when should a world champion decide when theres going to be a world title match. finally fide stepped up and delivered something meaningful.
wolverine
Ilyumzhinov obviously is trying to maintain the continuity of the World Champion title based on matches. He intends to return to matches as the means of determining the World Championship. That is good for chess fans who believe strongly in that tradition.
Consequently, the winner of Mexico must obtain the title of World Champion, not just from winning that tournament, but by winning a “return” match against the current WC, Kramnik, in case Kramnik doesn’t win Mexico. The title is then unified and has been passed through a series of matches, unbroken at least since Fischer forfeited the WC title in 1974. All this is logical.
It is a bit unfair to the Mexico organizers, who were told that their tournament was to decide the World Championship. If the winner of the tournament is recognized as World Champion at least until the conclusion of the “return” match with Kramnik, I suppose the Mexican organizers (and that player) will have some consolation, but I might feel a bit aggrieved if I was one of the Mexican organizers.
The concession to Topalov, giving him a return match against Kramnik in case Kramnik wins Mexico, isn’t necessary, and seems to me to be more of a gesture towards Topalov than his recent behaviour merits. However, I don’t have a serious problem with it. A lot of people will want to see that match. And although return matches are not as firmly entrenched as other aspects of the tradition, there is certainly a precedent for them.
As for this all being horribly “unfair” to Topalov, I don’t see how. To an extent, the King-of-the-Hill World Championship tradition is unfair to every WC contender. FIDE tried to change the tradition, although its bias towards the incumbent WC was only one of the reasons they tried to change it. They were not successful: the chess world showed itself to be overwhelmingly attached to the match tradition and would not recognize the FIDE World Champions as “legitimate” and demanded that the title be “unified”.
Should he lose the return match, or should someone else besides Kramnik win in Mexico, Topalov will then be in the same position as every other player in having to enter the next cycle to qualify for another WC match. That is a bit unfair, but no more so than to every other player who wishes to contend for the WC title. What would entitle Topalov to special treatment, and what makes it specially unfair that he is “only” getting a return match if Kramnik wins?
Hats off to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. He got it right this time.
I don’t see any unfairness to Topalov in this. He gets a return match in some cases, but not all cases.
If anybody is aggrieved by this, it is Kramnik, since he is compelled now to play at Mexico and then to play a return match either against the Mexico winner or Topalov. For him, his incentive to win Mexico is now less strong than before. His motivations are now the monetary prize, prestige/reputation, and being able to keep the title for the months until the return match.
But I don’t think that is a big issue. The consequence of being King-of-the-Hill in a KOTH system is that you have to play matches to retain the title. This is a bit of a bother for the WC, but nobody else is crying for him on this point. It certainly isn’t as much of a drag as having to get through a qualifying cycle for the right to challenge — which is what everybody else except the KOTH has to go through.
Gentlemen, this is chaos.
Kramnik (the last person who defeated in a match the classical world champion Kasparov) played against Topalov (the last winner of those round robin tournaments semi-fake world championship) in order to unify the title. It is now unified. Until the Mexico round robin tournament in 2007. What if Kramnik doesn’t win it? He will have to hand over the title to somebody, who didn’t beat him in a match? But wasn’t the basic idea to eliminate just that? Wasn’t the unification idea to get rid of the system of the round robin winners being declared world champions?
In the plan it is okay the way it is planned AFTER 2007, but 2007 is a major glitch. Couldn’t Kramnik shrug his shoulders after NOT winning in Mexico and say:”well….still nobody beat me in a match……I am the world champion anyway”. And he would be right, because that right was already acknowledged by the chess world by creating the Kramnik-Topalov unification match.
Doubly glitch, due to the exclusion of Topalov, who still is the leader in ELO. Based on which the invitation of the players happened to Mexico. There would have been only one nearly correct solution. After the Kramnik-Topalov took place, simply cancel the 2007 Mexico tournament and establish what they are now planning afterward, the 126 player cup. Which is a good idea. Let the winner play against Kramnik and that’s it. And of course allow Topalov to play.
The last issue: they had a contract. I am pretty sure that both Kramnik and Topalov would have been glad to cancel that part of the contract. Kramnik wouldn’t have to play in 2007 and would have retained the title, Topalov would be allowed back to play chess and potentially get a crack at the title. It would have been a win-win situation for both.
The way it is, will create potential conflict and further deterioration of the situation, because if Kramnik won’t win, he will not recognize a new world champion.
Gabor
It is unfair to Topalov, because his fate is not in his hands. He qualified for Mexico by winning St. Louis. Is Morozevich a more deserving participant for being 4th in St. Louis?
Later Kirsan insisted on that idiotic clause that loser of the WC match cannot participate in Mexico. Some say it was aimed against Kramnik. BS! Kramnik was not to participate there to start with. Only Topalov could have lost his spot. Why don’t we set a new rule now. If Morozevich ends last in Linares to lose his spot in Mexico. What about this? How can you erase something won in the past via introducing new rules?
Also I would like to mention that the person who introduced that idiotic “loser” rule is the same person who ordered the Internet cable[s] to be run through the bathroom[s] in the WC match building, the same person who returned back the “precious” toilet to Kramnik, and is the author of the rules we discuss here.
Somehow all these things point toward one goal – eliminating Topalov from the world chess.
Topalov not playing in Mexico wasn’t an afterthought. He had qualified for Mexico on the strength of his performance at San Luis. (The same performance that made him FIDE Champion.)
The “unification match” was a special deal, for which Kramnik and Topalov were each paid $500,000. Kramnik put up his “Classic World Champion” title. Topalov put up his “FIDE World Champion Title” and his place in the Mexico tournament. Neither player was compelled to agree to these conditions. Both did. Topalov lost. The title was unified.
Kramnik is undisputed World Champion. Topalov is the #1 on the ELO list. Unfortunately for Topalov, the latter doesn’t bring any automatic invitations to FIDE events. (It does bring him plenty of invitations to other top tournaments.)
After Topalov lost, his fans have been demanding that he should get his place in Mexico anyway. I guess they think the tournament should be expanded, or that some other person who had been seeded should be bounced.
It’s OK, if you are a Topalov fan, to be disappointed that your hero isn’t going to be at Mexico. But continually to depict this situation as some kind of unfair plot is a bit absurd.
That is great not to see Topalov in World Championships events for some years. This is the festival of real chess lovers, this will clear chess world, Topalov must get retire, we don’t need his unfair way of playing out of chessboard. He and his manager can establish a new world championship on the Moon with strange monsters may be they can win with signals!
the great, the unbeatable, the most exciting, the simply best, the most outstanding and still number 1 chess player of the world – Veselin Topalov – has simply one – and only one – handicap:
he has lost some decisive chess games in a world chess championship match versus a Vladimir Kramnik…
and as a former chess world champion, one we love all very much, (a trivia: who?) pointed out:
THE WINNER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!
and the winner is not Vesko Topailov, but Kramsel… or so…
^^
greetings
PS: chess is not for the faint hearted 🙂
“It is unfair to Topalov, because his fate is not in his hands. He qualified for Mexico by winning St. Louis (sic). Is Morozevich a more deserving participant for being 4th in St. Louis(sic)?”
Topalov then went on to lose (however “lose” is going to be defined after the controversy in Elista).
It’d already been decided on the top placed finishers from San Luis going to Mexico and the others playing off to go into that pot…
Morozevich qualified by his placing in San Luis.
He doesn’t have a way to the title till Mexico.
Topalov had his chance (prior to Morozevich) by his play in Elista.
No one would be too bothered if it’d been Kramnik on the other end of the stick…but people are twisting themselves out of shape because it’s Topalov…
The Mexico organisers should be really unhappy about this new situation and should feel really screwed over.
Kirsan has commented publically on many occasions that Mexico is the World Championship tournament and is the end of the matter regarding reunification.
Now we have a situation where Mexico will be regarded by most as being ‘just’ a qualifier for the match between Kramnik and someone else.
Also, this new situation gives rise to Kramnik being able to ‘dump’ in Mexico, knowing that no matter what he does, he will have to play a match against someone afterwards.
He is then faced with the situation of being able to use Mexico to prepare for this match against one of the other players from Mexico.
Furthermore, by not winning in Mexico, he doesnt have to play another match against Topalov, which I am sure Team Kramnik will want to avoid at all costs (not because Kramnik is scared to play Topalov, but just because by playing someone else Kramnik can avoid all the controversy in the next match).
Of course, there is now the humerous situation where Team Topalov will have to cheer unreservedly for Team Kramnik in Mexico.
Maybe this is fide’s way of getting all sides to shut up about toiletgate 🙂
People claiming that “a way” should be found for Topalov to play in Mexico are insulting chess. It was part of the WCC Match conditions that only the winner of the match would be playing in the Mexico tournament. You can’t retroactibvely change the conditions of a cycle because your guy didn’t win. Why propose to make a mockery of the agreed rules? Maybe you don’t like en-passant, either? Gimme a break. Chess has very precise, clear, distinct rules. So do chess tournaments. There is no place for changing the rules in the middle of a cycle.
As for Kramnik playing in the next match that was a certainty before unification, and publicised back then. As this decision acknowledges, there is a long, long history of matches deciding the WCC. “Unification” without a return to matches would guarantee an instant re-split. Mexico is going forwards because it was agreed and planned before Unification was clear. But it can’t be used to remove the undisputed classical champion, who specializes in matches, right before returning to matches. This way, Kramnik will either remain champion, or a new undisputed champion will be crowned.
Any other way of combining things would leave the championship unclear.
It is somewhat amazing that FIDE is able to such a correct decision. Please support them in this! Then they might be able to be taught to enjoy making good decisions.
Can’t believe Kirsan finally got somthing (almost) right!
Only change that is needed now is to substitute Topalov for Kramnik in Mexico.
Kramnik should not be playing in Mexico – he has no reason to want to win it and that’s not good for the tournament. Also I suspect he would’nt need to much encouragement to withdraw.