Just as I was hoping that things would calm down after a few days of pandemonium, another shocking press release was issued by Mr. Danailov today shortly before game 7.
Even if Mr. Danailov believes that it is true, even if Mr. Danailov believes that Mr. Kramnik insulted his client, it should not have been brought forward to the public through a press release. He should have gone to the officials and make an official complaint.
This is the World Chess Championship, the highest honor in chess. This is not the Apple Circus. I am very disappointed with the recent chain of events.
So what is next? What should Mr. Topalov do? Mr. Danailov has been very instrumental in Mr. Topalov’s career, one that reached the top of the rating chart. He was a key figure in Mr. Topalov’s team when he won the World Championship in San Luis. Mr. Topalov became a national hero thanks to Mr. Danailov. I do not think Mr. Topalov would have reached the pinnacle of chess without Mr. Danailov. One may even say that Mr. Danailov is one of the most important people in Mr. Topalov’s life.
But it seems that he has now become a serious liability to Mr. Topalov’s reputation. They are both Bulgarians. They have teamed up for a long time. Therefore, there is a very big loyalty issue involved. The worse part is this happens in the middle of the biggest match of Mr. Topalov’s career. He should be concentrating on the match against Mr. Kramnik and not the circus in town.
I have known Mr. Topalov for many years. While he is a very aggressive player on the board, he is a very different person off the board. He is a humble and reserved person outside of the 64 squares. He has been great with the fans and media. He has been a wonderful ambassador for chess…until now.
So what is next? Mr. Topalov’s next move off the board may be just as big as his next one against Mr. Kramnik on the board. The world is waiting for his move.
Yes. Followed closely by Fisher Spassky.
On the contrary! All kind of irrational accusations and paranoid behavior are all too familiar from previous championships. It has become a tradition. History seems to give some kind of justification to idiotic actions.
I think its less controversial than fischer vs spassky match.
To artichoke, the race between computer intelligence and human intelligence in chess is not yet over.
http://ashik.blog-city.com/human_intelligence_vs_artificial_intelligence_in_chess.htm
And now, to make things better, a new revolt. Team Kramnik is taking (appropriately) preemptive measures to avoid somebody ‘accidentally’ planting evidence in Kramnik’s toilet. Read about it ChessBase. Susan, can you post the note here?
Topalov,
No more mistakes please. Please fire you manager. Your good name is about to be ruined by him.
Topalov’s friends, please advice Topalov.
It’s insufficent to have the entire match be completed now; how it was conducted will be judged as well if not more importantly.
Even assuming that Danailov had any evidence (which he hasn’t) and even if one sees some point to his arguments, one must strongly condemn and reject the WAY and MEANS he is using to express his views and complains. First, not every itch should be published by open letters. As we say in my town: do the laundry at home. Second, stop complaining without evidence! Topalov should fire Danailov.
Now, on a different subject, why doesn’t Team Kramnik want Topalov’s guys to speak to Kramnik (see latest note by Kramnik’s team). My guess is that they might have been offensive with Kramnik.
My god, what’s next? Will Hensel claim there are Bulgarian Intelligence agent on Topalov’s team? Will Danailov claim alien interference?
Oh, wait. Kirsan’s been there, done that. 🙂
This is really disgraceful, far worse than Fischer-Spassky and surpassing even Karpov-Korchnoi.
This time Hensel plans to be a step ahead of Mr. Danailov:
Hensel: ‘They may try to plant a device in Kramnik’s room’
04.10.2006 After game seven we received a letter written by Kramnik’ manager Carsten Hensel to the head of the World Championship Committee (the correct addressee!) expressing concern that a member of the Topalov team might try to place an electronic device in Kramnik’s room to provoke a new scandal. The Elista War continues.
To the Head of the WCC 2006 Executive Committee
Mr. Valery Bovaev
Dear Mr. Bovaev,
I have received information that the Topalov team might try to involve Mr. Kramnik in another scandal. According to this information they might be planning to create a situation by somehow manufacturing “evidence” to prove that Mr. Kramnik is cheating. One of the possibilities is that a member of the Topalov Team may plant an electronic device or something similar in the restroom or toilet of Mr. Kramnik.
The driving force for such an action would be to an attempt to divert attention from the public relation disaster the Topalov Team is currently experiencing, as a result of their previous attempts. In addition they might be hoping to force Mr. Kramnik to stop playing the match and abandon the event.
In order to avoid any such possible attempts as much as possible I would like to suggest the following:
1. Any member of Topalov’s team who is given access to Mr. Kramnik’s restroom and toilet should be meticulously checked by a specialist appointed by the organisation. Everything they have in their pockets and any bags they might be carrying shall be removed and not allowed with them in the restrooms and toilets.
2. Any team member of Topalov who enters Mr. Kramnik’s room shall be meticulously observed by a specialist during the time he is in the restroom and toilet of Mr. Kramnik.
3. Only one team member of Mr. Topalov shall have access to the restroom and toilet of Mr. Kramnik at any given time.
4. The organisation shall attend every inspection and confirm that everything was carried out correctly.
5. After the inspection of the restroom and toilet of Mr. Kramnik the facilities shall be sealed and only be opened at the time Mr. Kramnik arrives at the playing site. The physical inspection of Mr. Kramnik shall happen in the presence of one Topalov representative. The representative of Mr. Topalov shall have been checked before Mr. Kramnik is inspected (see 1. and 2.). The representative of Mr. Topalov shall have no right to touch or to speak with Mr. Kramnik.
Thank you for attending to this matter. From my point of view these measures might work in order to avoid the next international scandal.
Elista, 3.10.2006
With best regards,
Carsten Hensel
(Manager to Vladimir Kramnik, Classical World Chess Champion)
Cyborgs, martians, Chess computers that runs 100 metres 9 seconds. Please help me. Help! I’m going insane.
Not only isn’t it not as controversial as Fischer-Spassky, it’s even less controversial than the first Karpov-Korchnoi match, or the infamous ending to the first Karpov-Kasparov contest. No wonder chess is considered the ghetto of sports.
Nevertheless, I hope for the best. I really appreciate S. Polgar’s evenhandedness and I’ve always appreciated the efforts and good will of Y. Seirawan to maintain sanity in the morass of international chess. And the real good news is we’ve had at least two very, very good games that will be a delight to play over for a long time to come.
I’m rooting for Topalov! But let the best player win.
Topalov is about to be self mated if he does not take a stand and fight hard for his reputation immediately.
He must take charge now and apologize for his Team and accept Danailov’s resignation.
Topalov,
you are heading for the Hall of Fame, as the greatest looser ever seen in the history of chess.
Danailov is destroying you, if you cannot control him, there is only one other option left.
Tor
1. Danailov isn’t going anywhere.
2. Maybe now, with the suggestion by Hensel that Topalov’s team might plant a bug in Kramnik’s toilet, Topalov should demand an apology and refuse to play the next game until he gets it. Oh, what a horrible guy this Hensel is. He’s destroying Kramnik’s stellar reputation in the world of chess!
see my comments at
http://badbenoni.blogspot.com/
The previous anonymous (the one right before badbenoni) is clearly Dumbailov.
Get lost!
All you, yes you dumkoff chess players, are a bunch of loonies and jerks.
Now you know why people think so low of you chess bums.
My apologies to the Polgars.
Ex-chessbum
As a part of unification, a serious fix to the system is required for a better future.
This match should be called off.
Both sides are asking for it with their actions. Also, as a result, chess fans are sick of all the outside-of-the-board tricks, unethical games and blows.
“The world is waiting for his move.”
Susan, great article with a great finish. I agree with you. But do you think Topalov could make this move during the match? He is on very sensitive spot, just in the middle of everything.
This will be off-topic… I encountered this blog only a few days ago, but have already made it my main resource of chess news and of course included its RSS feed to my feedreader application. 🙂
I wonder how you Susan have the time for keeping the blog up-to-date but I assume that by the simple reading of your blog(s) I will soon get the answer.
Anyway, my nickname is Hoember and I am from Debrecen. (Magyarul nem illik ide írni, így hát igyekezni fogok angolul is minél kevesebb hibát véteni.)
The most stupid accusation was made by some Russians, linked with Kramnik’s team, who accused Topalov of having a chip implant put in his head after surgery, to win the WCC in San Luis…
Probably is Danailov just fighting back…
” artichoke said…
Cyborgs, martians, Chess computers that runs 100 metres 9 seconds. Please help me. Help! I’m going insane. “
FWIW I didn’t say that, someone else spoofed me. Real easy to do ’cause I’m not logged in. Sigh.
This tournament is out of the hands óf its referees.
Why? Because the common practice should have been a very long time ago such one that this kind of war between two camps and their fans could any more never had happened.
I am sure that if the security contorol at the entering the aeroplane had first been personalized in one passenger´s behaviour, he would have felt himself insulted. But luckily the authorities there developed the security control before that kind of personalization scandal happened.
So why only to blame only those who want 100 % sure video surveillance by referee officials during important chess matches?
To speak about privacy is nonsense. Each player at least in the military service have accepted doorless toilets. Such men´s toilets used to be in Russian restaurants at least some years ago. This sacriface is not a huge one in order to prevent any unjustified allegations and speeches about issues far from chess, noble sports.
So, please, stop this war and update the old-fashioned arrangements that cannot cope this time of modern information technology.
Note: in this writing I do not claim that Kramnik ever had used illegal information sources during his chess games.
I only am fed up with this conversation. We should write about the content of chess games itself. Where is that discussion, now? The prompt task to FIDE is to create common practises that we all can concentrate in the chess itself, again.
Enough is enough! FIDE president Ilyumzhinov should penalize Topalov a point for slander and character assassination of Kramnik, as well as their unusually profound unsportsmanlike conduct.
What the sources of this declaration? Where does it come from?
I’m always upset when I see material coming from unknown sources.
oops, I thought it was a declaration of Ilyumzhinov (I was *very* surprised)… the picture above the text confused myself about the author.
Dainalov for president! He has given more publicity to our game than almost everyone before him. Some expert calculated his contribution (in advertisement, for example the main page in the WSJ) to be worth 100,000,000 dollars!.