FIDE announces Topalov-Kramnik title match set for September in Elista

[Jack Rabbit]

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president of FIDE, the governing body of world chess, announced Thursday that a match for the world championship between grandmaster Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia will take place in Elista, capital of the southwestern Russian province of Kalmykia, in September.

The winner of the match will be recognized as the sole world champion. Currently, Topalov holds the FIDE version of the world championship while Kramnik holds what has come to be called the "classical" version of the title.

The world championship has been split since 1993 when then-world champion Garry Kasparov, frustrated with FIDE's missteps in organizing championship matches, broke with the world body along with his challenger, British grandmaster Nigel Short, and played a match in London without FIDE's auspices. FIDE stripped Kasparov of his title and arranged for a match between former world champion Anatoly Karpov and Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman for the title. The match was won by Karpov, but few rank-and-file chess enthusiasts recognized Karpov's new claim to the title. It was clear that the strongest player in the world at that time, if not all time, was Kasparov, who had in the meantime crushed Short in the match held in London. Kasparov defended his title against Viswanathan Anand of India in 1995, but then ran into difficulties finding funding for the next cycle, whose official challenger was Alexey Shirov, a Latvian-born grandmaster living in Spain. Finally, Kasparov arranged for a match in London in the fall of 2000 under the sponsorship of British corporation Braingames, Inc., but in the process Shirov was dropped as the challenger and Kramnik inserted. Kramnik won the match and the title.

Meanwhile, FIDE compounded its problem by completely revamping the world championship cycle in the late 1990s. From 1946, when FIDE gained control of the title following the death of the legendary world champion Alexander Alekhine, to that time, the official challenger to the champion was chosen in a series of elimination tournaments and matches. It was at least theoretically a fair system that assured that the challenger to the title would himself be worthy of holding the title. While several strong players such as Viktor Korchnoi and Bent Larsen never held the world title, those who did -- Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, Karpov and Kasparov -- are all ranked among the greatest players of the last 200 years. In the new system, the world champion would be chosen in a single elimination tournament in which the competitors would play two-game mini-matches against each other with the winner of the the match advancing to the next round. The world champion would be the winner of the event and would have no more privileges than to be seeded into the next such event. In addition to depriving the world championship match of its Golden Bough-like mystique, it created a system where relatively lesser lights such could claim the title. While Anand, the winner of the event in 2000, would be regarded as a fine example of a champion, Russia's Alexander Khalifman, who won the event in 1999, and Uzbek grandmaster Rustam Kasimdzhanov, winner of the event in 2004, while fine players in their own right, are not of the caliber of Tal, Fischer or Kasparov.

Efforts to promote a reunification match have so far proved futile. As part of an agreement to renify the title reached several years ago, Kramnik narrowly defended his title in Switzerland in 2004 against Hungarian grandmaster Peter Leko and it was hoped that he would then play a match against the winner of the most recent FIDE event, Kasimdzhanov, who is ranked thirtieth in the world. However, partly due to funding difficulties and partly due to Kramnik's ill health, efforts to organize the match collapsed. Most observers believe that had such a match been held, Kramnik would have won easily. While FIDE was again attempting to organize a way to find a credible champion who could play a credible reunification match against Kramnik, Kasparov, still the top-ranked player in the world, announced his retirement from competitive chess. FIDE dropped the single elimination format for 2005 and held a double round robin tournament in San Luis, Argentina, among eight of the world's most elite players. Topalov won the tournament convincingly.

Kramnik, who suffers from spinal arthritis, has curtailed his activities since holding his title against Leko and has not scored well in tournaments in which he has participated. While he was briefly ranked first after defeating Kasparov, he is now ranked ninth in the world. Topalov was the dominant chess player of 2005, becoming only the second player ever to break the 2800 barrier in FIDE's rating system (Kasparov was the first; Anand has since become the third). Topalov has continued his dominance in 2006 by tying for first place with Anand at the annual Wijk aan Zee event in January and finishing second after a miserable start at Linares in March. The next major event in which Topalov will compete will be a six-player tournament in Sofia in May.

Topalov is expected to be made the betting favorite against Kramnik.

[Twillig]

1. You know, Kramnik was the second player to get over 2800

in rating.

That being said, I hope this match actually comes off.

Of course if Ilyumzhinov gets voted out of office, like I wish he would, there could be
obvious problems with it ever happening like the happy press release would like it to be:

1. The match is to be held in Ilyumzhinov's stomping grounds of Elista, Kalmykia. If he's out, it won't happen there, and the money, logistics etc. will have to be found elsewhere.

2. Who is paying for this match?(prize fund) It's not entirely cynical to think Ilyumzhinov is paying out of his own pocket. (Where he gets the money is the source of much dark speculation..)

3. Will Kramnik be healthy enough for this?

And if Ilyumzhinov gets re-elected as president of FIDE, It might not happen anyway because this could just be a pre-election political ploy to defeat the challenge of Bessel Kok. After the election it could just go up in smoke.

I'll believe it when I see it.

I'll just add my wild speculation if the match comes off and Topalov scores a big win: Kasparov, tired of losing at Russian politics, comes back.

It is a dream I have.

[Jack Rabbit]

2. This being a pre-election ploy by Ilyumzhinov is a worry.

I hope that's not what it is. They've been trying to get this thing together for a long time.

Frankly, I hope Ilyumzhinov gets his head handed to him at the FIDE meeting in June. Nevertheless, if this isn't just an election ploy, it should come off without him. If it is, it's problematic if it will come off even with him. And, if it is just a ploy, it is another good reason why he should get his head handed to him in June.

In the press release, Ilyumzhinov did not say who was backing the match, but he did say there is a $1 million prize fund.

If Kramnik's health were going to be a concern, he would not have agreed to the match. If he cannot play, he should admit that he is unable to continue as world champion and allow Topalov to hold the undisputed title. Hopefully, FIDE will then go back to the old "Golden Bough" format for championship cycles.

I agree with you that Topalov will score a convincing win if the match comes off. The match will be 12 games, which is short for this kind of thing. It it were coming off next week, I'd probably predict three wins for Topalov and one for Kramnik. Even an ailing Kramnik should be healthy enough to force a slough of draws.

Also, I stand corrected and thank you for pointing it out. Kramnik's highest achieved rating was 2811. I believe that was in 2001. His rating currently stands at 2729. In the ratings list released earlier this month, Topalov is at 2804 and Anand at 2803.