Vladimir Kramnik backs a new chess association

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We start with Kramnik's letter to the ACP, which was posted on Friday evening. The Classical Chess World champion wrote:

"I have followed with great attention the appearance of a new Association of Chess Professionals (A.C.P.) and I fully support its declared goal of working for a better recognition of all the chess professionals' rights. Following the Prague agreement of last year, FIDE was to create a committee that would look after the interests of the top professionals, but, alas, this committee has failed to produce any significant results so far.

Therefore, I am particularly pleased to see that this gap is now being filled by the new A.C.P., which will not only defend the interests of the strongest players but those of all chess professionals, including women players. I strongly encourage other chess professionals to join, it's high time for us to work together and improve conditions in tournaments, as they have undoubtedly taken a turn for the worse in recent years."

Chess Players United is the official site of the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP). The new association was formed to create an "effective, democratic and independent organization" for professional chess players, trainers, journalists, computer programmers, organizers, etc. The main goals of the ACP are "to protect chess players rights, to improve conditions in chess tournaments, to create a good tournament calendar and tournament formats". The ACP also strives to provide information and legal support to chess players, improving the rating system, attracting sponsors to chess and promoting chess in general.

The initiative group for the creation of the ACP consists of V. Bologan, D. Fridman, I. Glek, A. Kharlov, M. Krasenkow, J. Lautier, Y. Pelletier, A. Skripchenko, P. Tregubov. The Association is currently being constituted, its statutes are being drafted by a lawyer. They should appear on the CPU web site shortly.

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