The reaction to the report
we published yesterday, outlining FIDE's plan for a classical chess world championship
with eight selected players brought us a large number of letters, generally
poking fun at the announcement. "A snowflake's chance in hell," was
the way one reader assessed the plans, a delayed April Fool's joke another.
Well today, just 36 hours after the publication of our report, the World Chess
Federation has announced that a sponsor has been found and that there is a
guaranteed prize fund of US $1,000,000 available for the double round robin
tournament to be held in San
Luis, Argentina. The dates for the event are September 27 to October 16,
2005, and the offer is fully covered by financial guarantees and agreements
concerning organizational details. The contracts were signed by the Governor
of San Luis, H.E. Dr Alberto Rodriguez Saa and the FIDE President H.E. Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov.
Here's the text of the FIDE press release:
PRESS RELEASE – 21 April 2005
The 2005 World Chess Championship
to be held 27 September – 16 October in San Luis, Argentina
under the aegis of the Province of San Luis
The World Chess Federation (FIDE: http://www.fide.com) is pleased to announce
that the World Chess Championship Tournament 2005 will take place 27 September – 16 October in the city of San Luis, Argentina under the aegis of the Province
of San Luis.
The ongoing bidding procedure concerning the World Championship 2005 has been
resolved in favour of the San Luis candidacy, whose negotiation team in Athens
exercised the option provided in article 2.5.1 of the official regulations
and offered on 15 April a prize fund of USD 1,000,000 (one million) for the
event. The offer is also backed by a financial guarantee and an agreement concerning
further organizing details has been signed by the Governor of San Luis, H.E.
Dr Alberto Rodriguez Saa and the FIDE President H.E. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
FIDE is positive that the games will be held successfully in San Luis and
this year's World Chess Championship will further establish the image of chess
as a competitive and educational sport not only in Argentina but in the whole
geographical region of South America. Towards this aim, the attractive image
and the positive reputation of the province of San Luis are considered as valuable
assistance to FIDE’s efforts.
The format of the tournament will be an 8-player double round robin. The total
prize fund of USD 1,000,000 will be distributed to the players according to
the final standings, as described in the official regulations, with the World
Champion receiving the valuable title and the amount of USD 300,000. Together
with this event, the total funds raised by FIDE for the World Championships
have well exceeded the figure of USD 3,000,000 (three million) for the years
2004 and 2005.
The final list of the 8 world-class Grandmasters who shall contend this year
for the ultimate title of World Champion will soon be announced, in accordance
with the official regulations of the World Chess Championship Tournament 2005.
All relevant information will also be available on FIDE's website at http://www.fide.com
