A week ago the President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who also happens to be
the Head of the Republic of Kalmykia, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The latter congratulated the former on his re-election
to the office of the President of the International Chess Federation, stressing
that it is important to have a Russian leading one of the largest international
sports bodies.
The FIDE President has informed the Russian President on the course of the
preparation for the World Chess Championship match between Veselin Topalov
and Vladimir Kramnik. Ilyumzhinov received the assurance from the Russian President
that this match is considered highly prestigious and therefore, all the necessary
assistance will be provided.

The Two Presidents: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Vladimir Putin
Mr. Ilyumzhinov also informed Mr. Putin on some of the FIDE programmes and
in particular, Chess in Schools. The Russian President has expressed his interest
in this programme and has instructed Mr. Andrei Fursenko, Minister of Education
of the Russian Federation, to become acquainted with the experiences of teaching
chess in schools in different countries with the further possibility of implementation
in Russia.
The President of Russia promised his full support in the continued popularisation
of chess in the Russian Federation.

Find a caption (we suggest: "Come on, Kirsan, I know how en passant
works!")
Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation
and President of the Russian Chess Federation, is co-Chairman of the Topalov-Kramnik
Match Organizing Committee together with FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
The
World Championship Match Topalov-Kramnik
On April 13th 2006, at a FIDE meeting in Al Ain, UAE, the FIDE president first
officially announced that the World Championship match Topalov vs Kramnik would
be held from September 21 to October 13, 2006, in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia.
The prize fund would be a guaranteed minimum of one million US dollars. The
match is intended to "end any confusion about the World Championship status
after the unfortunate schism which occurred in 1993."
There has been considerable doubt as to whether the event would actually take
place. Cynics saw the announcement as a ploy for the incumbent FIDE president
to win the election at the Turin General Assembly. They predicted that after
Ilyumzhinov was reelected it would be cancelled for mysterious reasons.
This does not seem to be the case. FIDE has posted the regulations of the
match, complete with a day-by-day timetable, as well as accreditation forms
for journalists who wish to attend it in Kalmykia. Also our
recent meeting with Vladimir Kramnik and his manager in Essen left little
doubt that the match was going to take place.
Schedule of the World Chess Championship 2006 |
Day 1 |
21 Sept. |
7:00 p.m. |
Opening ceremony |
Day 2 |
22 Sept. |
|
Rest day |
Day 3 |
23 Sept. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 1 |
Day 4 |
24 Sept. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 2 |
Day 5 |
25 Sept. |
|
Rest day |
Day 6 |
26 Sept. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 3 |
Day 7 |
27 Sept. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 4 |
Day 8 |
28 Sept. |
|
Rest day |
Day 9 |
29 Sept. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 5 |
Day 10 |
30 Sept. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 6 |
Day 11 |
1 Oct. |
|
Rest day |
Day 12 |
2 Oct. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 7 |
Day 13 |
3 Oct. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 8 |
Day 14 |
4 Oct. |
|
Rest day |
Day 15 |
5 Oct. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 9 |
Day 16 |
6 Oct. |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 10 |
Day 17 |
7 Oct. |
|
Rest day |
Day 18 |
8 Oct |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 11 |
Day 19 |
9 Oct |
|
Rest day |
Day 20 |
10 Oct |
3:00 p.m. |
Game 12 |
Day 21 |
11 Oct |
|
Rest day |
Day 22 |
12 Oct |
3:00 p.m. |
Tie breaks |
Day 23 |
13 Oct |
7:00 p.m. |
Closing ceremony |
Summary of the match regulations
-
The World Chess Championship match will consist of 12 games, the winner
is the first player to score 6.5 points or more. If the scores are level
after the twelve games four tie-break games will be played. No postponement
of games are allowed, except with permission of the FIDE President.
-
The rate of play is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for
the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus an
additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 61. However, if both
players agree, then the time control used in the World Cup (90 minutes
for the first 40 moves followed by 15 minutes for the rest of the game
with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move 1) can be applied.
-
For the tiebreak games the rate of play is 25 minutes for each player
for all the moves, plus 10 seconds increment after each move. If the score
is still level, a single decisive sudden death game will be played.
The player, who wins the drawing of lots, may choose the colour. White
receives six minutes, black five minutes, without any increments. In case
of a draw the player with the black pieces is the winner.
-
Topalov and Kramnik can inspect the accommodation arranged for them three
days before the first game. They can inspect the playing hall two days
before the first game.
-
The prize fund of the WCC match 2006 is minimum US $1,000,000 USD, and
will be paid free of taxes. The sum will be shared equally between Topalov
and Kramnik, independent from the final result. If a player withdraws after
the start of a match without having a satisfactory reason for doing so,
he shall receive no prize money. The prize fund shall be paid within seven
days of the termination of the match by direct banker’s order drawn
in United States Dollars on UBS, Lausanne or any other official FIDE bank.
-
The playing conditions require that only the players, principals and stewards
will be allowed in the actual playing area, except with the permission
of the Chief Arbiter. During the playing session the following additional
regulations shall be in force:
-
The players are not permitted to bring into the playing area technical
and other equipment extraneous to play, which may in any way disturb
or upset the opponent. The Chief Arbiter shall decide what constitutes
extraneous equipment liable to offend the opponent.
-
A player may talk only to an arbiter or communicate with a steward,
or with his opponent as permitted by the Laws of Chess.
- During the playing session, players are not allowed to leave the playing
area without the permission of the Chief Arbiter.
- The players are expected to co-operate reasonably with the media. Both
players are required to make themselves available for post game press conferences,
of not more than 20 minutes duration, immediately after each game. Additional
interviews with them can be arranged through the Press Officer and the managers
of the players, but exclusive interviews will only be possible after the
WCC match has been concluded.
Accredition
form for journalists
The
official logo and mascot of the World Chess Championship Match is shown on
the right. The animal depicted is a baby saiga, a species of antelope whose
dwelling are the steppes of Kalmykia. The designer of the logo is the well-known
Kalmyk painter S. Badendaev.
An interesting detail of the forthcoming match is that the players will be
using the same table and pieces as Anatoly Karpov and Gata Kamsky during their
FIDE world championship match ten years earlier.Geurt Gijssen of the Netherlands
will be the Chief Arbiter; he also served as the Chief Arbiter during the Karpov-Kamsky
match.