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)
Reaction to the press release of Silvio Danailov
The press release
of Team Topalov is obviously nothing more than yet another attempt to create
a certain picture of Vladimir Kramnik. This press release lacks any scientific
basis and therefore can not be taken seriously by anybody who has even a basic
knowlegde of chess and computers. It is only intended to influence the mass
media by throwing a shadow on the image of Vladimir Kramnik. The whole strategy
of Team Topalov is obviously based to indirectly insult or to indirectly accuse
Vladimir Kramnik of cheating without showing any evidance.
The members of Team Kramnik and with us the overwhelming majortiy of the chess
world feels ashamed for the absolutely unethical behaviour of Team Topalov.
Foreseeing such activities of Team Topalov, I already requested yesterday
additional measures to be taken by the World Chess Championship organisation
in order to avoid this as much as possible.
In the meanwhile the entire Kramnik Team feels deeply insulted by all these
activities of the Topalov team. We think it is a shame and we herewith ask
FIDE President H.E. Kirsan Iljumshinov to initiate certain measures. In accordance
with the press
release of the Association of Chess Professionals we would kindly request
a detailed investigation by the FIDE Ethics Commission. We hope that all events
that took place at the WCC 2006 at Elista will be examined. The result and
measures should be presented to the chess community as soon as possible, because
we are increasingly concerned that the professional chess world will be seriously
damaged if this can not be stopped.
With best regards,
Carsten Hensel
Manager to Vladimir Kramnik, Classical World Chess Champion
and on behalf of the entire Team Kramnik (Vladimir Kramnik, Victor Bobylev,
Miguel Illescas, Valery Krylov, Alexander Motylev, Sergei Rublevky, Carsten
Hensel)