Chessplayers deceived again by FIDE
By Alexei Shirov
Today is 4th of May. I am home after the Russian league getting the necessary
rest before the Olympiad in Turin and trying to think about my sporting calendar
for the rest of this year.
And here the questions start coming.
Wasn’t it announced by FIDE that on 24th of March they would open the
bids and reveal all the details about the forthcoming candidate matches? Browsing
on the FIDE website I found the document
dated 5th of January and realized that I wasn’t dreaming. Of course,
it has already happened in the past that FIDE would suddenly turn to silence
when passing the deadline of the important announcement, but this time FIDE
definitely can’t be called inactive during April 2006.
On 14th of April 2006 they
announced the match Kramnik-Topalov instead.
There are many thoughts and doubts coming up with this outrageous fact, here
I will just try to give a short summary:
Officially the Kramnik-Topalov match goes under the 'new
2700 rule' that basically says that any strong player can bring the sponsor
and then play the World Champion in the match for the title. But when the sponsor
happens to be the FIDE president himself (at least it can be deducted from
the official announcement) and he favors a particular player who happens to
be his countryman, I see a clear abuse of this new rule.
The rule itself is also outrageous. A player having access to big money can
simply buy the right to play for the title, and in case of defeat he in fact
secures the title of the Vice-Champion. The fair sporting competition rests
in peace. When I tried to explain it to Georgios Makropoulos in the internal
correspondence (for some strange reason I happen to be a member of ‘Fide
title and ratings committee') in January this year his answer was that this
new rule doesn’t disturb other players because FIDE guarantees to conclude
the Candidates’ cycle in time and make the eight players World Championship
in 2007. I think now one can see how untrue he was especially taking into account
that according to circulating rumours (or at least my interpretation of the
article in Russian at the press conference in Moscow) the loser of the
Kramnik-Topalov match might become the ninth player in that round robin, thus
getting (especially if the loser is Kramnik) new outrageous sporting and financial
privileges.
Many journalists interpret the Kramnik-Topalov match as the ‘title unification’
match that concludes the ‘Prague agreements’ of 2002. But there
are strong objections against this:
-
Kramnik didn’t become the official World Champion in 2000, we all
know how he ‘qualified’ for that match and in fact, for history's
sake he has never been the World Champion until now.
-
The Prague agreements were refused to be signed by such outstanding players
as Anand and Grischuk among others including yours truly. It was already
seen in 2002 that the ‘Prague schism’ damages chess as sport,
funnily two current contenders for the FIDE presidency have an absolutely
equal share of the responsibility for this schism.
-
Kramnik and his part-time agent Joel Lautier made statements that ‘Prague
was dead’ in 2004. And in fact it was a true statement, players were
not supposed in 2002 to wait on forever.
-
Kramnik was offered a unique chance to put his title on a fair contest
in San Luis 2005 (at that time he still qualified by rating for the World
Championship) but he refused it. Isn’t it more logical for Topalov
to play the match against Anand who finished second in San Luis?
Right now Kramnik is basically a titleless number nine player, with a relatively
modest (although yours truly is, of course, happy to have achieved something
similar after the latest events) rating of 2729. He has also been quite inactive
lately (for example he doesn’t even appear in ACP tour standings even
though he played in two tournaments that were calculated). And although everyone
wishes him a successful recovery, it is also clear that he has yet to prove
his level after the announced illness. To get in these circumstances the rights
and benefits of number two or even one would not happen in any other serious
sport. Why did it happen in our beloved one?
The answer comes from the current state of Russian politics. It is no secret
that the Russian Chess Federation president Alexander Zhukov (who is also responsible
for the state budget in the Russian government) made a condition to Ilyumzhinov
that the latter would have to give Kramnik this match if he wants to stay as
the FIDE president. As by coincidence Bulgaria still enjoys good relations
with Russia, and the Bulgarian president sometimes travels to Moscow, for example
to attend the awarding of the ‘Oscar’ to Topalov, the match is
becoming a closed political affair. I think even in the worst Soviet times
the rights of the World's best players from other countries weren’t that
damaged. Right now they have to be content to play in tournaments and leagues
for amounts (calculating per game) that are 30-50 times lower then Topalov
and Kramnik in their match, while the World rankings shouldn’t suggest
such a difference from a sporting/social point of view.
I would like to stress that I perfectly respect Topalov and Kramnik as outstanding
players and I know they will probably play very interesting games. But what
else can be expected if their analytical teams will also include players who
might even play better chess themselves, such as Svidler and Bareev, demonstrated
in the last Russian Championship? Something to think about from the ethical
point of view.
Of course, there are many more doubts about the current state of the FIDE
politics and decisions they make. If I had a vote I would probably give one
for Bessel Kok in the forthcoming elections although it is also clear that
the change must be much bigger than one of the Presidential team. There must
be a general change of the attitude towards principles of democratic sport
and respect towards the sportsmen. Only then chess can make a real (and in
fact a giant one!) step forward.
Alexei Shirov
Addendum: FIDE has informed us that the reason GM Alexey
Shirov is a member of the FIDE titles and ratings Committee, as stated in his
letter above, is because of a request of the ACP, during the FIDE Congress
in Dresden, to include some ACP representatives in the FIDE Committees and
Commissions.

The following interview (excerpts) appeared on Chess
Fidelity, the web site of the Kirsan Campaign for presidency of FIDE.

Q: We have Ilyumzhinov’s announcement that the contracts for the
match Topalov-Kramnik have been signed.
Topalov: The announcement was not a surprise for me. We were
waiting for the date of the match to be published. So now that it happened
we take rest. I am glad that this match will in fact take place.
Q: As the World Champion you support FIDE and personally President Ilyumzhinov.
Would you change your attitude if after the FIDE Congress another person would
take the helm of the World Chess Federation?
Topalov: I would not. Hundred years ago there was no such
organization and the World Champion took himself the decisions regarding whom
to play with and when to play. I believe that FIDE must be a regulatory authority.
The title of World Champion belongs to FIDE and a Champion bears this Title
for the specified period of time. The Champion should assist FIDE in every
way. I personally like Ilyumzhinov because he holds on to the sport principle
that a champion shall practically prove that he is the best; and Kirsan has
always tried to bring this principle in chess. I myself genuinely believe in
this principle. Irrespective of the results of the election I would be assisting
FIDE. However I am convinced that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov will win it, even though
for the first time over long he has serious competitors.
Q: How about one million dollars, which the champion will be paid for
the match?
Topalov: I did not go into the details of my contract. You
had better ask my manager Silvio Danailov whom I completely trust in such matters.
We have been working together for 15 years and if he says something then it
really should be done. As far as the million dollars for the champion is concerned…
It automatically obliges a champion to play the match. If the prize money is
less than this a champion can choose. I think it will be the underlying principle
for the next championship match. It was not stipulated for me personally. One
million dollars is the means to make a champion play in a match. But I would
not refuse anyway, I met FIDE wishes.
Q: Do you think the title of World Champion will lose some of its value
if the lost party (Topalov or Kramnik) will not be able to struggle for the
highest title till 2009?
Topalov: The reason of the current exclusive situation is
that the championship system is changing. Of course the number of the participants
in the match-tournament could have been changed. But the decision is taken
by FIDE and not me.
Q: Has the title of the World Champion provided additional privileges
or imposed additional obligations?
Topalov: My remuneration for participation in tournaments
has risen. I do not think that I have additional privileges due to this title.
If there were not the match with Kramnik, than already in 2007 I would participate
in the World Championship Tournament on the same common basis as the other
participants. But what I really acquired are additional obligations.
Q: Imagine you had the absolute authority as a Champion Dictator, what
would you reform in chess?
Topalov: The primary target is to achieve and provide financial
backing for chess. The rest is of secondary importance.
Q: What do you think about the “Sofia Rule” saying that competitors
are not allowed to propose a draw?
Topalov: I approve of this idea! This will only do good for
all professional tournaments. If people are paid for short dull drawn games,
this only do harm to organizers. They feel themselves deceived. There should
be some system or mean to prevent it.