
Third M-Tel Masters in Sofia, Bulgaria
The Third M-Tel Masters begins on Wednesday, with the first
round on Thursday. There are six participants in this double round robin tournament
(each player facing all others twice, once with white and once with black).
Time control: 2 hours for 40 moves + 1 hour for 20 moves + 30 minutes to the
end the game.
Sofia draw rule: There is a rule in place at this tournament:
"The players should not talk during the games; additionally they should
not offer draws directly to their opponents. Draw offers will be allowed only
through the Chief Arbiter in three cases: a triple-repetition of the position,
a perpetual check and in theoretically drawn positions. The Chief-Arbiter is
the only authority who can acknowledge the final result of the game in these
cases. He will be advised in his decisions throughout the tournament by GM Zurab
Azmaiparashvili, FIDE Vice-President." Short form: you are not allowed
to offer or accept draws and must play on until the game is technically over.
The arbiter will see to it that you do so.
The participants in the Third M-Tel Masters are (rank = world
rankings):
Player |
Elo |
Nation |
rank |
Veselin Topalov |
2772 |
Bulgaria |
2 |
Shakriyar Mamedyarov |
2757 |
Azerbaijan |
6 |
Michael Adams |
2734 |
England |
10 |
Gata Kamsky |
2705 |
USA |
19 |
Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu |
2693 |
Romania |
23 |
Krishnan Sasikiran |
2690 |
India |
25 |
Schedule
Wednesday |
May 09 |
09.00 UTC |
Press conference, Opening, Party |
Thursday |
May 10 |
11.30 UTC |
Round 1 |
May 2007 |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
|
|
|
Friday |
May 11 |
11.30 UTC |
Round 2 |
Saturday |
May 12 |
11.30 UTC |
Round 3 |
Sunday |
May 13 |
11.30 UTC |
Round 4 |
Monday |
May 14 |
11.30 UTC |
Round 5 |
Tuesday |
May 15 |
|
Rest Day |
Wednesday |
May 16 |
11.30 UTC |
Round 6 |
Thursday |
May 17 |
11.30 UTC |
Round 7 |
Friday |
May 18 |
11.30 UTC |
Round 8 |
Saturday |
May 19 |
11.30 UTC |
Round 9 |
Sunday |
May 20 |
10.30 UTC |
Round 10 |
|
|
16.00 UTC |
Tiebreaks, Closing, Party |
Toilet wars
On May 4th ten copies of the book “The Toilet War”, with autographs
by Veselin Topalov, were given away as gifts to the first ten visitors of the
Ciela in the Sofia Mall. "The book tells the story of the scandalous
game for the chess world title between Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik
in Elista," say the organisers. "The chess drama in 13 acts presents
everything around the game in Kalmikya. It contains documents connected to the
game and scandalous photos." We are going to have to review it for our
readers.

Interveiw with Gata Kamsky
The following interview was conducted by the Bulgarian daily newspaper TRUD
and published in English translation on the M-Tel tournament web site. We bring
you excerpts.

Top USA grandmaster and M-Tel participant Gata Kamsky
Question: Has M-Tel Masters already taken its place
among the leading tournaments on the planet?
Kamsky: I believe that M-Tel Masters are becoming a strong
tradition with very high standard of organization and level of play. Definitely,
it is one of the top tournaments in the world today along with such tournaments
as Dortmund and Wijk aan Zee.
Anand, Topalov, Kramnik – what is your personal ranking of the
strongest players in the present moment?
I believe that these three players are really close to each other in terms
of chess strength and abilities. It would be interesting to see a sort of a
match tournament between them.
Eleven years ago like a US citizen you just like Topalov played against
a Russian player – Anatoli Karpov. Did you feel a “special treatment”,
provocations?
This is a tough question, because after Sofia I’m going to Elista to
take part in the Candidates matches and I don’t want to provoke some politics
that will hinder my ability to play chess there, but yes, there were a lot of
issues involved during my match against Karpov, but perhaps the absolutely best
person to ask about it would be my father.
Which side were you at in the “toilet war”?
I did not take any side, because I believe that the match for the world championship
is not just a battle of wills on the chess board but also includes a lot of
politics and accusations from both sides. In my personal opinion, there were
some legitimate concerns raised, given the fact that the match was staged in
the country of one of the players, but apart from the players and their seconds,
who know best what really happened, I can’t really make any comment.
In your view how did this scandal reflect on chess – did it increase
the interest for the ancient game?
Well, it was curious to watch the reaction of the world’s newspapers
and their headlines on front pages. As they say here in the United States, any
publicity is good publicity
Is it really possible to give hints [illegal signals or assistance] to
a GM at a big tournament and aren’t such statements absurd?
Okay, the way I understand this question is that it touches upon popular concern
with a player receiving outside assistance. Since, this topic is especially
controversial here in the United States due to some highly publicized cases
of cheating at the Open tournaments, I believe the topic itself has some merit
and has to be studied carefully, however , such accusations can easily become
a tool for other reasons like jealousy or even have some political motivations
and could be very dangerous and damaging. Based on what I have learned so far
in life, these incidents can’t be generalized and have to be studied on
a case by case basis. With regards to the advice being given to a grandmaster
at a big tournament, we must not forget that any player can benefit from advice
from a computer program, because the programs have become so strong these days,
so some measures have to be taken, but for that task, FIDE has to set a standard.
Do mediums and such kind of “magicians” really have an influence
on chess and have you personally felt such an influence on yourself?
I subscribe to a more or less popular belief that each of us has the power
to make his own destiny, win or lose the chess game.
In your opinion is it fair that Topalov does not play in the World Championship
in Mexico?
Yes, personally I think it’s ridiculous that Kramnik gets so many privileges
and gets basically two chances to defend his own title. It would make a lot
more sense if Topalov, instead of Kramnik were to play in Mexico.
Is the currently system for defining the World Champion optimal? Which
is the best system in your view?
Well, there is an on-going controversy with the current world championship
system, especially with the latest announcement by the FIDE president which
came as a complete surprise to everyone because, as far as I know, everyone
who were surveyed with the proposed list of suggestions decided for a formula
which was different from the one that was announced. A lot of mysterious things
have been going on ever since the unification match has happened and these developments
were worrisome.
Do you think FIDE conducts the right policy as a motor of the game?
There are a lot of things that have room for improvement, but given the results
of the election earlier this year and some latest developments, there is a hope
that changes are coming in the future which bode well for the chess world and
players in general.
Don’t you think that Kirsan IIymzhinov is pushing chess too much
in the direction to Russia.
I think that matches for the world championship title should not be staged
in the country of one of the players period. It’s is unfair and such match
should be staged on neutral territory. But, that applies only to the match for
the world title, because there is so much at stake. With regards to any other
event, if there are people who wants to organize new events, I think, that they
should be encouraged, as it helps develop chess everywhere.
If you speak Bulgarian you can look for the original interview on the TRUD
web site. The full English translation is available on the M-Tel
web site.
Links