Mexico countdown: preparations and technical meeting
9/12/2007 – With just two days left to the first round of the World Championship tournament
in Mexico City, preparations are in full swing, with the stage being built and
decorated, and the players briefed on the technical aspects of the match. Watching
it all unfold is our friend Ali Nihat Yazici, President of the Turkish Chess Federation, who has sent us a big pictorial report.
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World Championship 2007 Mexico
The World Championship 2007 will take place from September 12 to 30 in the Sheraton Centro Histórico Hotel in Mexico City. Eight players are qualified – the tournament will be a double round robin. The prize fund is US $1.3 million. Here are the players taking part in the press conference and in the world championship:
| Player | Nat. | Rtn | Birth |
| Vishwanathan Anand | IND | 2792 | 1969 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | RUS | 2769 | 1975 |
| Alexander Morozevich | RUS | 2758 | 1977 |
| Peter Leko | HUN | 2751 | 1979 |
| Levon Aronian | ARM | 2750 | 1982 |
| Peter Svidler | RUS | 2735 | 1976 |
| Boris Gelfand | ISR | 2733 | 1968 |
| Alexander Grischuk | RUS | 2726 | 1983 |
Before the world championship
By Ali Nihat Yazici
The technical meeting was attended by all players or their seconds. The chief arbiter started by discussing the rules and explaining the time controls. He reminded the players that all kinds of electronic devices are strictly forbidden in the playing hall. There will be metal detectors at the doors to screen the players and the audience. The meeting was very short and all points agreed upon without any objections.
Top FIDE dignitary in Mexico: Deputy President Georgios ("Makro")
Makropoulos
FIDE Hon. Vice President Israel Gelfer is responsible for the playing venue
Read my lips – no cellphone calls during the game! Makropoulos and
Gelfer
Why can't we get a few plates of ceviche
during the games? Anand at the technical
meeting* (with Paul German, one of the main organisers, looking into the camera)
I cannot believe you asked that. Aruna Anand, in Mexico supporting her husband*
The organising committe considering the players' requests
Gelfer confers with Chief Arbiter Antonio Bento, Vice President of the Brazilian
Chess Federation
Polina Tsedenova from the FIDE Office is in charge of accreditation and
accommodation
FIDE official Panagiotis Nikolopoulos (who, incidentally, is married to
Polina)
Kramnik's second Loek van Wely, Peter Leko's manager Carsten Hensel and
Peter
Peter Leko with his second (and father-in-law) GM Arshak Petrosian
Happy occasion: Peter turned 28 last Saturday in Mexico City
The other Peter: St Petersburg GM Pyotr Svidler is now 31 (would you believe
it?)
The veteran (at 39 over a year older than Anand!): Boris Gelfand, cool GM
from Israel
FIDE Vice President Geoffrey Borg, who is unenviably responsible for the
Internet and servers, here with Deputy FIDE President Georgios Makropoulos,
who is responsible for everything.
Geoffrey, Makro, Israel and Polina in a board room discussion
The main organiser of the world championship: Jorge Saggiante
Israel Gelfer and Panagiotis Nikolopoulos discuss the construction of the
stage
Wait, aren't we going to need a table and chessboard somewhere here?*
Nikolopoulos and Gelfer explain to Jorge Saggiante (middle) what is required
Come on, Jorge, there must be a table somewhere in Mexico...*
A view of the world championship hall under construction (Tuesday afternoon)
A giant backdrop for the stage
The computer control center of the world championship is being set up
All pictures by Ali Nihat Yazici, President of the Turkish Chess Federation
* For new readers and visitors: some of the above captions may not accurately reflect the situations in the pictures. Some members of the ChessBase news team have a vivid imagination and are prone to flippant comments that are used purely to entertain. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause our readers.
Live coverage by Yasser Seirawan on Playchess
Playchess commentator GM Yasser Seirawan
The games of the World Championship 2007, which start at 14:00h local time (check the time in your location here), will be broadcast live on the official site and on Playchess.com server, where there will be daily live audio commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan, with a minimum of three one hour lectures per round, beginning approximately thirty minutes after play has started. For a charge of ten Ducats (about one Euro) a visitor gets a twelve hour pass to listen to the live lectures.
Ducats are the currency used on Playchess.com. You can purchase Ducats here. The amount will be credited to your playchess.com account. You need to allow one working day for processing. If you want your Ducats immediately you can order them using our Click&Buy service. Ducats can also be used to buy ChessBase products. Note that you can also purchase Ducats directly from Fritz or the Playchess client using the menu "Edit – Payments – Fill up account". This takes you to a special purchase page with your account name automatically passed on, to simplify the process.
