In our previous report on the special Candidates' Final between Gata Kamsky and Veselin Topalov we published a letter by Gata's father Roustam, whose wife is Gata Kamsky's manager (Bella Kamskaya works in the Law Offices of Sheldon Martin Krupnick). Roustam protested the recent decision by FIDE to reopen the bidding for the match, after the $750,000 bid by Alexander Chernenko fell through. FIDE decided to award the match to the Bulgarian Chess Federation if they were able, by November 14th, to guarantee a prize fund of US $250,000 (plus $50,000 as contribution to FIDE), or to reopen bidding if they were not able to guarantee the sum. Roustam Kamsky accused FIDE of putting pressure on the players to confirm by November 14th their participation in a match for which no specific conditions are known.
Shortly after Roustam's letter we received one from Bill Goichberg, President of the US Chess Federation, supporting this stand and reminding FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov that he had personally and publicly guaranteed the $750,000 prize fund for a match in Lvov, a guarantee that could not be revoked at the whim of the guarantor. USCF board member Susan Polgar weighed in with a letter to Goichberg urging all parties to engage in "diplomatic and respectful negotiation sessions to come up with a sensible solution instead of adding more fuel to the fire with this type of open letters."
Today it is Gata Kamsky himself who provides us with his position on the match and on the negotiations with FIDE. For your information: the negotiations between the two teams and FIDE, as discussed in Greece by FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos and the principals, would take place on Tuesday, November 18 in Dresden. In case momentous decisions need to be made there will be a FIDE Congress being held from 16 to 26 November 2008 at the venue of the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden, with over 200 delegates and representatives expected to be present at the General Assembly. The schedule of the FIDE Congress is as follows:
| 16 November 2008 | Arrival |
| 17 November 2008 | FIDE Committees & Commissions |
| 18 November 2008 | FIDE Committees & Commissions |
| 19 November 2008 | FIDE Committees & Commissions |
| 20 November 2008 | Executive Board Meeting |
| 21 November 2008 | Executive Board Meeting |
| 22 November 2008 | Continental Meetings |
| 23 November 2008 | FIDE General Assembly |
| 24 November 2008 | FIDE General Assembly |
| 25 November 2008 | FIDE General Assembly |
| 26 November 2008 | Departure |
Perhaps the matter can be finally decided in this period...
Dear President, gentelmen, Susan, When I spoke with FIDE Vice President Mr. Makropoulos in Greece, it
was decided that both my team and Mr. Topalov's team would meet during
the rest day at the Olympiad in Dresden to negotiate and discuss everything,
including technical details. With their last public statement, Mr. Illumjinov
not only attempted to revoke his personal guarantee of the match, but
he also imposed the time limit of one week for the players to acceed
to his demands and at the same time re-awarded the bid to the Bulgarian
Federation, which was the original FIDE's intention in the first place.
You all are aware of the clause in the FIDE regulation for this "special"
match that gave the Bulgarian Chess Federation a privilege of matching
any bid that is coming from my side, which effectively ruined any attempt
to find and submit a bid from the United States. FIDE's entire purpose, for chess players, for fairness, has been changed
into a special interest group organization and I personally believe
that any negotiations with FIDE rulers or tsars, or whatever you like
to call them, will be unsuccessful. Saturday, November 8, 2008 |
The following articles are in descending chronological order, i.e. the latest are at the top, the oldest at the bottom.
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Roustam Kamsky: 'Gata’s life could be in danger'
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Kamsky-Topalov match to be held in Bulgaria – maybe
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Bulgaria to Ilyumzhinov: we are worried 27.09.2008 – During the Bilbao Masters tournament Veselin Topalov's manager IM Silvio Danailov told journalists that there were no news regarding the Topalov vs Kamsky match. Now Stefan Sergiev, President of the Bulgarian Chess Federation has appealed to FIDE President: "Mr. Ilyumzhinov, please inform me where and when the match will take place!" Full story, now with official corrections. |
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Topalov: 'Next Year I Will Challenge the World Champion' 24.08.2008 – A few days ago former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov visited the International Alcubeirre Tournament in Spain, where he gave a simultaneous exhibition and spoke to a local newspaper about Kasparov, the Zaragoza Expo, Scarlett Johansson ("I like her more in some ways, but my thing is chess"), his chess career and chess playing computers. Heraldo interview. |
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'Topalov has not signed' – Challenger Match in doubt? 25.07.2008 – Just when we thought everything was settled for a World Championship Challengers' Match between Gata Kamsky and Veselin Topalov in Lvov, Ukraine – November 26 to December 14 – Topalov's manager Silvio Danialov says his his client has not yet signed anything. Turns out neither has Kamsky, since according to FIDE "the contract has not been finalized with the organisers". Details. |
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Alexei Shirov replies to Gata Kamsky 02.06.2008 – |
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Ilyumzhinov guarantees Topalov-Kamsky match in Lvov 01.06.2008 – After a great deal of international bickering the matter is now settled: the special Challengers Match between Gata Kamsky and Veselin Topalov will take place between November 26th and December 14th 2008 in Lvov, Ukraine. This has just been announced by FIDE, with President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov guaranteeing the organiser’s offer of US $750,000 with his personal finances. Press release. |
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Shirov's press release 29.05.2008 – |
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Breaking news: Kamsky-Topalov in Lviv, Ukraine? 11.04.2008 – We reported yesterday on FIDE's decision to extend the deadline for bids for the Kamsky-Topalov match. The Bulgarian Chess Federation protested vigorously, but today the reason for FIDE's decision is becoming clear: there is a US $750,000 bid to stage the match in Lviv, western Ukraine. This stop press story comes from Yury Vasiliev of Sport Express. First details – and doubts. |
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FIDE extends deadline for Topalov-Kamsky, Bulgarians
protest 10.04.2008 – The match between Gata Kamsky and Veselin Topalov for the right to challenge the World Champion is scheduled for the second half of 2008. The Bulgarian side offered to finance and stage the match, but Kamsky balked at playing on the territory of his opponent. Now FIDE has extended the deadline for rival bids by twelve days. The Bulgarian Chess Federation has protested sharply. |
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Challengers Match Kamsky-Topalov to be held in Bulgaria... 14.02.2008 – ...unless a country comes up with a US $250,000 bid by April 11th. FIDE has announced its decision to tentatively accept the US $150,000 bid made by the Bulgarian Chess Federation. The match is scheduled for Nov.-Dec. 2008, after the Anand-Kramnik match. Spanish Playwright Fernando Arrabal has published the entire correspondence between FIDE and Kamsky. Press release and links. |
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Khanty-Mansiysk Final: Kamsky wins, to challenge Topalov 16.12.2007 – American GM Gata Kamsky has won the FIDE World Cup. In the fourth game he was able to force a perpetual check and hold Alexei Shirov to a draw, which meant that he had won the Final with a score of 2.5:1.5 (three draws, one win). Kamsky won, did not lose a single game and performed 102 points higher than his nominal 2714 rating. Congratulations Gata! |
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Veselin Topalov and the new FIDE world championship
cycle 24.06.2007 – At the Presidential Board meeting, which is currently being held in Tallinn, Estonia, FIDE has introduced a new Grand Prix series and a new world championship cycle. With a high-ranking Bulgarian delegation presenting a case for Veselin Topalov to enter the world championship FIDE made some special rules to govern the 2007-2009 stage. We have tried to decipher the new system. |
