Peter Leko vs Anatoly Karpov in Miskolc
Press release of the organisers

It is a great pleasure for the City of Miskolc to be able to host this year’s
most prestigious rapid chess match in the world between two international grandmasters,
Anatoly Karpov and Péter Lékó.
Miskolc has the third largest population in Hungary and the people of this
City are great lovers of sport and culture. Over the past few decades we have
had visits from both European and world stars of long-distance walking, handball,
basketball, karate, boxing and speedway. At the same time, Miskolc is a city
of music festivals. Miskolc's "Bartók+" International Opera Festival
has already become well-established and has acquired an international reputation.

Chess has long-standing traditions in Miskolc; the City has produced multiple-winning
teams in national championships, as well as a number of noted players on the
international scene. In accordance with our plans of last year – being encouraged
by the great success of the Lékó-Adams match – our International Grandmaster
is to take on another challenge in Miskolc in the person of one of the most
famous chess players in the world, the twelfth world champion and legendary
Anatolyj Karpov. It is a further appreciation for us that this extraordinary
rapid match will take place in the inspiring National Theater of Miskolc.
Péter Lékó, who is at the moment in the sixth position on the world ranking
list, faces the former world champion Anatoly Karpov in a rapid match of eight
games. The duel will be the most prestigious chess event in 2006.

Last year'sd match in Miskolc between Peter Lékó and Michael
Adams
The last year’s
match between Péter Lékó and the English Michael Adams in Miskolc was a
resounding success resulted in a draw by 4-4. Both the Hungarian and the international
press followed the match with great attention. It can be evaluated as a great
success of the event that more than 2.5 million visitors clicked on the homepage
of the match.

Top Hungarian GM and world's number six player Peter Leko
In 1994 Péter Lékó became grandmaster and U16 World Chess Champion beating
Fisher’s record. In 1999 in Dortmund, as an outstanding triumph, he came first,
leaving Vladimir Kramnik, Vishwanathan Anand, Michael Adams and Anatoly Karpov
behind him.
He played on first board of the Hungarian Team in the European Championship
in Baku, where the team, after 14 unsuccessful years, won a Silver medal. The
start of the following year was also great for him. In Budapest he beat Alexander
Khalifman, the FIDE World Champion, by 4.5-1.5 in a six-game match sponsored
by WFG.
In January 2001 he played a twelve-game rapid match against Vladimir Kramnik.
The World Champion was only able to win by a very smally 7-5 margin. The duel
was followed by enormous attendance of the world press.
By winning the World Champion candidate’s tournament Lékó scored an important
victory and became Kramnik’s official challenger. At the Olympiad in Bled he
remained undefeated on board one of the silver medalist Hungarian team. In
2003 he won the super tournament in Linares.
The world championship final organized in Autumn of 2004 in Brissago threw
the Hungarian chess fans in fever. After an unluck 7:7 draw, which allowed
Kramnik to retain his world championship title, Peter Lékó wen on to take first
place at the super tournament of Wijk aan Zee.

12th world champion Anatoly Karpov
The 55-year-old Anatoly Karpov became World Champion by default in 1975, after
Bobby Fisher refused to agree the terms FIDE had proposed for the title match.
This stigmatized Karpov’s whole career. No other grandmaster won as many tournaments
as Karpov. He had to prove his leading role over and over again. Between 1973
and the early 80s he had no real rival. He won the Chess Oscars from 1979-1981,
and was still chosen the best player of the year in 1994.
Karpov held his World Champion title till 1985, defended it twice against
Viktor Korchnoi (1978, 1981). He played five World Championship matches against
his compatriot Garry Kasparov. Their struggle had significant impact on the
diplomacy of chess and sports. The first duel was interrupted after 48 games,
when Karpov lead by 5:3. The second final took place in Autumn 1985, when Kasparov
won and conquered the World Championship title.
The return match next year in London and Leningrad also ended in Kasparov’s
favor, with a 12.5-11.5 score. The following match took place in Sevilla, and
Kasparov succeeded again by 12:12. The last K-K match was in 1990 in New York
and Lyon. Karpov was beaten again, with a 12.5-11.5 score.
In 1993 Kasparov played the World Championship final with Short under the
flag of PCA. Karpov, again, had the opportunity to get back his FIDE World
Champion title. He did so. Later on he defended his crown against Gata Kamsky
and Viswanathan Anand. In 1999 he lost it by default.
During his chess career, Karpov has already played more than 3000 games in
various competitions – individual and team, national and international.
He was member of the Olympic Champion Soviet national team six times, once
of the Team World Champion group and four times of the European Champion team.
Karpov has been awarded the Chess Oscar eleven times.
Schedule of the Lékó-Karpov match
August 29 (Tues) |
18.00 |
Opening ceremony and drawing of colours |
August 30 (Wed) |
16.00 |
First game of the match |
|
17.30 |
Second game of the match |
August 31 (Thurs) |
16.00 |
Third game of the match |
|
17.30 |
Fourth game of the match |
September 1 (Fri) |
16:00 |
The two GMs meet fans for two hours |
September 2 (Sat) |
16.00 |
Fifth game of the match |
|
17.30 |
Sixth game of the match |
September 3 (Sun) |
16.00 |
Seventh game of the match |
|
17.30 |
Eighth game of the match |
|
20.00 |
Closing ceremony of the match |
The opening move of the first game will be made by Sándor Káli, the mayor
of Miskolc. The opening moves of other games will be made by sponsors. After
finishing the second game of each day of play, the two grandmasters will give
a short press conference of 10-15 minutes. Location of the match is the National
Theatre of Miskolc (1 Déryné str, Miskolc).
Avas Open
As a run-up event to the Lékó-Karpov Chess Match the Avas Open will be staged,
between the 25th and 30th of August. The players will be divided in two groups;
the tournament will be organized in nine rounds, Swiss system. Full information
on the tournament can be found in the attached
PDF document or on the website www.chess.hu.
Accommodation for reduced prices during the tournament and the match:
Pictures of Miskolc and the surrounding region
