We
start with Kramnik's
letter to the ACP, which was posted on Friday evening. The Classical Chess
World champion wrote:
"I have followed with great attention the appearance of a new Association
of Chess Professionals (A.C.P.) and I fully support its declared goal of working
for a better recognition of all the chess professionals' rights. Following the
Prague agreement of last year, FIDE was to create a committee that would look
after the interests of the top professionals, but, alas, this committee has
failed to produce any significant results so far.
Therefore, I am particularly pleased to see that this gap is now being filled
by the new A.C.P., which will not only defend the interests of the strongest
players but those of all chess professionals, including women players. I strongly
encourage other chess professionals to join, it's high time for us to work together
and improve conditions in tournaments, as they have undoubtedly taken a turn
for the worse in recent years."
Chess Players United
is the official site of the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP). The new
association was formed to create an "effective, democratic and independent
organization" for professional chess players, trainers, journalists, computer
programmers, organizers, etc. The main goals of the ACP are "to protect
chess players rights, to improve conditions in chess tournaments, to create
a good tournament calendar and tournament formats". The ACP also strives
to provide information and legal support to chess players, improving the rating
system, attracting sponsors to chess and promoting chess in general.
The initiative group for the creation of the ACP consists of V. Bologan, D.
Fridman, I. Glek, A. Kharlov, M. Krasenkow, J. Lautier, Y. Pelletier, A. Skripchenko,
P. Tregubov. The Association is currently being constituted, its statutes are
being drafted by a lawyer. They should appear on the CPU web site shortly.
Articles of interest