During 1995, the FIDE President met several times Kasparov and finally managed to draft an agreement to be presented at the 1995 General Assembly in Paris. After tense discussion the draft was rejected mainly because the delegates did not support the draw odds and did not want to place FIDE Champion in a lower level. Tired, disappointed Campomanes decided to retire and asked the General Assembly to accept the nomination of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as the new FIDE President: “He is the only man who can bridge the gap of our two top chess players, the only man who has time to push us forward.”
The World Chess Championship between Karpov and Kamsky was scheduled to take place in 1995 but could not materialize because there was no organizer. At Paris General Assembly 1995, FIDE received a bid form Canada but no positive news arrived to FIDE by deadline of February 29 1996. President Ilyumzhinov explored possibilities of various cities but not any concrete proposal was provided.
Newly elected FIDE President Kirsan N. Ilyumzhinov, President of the Kalmyk Republic, announced his program for FIDE at the Presidential Board meeting held 2 1-22 December 1995 in Singapore. The President said: ‘FIDE is there to promote chess and should be above all other chess organisation’. With these words the President clearly replies to the PCA concerning the World Championship matches. He wants G.Kasparov to return to the FIDE’s cycle for the sake of unity and as best for chess.
President Iljumzhinov unveiled a revolutionary plan for an Annual World Championship Series with a prize fund of US$5 million, The format calls for an exciting 3-week series of knockout matches among the world’s top players: ‘The winner of the Karpov-Kamsky match and Garry Kasparov are seeded into the penultimate round of the US$5 million World Championship Series. This shall be the much-awaited Unification Match envisioned by the FIDE General Assembly. FIDE serves the interests of all players, from the mass base to the champions. The Annual World Championship shall be a big step forward and usher FIDE into the 21st century”
Eight rounds of two games each round shall be played from 22 December 1996 to 12 January 1997. Round 1 shall have 68 players composed of Zonal qualifiers, Grand Prix qualifiers and players from the host federation. Qualifiers shall be joined in Rd. 2 by seeded players com posed of previous Candidates, World Junior Champions and top rated players. Players shall be further trimmed down to two in the Semifinals, seeded to which are the winner of the Karpov-Kamsky World Champion ship match and Garry Kasparov. The two finalists shall play a 4-game match for the 1997 World Championship title.
What does PCA World Champion think on this matter? Kasparov shared his thoughts with the readers of “Chess in Russia”.
Q: Garry Kimovich, was the new FIDE project agreed with you beforehand?
A: No, I have been confronted with a fait accompli. FIDE again considers itself an owner of the World Champion title, and its logic is as follows: You play and we will decide for you. I do not agree with it. I have no doubt of good intentions of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, but the situation around Chess Olympus is too complicated.
Q: It seems to me that all the difficulties began in 1993, when you and Short played your match not under the auspices of FIDE, but PCA founded by you?
FIDE disqualified us in reply! Then it organized the match Karpov – Timman (they both had been defeated by Short) and delivered its own Champion! Since that time the conflict has a main question: who possess a champion’s title, organization or a champion? Does he have a right to play with a challenger of his own choice? Does FIDE have a right to disqualify him for it? Or they have to discuss it together? A year ago at the FIDE Congress in Moscow the compromise position was chosen: we should discuss all the problematical question with each other. “Declaration on collaboration between FIDE and PCA” was adopted unanimously!
But the fact is that both points of view stayed the same. At the Congress in Paris the opponents of Moscow agreements attacked the agreement between FIDE and PCA. Thus FIDE became the owner of the World Champion’s title. I repeat: I do not agree with it. Why? I have a title, which I won playing with the former Champion. When the chess world is in the situation of a total chaos, as it is now, the legitimacy of the title, got in a fair struggle, settles the matter.
Q: Presidium of the RCF declared that it considers you as the only legal champion. “The next champion can become the one who will win the 13th World Champion”. This is recorded in the decisions of the Moscow FIDE Congress.
A: But Paris and then Singapore turned upside down everything! Though FIDE has no real legal right for it. The fact that FIDE possesses the Champion’s title is not documented yet. Besides all chess history and common sense are against this fact. World Championship cycle is played under the FIDE auspices only from 1948, before it, beginning with 1886, there had been 5 Champions. FIDE did not announce Botvinnik the first World Champion, he has always was the 6th, according to all documents. Thus, the succession remained the same, and it allows us to consider the history of chess champions as a single whole, as a chain tracing from Steinitz to Kasparov.
This list, to 110-year history of World Championship Cycle, should be treated or changed very carefully. The World Champion’s Title has some sacral value among chess amateurs. For 110 years there were only 13 of us. Every champion was a whole epoch in chess history, made great contributions to its development. There were chess giants who were not so successful, there were just a little left to conquer the chess top. But nobody became the World Champion accidentally!
The title has always belonged to the Champion, FIDE played very important role to organize the tournament, to guarantee once in three years the organization of the World Championship, where the Champion was to defend his title against a chess player who passed a strong selection. It means that “Dofidev’s” volunteering disappeared, when a champion (let’s say Lasker) did not play with the strongest player. Though all the FIDE system gave great privileges to the World Champion, that time nobody had any doubt about it.
Q: When did these doubts appear?
A: When? Imagine that today we can see how the 20-year-old Karpov’s cycle is finishing!
Q: What do you mean?
A: During 20 years FIDE meats all Karpov’s requirements. His privileges are absolute under different presidents, which says about his inner connection with the organization. Everybody knows that in 1975 he got the World Champion’s title without match with Fisher. This was not Karpov’s fault, but why from 1978 FIDE gave to the champion with doubtful powers a chance to play a return match, cancelled in the beginning of 1960s? This right was given to his in 1985, with the score 12:12 he preserved his title (this is the most traditional privilege clear to any challenger: if you want to become a champion, win the predecessor). But during 24th, decisive game Karpov could not make the score equal and lost his title. But he did not loose his privileges! Having lost our return match, Karpov got an exclusive right to play without any selection right in the final of the challengers’ cycle (where he defeated Sokolov and again met me). I became “suddenly” the World Champion whose privileges started to melt gradually. FIDE deprived me the right for the return match and for the first time shortened the cycle for two years, making me to play a number of matches with Karpov… Being the ex-champion, he was getting additional “gifts” from FIDE, the best gift became a doubtful match for the crown Karpov – Timman.
That year turn to be a kind of a watershed. World Championship went to the ocean of an open market, that could settle the dispute between me and FIDE, and answer the question what does a match cost. It turned out that FIDE cannot provide the financial base of the World Championship. For Karpov and Timman they could not find those USD 500.000, that Campomanes squeezed as a security-forfeit from the unlucky American organizers of my match with Short in Los Angeles. FIDE had not other money.
The next cycle also failed. They can say that Campomanes found Mr. Sangi, and if father Kamsky did not kick up a row, the Indian could organize a match Karpov – Kamsky. Maybe, I do not know. In my argument with FIDE the main aspect is where did the money come from. I am sure that chess can survive only on the basis of money earned from advertising. That is connected with the public interest. Sponsors will pay us for in accordance with the Press, TV, the auditorium present. As much as this good costs on the world market. I think this is our best chance, the only direction where we can move to.
FIDE was helpless here. Being on the edge of a bankruptcy it faced the dilemma: to recognize that I was right, confirmed by the commercial market, and most of the chess players, and sign the contract with PCA (by the way rather profitable for FIDE, getting its money for their programs in the sum of USD 300.000 per year), or to find money to continue the war. How to lead the war having our present World Championship system, if the market competition between the matches Kasparov – Anand and Karpov – Kamsky has explained everything. The way out is to break the excising system.
Q: Do you think you are too severer to Anatoly Evgenievich?
A: What are you talking about? Did you read his interview in “Sport-express”? He wrote addressing to Kamsky father: “One more such an expression and I will really play not with Gata, but Garry”. Did they ask me? He will play! Why? We cannot deny that Kamsky can really face this problem – in case of any complications of their match in Montreal. For Karpov this match is an unnecessary and dangerous obstacle on his way to compete for the real title and real money.
I see now how hard is the Ilyumzhinov’s mission as a peacemaker.
When Kirsan Nikolayevich was elected the general situation has changed. There is no doubt that it is a colossal achievement that a Russian citizen was elected for the FID President’s post. Soviet chess and party leaders did not even dreamt about that. But it is an admittance of a total bankruptcy. It has no money, the system, which deducted 25% from the prize money of the World Championships, thanks to the participation of Kasparov, failed. FIDE faced the dilemma: peace or war with PCA. Of course he wants to solve somehow this problem. But how?
Q: Maybe he will persuade you to play at the FIDE Championship?
A: I must explain something. It seems to me that the “Singapore” project could be created not by Ilyumzhinov himself: the general plan was created long before. It was started by Karpov and his partner the FIDE Vice-President Kouatly. From the point of view of Ilyumzhinov this project seems logical on the way of calming down the chess world. I will try to reveal his true meaning and secret menace.
Karpov realizes that he hopelessly looses the World Championship match. This is obvious. He understands that his title is a fiction. That is why he creates something, a chance! But he needs money. Suddenly Kirsan Ilyumzhinov appears with his plan which they are trying to bring to life: if it is impossible to fight for the title, it should be liquidated. Or devaluated, to bring down to lotteries, to the chance, which will be played out on a yearly basis that kills the tradition. If I agree to play, Karpov has better chances than I do, if I refuse, they isolate me and will make me play a match under the given terms. I am sure they are mistaken. (Later in the interview to “Sport-Express” on the question whether he would play in the new FIDE World Championship, Kasparov said “Of course not. I do not care about the prize fund”. Correspondent of “Komsomolskaya Pravda”, who was accompanying Ilyumzhinov to Singapore, said “We have information that proves the opposite”.)
Q: Have you ever been sorry that you quit with FIDE before the match with Short, and not after it? Then there was no “champion by the version”…
A: Maybe we left at not appropriate moment. Our leave reanimated Karpov, served him as a jumping-off place. Of course, it was more convenient to quit with FIDE after the match with Short. But I was persuaded by Nigel. It was a tempting proposal. Frankly speaking I had no tactical necessity to quit with FIDE, but there was an historical one! Sooner or later it would happen. FIDE is helpless as an organization and it could not work in peace, it needed enemies or any cases of emergency.