At the closing ceremony the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has said a “world prestige match” between World Champion Viswanathan Anand and BrainGames World champion Vladimir Kramnik could be staged in July next year.
“A world prestige match between the FIDE champion and Kramnik is possible in July,” Ilyumzhinov said after crowning Anand with 15th World Champion title at a glittering ceremony in Teheran.
Anand defeated Latvia-born Spaniard Alexei Shirov 3.5-0.5 in a six-game final here this week to become first Asian ever to don the mantle of world champion. The Indian Grandmaster, however, declined to say whether he would play against the rival world supremo, Kramnik, who upstaged Garry Kasparov in a 16-game final in November.
“Anand richly deserves the world champion title,” Ilyumzhinov said after handing over the coveted gold medal for the Indian’s exploits.
Anand was a picture of cheer as he received gifts with his usual politeness and panache. He was flooded with Persian carpets and art works at a packed gathering of Indian families and school children. Shirov received silver medal from the FIDE president. Praising the triumphant Indian, Ilyumzhinov said “I think he (Anand) had a fancy for the number 15 that is why he didn’t take it before.”
The winner Anand received $528,000 and the loser Shirov $316,000.
| Player | Title | Country | Game1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 | G6 | Total |
| Shirov, Alexy | GM | ESP | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2.5 |
| Anand, Vishy | GM | IND | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 4.5 |
In aftermatch press conference Vishy Anand spook as Alexei Shirov to dozens of journalists.
Anand said he is at a loss for words to explain his feeling. He dedicated his success to his wife and the support of his two-member team of seconds, GM Elizbar Ubilava and GM Pablo San Segundo (both live in Madrid). He did not say anything about a unification match against Kramnik. “It’s too early and I will not worry about that now,” he said. He said the gaames were much tougher than what the final margin indicated. He said by winning the world title, his achievement resume is now complete.
Shirov said he was tired for playing 16 games everyday in New Delhi and was not fully recovered in the four day gap. He blamed himself for the lapse in the second game where Kg7 draws instead of Kf8 and that loss was the reason for his defeat in the match.
Elizbar Ubilava said Anand is the real world champion, the match in London was an important victory for Kramnik over Kasparov, not a real world championship. Shirov’s trainer Rhytchagov of Estonia said Anand is the No.1 player in the world today and there was no doubt in it. He said the games in Teheran had better quality than those which were played in London.
With Anand in final, the championship attracted huge Indian interest. Few dozen of journalists and TV crews covered the event. The new World Champion was always disponible for interviews: “The tie-breaker against Khalifman was more thrilling, because this was in the knock-out stage. There was a stage when I felt that I was on the verge of being eliminated. We played a series of games one after another. It was touch and go. I could not prepare myself before every game in Delhi because I did not know who was going to be my opponent the next day. So I would prepare for a general game. But I knew that in the final I was playing against Shirov. I knew that he had not been playing well. If he had won six games, he had lost eight. So I knew if I could put him under pressure he would make mistakes. And that is what I did,” he told a captive audience at a felicitation function organized by NIIT, his sponsors.
Asked if he would play Kasparov next to prove he is the real World champion, Anand said: “As far as I am concerned this is the real world title. If Kasparov does not come to play against me then it is his problem, not mine.”
Q: You had crashed twice in the final, first against Kasparov [New York 95] and then against Karpov in Lausanne 98. Did you ever think for a moment that you would never win, that your chances had gone?
A: Actually I think that I played just two finals, and this played in Teheran was my “second time” because I have forgotten that match against Karpov. The conditions were too unfair: I had to fight for a month to qualify while he was waiting for me in the final match. I am sure that, had Karpov played from second round, as everyone else did, he would not have reached the final. But it is true that at first I did not think about that. Normally I erase from my mind those things I don’t want to remember. Yes, in some way I remember that something happened there in Lausanne, but that memory does not even hurt me anymore.
On the other hand, it is true that yes, after ten years trying to become World Champion, the victory was the only thing that mattered. I was going to let another chance slip. Therefore my motivation was something very important.
Q: I was going to ask you if now, from another perspective, you see more clearly the causes of those defeats. You have just answered about the final in Lausanne. What happened against Kasparov?
A: I think I still needed to learn a lot at that time. I may have even overestimated Kasparov. Now, seeing what Kramnik has done, I realize that Kasparov was also vulnerable. Our preparations had many gaps that Kasparov could find and exploit, hitting the same weaknesses again and again. It was difficult for him at first but around the tenth game he was able to sense our weaknesses after many tries. The conclusion is that I prepared a lot but with a lot of bugs, but at least I learned. My preparation is much better now than it was in 1995.
Q: You have said that it was not easy to beat Shirov, that in spite of the fact that the score was a crushing 3.5-0.5 to you. I do believe it. But, was it not a crazy thing to take so many risks as he did?
A: Well yes, a bit, but if you think about it, after the second game, which was his first defeat, he had two options: to resign himself to playing more conservatively, to change his strategy, or to keep the pressure up until the end. This is very praiseworthy, because it gives his opponent more opportunities to fail or to make a mistake that would allow him to equalize. Shirov wanted immediate revenge after that first defeat, he took a lot of risks. It was only then I could win the match in only four games.
Maybe if I were him I would have done things differently, but you must feel very confident about your superiority to play in such a risky way. After that first defeat he seemed to play a bit desperately, and I could take a good advantage of his mistakes. In that sense, maybe it was a wrong plan for the match. But on the other hand, he had just a few games to recover, so he really could not do otherwise.
In addition to all this, there is something very important: I think it is necessary that every player should become World Champion playing according to his own style. It has been this way throughout chess history, including the last champions: Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, even Kramnik. Some said that I didn’t beat Kasparov in 1995 because I lacked his “killer instinct”, but I think that it would not have been natural that I had played as aggressively as he. I have my own style and I don’t have to change it.
Q: As regards FIDE, there are many questions open now. What do you think of plans about a “reunification” match between Kramnik and you?
A: If FIDE sees this as the right thing to do, OK, I will think about it. The problem is that we have no definite offers yet. And I don’t want to negotiate or to make the same mistakes I made last year. Should a definite offer come, I will think about it. But before that they will need an assured sponsor and everything fixed, I am not going to waste my energy in negotiations. I want to focus on playing well in tournaments and to forget about those things.
The 25 years old, V. Kramnik of Russia who defeated G. Kasparov in November 2000 was interviewed a month later by Evgeny Atarov and Ilya Gorodetsky for KasparovChess.
Q: How would you evaluate the results of the FIDE World Championship? Do you think the strongest player won?
Vladimir Kramnik: Yes, I do think so, taking into account the line-up represented in New Delhi. I have no doubt about it. After several rounds Anand’s superiority over the others was quite distinct. What he had to do was only to prove this superiority, and he did it. Though everything is possible in the knockout system. For example, though Anand, as a chess player, is unquestionably stronger than Khalifman, he was only one step away from fiasco. But this is the peculiarity of the KO system.
Q: Were there any surprises or revelations?
VK: There were no outstanding surprises during the event. No serious sensations came about. Sure enough, it was a big surprise that Morozevich lost to Tkachiev in the 1/8 finals. But even this cannot be considered a great sensation, because the difference in the class of their play is not too great. Grischuk’s qualifying for the semifinals can be called a surprise, but the fact is that he is very young and energetic! Sure, he cannot be considered one of the four strongest chess players in the FIDE World Championship from the point of view of objectivity, but there is nothing sensational about his success. That’s it, I believe.
Q: And what about the finals? What I mean is the score with which Anand outplayed Shirov. [3.5-0.5 –ed.]
VK: Well, I wouldn’t call the finals a sensation either. Even the score didn’t come to me as a surprise. Though it is not registered in written form anywhere, but I talked to my friends before the match, and then I said that if Shirov didn’t manage to beat Anand in the opening, there wouldn’t be any real struggle! The play Shirov demonstrated in the course of the tournament was lower than his own level. And Anand’s play was good enough; he played his best! It stands to reason that Alexei’s chances lay in the opening. The thing is that every time after the opening Anand was almost sure to win. It’s true, however, that I didn’t think the score would be so incredibly huge. Shirov could have scored half a point more, but that wouldn’t have changed anything.
Q: Was this championship in any respect different from the Groningen and Las Vegas tournaments? The fact is that in this tournament three players, listed among the top four (in terms of rating), qualified for the semifinals.
VK: Yes, there was some difference. In Las Vegas the chess players were allocated in an uneven fashion because Karpov and Morozevich had refused to participate at the last minute. Therefore the strong players fought with each other, and meanwhile the weak players qualified for the next rounds. In India the situation was more even, and that’s why the strong players advanced with determination. But some deviations were quite possible: Bareev, for instance, could have qualified for the semifinals instead of Shirov, and even Grischuk’s play in the semifinals looked no worse than Shirov’s. Well, FIDE was happy!
Q: Yes, they were, but what about you? Are you happy with Anand emerging champion?
VK: Oh, I don’t care actually. He has done a good job. Anand won the tournament in fine fashion, and there is nothing to be said about it. In this respect I am happy. But on the whole I have got my own professional life to take care of, and he has his.
Q: The interesting thing is that, from the theoretical point of view, your professional lives can overlap in the near future! Have you heard of Ilyumzhinov’s idea of holding a so-called “World Prestige” match? Have you received any concrete offer in this respect?
VK: Of course I can consider all possible offers, but now the situation is so obscure that it is absolutely impossible to say anything definite. It is not that I want to avoid answering this question. The point is that “Braingames” hasn’t come out with any concrete plans so far. For all I know they are going to do it in early January, but at the present moment I have received no official documents. It must be connected with Christmas and other holidays. And I cannot consider any other offers till the “Braingames” officials have come out with their ideas. To add to this, I, just like you, learned FIDE’s latest ideas from papers only: I haven’t received any official letters from them – nothing of the kind. So it is too early to say anything now! As a matter of fact, the idea per se of holding a “World prestige” match is quite reasonable. It is not only the match with Anand that matters, but also what the consequences will be! And the latter is much more important. It is no problem to play a match.
Q: What is more important for you: the name of the match or the title which is at stake?
VK: The name of the match is not too important, though I firmly stick to the opinion that I am world champion. At least my position is as legitimate as Anand’s (from my point of view, my position is even more legitimate). Firstly, if such a match takes place, I will consider it a match for uniting the two legitimate titles! It stands to reason that I won’t consent to anything else. Secondly, FIDE has been waging a very aggressive campaign lately, with the motif being: “We have got only one world champion, and there are no other world champions!” Even Ilyumzhinov in one of his interviews said that there is only one world champion, and also that I ostensibly have admitted that I can’t be considered world champion. This is absolutely false! I have never said anything of the kind. What I said was different: I said that if someone doesn’t consider me world champion, I am not worried too much. There is a vast difference between these two utterances!
Q: Have you ever thought what can ensue if “Braingames” doesn’t keep its promise as to organizing the world championship cycle?
VK: There is no point in thinking about it now. Let’s wait till January. If “Braingames” comes out with some initiative, we will discuss it then. For the time being, I am just trying to be rational. As far as I can judge, there is some juridical period during which the English experts must make some decision concerning the cycle of the world championship.
Q: Contrary to its statements, FIDE has made a decision to the effect that next year’s world championship will be held under the notorious knockout system, and all the participants will start at the first stage. Is it possible that you will participate in this tournament?
VK: My participation is extremely unlikely. The point is that I don’t want to be too critical of FIDE, but really this organization’s plans are ever-changing. So maybe in a month they will change their mind again! This is very difficult to comment on. Some five decisions were made in regard to the time control, and every time the decision seemed final and not subjected to negotiation.
Q: The latest decision concerning the time control provides that not only the FIDE competitions, but also all the other (“ordinary”) tournaments must be held in accordance with this control. Do you think the organizers will accept it?
VK: As far as I know, the organizers of the big tournaments don’t care a bit about it! And this is another illustration of FIDE’s aggressive publicity policy: We will tell the organizers what we want them to do, and they will do so! In fact, no one is going to submit to FIDE. For instance, the tournaments in Wijk-aan-Zee and Linares are held regardless of Ilyumzhinov and Co.’s opinion. If FIDE sponsored these tournaments itself, this would be another pair of shoes. But as things stand now, this is all rending the air… Either of these two supertournaments will survive without FIDE, but FIDE is unlikely to survive without them! Here the interrelation is absolutely different.
Q:We can recall the time when FIDE excluded Kasparov and Short from its rating list…
VK: If this is done, the rating list will be topped by a person whose rating is 2600, because the others will play in these tournaments! In the long run, all of this will only do FIDE harm. In general, decisions such as changing the time control should be made upon agreement of the majority of the leading Grandmasters and the organizers of the biggest tournaments! Nothing of the kind has been done, and it won’t surprise me a bit if this decision is cancelled.