The pressure was on Michael on two fronts in the second game. He had black and he had to win. A very tough call given that no one has managed this against Rustam in the rapid play-off before.
Rustam played his normal 1.e4 and the game rapidly developed along the lines of game 4 of the classical match. He chose once again the Exchange variation except this time Mickey went for 5…Qd6 which tends to be more complicated.
After this both players went hammer and thong. Adams had to win to get the match back to equal status. He got a time advantage and on move 34 Kasimjanov was down to 40 seconds against Adams 4 minutes. Rustam liquidated the two pairs of rooks to get an equal endgame and simplify the drawing chances.
Adams recognised that he could make no further progress and at 15.55pm , Tuesday 13th July 2004 FIDE had a new world champion, 24 year old Rustam Kasimjanov from Uzbekistan.
“I feel great it’s all over,” said Kasimjanov , who was due to receive about US$94,000 in prize money.
The President of Uzbekistan H.E. Islam Karimov congratulated the Uzbek grandmaster Rustam Kasimjanov with victory at FIDE World Chess Championship in Tripoli, Libya. In his message to Kasimjanov, the President congratulated him “whole-heartedly with a great achievement – victory at World Chess Championship”. “This great victory gives a great joy and pride to all chess admirers, sportsmen and all people of our country,” Islam Karimov said in his message. “We all clearly understand how significant this victory is, how difficult it is to become No.1 among the strongest chess players of the world,” he added. “With this, high intellectual potential of our people has been demonstrated once more,” the President’s message said.
Uzbekistan‘ President Islam Karimov awarded FIDE World Chess Champion Rustam Kasimjanov with Amir Temur order by his decree.
The decree said that Rustam Kasimjanov was awarded with Amir Temur order for his victory at World Chess Championship-2004 and for “demonstrating high intellectual potential peculiar to our people, for boldness and bravery, and for great contribution to increasing the image of our Motherland on the international arena”.
Another interview to UZ press agency
As the new world champion`s, what are your views of the tournament organisation and conditions?
I have found everything well organised and I have no complaints whatsoever. The people have been very friendly every single place I have been to, and this has undoubtedly contributed to my overall frame of mind.
What tournament preparation did you make for this tournament?
Well nothing special in reality. I only prepared for the first round against Alejandro Ramirez. It was very hard work for me since I had to work very hard to catch up with opening theory during the tournament. I took each decision round by round and I decided to play lines I had rarely played before since all my opponents were very well prepared. At one point in time during one of the Grischuk games, I felt that somebody was sitting in my place and was playing instead of me. It was a special feeling … and something that persisted throughout the rest of the games. I enjoy playing rapid chess and so in the tie breaks, I was OK and enjoying every bit of it. After Qc6+ in the last classical game against Adams I felt it was all over. I sensed that the game was lost when I saw Qc6+. It was incredible, from almost won to almost lost in one move. It’s good to remember the words of a famous Russian poet : ’In one moment you’re on the high side and then you fall down’. Well, the quality of chess suffers greatly in the final. The stress that the players are suffering cannot be underestimated. We were fighting and this shows in all the games we played in the final. I am sure there are no complaints of any quick draws.
What are your next plans?
I will play a small tournament in India very soon. I will not shun playing in tournaments. My new title will permit me to play more. I think that the world champion has a responsibility to play as many tournaments as he can during his tenure. This is our legacy. My immediate plans are to go back to my family. Currently there are my mother and brother also in Germany and we will have some quality time together. I will also probably play in the Olympiad for Uzbekistan. How will you prepare for the forthcoming match with Garry Kasparov? I will drink a cup of coffee with my friends and we will discuss the plans. I have played Kasparov a few times with disastrous results. I hope this will change of course.
You are not exactly a dark horse however as people have claimed?
I have had a moderate degree of success and reached the World Cup final losing to Vishy Anand. I have won a number of important tournaments but in recent times I have had some uneven results. Maybe when I am at my lowest (2640 in July 2004 rating list), I am at my most dangerous. I think I won around 20 points here.
What are your opinions about the world chess championship format and the time control used?
The tie break on the same day is very difficult for players. The tie break on a separate day is much better for everybody. It is also very difficult to adjust after the time control and the 15 minutes added do little to the game. You just have an ongoing time pressure. Also the issue of giving the players a couple of days rest would not solve anything really. Unless you give one month’s rest, any other solution, would be bad because the players would have three to four days fretting about the game and the stress would be incredible.
What message would you like to give to kids?
Very important to answer what motivates you. Every single player who keeps on playing and fighting will have his success. Everybody who tries will have his Linares or his Tripoli. You must learn to overcome the doubts you have in your mind.
The World Championship Match between World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan and the world’s highest rated player, Garry Kasparov of Russia shall be held 7th to 24th January 2005 in Dubai. This was announced by FIDE President H.E. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov at a press conference on 13th October at the Interfax News Agency in Moscow. The match will be held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum with a prize fund of USD 1.200.000. President Ilyumzhinov said that this is one of the steps of the Prague Agreement signed two years ago in the Czech Republic. The winner of the Kasparov – Kazimdzhanov match will play against the winner of the Kramnik – Leko match.
The FIDE announcement also mentioned, ‘Players contracts with FIDE will be sighed in a few days. The FIDE President assured the journalists that the match will take place and said that players have agreed the schedule. Kasimdzhanov proposed and Kasparov agreed to a rest day after three games. Players’ contracts with FIDE will be sighed in a few days. The two players are doing their upmost to comply with FIDE regulations, Kirsan Ilyumdzhinov said. Players will be billeted at the plush 7-star Burj Al Arab hotel. Playing venue shall be announced later. Total organizational budget is $2.5 Million.