Reunification match
The FIDE President Kirsan Ilmzhinov was a happy man. This is time he was sure to keep his promise of reunification made already in 1995. Topalov mentioned he was ready to play Kramnik who never made any real objection to put his title at stake if his conditions are fullfilled. Suddently on October 22, Topalov made a turn of 180 degrees and stated unequivocally that he was not willing to take up a challenge by someone 60 points below him. “That is a different class altogether,” said Topalov in this Sport Express interview. Garry Kasparov agrees with Topalov and thinks the Bulgarian who won the FIDE championship ahead of the strongest active players in the world does not need to play Kramnik. “The schism in the chess world is over,” he told us. “It was brought about by the world champion not being the best player in the world. Now that he is, the matter can be closed.”
Here’s the Sport Express interview with Veselin Topalov:
Newly crowned World Champion Veselin Topalov has no plans to put his title on the line in a possible match against Kramnik. “So far this year I have won my third Super Tournament. Vladimir Kramnik is an outstanding player of modern chess, one of the best players of the last decade. However, he is currently number seven in FIDE world rankings, and I don’t think he has the right to challenge me. When I was the world’s number seven player it never occurred to me that I had the right to challenge world’s number one,” the Bulgarian Super GM is reported to have said in San Luis.
Topalov stressed that Kramnik had been invited to San Luis, but had refused to participate. Hence, in Topalov’s opinion, Kramnik has automatically lost the right to contend for the title. Topalov is also reported to have said that from January 1st he was going to have the highest rating, leaving aside the retired Garry Kasparov (still the highest rated player). It is certainly true that five years ago Kramnik had defeated Kasparov. However, according to Topalov, Kramnik’s latest results do not provide sufficient grounds to have any claims for the title.
“There’s a big difference in our ratings,” Topalov stressed. “In chess 60 Elo points means a different class altogether. If Vladimir was offered to play against someone 60 Elo points below himself he’d simply burst out laughing. If there is going to be a Topalov-Kramnik match, it will be on purely commercial basis. I do not believe we can play for the title because I’ve already won it here in San Luis. A Topalov-Kramnik match for the title is out of question, because FIDE has organised a two-year cycle for the world championship, analogous to the one we had in San Luis, where eight qualifiers will fight for the title. Thus the tournament shall determine the new holder of the Crown. That is the plan.”
FIDE President Kirsan Illumzhinov had earlier indicated that, in principle, a match between the winner of the World Championship in San Luis and Vladimir Kramnik was possible, providing the Kramnik camp comes up with a minimum of two million dollars.
The same day in an interview published in the Russianmagazine 64 Kramnik states “I firmly believe that I am the real World Chess Champion.”
And declared his readiness to participate in a unification match against new FIDE champ Veselin Topalov.
I was impressed with the quality of play in San Luis. Players battled and squeezed everything possible. However it looked as though Topalov was the only player truly charged for victory. Others came to play in San Luis – Topalov came to win it. This effectively determined the outcome of the double round-robin tournament.
Generally speaking, I believe that the World Champion should be determined exclusively in a match. As for a candidates’ qualification scheme it is quite acceptable to have it organized as in San Luis. For example, half of the participants according to their ratings, the other half through a qualification cycle. This would be in the interests of both the sponsors and the viewing public. The knockout system proposed, actively agitated for, and imposed by FIDE has long since compromised itself.
Is the long awaited reunification of the chess world finally going to happen? My position is absolutely clear on this: in accordance with the Prague Agreement of 2002 I am prepared to play in a reunification match. I am looking forward to some clarification from Topalov and I hope everything becomes clear in the coming weeks.
I’ve read comments in the press that Veselin does not believe I am a worthy contender for the title, giving my relatively low rating as the basis for his argument. I believe this is just his emotions speaking. World championship and tournament performance are two entirely separate entities. In chess history the World Champion has not always scored brilliantly in tournaments. One could even go as far as to say that this is rather more an exception than a rule. Petrosian, Spassky, and Botvinnik never won too many tournaments, but nobody ever had any doubts as to the legitimacy of their titles.
I’d like to stress once more: I firmly believe that I am the real World Chess Champion. I won this title in a contest against the thirteenth World Champion Garry Kasparov and later defended my title in a match against Peter Leko. My title is legitimate and this was acknowledged even by FIDE in the Prague Accords. Should anyone, like Topalov, believe that he is stronger, let him beat me in a match.
The real reasons for the collapse of a match between Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik remain unclear. Why Topalov changed his mind in 8 days. Few days later a German company named Universal Event Promotion GmbH (UEP) made an offer of Euro 1,000,000 to host the match in Germany. However the offer didn’t mention that the match should be organized under the auspices of FIDE and made no mention of any the payment of share of the prize fund to FIDE… FIDE through his Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, gives his side of the controversy in a open letter published on Chessbase.
I read with surprise the announcement of Universal Events Promotion, together with the statement of GM Vladimir Kramnik, which were trying to hold FIDE culpable for the collapse of the negotiations for a match Topalov-Kramnik.
I would therefore like to clarify the following:
- FIDE hasn’t received yet any official proposal concerning such a match.
- When we were informed by Mr Danailov, the manager of World Champion V. Topalov, that negotiations were starting I immediately expressed the view that such a match should be for the World Championship Title and it should be organized under FIDE’s auspices and in accordance with regulations which everyone should agree.
- To this direction I suggested a meeting with all parties concerned.
- To the question of Mr Danailov about FIDE’s financial demands, I referred to the relative FIDE regulations which state that FIDE receives a 20% share of or above the prize fund.
Two days ago I was informed by Mr Danailov that the Kramnik side rejected the idea of holding the match within FIDE’s authority and the proposal for a meeting of all sides was rejected as well.
After all these developments, it’s strange how FIDE can be accused for the collapse of negotiations between UEP, Topalov and Kramnik.
Before today I believed that Kramnik was willing to play a match for the World Championship under FIDE’s auspices. Unfortunately, recent developments show that he might not want to return to the official World Chess Championship cycle and is, at the same time, trying to hold FIDE responsible for his decision.
18.11.2005 In reply to the press releases from Veselin Topalov’s camp and FIDE’s Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, Vladimir Kramnik’s manager Carsten Hensel describes his view of the negotiations for a million dollar Topalov-Kramnik match and how it broke down. The debate rages on.
In reply to the statement of Deputy President of FIDE, Georgios Makropoulos, I respond as follows:
In his statement Mr Makropoulus claims that the World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik was not prepared to play a world championship match under the auspices of FIDE. That is false. The Kramnik side has never rejected a world championship match against Mr Topalov under FIDE auspices.
It is correct that Universal Event Promotion GmbH (UEP) made an offer to the players. UEP strove to reach complete agreement both with Mr Topalov and with Mr Kramnik regarding the general financial and organisational conditions of the match. This procedure was accepted by both players. The necessary agreement was reached – at least at the level of the managers of the two sides.
During these negotiations UEP expressed its interest in making the “World Chess Match of the Champions”, which both sides had agreed on, a reunification match, with the participation of FIDE. Vladimir Kramnik accepted this plan.
At a later time the Topalov side made extended demands and ruled out any match being held without the participation of FIDE, even for the case that no agreement with FIDE would be reached. This news was surprising, since previously agreement had been reached to stage the match under any circumstances. In any event UEP was not willing to fulfil the new financial demands. Incidentally the FIDE fee, quoted in the UEP press release, was brought into the discussion by Mr Danailov, and did not come directly from FIDE.
It is further incorrect that FIDE “suggested a meeting with all parties concerned.” I did not receive an invitation, either directly from FIDE or from the Topalov management.
It is remarkable that Mr Danailov, in his statement of 16.11.2005, declares that he does not recognise any champion other than Mr Topalov. It is possible that the use of the title “GM Kramnik” in the statement of Mr Makropolous indicates a similar view on the part of FIDE. We would like to point out that in Prague FIDE recognised Vladimir Kramnik as the Classical Chess World Champion. This remains the current situation – also from a legal point of view. The same applies to Mr Toplaov, who participated in the Dortmound Candidates Toournament in 2002 and signed a contract to play a match against Classical Chess World Champion Kramnik in case of a victory in this tournament. Even in May 2005 Topalov’s manager signed up Vladimir Kramnik as the Classical Chess World Champion to play in the Mtel Masters in Sofia. Immediately after Topalov’s victory in San Luis Mr Danailov, when discussing the prospect of a match, referred to Vladimir Kramnik as the Classical Chess World Champion in an interview (quote: “He is, in spite of everything, the successor of the Classical Chess World Title. Kramnik defeated Kasparov and defended his title in the match against Leko”). Until a few days ago the status of Vladimir Kramnik was never cast into doubt by Mr Danailov, not even in the negotiations with UEP. It is quite unclear to me what reasons have led to this sudden change of opinion.
