31 October 2007

2007-2009 FIDE Cycle

The Khanty-Mansiysk World Cup starts in a few weeks. I updated my pages on the 2007-2009 cycle with current, available information:-

This was gathered from several posts on this blog over the last few months:-

Those posts have more detailed information and links.

25 October 2007

Will Anand Play?

In an August 2007 post, Insider Interviews, I mentioned a Chessbase report on an interview with Viswanathan Anand. During the interview, which took place before Anand won the World Championship title in Mexico, he was asked whether the new FIDE regulations granting a special match to Kramnik and Topalov were 'unfair to the other participants'. His answer was
Of course it is unfair. But I have stopped fretting over the world chess federation FIDE. They always do the same. It would be so nice if they did not keep discarding their own rules. At some stage you become sick of all this and decide to just play chess.

When the Daily Dirt pointed to other sources with similar reports -- Anand Decries FIDE Favoritism -- the comments flooded in from fans of chess politics.

According to one report published after Anand won, Anand silent on rematch, the genial Indian is considering his options: 'the undisputed world champion said he has not taken a decision on the rematch, which is expected sometime next fall [2008]'.

When former title challenger Nigel Short was asked by Chessbase, 'The FIDE rules gives the benefit of re-match to Kramnik, which has been criticized by one and all. Your views?', he answered

Under the old system, a defending champion, with the benefit of a rematch, had a 75% chance of retaining his title. These were overwhelming odds which Mikhail Botvinnik, who in his later years was a shadow of his former force, ruthlessly exploited. The rigged system did not seem to trouble his conscience, if, indeed, he possessed one. With Kramnik it is slightly different . The current World Championship "system", if I may laughingly call it so, is a real dog's breakfast. Kramnik's advantage is not so obscene as Botvinnik's, and it is more difficult to blame him for taking his chances amidst the chaos. In general though, rematches, like feudalism, should be abolished.
FIDE simply possesses an extraordinary capacity for making bad decisions. Anand ought to use his enormous influence to try to do something about it, instead of adopting his usual passive, Mr Nice-Guy, fatalistic attitude.

Source: Nigel Short on FIDE.

17 October 2007

News from FIDE

Three months ago, when I last looked at preparation for the forthcoming World Cup (see Qualifiers for Khanty-Mansiysk 2007, 2007-07-19), the regulations were in the process of being updated on Fide.com (FIDE Handbook, Regulations for the World Chess Championship Cycle 2007 - 2009: 1. Organisation; 2. Qualifying Events for World Cup 2007; 3. World Cup 2007; and 4. World Championship Matches 2008-2009). It's time for a new look.

First, following is an overview of relevant FIDE documents (all Fide.com) published since June, along with a few comments.

One of the big changes for the new World Championship cycle is the introduction of the Grand Prix. In future cycles, the winner of the World Cup will meet the winner of the Grand Prix to determine the next title challenger. The June report on the Tallinn Presidential Board (PB) said, 'FIDE and Global Chess will draft detailed regulations for the Grand Prix starting in 2008 for the next Presidential Board in Mexico City.' In the September report of the Mexico City PB, there was no mention of a Grand Prix. This is perhaps because FIDE President Ilyumzhinov was absent from the meeting.

Other relevant issues:

  • The ACP has made a formal complaint about the number of World Cup qualifying places for European players. • 2007-09-10: Irregularities in nominations for the World Cup 2007 • [Chess-players.org]

  • In my last post I wondered about the status of three players. • 2007-10-11: Continental Championships and Zonals (2007-Q3)Q: Have Leko, Morozevich, and Gelfand declined to play, or is there some other arrangement? A: The World Cup Regulations specify that '128 qualifiers (in order of priority): World Champion + seven (7) finalists from the World Championship Tournament 2007 in Mexico...'. It appears that the three players are indeed out of the next cycle.

Also worth noting is that the official site for the World Cup is now operational: Chess in Khanty-Mansiysk • I'll incorporate all of this into my own pages -- Zonals and 2007 World Cup -- on the World Chess Championship.

11 October 2007

Continental Championships and Zonals (2007-Q3)

Following up Continental Championships and Zonals (2007-Q2), here are Q3 qualifiers to the World Cup:-

4th Pan-American Championship (Zone 2.0): 'The IV Continental open took place 10th-20th July, 2007 in Cali, Colombia. The event was an 11 round Swiss Open. [...] Five players tied for first place but GM Julio Granda from Peru won the tie break and the title. Seven players have been qualified for the next World Chess Cup will be at the end of the year in Rusia: Julio Granda, Alexander Ivanov and Varuzhan Akobian (USA), Darcy Lima (Brasil) and the Panamerican Young IM Eduardo Iturrizaga (Venezuela), Matsuura Everaldo (Brasil) and GM Fernando Peralta (Argentina).' [TWIC663 : 'The Week in Chess' by Mark Crowther, no.663]

Asian Championship (Zone 3.0): 'The 6th Asian Individual Chess Championship took place 18th-30th September 2007 in Cebu, Philippines. 72 players from 17 countries include 29 GM, 1 WGM, 17 IM & 9 FM competed in 11 round Swiss System. Zhang Pengxiang edged out Wang Hao on tie-break after both finished on 8/11.' [TWIC673]

African Championship: (Zone 4.0) 'The 2007 African Individual Chess Championships were held at the Safari Court Hotel in the Namibian Capital of Windhoek from August 31 to September 10, 2007. [...] The Open Section was won by IM Robert Gwaze of Zimbabwe with an undefeated score of 7/9. IM Pedro Aderito of Angola took the silver medal ahead of IM Essam El Gindy of Egypt on tie-break.' [TWIC671]

Zone 3.2: 'Surya Shekhar Ganguly qualified for the FIDE World Cup in Siberia in November. Ganguly finished level on 9/11 with GN Gopal but won a rapid playoff match 2-0 to qualify. [...] Dhaka (BAN), 23-31 August 2007' [TWIC669]

The current list of qualifiers can be found on the FIDE page Qualifiers for the WORLD CUP 2007. The info and date publication change frequently. A few weeks ago the page said,

a) From World Championship Tournament 2007: 1. V. Anand (IND), 2. A. Morozevich (RUS), 3. P. Leko (HUN), 4. L. Aronian (ARM), 5. P. Svidler (RUS), 6. B. Gelfand (ISR), 7. A. Grischuk (RUS), * The 8th player - V. Kramnik - is replaced from the FIDE average rating list 7/2006 & 1/2007.

Today it says,

a) From World Championship Tournament 2007: 1. L. Aronian (ARM), 2. P. Svidler (RUS), 3. A. Grischuk (RUS), * Five players (World champion V. Anand, GM V. Kramnik, GM P. Leko, GM A. Morozevich and GM B. Gelfand are replaced from the FIDE average rating list 7/2006 & 1/2007).

Anand and Kramnik have parachutes into the 2007-2009 World Championship cycle. Have Leko, Morozevich, and Gelfand declined to play, or is there some other arrangement?

03 October 2007

2007 Mexico City Finished

I updated my World Chess Championship to include the crosstable and PGN game scores for the recently concluded 2007 Mexico City title tournament. I also updated the Roster of Players, adding the event to the records of the eight players who took part. • Next event: the Khanty-Mansiysk World Cup, 23 November to 16 December 2007.