World Chess Championship - Reunification Match
 

Any chess fans?

This gets underway today in Elista, Kalmykia, between the Kasparov-toppling Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and the Bulgarian eccentric Veselin Topalov.

This match is all the more fascinating, since it is the reunification match that finally brings together the chess world's two factions. Garry Kasparov left the governing chess body FIDE in 1993, taking the World Champion title with him. Vladimir Kramnik famously beat Kasparov in 2000, becoming the 14th Classical World Chess Champion. FIDE of course established a rival title after Kasparov left (the FIDE World Championship), which is currently held by Veselin Topalov.

The championship site.

Direct link to live coverage of game one.

I like playing chess, but I haven't followed the news in years.

Now's a great time to get back into things.

I think this will be close, but not quite so close as some suggest. Once the early games are dispensed with, and despite the remarkable skill of Veselin Topalov (whom I admire greatly), I do suspect that the Kasparov-toppling Kramnik will wmerge victorious. And I will add that it will be fully deserved. That said, it'I'd add firstly that it's a great shame that Kasparov himself isn't involved in this battle, and also that Veselin Topalov will hold the unified title in the future.

Have they played eachother alot? Who won most of them?

I used to follow it, when Anatoli Karpov and Bobby Fischer played in their days. Remember the incident at the japanese airport on 2004, when Fischer apparently used a revoked U.S passport. He's also the first and as yet only american to win the World Chess Championship.

Chess had headline coverage in those days, didn't it, as a result of the Cold War and all of that. Some of the allegations of foul play from those days were incredible, for instance:

Thus the little episode in which there is an argument about the chairs on which the players will sit actually took place in Reykjavik. The Russians claimed that the chairs must have had some kind of ray, or something, that was beamed at Spassky and addling his brain. The Icelanders gravely took X-rays of both chairs, taking them apart in the process, and found no foreign substance except wood filler. The Icelanders and the press were enchanted; the whole episode was howlingly funny, and even the Russians themselves were embarrassed.

Game Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening
1. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 11 1993 It E86 King's Indian, Samisch, Orthodox, 7.Nge2 c6
2. Topalov vs Kramnik 1-0 39 1994 It (cat.18) B56 Sicilian
3. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 36 1995 Novgorod RUS B65 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...Be7 Defense, 9...Nxd4
4. Topalov vs Kramnik 0-1 40 1995 Belgrade (Yugoslavia) B57 Sicilian
5. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 45 1996 It (cat.19) E97 King's Indian
6. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 36 1996 It (cat.17) A15 English
7. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 79 1996 It (cat.18) A16 English
8. Topalov vs Kramnik 1-0 39 1996 Las Palmas E92 King's Indian
9. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 44 1996 It (cat.19) B57 Sicilian
10. Topalov vs Kramnik 1-0 34 1996 It (cat.19) B57 Sicilian
11. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 80 1996 Las Palmas E97 King's Indian
12. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 29 1996 It (cat.18) D44 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
13. Topalov vs Kramnik 1-0 45 1997 04 C11 French
14. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 21 1997 It (cat.19) B57 Sicilian
15. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 36 1997 It E97 King's Indian
16. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 28 1997 It (cat.19) D45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
17. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 41 1997 It (cat.19) E94 King's Indian, Orthodox
18. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 39 1997 04 A38 English, Symmetrical
19. Topalov vs Kramnik 0-1 33 1997 It (cat.19) D43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
20. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 46 1998 Tilburg Fontys C42 Petrov Defense
21. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 52 1998 It (blitz) C01 French, Exchange
22. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 55 1998 It (cat.21) A34 English, Symmetrical
23. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 28 1998 Monaco E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
24. Topalov vs Kramnik 0-1 48 1998 It (cat.21) D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst
25. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 25 1998 It (cat.17) A34 English, Symmetrical
26. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 48 1998 Monaco A04 Reti Opening
27. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 40 1999 It (cat.19), Dortmund (Germany) D15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
28. Topalov vs Kramnik 0-1 40 1999 Ch World FIDE (play-off), Las Vegas (USA) A32 English, Symmetrical Variation
29. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 39 1999 Hoogovens 5' A30 English, Symmetrical
30. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 29 1999 Ch World FIDE, Las Vegas (USA) D26 Queen's Gambit Accepted
31. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 35 1999 It (cat.17), Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands) C67 Ruy Lopez
32. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 28 1999 Amber-rapid 8th A40 Queen's Pawn Game
33. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 60 1999 Ch World FIDE (play-off), Las Vegas (USA) D26 Queen's Gambit Accepted
34. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 49 1999 Cat. 19 A04 Reti Opening
35. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 33 1999 It (cat.20), Linares (Spain) A35 English, Symmetrical
36. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 29 1999 Amber-blind 8th D58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst
37. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 50 1999 Ch World FIDE, Las Vegas (USA) C42 Petrov Defense
38. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 31 1999 XVI Ciudad de Linares 99 C42 Petrov Defense
39. Kramnik vs Topalov 0-1 33 2000 Amber-rapid 9th A43 Old Benoni
40. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 39 2000 Amber-blind 9th B66 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...a6
41. Topalov vs Kramnik 1-0 56 2001 Amber Blindfold D37 Queen's Gambit Declined
42. Topalov vs Kramnik 0-1 47 2001 Sparkassen Cat XXI A17 English
43. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 60 2001 Amber Rapidplay A79 Benoni, Classical, 11.f3
44. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 42 2001 Sparkassen Cat XXI A79 Benoni, Classical, 11.f3
45. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 26 2001 Corus D37 Queen's Gambit Declined
46. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 32 2002 Amber Rapidplay A04 Reti Opening
47. Topalov vs Kramnik 1-0 49 2002 Amber Blindfold E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights
48. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 39 2003 Amber Blindfold B54 Sicilian
49. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 51 2003 Cap D'Agde FRA B90 Sicilian, Najdorf
50. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 57 2003 Wijk aan Zee A58 Benko Gambit
51. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 45 2003 Amber Rapid E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights
52. Kramnik vs Topalov ½-½ 23 2004 Wijk an Zee Corus Chess B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation
53. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 20 2004 21st Linares B30 Sicilian
54. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 30 2004 13th Amber Rapid C78 Ruy Lopez
55. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 37 2004 21st Linares B90 Sicilian, Najdorf
56. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 41 2004 13th Amber Blindfold E15 Queen's Indian
57. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 51 2005 14th Amber Tournament: Blindfold C88 Ruy Lopez
58. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 52 2005 MTel Masters C42 Petrov Defense
59. Kramnik vs Topalov 0-1 20 2005 Corus Chess Tournament B90 Sicilian, Najdorf
60. Kramnik vs Topalov 1-0 41 2005 Dortmund Sparkassen 2005 E00 Queen's Pawn Game
61. Topalov vs Kramnik ½-½ 21 2005 14th Amber Tournament: Rapid E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
62. Kramnik vs Topalov 0-1 34 2005 MTel Masters B90 Sicilian, Najdorf
63. Kramnik vs Topalov 19 2006 Kramnik-Topalov World Championship Match E04 Catalan, Open, 5.Nf3

It looks like Kramnik has won it more times, but it could go both ways.

A quick look at that suggests that Kramnik is four up for games played in the last five years, but Topalov is the most recent winner.

bishop to kings prawn four!

i can play chess but havnt for years. i like the idea of two eastern european types battling it out ina game of wits like this.

I love playing Chess, but my family or friends never want to play. I'm not as good as I used to be because I haven't practiced in a while...

We should have an online chess game here...

Well of course I picked the Russian.

I must mention I don't follow this at all. I did however hear about it on the shortwaves last night. Thank you Radio Habana Cuba.

I haven't yet found a mention of it at the Voice of Russia site. The ever-reliable International Herald Tribune have this article:

A schism in the chess world that began in 1993 in London will be healed this month in Elista, the capital of the poor and barren Russian republic of Kalmykia on the Caspian Sea.

Thirteen years ago, Garry Kasparov, the undisputed world chess champion, broke with the World Chess Federation, the governing body of the game, over how the federation was organizing a match for the title.

At the time, Kasparov and his challenger, Nigel Short, an English grandmaster, staged their own match in London, which Kasparov won.

In retaliation, the federation declared that Kasparov was no longer champion and organized a match between Anatoly Karpov, Kasparov's predecessor, and Jan Timman, a Dutch grandmaster. Karpov won and the federation proclaimed him champion.

Since then, there have been at least two rival claimants to the title of world champion and efforts to resolve the dispute have fallen through.

Until now.

Beginning Saturday, in Elista, Veselin Topalov, 31, a Bulgarian grandmaster who is the top-ranked player in the world, will play a 12-game match against Vladimir Kramnik, a Russian grandmaster who is also 31 and is ranked No. 4.

The players will divide $1 million, but the winner will go away with something arguably as valuable: He will be the one, true world champion.

The competitors offer a contrast in styles.

Topalov, a physically fit man of average size, is the federation's champion by virtue of having won a world championship tournament in Argentina last year. He plays aggressively and uncompromisingly, much like Kasparov did before he retired last year.

Kramnik, who is 1.95 meters tall, or 6 feet, 4 inches, and has a cool demeanor at the board, bases his claim to the title on having beaten Kasparov in a match in 2000. His style of play has been described as minimalist, much like Karpov in his prime.

After beating Kasparov, Kramnik's play deteriorated and he slipped to No. 7 in the world rankings. But earlier this year, he revealed that he had a rare form of arthritis that had been bothering him for some time. Since seeking treatment, he has played better and he seems to be approaching his peak form.

Veteran insiders in the chess world are excited about the match and relieved that there will once again be one champion. They said they believed that the split has hurt the prestige of the game.

"The title has been cheapened," said Yasser Seirawan, an American grandmaster who lives in the Netherlands. "It really affected sponsors much to the detriment of the game. If Mercedes- Benz or General Motors wanted to sponsor the world chess championship and there is another one going on down the street, then they end up asking, 'What am I sponsoring?'"

So the chess world has gone to Elista to settle its differences. Why Elista? That has to do with the vision, or as critics say, the hubris, maybe even lunacy, of one man: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of Kalmykia who is also the president of the World Chess Federation.

Ilyumzhinov, 44, who has been president of the republic since 1993 and president of the federation since 1995, has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to turn Elista into a modern metropolis.

Among the signature elements of his master plan is the largest Buddhist temple in Russia or Europe whose roof rises 60 meters above the parched steppe and a four-story glass dome called Chess City that has been the site of a number of federation-sponsored tournaments since it was completed.

The source of the money for his projects is a matter of some conjecture, with his supporters saying that it came from his years as a businessman in Moscow. Needless to say, his critics are not so sure.

What is certain is that Elista is a strange choice for a match as important as the one that will start Saturday. Last year, there was an offer from a German organization to stage the match in Germany with a prize fund of €1.3 million. Topalov, at the federation's urging, rejected the offer.

That the match will now be played in Elista, for less money, is a failure of the leaders of the federation and is emblematic of the decline of chess since the split, Seirawan said.

"It is an embarrassment," Seirawan said. "Arguably you have the most important event in chess today, or for that matter for the last few years, and nobody" - especially the world's millions and millions of chess fans, he added - will be going to Elista.

Short, who won the European Union championship last week, put it more succinctly. "Elista is a nice place," he said. "They are nice people. But Elista is not Paris." Still, he said, at least there is going to be a match. That is preferable to other formats that the chess federation has tried to generate interest in chess.

He mentioned the 2004 championship, which was held in Tripoli, Libya, and which used a knockout system like that used at the Wimbledon tennis championships. Partly because of the location and partly because the format created more opportunities for upsets, only five of the world's top 20 players participated in the tournament. It was won by Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan, who was ranked No. 47 at the time.

Short said, "In Libya, the world championship final was watched by two men and a dog."

This time the whole chess world will be watching, if only online.

No luck at the radio Bulgaria site, either although I did learn that the Bulgarian actress Pepa Nikolovahas died, aged 60.

I thought this was a curious venue. Are they always held here??

Funny bit at the end there.



Is that Gadaffi?

It moves about. There's been a lot of questions directed towards the Bulgarian Topalov about a Russian venue not suiting him, but he insists that he's fine with the situation. It was weird but great when the Kasparov - Short match was on, held in London, because UK television (Channel 4) were showing it live.

That certainly looks like Mr Gadaffi.

Kramnik has taken the first match.

Exciting action from today's game. Kramnik decides to check Topalov's honesty by looking away from the table to 'check something'. Topalov did not attempt to move any pieces whilst Kramnik's back was turned.



(note Mr Topalov's very nice tie)

The only person I ever played chess with was my dad...neither one of us is a good loser at that, so we don't play anymore.

I honestly can't see the point in chess tournaments, but maybe I'm too into physical competitons (NFL football and such)...

Kramnik is now 2 - 0 up after the first two games. A great start.

Topalov desperately needs to turn things around, but Kramnik is white in the nest game and given Topalov's eccentric style and his willingness to take gambles, the wins for Kramnik could really start piling up; even when under the greatest of pressures, he's always calm and calculated.