PESTAñO: UNDERSTANDING THE MESSY CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Frank "Boy" Pesta, frankpestano@yahoo.com
Chessmoso

Sun.Star
Friday, September 14, 2007
Philippines

THE whole mess started in 1993 when then world champion Garry Kasparov
broke away from Fide together with Nigel Short in what he accepts
now as "the worst mistake of my career and a serious miscalculation"
on his part.

Since then, there has been no undisputed champion until last year
when Vladimir Kramnik defeated Veselin Topalov in their Unification
Match in Elista, Kalmykia , Russia.

Kramnik (2769) will be facing the top seven players in a double
round robin format in the World Chess Championship 2007 in Mexico
(WCCT 2007) starting today up to the 30th of the month. The winner,
will in the meantime, be accepted by everybody including Kramnik and
Topalov, as the undisputed world champion.

The players are Viswanathan Anand (2792, India), Alexander Morozevich
(2758, Russia), Peter Leko (2751, Hungary), Levon Aronian (2750,
Armenia), Peter Svidler (2735, Russia), Boris Gelfand (2733, Israel)
and Alexander Grischuk (2726, Russia). Prize fund is $1.3million.

Also on Sept. 18 to 30 this month a Continental Elimination tournament
will be held at the Cebu International Convention Center to determine
the 10 Asian qualifiers to the World Cup.

The World Cup is a 128-player knockout contest and will be staged in
Khanty, Mansiysk Russia on Nov. 23, this year.

Fide has instituted a scenario where the interests of Kramnik,
Topalov and the winner of the World Cup will be respected.

The scenario favors both Kramnik and Topalov and the other top
players are very vocal against it, especially Anand, who is now rated
numero uno.

Fide apparently appreciates the victory of Topalov in the 2005 World
finals in San Luis , Argentina and his unfortunate exclusion in Mexico.

According to Fide, the following are the guidelines for the 2007
to 2009 World Championship Cycle. "The winner of the World Cup will
advance to the next stage of the World Championship cycle 2007-2009
and play a match against an opponent to be determined depending on the
final results of the World Chess Championship Tournament (WCCT 2007)
in Mexico.

"If the winner of the WCCT 2007 in Mexico is any player other than
Kramnik, then a World Championship match of 12 games will be held
within the period May to September 2008 between the reigning World
Champion (winner of WCCT 2007) and the then previous World Champion
Kramnik (match A). The minimum net prize fund will be $1,000,000.

"At the same year 2008, and after match A, the winner of the World
Cup 2007 will play a challenger’s match of eight games against Topalov
with a minimum net prize fund of $150,000 (match B).

"In 2009 (within the first six months) a World Championship match
will be held between the reigning World Champion (winner of match A)
and the winner of match B.

"If the winner of the WCCT 2007 in Mexico is Kramnik, then a World
Championship match of 12 games, Kramnik vs. Topalov, will be held
within the period of May to September 2008. The minimum net prize
fund will be $1,000,000.

"In 2009 (within the first six months) the winner of the World Cup 2007
will play a World Championship match of 12 games against the winner
of the World Championship match 2008 between Kramnik and Topalov.

"In case a player wins the WCCT 2007 in Mexico, the World Cup 2007
in Khanty-Mansiysk and the 2008 World Championship Match, then
the challenger’s match will be organized as the World Championship
Match 2009."

Whew! Basically in the future, the winners of the World Cup and the
Grand Prix will play a match to determine who will challenge the
world champion.

CEPCA NEWS. Our September tournament will be this Sunday at the Deep
Blue Cafe SMCity starting at 1 p.m.

–Boundary_(ID_yVICAe/F/8crTc0UkmDsOw)–