Elsewhere on the Web : World Chess Championship

Saturday April 3, 2004

Do we dare believe it? The World Chess Championship is back in full swing!

• Regulations. Qualifiers. Players' Undertaking • In March, FIDE announced that the 'World Chess Championship 2003-2004 will take place from June 18 till July 13, 2004 in Tripoli, Libya and Valetta, Malta.' (Click here if you're not sure what FIDE is.)
  
  
• Prior to the FIDE announcement, rumors circulated that Vietnam was the front runner to host the match between Kasparov and the winner of the Libya/Malta knockout tournament. The Vietnamese press mistakenly announced that this would be a match between Kasparov and Ruslan Ponomariov. FIDE wants Vietnam to host the chess champions. • They must have missed the announcement reported in Elsewhere on the Web for 13 September 2003. 'It is with deep regret therefore, that FIDE has to cancel the Ponomariov - Kasparov Match. The winner of the FIDE World Championship shall be crowned World Champion and shall play Grandmaster Garry Kasparov next year.'
  
  
• The FIDE news came less than two months after the Dannemann announcement that 'The World Chess Championship will be played from 25 September to 18 October 2004. Vladimir Kramnik from Russia is defending his title over 14 games with classical time limits against the Hungarian grandmaster and challenger Peter Leko.' (See Elsewhere on the Web 31 January 2004) • Kramnik has been on a roll recently. In March he won the strongest tournament of the year, Linares 2004, finishing 1/2 point ahead of Leko and Kasparov. In April he tied with Alexander Morozevich for 1st/2nd in the prestigious 13th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess tournament.
  
  

All we lack now is the match pitting the FIDE winner against the Dannemann winner.

Index of all World Championship blog posts