World Chess Championship 2012
The World Chess Championship 2012 will be a match between the current world champion Viswanathan Anand of India and Boris Gelfand of Israel, winner of the Candidates tournament.[2] The match will be held in May 2012, between the days 10 and 31,[3] at the Skolkovo foundation (Silicon Valley of Russia)[4] near Moscow, Russia to determine the World Chess Champion. The match will be held under the auspices of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. The prize fund is 2.55 million US Dollars.[5]
Ilya Levitov, the head of the Russian chess federation said contrary to the FIDE press release, the match will take place in one of Moscow's museums and not in Skolkovo. The closing ceremony and certain other events may happen in Skolkovo, but not the match itself.[6]
The defending champion is Anand, having held the title since 2007. He last defended his title by winning the World Chess Championship 2010 against Veselin Topalov. The challenger is Gelfand, who won the tournament of eight-player Candidate Matches.
The process for selecting the challenger has undergone a number of changes. A major change was announced on November 25, 2008, when it was announced that a two-player Challenger Match would be replaced with an eight-player Candidates' Tournament. The change was criticised by a number of players and commentators, as well as by the Association of Chess Professionals. In November 2010, then world #2 Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the Candidates' Tournament.
Venue
The 2012 FIDE World Chess Championship will be held in Moscow, Russia.
The Executive Board gave during its congress in fall 2009 in Halkidiki an option to London, United Kingdom to organise the World Chess Championship for 2012. They had until February 15, 2010 to exercise the option which had to include the offer of a prize fund similar to that for the World Chess Championship 2010 match.[7] The London Chess Classic organising body "Chess Promotions Limited" confirmed that London were in negotiations to hold the World Chess Championships in 2012.[8] However, after FIDE failed to agree to the terms of the contract within the time frame agreed upon, the option expired on January 28, 2011, and Chess Promotions Limited withdrew their bid to organise the event in London, citing the lack of time left to successfully organise the event.[9]
As a result FIDE opened an application procedure for the hosting of the World Chess Championship match to be played from 10 April 2012 to 31 May 2012. Organisations interested in bidding to host the event had until 31 July 2011, 13:00 GMT to submit their documents including a bid fee.[10]
On June 28, it was announced that Moscow had submitted a bid to host the 2012 World Chess Championship.[11]
On July 13, the Tamil Nadu state government announced a bid of Rs 20 crore (Approx. 4.5 million $) for the match to be held in Chennai, India. Chennai is the home city of the World Champion Viswanathan Anand.[12]
It was reported on 14 July 2011 that Moscow, Russia and Minsk, Belarus were also interested in hosting this event[13]
In an interview with the Russian newspaper "Kommersant", dated 29 July, Boris Gelfand expressed his concern about the offer made by Chennai. Gelfand said the offer from Moscow was the only transparent one, he was not sure of the existence of financial guarantees by the Indian side. The Chennai offer was in Tamil language and he claimed it had not been translated in English. In the past, matches, including those of Kasparov against Ponomaryov and against Kasimdzanov were cancelled due to lack of financial guarantees.[14]
On 2 August, FIDE announced that it received bids from the Russian chess federation (Moscow) and a second one from the All India chess federation (Chennai). Both were well above the minimum required prize fund. FIDE announced they would contact the bidders and players, and declare the winner of the bid by 10 August 2011.[15]
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, FIDE's president, told the Russian newspaper "Sport Express" that financial offer was not the only criterion. Other factors, including possibility of propagation of the "chess in school" program, and popularization of chess in a particular region will also be considered. He would also take into account the views of the champion and the challenger.[16]
On 8 August, FIDE announced that the Russian Chess Federation had won the bid and will host the match in Moscow in May 2012. The prize fund will be 2.55 million US dollars. [17]
Schedule
Game 1: Friday 11 May/ Game 2: Saturday 12 May/ Game 3: Monday 14 May/ Game 4: Tuesday 15 May/ Game 5: Thursday 17 May/ Game 6: Friday 18 May/ Game 7: Sunday 20 May/ Game 8: Monday 21 May/ Game 9: Wednesday 23 May/ Game 10: Thursday 24 May/ Game 11: Saturday 26 May/ Game 12: Monday 28 May/ Tiebreak if necessary: Wednesday 30 May.
[18]
Candidates' tournament
The challenger will be Boris Gelfand of Israel.[19] In June 2009, FIDE indicated that the format would be matches.[20] Originally, the intended venue for the candidate matches was Baku, but Levon Aronian announced that he would not play in Azerbaijan and matches involving him were to be held in a different country yet to be determined.[21] This was changed to Kazan, Russia in July 2010, but with the Azerbaijan nominee, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, remaining in the tournament.[22]
Veselin Topalov has announced that he would not play in Russia against a Russian opponent, due to the unpleasant episodes which took place during the 2006 match against Vladimir Kramnik.[23]
Challenger is in bold.
Pairings and schedule
According to FIDE, the loser of the World Chess Championship 2010 (Veselin Topalov) is seed no. 1 and the rest are seeded according to FIDE January 2010 ratings.[28] FIDE confirmed the matches on February 7, 2011. Games of the match were played from 5–25 May 2011.[29] Tiebreaks were conducted using game in 25 minutes rapid play followed by blitz play and then armageddon games as necessary.
The schedule of the event was as follows:[30][31]
- 05 May – Game 1, round 1
- 06 May – Game 2, round 1
- 07 May – Game 3, round 1
- 08 May – Game 4, round 1
- 09 May – Tiebreaks
|
- 12 May – Game 1, round 2
- 13 May – Game 2, round 2
- 14 May – Game 3, round 2
- 15 May – Game 4, round 2
- 16 May – Tiebreaks
|
- 19 May – Game 1, round 3
- 20 May – Game 2, round 3
- 21 May – Game 3, round 3
- 22 May – Free Day
- 23 May – Game 4, round 3
- 24 May – Game 5, round 3
- 25 May – Game 6, round 3
- 26 May – Tiebreaks / Closing Ceremony
|
Bracket
Tiebreaks are in parentheses where needed.
Timeline of changes
The procedures for choosing the challenger and host have undergone a number of changes and controversies. A timeline is shown below:
- February 2007 - FIDE initially announces that the challenger will be the winner of the Chess World Cup ("Proposal A").[36] This leads to protests from a number leading grandmasters,[37][38] so this proposal is soon scrapped.
- June 2007 - FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announces a structure culminating in a two-player Challenger Match:
- The first stage is the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010, a grand prix series of tournaments between twenty-one élite players, beginning in April 2008.
- In late 2009, FIDE will stage the Chess World Cup 2009, a series of knockout mini-matches following a similar format to the Chess World Cup 2007 (128 players, seven rounds).
- In 2010, an eight-game Challenger Match will be played between the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010 winner and the Chess World Cup 2009 winner.[39]
- The winner of the challenger match will play the defending champion in a twelve-game match in September 2011.[40]
- Starting with this 2011 championship FIDE plans to hold future World Chess Championships on a two-year cycle in the same format.[41][42]
- February 2008 - Alexander Morozevich announces he is boycotting the Grand Prix, saying the process is too long, unwieldy and disorganised. He claims that Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov are also boycotting.[43]
- March 2008 - The line-up for the Grand Prix is announced. The top four rated players in the world at the time (Kramnik, Anand, Topalov, Morozevich) are not in the tournament; other eligible players not participating are Alexei Shirov and Judit Polgár. The Week in Chess reports that Kramnik and Topalov are not participating because the event had insufficient prize money.[44]
- April–May 2008 - First Grand Prix tournament takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan.
- July–August 2008 - Second Grand Prix tournament takes place in Sochi, Russia.
- November 23, 2008 - Qatar, who was scheduled to hold the third Grand Prix beginning on December 13, withdraws as a host nation, and is replaced by Elista, Russia.
- November 25, 2008 - Ilyumzhinov announces the new structure (the eight-player Candidates Tournament described above, instead if a two-player Challenger Match).[45]
- November 26, 2008 - The changes are ratified the next day at the FIDE Congress.[46]
- December 5, 2008 - Magnus Carlsen withdraws from the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010 in protest at the changes partway through the cycle. He argues that the Grand Prix players have been disadvantaged, as the winner now qualifies for an eight-player tournament instead of a two-player Challenger Match.[47]
- December 6, 2008 - Levon Aronian issues an open letter of protest, but does not withdraw from the Grand Prix.[48]
- December 11, 2008 - Michael Adams withdraws from the Grand Prix for similar reasons to Carlsen.[49]
- December 13, 2008 - The third Grand Prix tournament begins in Elista, Russia, with a number of changes to the playing list (see FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010).
- December 15, 2008 - Ilyumzhinov announces that both events will take place (the two-player Challenger Match and the eight-player Candidates Tournament), with a final decision on the structure in March 2009.[50]
- December 16, 2008 - The Association of Chess Professionals objects to the change, saying, "The system of the World Championship cannot be changed once the cycle has started."[51]
- February 11, 2009 - Universal Event Promotion (UEP), the company which organised the World Chess Championship 2008 match, submits a bid to host the Candidates Tournament as a series of matches.[52]
- March 9, 2009 - FIDE accepts UEP's bid, confirming that an eight-player Candidates Tournament will take place. No mention is made of the Challenger Match. There is also a slight change to the qualification for the Candidates' tournament: two players (rather than one) are to be taken from the ratings list, and the winner of the World Chess Cup 2009 qualifies, but the runner-up does not.[53]
- June 22, 2009 - FIDE announces regulations for the eight-player Candidates Tournament, indicating it will be organised as a series of short matches.[20]
- October 2009 - it is reported that the Candidates matches will be organised by Azerbaijan, but that the matches involving Armenia's Levon Aronian will be played elsewhere; and that the matches will be played at the end of 2010 and start of 2011.[21]
- October 20, 2009 - The FIDE Executive Board gave an option to London to organise the event and announced that it would only open the bidding procedure if London would not take the option.
- April 20, 2010 - London confirms holding an option to organise the 2012 World Chess Championship.[8]
- July 26, 2010 - The FIDE Presidential Board in Tromso, Norway decides to move the Candidates matches from Azerbaijan to Kazan, Russia, with Mamedyarov's position intact. If Topalov refuses to play in Kazan, Alexander Grischuk, the third-place finisher in the FIDE Grand Prix, will take his place.[22]
- July 28, 2010 - After learning of FIDE's intention of replacing him with Grischuk should he refuse to play, Topalov backs off of his previous statement refusing to play in Russia, and indicates that he will participate in Kazan.[54]
- July 29, 2010 - Topalov (through his manager) indicates that he would still refuse to play a match against any Russian in Kazan; this could not theoretically happen until the Candidates final, since Kramnik and Grischuk are the only Russians in the Candidates tournament and play in the lower half of the bracket, while Topalov plays in the upper bracket; at the time of this statement, Kramnik was the only Russian in the field.[55]
- November 5, 2010 - Magnus Carlsen decides not to take part in the planned Candidate Matches.[26]
- November 10, 2010 - FIDE announces that Grischuk will replace Carlsen. Any other withdrawals will be replaced by Dmitry Jakovenko, the fourth-place finisher in the FIDE Grand Prix.
- February 3, 2011 - London withdraws its 2012 World Championship bid.[56]
- June 28, 2011 - Moscow confirms bidding to host the 2012 World Championship.[11]
- July 13, 2011 - Chennai bids to host the 2012 World Championship.[57]
References
- ^ a b "FIDE ELO Ratings, September 2011". Ratings.fide.com. http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=197. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "FIDE Candidates Finals: Gelfand wins right to challenge Anand in 2012!". chessbase.com. 25 May 2011. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7249.
- ^ "Anand - Gelfand - FIDE World Chess Championship 2012". Anand-gelfand.com. http://www.anand-gelfand.com/. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Новости. Шахматы. СЭ: Кирсан Илюмжинов: "Матч Ананд – Гельфанд пройдет в Сколкове". Спорт-Экспресс. Новости спорта : футбол, хоккей, теннис, баскетбол, биатлон – все виды спорта на одном сайте". News.sport-express.ru. 2011-08-09. http://news.sport-express.ru/2011-08-09/454774/. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Moscow wins bid to host 2012 World Championship". WhyChess. 2011-08-08. http://whychess.org/en/node/1279. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Шахматный матч Ананд — Гельфанд пройдет в одном из музеев Москвы — РШФ — Новости Других видов спорта. Спорт@Mail.ru". News.mail.ru. 2011-12-14. http://news.mail.ru/sport/news/chess/6533449/. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "London given option for World Championship 2012". News.chessmix.com. http://news.chessmix.com/chess-news/London-given-option-for-World-Championship-2012.html. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ a b Mark Crowther - Tuesday 20th April 2010 (2010-04-20). "London's option for WCC 2012 confirmed | The Week in Chess". Chess.co.uk. http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/general/londons-option-for-wcc-2012-confirmed. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "London withdraws bid to organize 2012 World Championship". ChessVibes. http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/london-withdraws-bid-to-organize-2012-world-championship. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ http://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2011/fide_news/World_Chmp_Match_2012/bid_procedure.pdf
- ^ a b By mishanp on June 28, 2011 (2011-06-28). "Moscow Bids for Anand-Gelfand match". Chessintranslation.com. http://www.chessintranslation.com/2011/06/moscow-bids-for-anand-gelfand-match. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Breaking news: World Championship 2012 in Chennai". Chessbase. 13 July 2011. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7361. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ^ "Moscow, London, Minsk and Chennai appeal to hold Anand-Gelfand match". news.am. 14 July 2011. http://news.am/eng/news/67903.html. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ^ Фото: Коммерсантъ. "Ъ-Газета - "О том, что матч может пройти в Индии, я узнал из газет"". Kommersant.ru. http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1686965. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "World Championship Match 2012". FIDE. 2 August 2011. http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/5442-world-championship-match-2012.html. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- ^ "Новости. Шахматы. СЭ: Кирсан Илюмжинов: "В качестве места матча Ананд - Гельфанд нам интересны и Москва, и Ченнай". Спорт-Экспресс. Новости спорта : футбол, хоккей, теннис, баскетбол, биатлон – все виды спорта на одном сайте". News.sport-express.ru. 2011-08-03. http://news.sport-express.ru/2011-08-03/453788/. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Moscow wins bid to host 2012 World Championship". WhyChess. 2011-08-08. http://whychess.org/en/node/1279. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Anand - Gelfand - FIDE World Chess Championship 2012". Anand-gelfand.com. http://www.anand-gelfand.com/. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Anand will be Challenged by Gelfand - Home - Candidates Matches". FIDE Candidates Matches 2011. 25 May 2011. http://kazan2011.fide.com/. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ a b FIDE Regulations, released on FIDE web site on June 22, 2009 [1]
- ^ a b FIDE Candidates Tournament split between two venues, Chessbase, 18 October 2009
- ^ a b [2]
- ^ "Danailov: ‘No match in Russia against a Russian player’". Chess Vibes. 30 July 2010. http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/danailov-no-match-in-russia-against-a-russian-player/. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
- ^ a b Top 100 Players July 2009, FIDE online
- ^ a b Top 100 Players January 2010, FIDE online
- ^ a b "Chess News - Magnus Carlsen drops out of World Championship cycle". ChessBase.com. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6789. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "FIDE to move Candidates Matches, Topalov threatens boycott". Chessbase.com. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6543. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ http://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/regscandidates.pdf
- ^ "Schedule and pairings from official match site". Kazan2011.fide.com. http://kazan2011.fide.com/tourview/show-21.html. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Games schedule of the Candidates Matches 2011". Tournaments.chessdom.com. 2011-05-27. http://tournaments.chessdom.com/candidates-matches-2011-schedule. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Schedule from official match site". Kazan2011.fide.com. http://kazan2011.fide.com/schedule.html. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Round 1 pairings & results". kazan2011.fide.com. 9 May 2011. http://kazan2011.fide.com/tourview/show-21.html.
- ^ "Round 2 pairings & results". kazan2011.fide.com. 12 May 2011. http://kazan2011.fide.com/tourview/show-21.html.
- ^ "Round 3 pairings & results". kazan2011.fide.com. 20 May 2011. http://kazan2011.fide.com/tourview/show-21.html.
- ^ "Pairings & results". kazan2011.fide.com. 10 May 2011. http://kazan2011.fide.com/tourview/show-21.html.
- ^ Chessvibes on the cycle, March 2, 2007
- ^ ACP position on FIDE Proposals for future World Championship Cycles, Association of Chess Professionals board, February 27, 2007
- ^ Alexei Shirov on the Decision regarding future World Championship Cycles, published on ACP web site, March 16, 2007
- ^ FIDE Grand Prix - Regulations, FIDE web site, accessed April 30, 2008
- ^ Regulations for the World Chess Championship Cycle 2007–2009, FIDE web site, accessed December 4, 2008
- ^ Tallinn Presidential Board Maps New World Chess Championship Cycle, FIDE press release, June 24, 2007. Includes chart of future cycles
- ^ New World Chess Championship cycle, Chessbase, June 24, 2007
- ^ Alexander Morozevich: “I am not giving up the fight!”, Chessbase, February 27, 2008
- ^ The Week in Chess 697 March 17, 2008
- ^ Breaking: Ilyumzhinov announces Candidates Tournament, ChessVibes, November 25, 2008
- ^ http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/3552-the-79th-fide-congress-completed-its-session-in-dresden, FIDE web site, 26 November 2008
- ^ Magnus Carlsen withdraws from Grand Prix, Chessbase, December 5, 2008
- ^ Levon Aronian: FIDE must reverse its decision!, Chessbase, December 6, 2008
- ^ Adams withdraws from Grand Prix cycle, Chessbase, December 11, 2008
- ^ "Ilyumzhinov: Final decision in March next year". Chessbase.com. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5087. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ Press-release: The ACP objects to FIDE's abrupt changes in the World Championship cycle, Association of Chess Professionals, 16 December 2008
- ^ "UEP makes bid for Candidates Tournament 2010 and WCh Match 2011". Chessvibes.com. http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/uep-makes-bid-for-candidates-tournament-2010-and-wch-match-2011/. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ Presidential Board meeting 1st quarter 2009, FIDE Press Release
- ^ By mishanp on July 24, 2010 (2010-07-24). "Candidates Matches Once More In Turmoil". Chessintranslation.com. http://www.chessintranslation.com/2010/07/candidates-matches-once-more-in-turmoil/. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ By mishanp on July 29, 2010 (2010-07-29). "Interview by Yuri Vasiliev with Topalov's Manager, Silvio Danailov on July 29, 2010". Chessintranslation.com. http://www.chessintranslation.com/2010/07/the-russian-player-we-played-a-match-against-in-2006-in-elista-doesnt-exist-for-us/. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Chess News - London withdraws its 2012 World Championship bid". ChessBase.com. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6994. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
- ^ "Breaking news: World Championship 2012 in Chennai". ChessBase.com. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7361. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
External links
|
|
|
| pre-FIDE |
- 1886, 1889, 1891, 1892 (Steinitz)
- 1894, 1897, 1907, 1908, 1910 (Jan-Feb), 1910 (Nov-Dec) (Lasker)
- 1921 (Capablanca)
- 1927, 1929, 1934 (Alekhine)
- 1935 (Euwe)
- 1937 (Alekhine)
|
|
| FIDE |
|
|
| Split title |
|
|
| FIDE |
|
|