Candidate matches 2011 to take place in Kazan
Grischuk will play if Topalov declines the invitation
The Candidate matches 2011, part of the World Chess Championship Cycle 2010 – 2011, have been moved to Kazan, Russia. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan had already signed an agreement and had transferred 150 000 eur to FIDE, the Presidential Board in Tromso decided to award the event to Kazan.
Given the previous agreement with Azerbaijan, it has been decided to keep GM Mamedyarov as the nominated player. Besides him, the eight candidates include Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan), Boris Gelfand (Israel) and Gata Kamsky (USA). The pairings have not been changed and are as follows.
In case of a possible withdraw of Veselin Topalov, as explained by the ex World Champion in an open letter, there will be a substitute player – GM Alexander Grischuk.
Stay tuned for more information on the Candidates matches on Chessdom.com later today as the story unfolds.
Pairings
Veselin Topalov – Gata Kamsky
Magnus Carlsen – Teimour Radjabov
Vladimir Kramnik – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Levon Aronian – Boris Gelfand
Excerpt from the Regulations: 3. 1 Matches Format & System
A – First Round of Matches (8 players)
a1 – Matches System: The player who lost the World Championship Match 2010 (V. Anand or V. Topalov) is ranked No.1, the rest are ranked in rating order using the FIDE Rating List of January 2010. The players are paired the following way: 1 vs 8 (match 1), 2 vs 7 (match 2), 3 vs 6 (match 3), 4 vs 5 (match 4). Each match will consist of 4 games.
a2 – The four (4) winners will qualify for the second round of the Candidate Matches.
B – Second Round of Matches (4 players)
b1 – The Second Round of Matches will start 2 days after the end of the First Round. Any qualified player for the second round of the Candidates Matches can only be replaced by the player he defeated in the first round of the Candidate Matches.
b2 – Matches System: The players are ranked according to the results of the first round of the Candidates Matches: winner of match 1 is No.1, winner of match 2 is No.2, winner of match 3 is No.3 and winner of match 4 is No.4. The players are paired the following way: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3. Each match will consist of 4 games.
b3 – The two (2) winners will qualify for the third round of the Candidate Matches.
C – Third Round of Matches (2 players)
c1 – The Third Round of Matches will start 2 days after the end of the Second Round. Any qualified player for the third round of the Candidates Matches can only be replaced by the player he defeated in the second round of the Candidates Matches.
c2 – Matches System: The match between the two players will consist of 6 games.
c3 – The winner will qualify for the World Championship Match 2011.
4 games and 6 games are way too short. Ridiculous.
Russian insolence…
Kazan ? why not Spitsbergen 🙁
Yes, the matches are too short, and what tiebreak method are they going to use?
Poor poor poor. One vote in favor of changing FIDE leadership
Kazan? Why not Afganistan?
Karzan? why not New Jersey?
whatsdapoint? Was there an offer from US promoters to stage the matches here in the States? Stop complaining, make FIDE an offer! Provide a prize fund and they will move it here in no time.
Kazan is a nice city btw, a way better than a hole like Dallas. Plus, it’s just a 4 hrs flight away from Yerevan or Baku
So what if FIDE already has a contract in place and a deposit from somewhere else. The Russian Chess Federation has backed Kirsan Ilhumzhinov for FIDE President so why is everyone surprised that Kirsan is changing this for Russia? Everyone seems to want Kirsan to stay in power so this is what you will get.
The matches are outrageously brief. Anything could happen in just four (or six) games. Fans have to wait years for championship matches to take place, and then are robbed of meaningful matches and many good games, and quite possibly of seeing the strongest contender have the opportunity to challenge Anand. The leaders of FIDE are idiots who are ruining this great game. They must be booted out.