Cumnor Chess Club

The World Championship match between Anand and Topalov will be delayed until spring 2010, and the UEP bid for organizing the Wch cycle 2010-2011 has been accepted by FIDE. In 2011 there will be either Candidates Matches or a Candidates Tournament with Kamsky, the loser of Anand-Topalov, two players from the Grand Prix, the winner of the World Cup, the two highest rated players not already qualified and a player nominated by the organizer. These are the most important decisions made at the FIDE Presidential Board meeting that was held from March 5th to 8th in Istanbul, Turkey. full story »

Veselin Topalov defeated Gata Kamsky today to score a 4.5-2.5 win in the Challenger’s Match in Sofia. In doing so, the Bulgarian qualified for a World Championship Match against Viswanathan Anand. full story »

After all the turmoil in November and December, it’s been a bit quiet around the Grand Prix Series, but today there’s more bad news for FIDE: in an official statement, Bessel Kok and Pavel Matocha are announcing the withdrawal of Karlovy Vary, where the 6th and last GP was to take place in December this year. full story »

05.01.2009 – With the chess world in upheaval, and the world championship cycle in doubt, FIDE President Ilyumzhinov chaired an Internet press conference with top players, on December 27th, to find out what they thought. One was missing: former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. In a surprise call on December 28th he told us why he couldn't take part (and what he would have said). Be pleasantly surprised!

29.12.2008 ? "I'd like to offer my opinion on the changes to the world championship system," writes Vassily Ivanchuk. The world number three ranked player goes on to suggest that the Grand Prix should not be a qualifier, and that 14 or 12 players should play a tournament, regular or knockout. This for 2010, "after which it will be possible to start planning a new cycle." Translation from ChessPro.