Proposal for Challenge Matches with the World Champion

[Wayne Komer]

Proposal for Challenge Matches with the World Champion

August 3, 2016

The Agenda and Annexes for the FIDE General Assembly meeting at Baku Sept. 11 to 13, 2016 are out.

http://www.fide.com/component/conten...d-annexes.html

The annexes make interesting reading, for example, the President's travel expenses for 2015 were 183, 204 euro, which I make to be $267,195 CAN.

In the bottom half of the list is this:

44. Proposal of the Russian Chess Federation for a challenge of World Champions, men and women.

Which reads:

To: Chairman of FIDE Commission for World Championships & Olympiads Mr. Georgios Makropoulos

July 4, 2016

Dear Mr. Makropoulos,

Russian Chess Federation asks the Commission to consider and (if needed) improve and approve the below mentioned amendments to the current system of determining the World Chess Champion at the 87th FIDE Congress (04-14.2016, Baku, Azerbaijan). RCF suggests adding an article to the rules governing World Chess Championship matches stating that the World Chess Champion can accept the challenge of any player who can contribute to the prize fund and the costs of holding of the match.

Herewith a number of basic conditions should be fulfilled:

- The FIDE President would have the power to veto any proposed match. Any proposed World Championship match would be carried out under the auspices of FIDE and according to FIDE rules.

- 50% of the prize fund will go to FIDE

- The match must be held before the end of the current FIDE qualifying round, that is, before a challenger has been determined by the Candidates Tournament.

FIDE Vice President

President of the Russian Chess Federation

Andrey Filatov
_________

This has brought forth a petition from the Association of Chess Professionals:

Petition against proposed World Championship Cycle change

Author: ACP, Board Date: 3 August 2016

The Russian Chess Federation submitted an official proposal to the FIDE Congress for an addition to the current World Championship Cycle rules: anyone guaranteeing a required prize-fund can challenge the reigning World Champion.

We as ACP believe that this idea is completely detrimental to chess for a number of reasons, among which:

- The World Champion Title must be achieved only through a proper sport cycle, especially at a time when chess is increasingly recognized as a sport. The RCF proposal goes against the chess tradition and against the very spirit of modern chess. Although purchasing the right for the match was common practice 100 years ago, it was more of a sad necessity than a good system.

- Staging a "commercial" match would seriously undermine the appeal of the regular cycle match. As things stand, the Title Match is a unique event which is held every two years and which acts as a catalyst for all the chess world. Even so, it is very difficult to raise proper funds for the World Championship Match - we do remember several examples from the recent past and we are witnessing the same problems right now. Who would be interested in paying for the ‘regular match' if it is no longer a unique event? Who would organize the Candidates under these circumstances? Who would regard chess as a proper sport a company can invest in?

- The World Champion Title would be devalued and, more importantly, the image of chess would suffer greatly at all levels and worldwide. It would also put the players on grossly unequal terms: some would have to battle their chances out against the best players of the world in the regular cycle, others would buy their shot at the title by securing the money. This is outright unacceptable. It could also bring to disrepute our noble game, opening the door to problems we can't even foresee now.

- The RCF proposal would inevitably mess up the World Championship Cycle. It would also limit the World Champion’s participation in other events, as he would need to spend most of his time preparing/recovering after the matches. Again, this is certainly not desirable.

The ACP strongly opposes changes to the World Championship Cycle that undermine the very sporting sense and the unique value of the World Chess Champion Title. Our opinion is supported by the results of the ACP Poll - 2016, where over 80% of the chess professionals clearly disapproved the idea of purchasing the rights for the Title Match. If you share our vision, please help fighting this proposal and join the ACP stand by signing and endorsing this statement. The RCF proposal could be approved already in September, and we feel the chess world has to take a clear stand on the matter before then.

ACP Board

Sign the petition here.

http://www.chessprofessionals.org/co...p-cycle-change
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I agree that this is a retrogressive step, taking the World Championship Matches back to the bad old days of a hundred years ago.

[Vlad Dobrich]

Re: Proposal for Challenge Matches with the World Champion

This proposal is clearly an attempt by the Russian Federtion to repatriate the title at whatever the cost. Returning to the era of Russian world champions would be to the detriment of the status of chess in the world as a whole. Each time a new country produces a new world champion chess grows immensely in popularity there and elsewhere - note by example Norway which staged the Olympiad after Carlsen became champion.
The best that could happen for chess would be if a different country would see their own as World Champion. You only need to look at the top ten in the ratings list to see that France, the USA and China could produce the world champion in the coming ten or twenty years.

[Nigel Hanrahan]

How is this proposal different from the Kasparov/Short PCA debacle?

How is this different from what Kasparov and Short did in the 1990s when they went off on their own? Is this a good idea when PCA/Braingames does it but a bad idea when the RCF proposes it?

Supplemental: not only in the pre-FIDE era was this done, but also more recently. After Kasparov and Short had their match outside FIDE, similar matches followed. In particular, Vladimir Kramnik was the first player since 1935 not to qualify "properly" for a world title match. This was all quite acceptable to those who agreed with splitting the chess world into rival organizations.

So it's rather amusing to read Short ridicule the idea when he was part of the PCA process that established it in a previous incarnation.

Here's another thought: maybe this is another PCA in the works, only this time they start with the matches and then, later, establish the organization. Given the current climate of Western Russophobia (even in this thread), perhaps a whole new global chess architecture is in the works?

[Peter McKillop]

Re: Proposal for Challenge Matches with the World Champion

With travel expenses like that, the President is ready for a Canadian Senate appointment!

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Proposal for Challenge Matches with the World Champion

Proposal for Challenge Matches with the World Champion

August 6, 2016

Peter Doggers has an article at chess.com entitled:

Should Anyone With Money Be Able To Challenge Magnus Carlsen?

https://www.chess.com/news/should-an...s-carlsen-9766

Some comments on it:

(Malcolm Pein) - Breaking Twitter vacation to say the RCF proposal for the WCC is the most dumbass thing I've heard for a while

(Nigel Short) – If I put up some money, perhaps I can challenge Usain Bolt at the 100 m with 50% of the funds going to the IAAF. Great idea.

- Perhaps Filatov’s main idea, besides the utterly idiotic FIDE pimp concept, might be the fantasy, that in the future Russian oligarchs could find an artificially legalized corrupt way to get any Russian player above a certain ELO range into world championship matches, whenever they are not as successful as Karjakin was this time.

Filatov's whole basic idea, that money could qualify for ANYTHING, proposed in a field, which is strictly defined by fair forms of comparison of performance and accomplishment, really amuses me. It is a concept shared by extreme western capitalists, Russian and Chinese oligarchs and near Eastern oil sheiks

- yes I agree the 50% is problematic... perhaps 15% or 20% - otherwise, I don't see a downside

many of the top players would relish the opportunity assuming they could procure backers, fide wouldn't allow a "trump v carlsen" or some other ridiculous scenario AND carlsen/champion always has the first right of refusal. the champion is not obliged to accept the challenge.

lastly - the normal qualification cycle continues to be in place; obligation and all

- I don't think this is fair. I think that any challenger should fight their way until he can face the champion. And what about Carlsen's will? May he refuse a challenge like this, or is he bound by some kind of agreement?

- This is how it used to be in the Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine days. Some of the best challengers for these champions weren't able to raise the funds and never got a shot. I read about Rubinstein could not raise enough money to play Lasker and people thought he could beat Lasker.

Also Nimzowitsch "He won a string of international events in the mid-1920s which led him to challenge Jose Raul Capablanca to a World Championship match in 1925, but negotiations dissolved after monetary backing could not be found.”

- Unfortunate aroma of Putin in all of this. With the Olympics fiasco, and now this, it is clear the Russians believe in the old saying - "If you aren't cheating you aren't trying. And if you get caught, you're not trying hard enough." Sad.

[Lee Hendon]

Re: How is this proposal different from the Kasparov/Short PCA debacle?

How is this different from what Kasparov and Short did in the 1990s when they went off on their own? Is this a good idea when PCA/Braingames does it but a bad idea when the RCF proposes it?



Supplemental: not only in the pre-FIDE era was this done, but also more recently. After Kasparov and Short had their match outside FIDE, similar matches followed. In particular, Vladimir Kramnik was the first player since 1935 not to qualify "properly" for a world title match. This was all quite acceptable to those who agreed with splitting the chess world into rival organizations.

So it's rather amusing to read Short ridicule the idea when he was part of the PCA process that established it in a previous incarnation.

Here's another thought: maybe this is another PCA in the works, only this time they start with the matches and then, later, establish the organization. Given the current climate of Western Russophobia (even in this thread), perhaps a whole new global chess architecture is in the works?

"Its different since Short had all ready qualified to play Kasparov in the Final any ways they just decided to cut FIDE out of the pie"

[Wayne Komer]

Re: How is this proposal different from the Kasparov/Short PCA debacle?

Proposal for Challenge Matches with the World Champion

August 29, 2016

This proposal was vigorously opposed by the Association of Chess Professionals, ACP, that has collected 850 signatures on a petition, which strongly opposes purchasing the rights for the Title Match.

ChessBase gives a list of those who have signed prefacing it with this statement:

In the meantime, three days before the end of petition campaign, around 850 people had signed the English and Russian versions, almost 200 of whom were grandmasters. Most of the rest are trainers, organizers, heads of federations, club players "and all those who care about the future of the game," ACP President Emil Sutovsky wrote us today. "We need that final push to get to at least 1000 people, who support ACP stand on the matter. We really have to do our utmost to stop the change – and ACP needs as massive support as possible to try to do so. We need to show FIDE that this idea is massively disliked." Sutovsky asked us to remind our readers about a deadline to sign (1st September).

http://en.chessbase.com/post/acp-pet...h-the-wch-mode

I am surprised by the grandmasters whose names are not on the list but I don’t think it is fair to criticize them because of this omission.
Three signators who I would be glad to be in any fight with are there: Peter Svidler, Nigel Short and Maxime Vachier Lagrave. Bravo!

Reposted September 23, 2016

[Wayne Komer]

Re: How is this proposal different from the Kasparov/Short PCA debacle?

Proposal for Challenge Matches with the World Champion

September 12, 2016

Tweet:

Andy Howie - RCF proposal on world championships comprehensively defeated. Two federations voted for. Two federations voted for. Everyone else against with no abstentions!
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I suppose Russia was one of the countries but which was the other that voted for do you think?