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Chess by Malcolm Pein of the Daily Telegraph
 Malcolm Pein writes for the Daily Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk)
you can read his chess columns along with those of Nigel Short and David
Norwood at their new
Chess
Club (to read the columns you need to register which is free).
Malcolm Pein Comments: The Einstein Group have admitted defeat in their attempts to secure sponsorship for a Classical Chess World Championship final between title holder Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and challenger Peter Leko of Hungary. In a statement Einstein blamed the downturn in the world economy and the war in Iraq for the failure to raise a one million dollar prize fund. Meanwhile Fide are talking up the chances of their thrice-postponed match between Garry Kasparov and Ruslan Ponomariov which they hope to run in November at Buenos Aires. Einstein are the rights holders to the Classical Chess World Championship but lost their best sponsor Madame Nahad Ojjeh after the money she donated towards the prize fund at the Dortmund Candidates matches was not paid promptly to the participants. She is now understood to be concentrating her efforts on the NAO Chess Club in Paris which thanks to her support is one of the top clubs in the world. Einstein have not given up even though technically they could lose the rights to the Classical Chess World Championship on Friday because of their failure to stage a match. They declared they would continue to seek sponsorship and to deliver high quality world championship events. The Hungarian Government had agreed to cover the costs of the title contest bar the prize fund and I understand they have confirmed that are still ready to do so. A little more than a year on from the Prague Agreement to unify the chess world the situation seems to be less certain than ever. Fide may take this opportunity to destroy the Agreement but at this stage, until their match actually happens they are in no better a position than Einstein. Press release from Einstein TV Statement on World Classical Chess Championship 26th May 2003 We have been unable to secure full sponsorship to cover all the prize fund for the World Classical Chess Championship. A significant number of potential title sponsors have expressed considerable interest, but despite positive negotiations, the amounts to be raised in the time scale have proved impossible. Our team had discussed this match with various locations, most recently with the Government of Hungary, which generously offered to pay for the organisation of the match. Clearly, the original venues with which we had been linked in the Middle East were not viable because of the impending conflict in Iraq. Combined with underlying international economic anxieties, the Iraqi war effectively undermined global commercial confidence to the point that no potential sponsor was willing to commit sufficient funds towards this match for us to feel secure in proceeding. Such sponsorship as was committed was not sufficient to cover the agreed prize fund. We think it is important to note that all organisations are having major problems securing external sponsorship for a world championship match and sports sponsorship in general is going through a difficult phase.. While this is obviously very disappointing, we remain determined to deliver high quality world championship chess events and are now in discussion with a group of parties who are all interested in participating in a significant new chess development that would lead to the playing of the World Classical Chess Championship match later this year as well as other new events and matches in our cycle. Given the current global economic climate and its associated uncertainties, we believe that everyone involved in the world of chess should work together towards a common goal of establishing firm and lasting foundations for a commercially viable series of world championship chess events. This must involve commercial partners, chess organisations and most importantly, the players and their representatives. We remain committed to the future of World Classical Championship Chess and look forward to helping establish a more secure base for everyone involved. Robin Hague, Intellectual Leisure Ltd |
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