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| English translation of the interview with Georgios Makropoulos, FIDE’s vice-president, by Yuri Vasiliev in Sport Express. June 1, 2005. Source: http://www.sport-express.ru/art.shtml?104332. Translated by: Ravi Abhyankar. Sport Express Latest Chess: http://news.sport-express.ru/online/rubr/rubr0081.shtml Georgios Makropoulos WE WANT NEITHER WAR NOR CONFRONTATION Talking to the FIDE vice-president Georgios Makropoulos is invaluable, since he knows in detail Fide’s plans to organise the world championship cycle. Before this interview which took place in the bar of the Grand Hotel, Sofia; immediately after the closing ceremony of the Sofia tournament, Makropoulos had met behind closed doors with Vishwanathan Anand, Michael Adams, Veselin Topalov and Judit Polgar; who along with Rustam Kasimdzanov, Peter Leko, Alexander Morozevich and Peter Svidler will fight for the world championship title in Argentina in September. I was mainly interested in questions surrounding the world championship. However I began conversation with Georgios Makropoulos with the sensational news of the year – the retirement of Garry Kasparov from professional chess. WE ARE INDEBTED TO GARRY - Mr. vice-president, you will probably agree with me that with the exit of Garry Kasparov from professional chess; the world will be less interested in chess for some time to come. Such disappointment inevitably happens when a person who personified the game leaves it. In Basketball, Michael Jordan was such a person; in football – Pele; in chess – Kasparov. -When a sportsman leaves, particularly one who could have achieved more in the game, we are all in a state of trance for some time. I agree that chess has lost its great hero. But we need to try to understand him. A new life has begun for him. It would be wrong for the chess community to keep demanding from Kasparov: ‘’Play more! More! More!’’ If Garry has decided he has more important goals ahead, then I think, we must thank him for what he did for us and offer him best wishes for his new vocation. I think we are indebted to Kasparov – the great sportsman and artist – who created remarkable works in the art of chess. They served as lessons and will serve as lessons for generations. Hundreds of thousands of chess lovers in different parts of the world enjoyed his games. FIDE as an international organisation is also indebted to Kasparov, because his contribution to popularising the game is enormous. -Would you like Kasparov to return? - If we like him – I do – and want to be kind to him, then we must stop even thinking of making plans to bring him back. If, of course, he is happy in his new vocation. If Garry himself decides it is better for him to return, we will be happy. THE COMPOSITION FOR ARGENTINA -Don’t you think there are deficiencies in the list of players invited by FIDE to play in the Argentinean world championship? It does not have some players who have a right to fight for the title: Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexei Shirov and Ruslan Ponomariev... -If you talk of Ponomariev, he had an opportunity to play against Kasparov. He squandered it. Yes, exclusion of Ivanchuk and Shirov is a painful topic. Do you think we don’t remember how Shirov had qualified to play Kasparov himself for the title, and then was simply thrown out of that cycle? But what can we do, if at the time of deciding this tournament, his rating had fallen so much that he did not qualify to be part of the eight? We also regret the absence of such a strong player as Ivanchuk, who is currently playing so well in tournaments. We followed the system introduced by FIDE in 1997. Changing rules would be wrong; it would create an impression we want to accommodate someone, and throw someone out. For example, if we were to consider someone else, Alexander Morozevich would go out of the championship and would have valid reasons to criticise FIDE. Now, not a single player has any basis to doubt the principles on which players have qualified for the tournament in Argentina. We have strictly followed the regulations tried earlier. SAN LUIS WILL DECIDE THE NEW WORLD CHAMPION -What will be the title of the winner of the tournament in San Luis? -The World Champion. Nobody should have any doubts on this. Everything was planned with the objective of getting the strongest players, whose fighting one another will produce the new World Champion, acknowledged as such by everyone. With Kasparov’s exit from the chess scene, the Prague agreement has lost its sense. In reality, it was conceived to get Kasparov back in the official world championship arena. The agreement considered Kramnik’s interests, and it considered Kasparov’s interests. It is interesting to note that Kramnik, after his match in Brissago, said in interviews: The Prague agreement does not exist any more, since FIDE did not fulfill any of its promises given in May 2002 at Prague. He clearly gave it to understand that he did not intend to play against either Kasparov or Kasimdzanov. Unfortunately, in Fide’s world championship at Tripoli, some of the stronger players did not participate. Before starting the new world championship cycle, we needed to find a solution to the current situation. And we have found it. Possibly it is not the perfect solution. But as things are at present, we did not see anything better. -When the presidential board of FIDE decided in Tbilisi to conduct the tournament with eight players, it could have easily foreseen both Kasparov and Kramnik not taking part in such a tournament. Could FIDE not come up with a better formula for a unification championship? - Kasparov announced his retirement from professional chess later. We had officially requested the Russian Chess Federation to facilitate Kramnik’s participation. The reaction was negative. They reacted as if we had never informed Kramnik about our plans or actions. This is not true. We sent faxes to the Russian Chess Federation twice. Its executive director, Mr Bach, gave us Kramnik’s fax number, which turned out to be the personal fax number of Mr Bach himself. We sent all relevant information to that number as well. On the 24th March 2005, Mr Henzel, the manager representing Kramnik and Leko, confirmed receiving our offers. In short, Kramnik was informed. Unfortunately, there are people who are keen to drive a wedge between Kramnik and FIDE, between the Russian and the International chess federations. KRAMNIK’S PROPOSAL -What are Fide’s views on Kramnik’s proposal to conduct a match between him and the winner of San Luis? -I have clarified this a few times, and also spoken to the players about this. I will repeat: The tournament in Argentina is not a qualifying ‘’lap’’. It is the World Championship. Kramnik made a decision not to play in Argentina. We cannot ask our own World Champion to play against him. -If the grandmaster, winning the tournament in Argentina, and Kramnik agree to play a match with each other? - This is not possible. All players taking part in Argentina have signed an undertaking, according to which they will not participate in any championship cycle outside FIDE. Before the World Cup, in which 128 grandmasters will play, all participants are also expected to sign a similar undertaking. -These undertakings are legally enforceable? -Yes. -Are you saying that if the winner in Argentina decides to play a match against Kramnik, you will go to the court and win the case? - For me, more important is the fact that all players sincerely agree to the obligations proposed to them. -Are you not worried this causing a rift between the classical champion Kramnik and FIDE? -We don’t see any reason for this. All players are acquainted with the proposal for the world championship cycle, and are willing to take part in it. Kramnik, of course, is a player most welcome to take part. WORLD CUP AND THE ‘’LAST CHANCE SUPER TOURNAMENT’’ -How does the new World Champion, the winner of the tournament in Argentina, start the next cycle? - After the continental chess championships in December this year, the World Cup is planned. It will take place under a knock-out system. It will have 128 players. The first five players will be eligible to play in the Candidates matches. A single-round super tournament will be organised after the world cup. Ten players will be invited for it. We call this tournament ‘the last chance super tournament’. The top three players from this tournament will also qualify for the candidates matches. So, we already have eight candidates; five from the World Cup and three from the last chance super tournament. Two players, who were 3rd and 4th at the Argentinean tournament, will join them. Five matches will be conducted with these ten candidates, resulting in five winners. The player who was second in Argentina will join the five players. These six players will play the quarter-finals. The world champion will join the three winners. - That is to say, the world champion, the winner in Argentina, will join the next cycle at the semi-final stage? -Yes. FIVE MILLION DOLLARS FOR COMPLETE HAPPINESS -This reminded me of another FIDE project ten years ago. The then world champion Anatoly Karpov began defence of his title at the semi-final stage, he then beat Gata Kamski in the finals and remained a champion. It seems FIDE wants to go back to a system which ceased to operate ten years back? - FIDE tries to find a compromise with the leading players. We propose a system which will make all of them more or less happy. -Which time control, in FIDE’s view, will make all the players ‘’more or less happy’’? -For the world cup, I repeat, which will be under the knock-out system, we will have the FIDE 90 minute control, the same as in the earlier knockout championships. The Candidate matches, the super tournament and match for the world champion title will have a 7-hour control. -What is the prize fund for the new cycle? -Only for the stage of continental championships and the World Cup, FIDE will attract five million dollars in the coming two years. I would like to emphasise; this money is not from the pocket of Kirsan Illyumzhinov, but money attracted thanks to our work. -How long do you think such a system can continue to operate? -We would like the system to work as long as possible. So that all the chess players are happy, so that the players with ambition have an opportunity to fulfill their ambition. We want neither war nor confrontation. We want to have contacts with the national chess federations, and particularly with the Russian Chess Federation. I hope we will meet one day the president of the Russian Chess Federation, Mr Zhukov. This will be useful not only for FIDE, but also for chess in Russia. THE SOFIA EXPERIEMENT -What is your opinion about the new regulations tried in the super tournament in Sofia? Couldn’t they be used in the official FIDE tournaments? -These rules are a positive development, I liked them very much. I hope we can implement them at some juncture for the FIDE official tournaments. However, we should understand that private tournaments and FIDE official tournaments are different things. Organisers of a private tournament can include in the contracts any rules they want. FIDE does not have such possibilities. We represent not the top-six grandmasters who played in Sofia, but thousands of chess players. Therefore, introduction of new rules requires consultations with all the national chess federations and with the players. This is a fairly serious task. We can consider it not earlier than at the FIDE congress in 2008. FORECAST FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CONGRESS -What is your prediction on the FIDE presidential election, which will happen next year at Turin, during the Chess Olympics? -I don’t see any other candidate for the presidential post than Kirsan Illyumzhinov. I will be surprised at the appearance of another candidate. I am certain it will not happen. Kirsan is the only president in FIDE’s history who has spent a considerable amount of money on chess. No matter what they say or write about him, everyone understands that he has done a lot for chess. -Maybe, since everyone understands that, they criticise not him but you, Mr Makropoulos? - (Smiles) That is not the only reason. Our critics know we have a very friendly team. It is composed of 15 active people, supported by the national chess federations. With a view to split our team, the ill-wishers attack me. Only, they are not able to make any headway! Yuri Vasiliev Translated by: Ravi Abhyankar |
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