"Hi,
Alex!
Why do we want to abandon the Prague agreement now? Back in late 2003, I
saw no hope. Now we have dates scheduled for Kramnik vs. Leko and for the
FIDE knockout tournament in Tripoli. I see no reason to change course now.
I am confused by Yasser Seirawan, one of the fathers of Prague, proposing
that Kasparov step down as the challenger to the winner of Fide Knockout.
Why should Kasparov be penalized by Ponomariov's poor decision? Also, the
players refusing to play in Tripoli, because Kasparov is automatically
seeded in the reunification, couldn't beat Kasparov anyway. Kasparov is
needed for the changing of the guard. He has dominated for 20 years and is
only one match removed from the real
title, which he
defended numerous times against the best in the world. Yasser is
absolutely correct when he claims the FIDE Knockout process is one of the
worst methods for choosing a champion. Yasser calls it a lottery process.
After
reunification, FIDE needs
to return to the system that produced: Spassky, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov.
As far as Yasser's call for another 1948 style tournament consisting of
Kasparov and the previous winners of the FIDE Knockouts, his proposal is
very unfair. Why do past FIDE Knockout winners deserve special
consideration? Only two of the players are worthy of world championship
contention (Anand and Kasparov). Instead of having a tournament with
Karpov (top 22), Khalifman (top 32) and Ponomariov (top 10), why not
include Topalov (top 5), Svidler (top 6) and Morozevich (top 7)? These
players are a lot more deserving of consideration in such a tournament.
Let's not forget the 1948 World Championship tournament included five of
the best players in the world.
As far as repeating the mistakes of 1997-98 by seeding Kasparov
into the final, the real problem in 1998 was not giving Anand enough time
to recharge before playing Karpov. This time, the Tripoli knock out winner
has up to one year to play Kasparov. The mistake that's being recast here
is the Knockout process itself. It's a lottery. It's a blitz crazed, grab
bag process. A bigger mistake would be to ask Kasparov to play from round
one have him get eliminated in the third round because he had a bad tuna
sandwich. Kasparov is important to reunification; he must factor in it
significantly. Kasparov is not being seeded into the finals; he's being
seeded into the semi final match of the reunification
Yasser feels hosting should be determined years
before the finalists are known. I could not disagree more. Chess
championships are not like the Olympics. Chess is like Boxing. The event
is not so important; it's the talent in the event that brings excitement
to sponsors and fans. Sponsors and fans will pay a lot more money to see
Ali vs. Joe Frazier, than to see Tyson vs. Marvis Frazier (got knockout in
30 seconds). Sponsors will play top dollar for Bobby Fischer to play.
Kramnik vs. Kasparov will fetch more dollars than Leko vs. Ponomariov.
What makes a championship chess or boxing match exciting is having the
best going toe to toe and not knowing who's going to win.
FIDE should break up and open up this process so
that more sponsors can bid. Spread this process and the cost over time and
geography. Spread the chess love around. Allow cities or countries with up
and coming chess talent to host a part of this process. Allow the local
people to root for their homeboys and homegirls and see some of the
international chess stars. A good World Championship process is like a
fine wine; let more people take a sip.
Spreading the process over time and geography will bring more young fans
and media coverage into this great game. In the long run, more money will
be raised for these events. Make the process more affordable for sponsors
around the world. Showcase your great talent around the world. Yasser was
right, a properly run World Championship process is the Crown Jewel of
Chess. The process needs to enrich the players, promote the game around
the world, introduce new fans to this great game, and finally, to find a
worthy proud World Champion.
I would also like for Yasser to reconsider his retirement and play in one
more US Championship.
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