UEP, the Dortmund-based chess promotion group that put together Kramnik's matches against Fritz and Anand, has apparently failed to come to an agreement with FIDE over the 2009-11 cycle and world championship final. Maybe FIDE balked at their suggestion of just giving Kramnik the title back? I kid, I kid. They did an excellent job in Bonn. Still, it would be nice to see all the top players actually participating in qualifiers instead of waiting around for Ilyumzhinov's latest magic ticket. From FIDE:
FIDE announces that the negotiations with Universal Event Promotion (UEP), the original bidder for organising the final stages of the World Championship cycle 2009-2011 (Candidates Tournament and Final Match), did not reach a final agreement. FIDE is already in contact with other organisers and sponsors interested in holding these events.
Whatever. It was just a bid and they could come back with another one. There's still the Anand-Topalov match to worry about first, right? I'd love to know who FIDE is "in contact" with considering their track record. North Korea? Burma?
They should check out Africa. The necessary conditions (war or at least severe violence in the area; proven track record in corruption and money laundering; a less-than-sane dictator who fancies himself a great benefactor of the noble acitivites of humanity) are best fulfilled there.
I agree with ra. No need to denegrate North Korea or Burma by associating them with a sleezy org. like FIDE. Some African country would be much more apropos.
Hey, guys, you're gonna attract Daaim to this thread. And I doubt he'll be pleased.
You´re missing the point. FIDE changed the candidate cycle to comply with UEP´s plans. As a consequence Carlsen and Adams dropped out of the Grandprix and one Grandprix organiser (Karlovy Vary) withdrew. The damage has been done without even producing a solid organiser for the cycle in question. FIDE has to sort out if they stick to their last announcement of three rounds of k.o.-matches among eight candidates to produce a challenger and stay with the burden to find an organiser. This spells bad news for the top players and the credibility of the chess world championship unless FIDE comes up with something soon.