Last
Saturday ended the 2007 World Championship
in Mexico City and as a result we
have an undisputed World Champion:
The 38‑year‑old Indian
Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand.
Anand’s
victory leads the World Championship
to the situation that follows: Former
World Champion Vladimir Kramnik
(Russia, 32), who ended 2nd in Mexico,
will challenge Anand in 2008. They
will play a one‑on‑one
World Championship sponsored by
Universal Event Promotion. The winner
of this tournament will play against
the winner of the Challenger’s Match–played
between former FIDE Word Champion
Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria, 32) and
the winner of the 2007 World Cup.
The Challenger’s Match will have
a minimum prize of $150,000 and
will probably be played in Bulgaria.
After
this first adjustment of the World
Championship cycle, the challenger
for the World Championship title
will be the prevailer of the match
between FIDE World Cup champ and
the winner of the new Grand Prix
Series.
This
might seem a little bit confusing
to you, but it is the resolution
that the FIDE Presidential Board
has decided in order to restore
calm in the world of chess.
In
my opinion there are two clear consequences:
Topalov
is damaged. According to the resolution
of the FIDE Presidential Board,
if Vladimir Kramnik had won in Mexico,
Veselin Topalov would have had the
right to play against him straight
away, without having to face the
Challenger’s Match, which was what
Topalov wanted.
Kramnik’s
defeat in Mexico is not that relevant
for him. His 2nd place in Mexico
was more than decent, and at the
end of the day he will have another
opportunity to challenge World Champion
Anand in 2008. Plus, Kramnik’s favorite
format is the one‑on‑one
tournament, as he has shown through
his whole career. In Mexico Anand
has been clearly the best player,
but in a one‑on‑one
tournament against Kramnik, the
player who defeated Kasparov in
a similar world championship, anything
can happen.
One
thing is clear, the new situation
is really interesting. I am optimist
and I think that chess will regain
popularity in the process.
Today
we are going to focus on the last
part of Mexico’s World Championship.
The last round was rather uninteresting.
Anand needed only a draw to become
World Champion, and he did so very
quickly. The round that was really
interesting was the before the last.
Anand’s two main challengers, Boris
Gelfand (Israel, 39) and Vladimir
Kramnik (Russia, 32), won their
games with authority, but we can
call Anand’s situation dramatic.
He was playing against Alexander
Grischuk (Russia, 24) and at one
point of the game, Anand seemed
to be absolutely lost. Only a great
sense of defensive play and a miracle
saved him from losing. If he had
lost, Boris Gelfand would have had
realistic chances of becoming World
Champion in the last round. Today
we present that game.
Carlos
García Hernández
