Anand may gain higher seeding

NEW DELHI, July 30: Garry Kasparov's refusal to accept the FIDE-proposed World Championships and the retirement of Gata Kamsky from competi...

NEW DELHI, July 30: Garry Kasparov’s refusal to accept the FIDE-proposed World Championships and the retirement of Gata Kamsky from competitive chess could well result in India’s Viswanathan Anand being seeded higher for the Championships slated to be held in three stages in Groningen, Elista (the Capital of Kalmykia), and Lausanne, said Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of FIDE.

Ilyumzhinov, also the President of the Republic of Kalmykia, was on a one-day visit to India. Speaking through an interpreter, he also clarified that though the first edition of the World Championships would have some seedings, all future championships will require even the champion to start from the very first round, as it is in disciplines like tennis.

In the original format announced some months back, Anand was seeded into Round 2, alongwith Vladimir Karmnik, while Karpov and Kamsky were to have joined the Championships from Round five, when there would be only two other players left. Kasparov was to have met the winner in the finals at Lausanne.

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But Kasparov has expressed dissatisfaction believed to have stemmed from FIDE’s decision to ask future champions to start from Round 1 — over the proposed Championships and Kamsky for personal reasons has given up chess to concentrate on a career in medicine.

Hence, the need for a change in format which could result in Kramnik, the second highest rated player behind Kasparov, Anand, the third highest rated player and Karpov, the reigning FIDE champion to be seeded into Round four or five.

Deep Blue invited

The FIDE has extended an invitation to Deep Blue, the computer that beat Garry Kasparov, to play in the forthcoming World Championships this December-January.

The youthful FIDE president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, said, “Since (Garry) Kasparov does not want to play and Deep Blue is the `PCA Champion’ (by virtue of having beaten Kasparov) we felt that the computer could play in the tournament.” The FIDE is yet to get an answer from IBM, he added.