FIDE World Championship San Luis

Looking ahead: FIDE World Championship in San Luis
11.08.2005 – The FIDE Classical Chess World Championship is set to take place in San Luis, Argentina, from September 27 to October 16 this year. The venue is a beautiful lake-side hotel complex, the eight participants are amongst the strongest players in the world. Top seed Vishy Anand talks about the event.

The Governor and the World Chess Championship
16.08.2005 – He is the man who brought information technology, film and music industry to his corner of Argentina, reducing unemployment there from 14.7% to a national low of 1.2%. Now flamboyant Governor Alberto Rodríguez Saá, who is an avid and accomplished chess player, is bringing the World Championship to the town of San Luis. GM Miguel Quinteros sent us a portrait and interview.

Leko: decision in the last round or tiebreak
20.08.2005 – As the FIDE World Chess Championship draws closer the organisers are interviewing each of the eight participants, asking them the same set of ten questions. After Vishy Anand it is Peter Leko who gets into the hot seat. The Hungarian GM predicts that the tournament will be very tight and will only be decided in the final phases.

Topalov: 'I haven’t a clue, anyone can win'
22.08.2005 – The FIDE Classical Chess World Championship will take place in Argentina in October this year. To promote the event the organisers are interviewing each of the eight participants, asking them identical questions. This time it is Bulgarian Super-GM Veselin Topalov, number three in the world rankings, and one of the hot favourites to win. Here's what Veselin said.

The Prince and the Governor
23.08.2005 – The FIDE congress that is currently being held in Dresden, Germany, has attracted a number of illustrious guests. The Governor of San Luis in Argentina, where the next world championship is being held, was there to greet and inform the delegates. On Sunday he met with Alexander Prince of Saxony. We bring you a photo report.

Judit Polgar – preparing one by one with both colours
24.08.2005 – One of the most interesting personalities at the FIDE Classical Chess World Championship in Argentina will be Judit Polgar, easily the strongest female player in the history of the game. In the interviews conducted by the official web site Judit answers the ten standard questions put to each of the participants. Here's what she had to say.

'It will be even harder because of its status'
08.09.2005 – Peter Svidler, four times Russian champion, currently number seven in the world, is still somewhat of a dark horse in the FIDE world championship, which is due to start in San Luis, Argentinia three weeks from now. In the interviews conducted by the official web site Peter answers ten set questions. His comments are terse but telling.

Kasimdzhanov: 'Nerves will prevail'
15.09.2005 – Rustam Kasmidzhanov was the surprise winner of the last FIDE (knock-out) world championship in Tripoli, defeating the likes of Ivanchuk, Grischuk, Topalov and Adams on his way to the title. In San Luis the GM from Uzbekistan will defend his title. Here he answers the ten obligatory questions of the organiser.

Adams: 'The strongest player will win'
17.09.2005 – Michael Adams, Britain's strongest GM ever, has twice been a hair's breath away from the world championship title. Once he lost to Anand in the semi-finals, last year in the finals to Rustam Kasimdzhanov. In San Luis later this month Adams gets another go at it. Here are his answers to the ten (well, to eight) questions of the organiser.

'It's like London, Gastings and Gaaga-Moscow'
22.09.2005 – Alexander Morozevich is one of the most talented and imaginative players in the world, a true “belle époque” chess master who could well produce the most interesting games at the San Luis world championship. "Moro", who can be taken lightly by nobody, fears Peter Leko most. Here are his answers to the ten question of the organiser.

Short challenges Kasparov: who will win?
23.09.2005 – In less than a week the FIDE World Championship will take place in San Luis. Garry Kasparov has said that there is a 95% chance that one of the trio Anand, Topalov or Leko will take the title. Nigel Short, who is the official commentator at the event, would like to wager money on one of the other five – at 17:1 odds. What are the true chances?

San Luis: the players arrive
24.09.2005 – Some came a full week early, by plane from their European or Russian homes; others flew to Buenos Aires and took a bus to their final destination in San Luis. We have sightings of Topalov, Svidler, Adams, Polgar, Leko and Kasimdzhanov. Morozevich is on the way, Anand is due in on Monday. Looks like the games can begin.

Ilyumzhinov: 'In principle Kramnik can play the winner'
24.09.2005 – A few days before the start of the World Championship in San Luis FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has stated, in an interview with Russian newspaper Sports Express, that classical chess world champion could get a chance to play against the winner. In principle. The condition is that two million dollars prize money are found, and that the FIDE champion accepts the challenge.

San Luis World Championship – who will win?
27.09.2005 – Recently Garry Kasparov estimated that there was a 95% chance of either Anand, Topalov or Leko winning the world title. Nigel Short argued that, surely, the other five world-class GMs had more than a 5% chance, and offered Kasparov a 1:17 bet. Now statisician Jeff Sonas gives us the precise mathematical figures.

World Championship starts in San Luis
28.09.2005 – The first round of the FIDE World Championship in San Luis is under way: Leko vs Topalov, Morozevich vs Kasimdzhanov, Svidler vs Adams (drawn) and Polgar vs Anand. The live audio commentary delivered by GM Yasser Seirawan on Playchess has attracted thousands of spectators, where 30-40 GMs are following the games. Exciting stuff. Update with pictures.

San Luis R1: Anand and Topalov win with black
29.09.2005 – The hot favourite for this world championship, Vishy Anand, started off with a bang, beating Judit Polgar with the black pieces in a beautiful game. Peter Leko was close to victory, but then blew it against Veselin Topalov. Rustam Kasimdzhanov almost made it three black wins against Morozevich. Nigel Short reports from San Luis.

San Luis R2: Topalov takes Anand to the brink
30.09.2005 – Bulgarian champion Veselin Topalov's exchange sacrifice against top favourite Vishy Anand brought the latter on the verge of disaster, but Anand managed to save an ending queen vs queen + two pawns and draw in 97 moves. John Nunn tells us how. Two other games were also hard-fought draws. Full report with Nigel Short's San Luis diary.

San Luis R3: Slugfest at the World Championship
01.10.2005 – In round two all games were drawn. Today the hyper aggressive play at the FIDE world championship led to four wins: Anand crushed Adams in 32 moves, Svidler beat Leko, and Judit Polgar won a very nice game against Kasimdzhanov. Veselin Topalov needed over six hours to grind down Alexander Morozevich. Full report.

San Luis R4: The World Championship slugfest continues
02.10.2005 – This FIDE event has provided us with another exciting 4-0 day in Argentina. Anand was sensationally mated by last seed Kasimdzhanov, Peter Leko defeated his compatriot Judit Polgar, Bulgarian champion Veselin Topalov gave Michael Adams his second loss in succession, and Morozevich was defeated by Svidler. Big report by Nigel Short.

San Luis R5: Topalov on top of the world
03.10.2005 – Veselin Topalov beat his closest rival in the world championship, Peter Svidler, and did it with the black pieces. Anand drew a very promising positon against Leko, which left the Bulgarian a point and a half ahead of the field. Topalov seems quite unstoppable – his Elo performance so far is an astronomical 3124. Full report...

San Luis: Anand's chances after round four
03.10.2005 – Just before the start of the World Championship in San Luis chess statistician Jeff Sonas gave Anand a 31% chance of winning. Topalov got 17%. After four rounds the latter has a one-point lead, while Anand suffered a serious setback. What are the Indian's chances of winning now? And what about Topalov? Try to guess before you read Jeff's latest figures.

San Luis R6: Topalov beats Polgar with black
05.10.2005 – Veselin Topalov is on a rampage, the likes of which have not been see for a very long time in chess. In round six he chalked up yet another win, this time with black against Judit Polgar. With 5.5/6 points his tournament performance is now a staggering 3157. How far can he go? The other games were hard-fought, exciting draws. Full report.

San Luis R7: Topalov. Wins. Again.
06.10.2005 – It may already be too late to stop Veselin Topalov. The Bulgarian beat Kasimdzhanov for his sixth win in seven games and leads by two full points at the halfway point. All four games were decisive today, including Morozevich's first win, against Anand. Svidler is in clear second after beating Polgar. Full report.

San Luis: Topalov and other historical performance records
08.10.2005 – Victory celebration for Veselin Topalov at the FIDE World Championship are virtually a certainty. So our statistical attention is diverted to a different question: is Topalov's performance so far the greatest of all time? In addition: Susan Polgar gives us her expectations for round nine.

Susan Polgar's take on San Luis
08.10.2005 – Halfway through the FIDE World Championship in San Luis a former (women's) world champion, Susan Polgar, gives us her assessment of the eight players, their performances and what we can expect for the rest of the tournament. There are three annotated games in her midway report.

San Luis R9: Morozevich wins, Svidler, Anand draw
09.10.2005 – A last practical chance to catch Topalov were disappointed when Anand drew against the tournament leader and Svidler drew an exciting game against the uxorious Uzbek Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Alexander Morozevich continued his late rampage with a fine victory over Peter Leko. Full illustrated report with a Short glossary.

San Luis R10: Kasimdzhanov beats Polgar
10.10.2005 – The still reigning Uzbek world champion almost spoiled a completely winning position against Judit Polgar, but won the game in the end. Topalov had what must certainly be a winning position against Morozevich, but only managed to draw. Leko vs Svidler and Adams vs Anand were both drawn. Full illustrated report.

San Luis R11: Anand and Svidler win, Topalov on the brink
11.10.2005 – Round eleven was another exciting affair, with Vishy Anand winning comfortably against Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Peter Svidler outplayed Alexander Morozevich to take the full point. Meanwhile Michael Adams took Veselin Topalov to the brink (the game was drawn). Full illustrated report.

San Luis R12: Anand beats Leko with black
12.10.2005 – In the third-last round Vishy Anand outplayed Peter Leko with the black pieces to draw level with Peter Svidler at a point and a half behind the leading Topalov (against whom Svidler drew today). So there is still a theoretical chance that one of them catches up. Illustrated report with video links!

The success of a World Chess Championship
13.10.2005 – The event that is currently taking place in San Luis, Argentina, is breaking records for world-wide interest in chess. This can be counted by the very large numbers of visitors who follow the Internet coverage. What are the reasons for this remarkable success? The organisation, the format, the exciting games? We bring you numbers and explanations.

San Luis: Statistical chances of Topalov, Anand and Svidler
13.10.2005 – There are just two more rounds in the FIDE World Championship, and Bulgarian champion Veselin Topalov is 1.5 points ahead of the only other players who have a theoretical chance to win. But how realistic is it that there will be a champion named Anand or Svidler? Statistician Jeff Sonas tells us in exact figures.

San Luis – and simply getting there
14.10.2005 – For ten days now the ChessBase news team has been reporting on the World Championship directly from San Luis. We are comfortably settled, with excellent facilities provided by the organisers. However, just getting to the central Argentinian province was an adventure of its own. Here is the belated tale of our 12,000 km journey.

San Luis R13: Veselin Topalov is World Champion
14.10.2005 – With Vishy Anand and Peter Svidler both conceding early draws the FIDE World Championship was finally decided when the hard-fought Kasimdzhanov-Topalov game ended undecided. The Bulgarian is now a point an a half ahead of his nearest rivals and cannot be caught. Big illustrated report and videos.

'Veselin is interested to play Kramnik or Kasparov'
15.10.2005 – Silvio Danailov is the manager, trainer and coordinater of the new World Champion Veselin Topalov. Immediately after it became clear that his charge had bagged the title Danailov gave an interview to the Russian chess magazine "64", in which he spoke of Topalov's performance and his future plans for the world championship.

San Luis R14: Topalov wins, Anand second
15.10.2005 – A draw between Peter Svidler and Vishy Anand in the final round left Anand in second place by the tiebreak system used of this championship. The winner was and is Veselin Topalov, whose draw against Judit Polgar left him 1.5 points ahead of the field, with a 2890 performance. Full illustrated report.

San Luis: The prize-giving ceremony
18.10.2005 – After three intense weeks in Argentina one of the most exciting world championships in memory came to an end, with a spectacular prize-giving ceremony. We bring you one of a series of picture reports while we ourselves embark on the journey back home.

San Luis: The return of the participants
21.10.2005 – Earlier this week, at the end of the very exciting but also quite exhausting FIDE World Championship, players, dignitaries, journalists and friends packed their bags and embarked on the journey back home. So too your newsteam from ChessBase.com. We bring you farewell pictures from San Luis and, for those who missed something, a list of all video links.