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Sofia, 22nd April
The first game of the World Chess Championship scheduled for April 23 has been postponed by a day and will now be played on Saturday, 24th April. NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand will play his first game with the black pieces in this twelve-game match. Anand, who had not agreed to the Sofia rule (opponent cannot offer draw), when quizzed about it quipped, "A world championship should be played with world championship rules".
Anand examining the match setup – board, chair, lights. On the right:
wife Aruna; left representative Hans-Walter Schmitt; behind Anand the arbiters
Panaqiotis Nikolopoulos and Werner Stubenvoll.
Photographers and video filmers during the inspection
If it can be recalled, the defending champion Viswanathan Anand was requesting a three day postponement after arriving four days late in Sofia owing to the cancellation of flights worldwide because of the Icelandic volcano while the Organizers had rejected this request.
The press conference
The two players with members of the Bulgarian Chess Federation and FIDE
Dr. Stefan Sergiev (Bulgarian Chess Federation), Georgios Makropoulos (FIDE),
Anand
At the Press Conference Wednesday, April 21st, the FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos addressed the media saying "I explained to Vishy that it is a shock for the organization to postpone for three days, and I said to the organizers that the situation is force majeure. After many discussions I talked to the Presidential Board and the FIDE President and we decided to postpone the start of the match by one day. I expect from the organizers understanding for the one day postponement, and understanding from Anand's team that three days was also not an option." Both parties appeared to be satisfied with the outcome.
Anand is greeted by the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boiko Borisov
The Opening Ceremony went as per schedule on Wednesday in the presence of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, the Indian Ambassador and both players.
Aruna and Anand meed the Indian Ambassador Shri Divyabh Manchanda and his
wife
The wives of the Indian Ambassador and the World Champion
Aruna and Anand
Playing venue: the Military Club in Sofia
The Hilton in Sofia, where Anand and his team are staying
Viswanathan Anand: "I am very happy to be here, it was a longer trip than we expected. The main thing I came here for is to play chess. Mr. Makropoulos described very well the situation. I want to thank FIDE for the understanding and I hope the chess fans will see a good match."
Veselin Topalov: "This is an historic event for Bulgaria, we are a small country. We cannot organize Olympic games and this championship is a very effective way of promotion for the country. For 5 years Anand and I have dominated the chess world, and this match should have happened long time ago."
The NIIT MindChampions’ Academy (MCA), a not-for-profit initiative has been set up as a joint initiative with Grand Master Viswanathan Anand and NIIT Ltd, with the objective of promoting Chess in schools to enable development of young minds. Studies have shown that Chess improves concentration and diligence, thus helping students perform better academically.
Established in 2002, the Academy has fostered over 7000 Chess clubs with over 8,50,000 students as its members, in schools across the country. GM Viswanathan Anand has personally traveled to Agartala, Guwahati, Hyderbad, Mumbai, New Delhi, Jaipur, Patna, Raipur, Chennai, Hyderbad, Kolkata, Pune and other cities across India, spreading the message and motivating the school students to start playing Chess. NIIT Mind Champions’ Academy conducts an Annual Event around the month of December and January, known as Chess Master for these school children across India in the NIIT network.
Updates on Viswanathan Anand sent by Team Anand at NIIT
For further inquiries contact: TeamAnand@niit.com
"The decision to delay the match by one day to me is illegal and disrespectful to the Organising Committee – said Silvio Danailov, manager of Veselin Topalov. Lawyers have already investigated the matter, and we reserve the right to file a case against the International Federation (FIDE) for lost profits." Such was the unwanted gift Danailov received on his birthday yesterday, he was strongly opposed to the postponement due to late arrival of the world champion Viswanathan Anand.
FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, match organiser Silvio Danailov
The Organizing Committee of the match took the same view, but the game supervisor George Makropoulos decided otherwise. The games are to be played on two consecutive days, with a rest day to follow, and a one-day shift of the entire match schedule.
Source: Trud
