Anand annoyed with FIDE
It seems like some players are getting special treatment from FIDE while others are being excluded.
"That stuff" has been going on ever since FIDE was first organized.
Well, as of late there has been an awful load of Chess Politics. Many GMs have been protesting at the way the World Chess Federation (FIDE) is being run. Indeed, it seems that there is much more chaos in the FIDE than in any other sports organisation such as soccer. It is really quite rare to see the Soccer World Cup regulations being changed.
However, I guess we as chess enthusiasts should bear with it for a while more. The World Championship Cycle conflicts can be attributed to the splitting of the PCA and FIDE, when Kasparov broke off while the FIDE continued holding its cycles with winners such as Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Ruslan Ponomariov. In the light of Reunification, some sacrifices have to be made in order to please the majority.
We can only hope that these politics and bias will come to an end after this current cycle and that proper matches like in the old days will be used to determine the Real World Champion. That is, I believe the most appropiate way of deciding the world champion, instead of having a round robin tournament.
Until then, let us hope the FIDE will improve its systems and succeed in its bid to make chess a more recognised game in the world!
One more point- Kirsan was voted back into power again, having quite a resounding win over his challenger Bessel Kok. As such, it can be seen that the chess community does have some confidence in his leadership qualities.
One initiative which I believe is really good is the founding of the Global Chess Academy. Kirsan, being reelected as FIDE President, appointed his rival Bessel Kok to lead this, and we can now be sure of Chess being taught and propagated around the world.
Three Cheers!
Here is a news article with some good quotes from Anand about the World Championship format and the FIDE organization.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=0e59d744-1ff1-4e83-8294-4d0ba6d7f63f&&Headline='Looks+like+anyone+can+buy+his+way+into+a+rematch'
It seems like some players are getting special treatment from FIDE while others are being excluded. What are your thoughts about the FIDE organization and their recent actions?