On Saturday, September 23, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov - two champions, two famous grandmasters - will sit at the chess table to find out in open and fair battle which of them deserves the title of absolute champion of the planet. This event, called after almost 60 years to reunite chess humanity under the auspices of FIDE, was preceded by a colorful celebration at the Elista stadium “Uralan”.
A week ago, in the hall where the grandmasters would play, construction work was in full swing, the completion date of which was adjusted several times taking into account the objective state of affairs. However, realizing the importance of the task, the builders managed on time.
However, the main unspoken, hidden problem - of the FIDE leadership, and the organizers, and the chief arbiter - was different: for the first time in history, to ensure truly effective and reliable anti-computer control that excludes any public suspicion in a chess competition.
The point is not even that there were real grounds for suspicion, but that the atmosphere of underestimation and related speculations could already in the near future undermine the entire hierarchy of modern chess.
Not only on Russian-language Internet sites, but also in some offline newspapers and magazines, there were publications that directly accused Veselin Topalov, who soared to the top of world ratings, of using so-called digital doping, that is, of using computer prompts, and the world champion was in a position a man forced to prove that he is not a camel.
Probably, according to the principle of “wedge by wedge,” Topalov included in his team not some psychologist or psychotherapist, but a natural sorcerer himself (as it is written in the application).
It is curious that the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov officially confirmed the validity of this decision, saying that the presence of witches, sorcerers and parapsychologists at the match is not prohibited if the rules do not violate public order.
Locked up
Apparently, Vladimir Kramnik, not prone to mysticism, is also not going to challenge the personnel decision of his opponent. After all, Vladimir, unlike some chess players of the recent past, is not too worried about anyone's telepathic abilities.
But the "computer theme" continues to remain in the spotlight, and quite calm and sustained "anti-computer" measures of the organizers seem not only timely, but also absolutely necessary, since otherwise - in our high-tech age! - it would be difficult to fully trust the results of both the starting match and subsequent world championships.
What has been done as part of this program? Firstly, it turned out that the place of residence of the rivals and their coaching groups - City Chess chess city - is not a hundred meters from the gaming hall, as in San Luis, but about two and a half kilometers, which makes it extremely difficult radio communications using miniature devices. Secondly, in the tournament hall and, importantly, in its immediate vicinity, it will be strictly forbidden to use cell phones, and one Rostov company, which has not yet been named, is going to carefully scan the broadcast during the game. And, finally, a large translucent screen will be lowered between the spectators and the participants of the match, through which the participants will be perfectly visible to the audience, but the spectators will not ...
Judge's Nightmare
Before the start of any major sporting event, it is customary to make forecasts. Which chess kings are more likely to succeed? The advantage in previously played games is Vladimir Kramnik. According to various estimates (you can take into account or not take into account the types of chess, such as blitz and “blind”), its superiority is from eight to ten points (about 30 to 20), however, the last two classic games were surely won by Veselin Topalov. Judging by the rating, which usually reflects the current state of affairs, Veselin Topalov is ahead, confidently occupying the first line of the world list. Recently, however, Vladimir Kramnik, who won the super tournament in Dortmund, and before that showed the absolutely best result at the World Chess Olympiad, noticeably improved his affairs.
Therefore, the rating forecast that promises Topalov’s victory with a difference of two points is also hardly worth taking seriously. Participants in Russian-language online forums consider Vladimir Kramnik an implicit favorite, and bookmaker ratings are extremely close to the fifty-fifty position.
I estimate the chances of the parties in approximately the same way, but unlike the main referee of the Dutchman Giessen match, I can not be afraid that if 12 main fights end with a score of 6: 6, four fast (during a tie-break) - 2: 2, and the first two blitz games - 1: 1, I myself will have to “enter the ring” and become ... an active participant in the battle.
The fact is that in this case the fate of the highest chess title will have to be decided in a single blitz game, which White (having six minutes) will be obliged to win, but a draw will also suit Black. In this case, the blitz rules (i.e., the official FIDE rules) provide for such a thing as the duty of an arbiter to stop the fight if, in his opinion, one of the participants plays maliciously for a while. And the blitz line between the game of time and the usual game of victory is not only a shaky thing, but also a very subjective one.
Of course, the likelihood of such a scenario is negligible, but theoretically, everything can turn out in such a way that, with his strong-willed, and therefore, indisputable decision, the chief arbiter will, in fact, have to give the world chess crown to one of the opponents. To justify such an unusual rule, I can only notice that it is no worse than, for example, the penalty shoot-outs in the final of the World Cup. As for the nightly nightmares of judges, I would like to sincerely wish that they never come true.
Antipodes
The starting match is unique in many ways. Indeed, it does not meet the applicant with the champion crowned with laurels, but at once two world champions, two kings, besides - two antipodes, two chess players who differ from each other in their approach to life and game, like white and black!
Vladimir Kramnik is a powerful cold-blooded strategist, who never forgets about the objective draw of the starting position, or the fact that for a general victory in a match it’s enough ... to lose one game less than your opponent.
But Veselin Topalov on his shield as if inscribed the famous slogan of the Brazilian football team at the time of Pele and Garrinchi: "You will score for us as much as you can, and we - as much as we want!"
And it is precisely this circumstance that allows us to predict a spectacular clash in Elista that promises a bright and unforgettable spectacle to all chess mankind!