Last Tuesday, the match for the title of absolute world chess champion was not very spectacular. The 11th game played on that day, although it continued for more than 60 moves, went without any excesses or exacerbations. In short, not a very interesting draw that did not upset the balance.
However, at the very beginning of this fight, all accredited journalists were attracted by another open letter from Karsten Hanzel, manager Vladimir Kramnik, in which the official position of the classic world champion regarding the technical defeat counted by him in the fifth game was once again declared. In this letter, Karsten Hensel recalled that Vladimir Kramnik continues the match in protest mode, that is, he believes that his opponent scored a point less than the official score of the match says.
At the same time (and this is very significant!), Kramnik’s manager assured journalists, and through them, all chess fans, that even if the main 12 games bring an equal score of 6: 6, his ward will take part in a tie-break, which is surprising By coincidence, the 13th should be held, and even on Friday! At a press conference after the end of the 11th game, answering a question from one of the journalists who asked whether it would be fair to decide the fate of the chess crown by competing in “fast chess” or even blitz, Kramnik threw a very curious remark: “It would be nice to complete all behind a chessboard, not bring the matter to court. "
One way or another, the underlying tension in the match is growing. Everyone is inclined to believe that in the final 12th game, having white pieces, Vladimir Kramnik will not take too much risk, and if the match ends in a draw, then we will witness a truly exciting tie-break. Its regulation is as follows: four games in “quick chess” of 25 minutes each with automatic addition after each move of 10 seconds, then (in the case of a score of 2: 2) two blitz games and, finally, if the balance in the score is not broken, the decisive match “to sudden death. " In it, the winner of the draw will be able to choose the color of the pieces, deciding that it is better to win “by order” with white, having six minutes at his disposal, or draw with black, having only five ... And then the night referee of the match referee Geert Geisen may come true. The fact is that, according to FIDE rules, an arbiter is obliged to intervene in the blitz game if one of the rivals maliciously plays for a while in an obviously drawless position. In other words, the chief referee of the match in this situation will have to personally award one of the rivals the crown of the absolute world chess champion.
Sergey Makarychev, international grandmaster, NTV + / ELISTA observer