The passions around the unifying match for the world chess champion title in Elista have not yet had time to calm down, and the Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov, who lost to the Russian Vladimir Kramnik, is again eager for battle. Accepting congratulations from the President of Bulgaria, George Pyrvanov, he told reporters about his desire to fight Kramnik again no later than March 2007. If the Russian does not agree to play a rematch, Topalov and his manager Silvio Danailov threaten to rob him of the crown through the courts. Izvestia managed to hear the opinions of Topalov and Danailov immediately after their return from Elista.
Judging by your attitude, you do not feel like a loser?I have nothing to be ashamed of, although, of course, I dreamed of another return to Bulgaria. The match in Elista took place with my total advantage and with a lot of missed opportunities. I attacked, and Kramnik constantly defended himself, but he did it at a good level.
It turned out a situation similar to playing tennis when you play against the wall. She always returns the ball, so the moment definitely comes when you make a mistake. I dominated all the time, but missed a lot of opportunities for victory. As for the opposing team, she did not offer anything new.
Don't you think that the unification match became a rating event not because of the game itself, but largely because of the “toilet scandal” initiated by your team?I believe the topic has not exhausted itself. This was a very serious violation by Kramnik. We paid 5 thousand dollars, filed a normal appeal, which the Appeals Committee granted. Otherwise, we simply could not know what Kramnik was doing in the toilet, measuring 2x2 meters, where there was no video control. And the media interest in this event was much higher than in the match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer in 1972, when the Soviet grandmaster lost the title to the American in Reykjavik.
What can you say about the organization of the match itself?Everything was at its best: food and security. But when you play on foreign territory, you feel under constant pressure. All the time we were in Elista, we were surrounded by many small details that clearly showed the organizers' desire that Kramnik would win the match and certainly leave the title in Russia.
Will you really be seeking the right to a rematch?A: We have the right to this and consider it necessary to organize such a meeting. In accordance with FIDE regulations, a former world champion and any grandmaster with an individual coefficient of more than 2700 points can call the world champion, provided that he provides a prize fund of the match of one and a half million euros. True, these instructions have not yet been adopted, but FIDE management will accept them in the near future. We have already found the right dates for the rematch. It should begin on the national holiday of Bulgaria, March 3. According to preliminary estimates, the match will cost 2.5 million euros, but there will be no problems with sponsors.
Are you sure that Vladimir Kramnik will agree to your terms?I have little doubt that he will refuse our offer. But in this case, FIDE should show character and deprive him of the champion title. Why am I striving for such a fight? Because for me there are two concepts: public is the best player and official is the world champion. For me in each game it is important to prove that I am the strongest player at the time of the meeting. But if there is such an opportunity, then I want to return the world title. The Russian media chose the title of “absolute champion” for Kramnik, but in history the champion was not always the strongest player in the world. I am also sure that Kramnik will not take part in the match tournament of the eight best players on the planet, which is planned to be held in Mexico. And chaos will come again, and not the long-awaited unification of the chess world.
Igor Lenkin, corr. ITAR-TASS (Sofia)