CHESS: FIDE CONFIRMS ARONYAN WON'T PLAY IN BAKU
Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow
Chess | 04.06.10 | 14:03
Aronyan appears to have been saved the trouble of going to Baku
International chess's governing body has confirmed that next year's
World Champion candidates' matches will be held in two countries,
saving Armenia's top player the trouble of playing in Azerbaijan.
As the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2009 Levon Aronyan is one
of eight chess grandmasters to play in a Candidates Tournament to
decide the next World Championship challenger.
The Armenian chess ace indicated in April that he won't take part in
World Chess Championship qualifying matches if Azerbaijan's capital
Baku was picked as the [only] venue. And the Armenian Chess Federation
had sent an official letter to FIDE over the matter.
Armenia and Azerbaijan warred in the early 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh
and remain at loggerheads over the disputed territory today. On rare
occasions Armenian and Azeri athletes exchanged visits, but, by and
large, the two countries view each other as hostile environments,
including for sporting events.
According to an armchess.am report, FIDE has said this week the
candidates' matches will be held in two countries. In particular,
four of the eight qualifiers are planned in Azerbaijan's capital Baku,
and the other four, including Aronyan's fixtures, in another country
that will be adjusted additionally.
Six out of Aronyan's seven rivals are already known. They are:
Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Magnus Carlsen
(Norway), Gata Kamsky (USA), Bors Gelfand (Israel) and Teimour Radjabov
(Azerbaijan).
According to a preliminary decision, the matches will be held under
the knockout system, commencing March 1, 2011.
The winner of the eight-man tournament will challenge the reigning
FIDE chess champion Viswanathan Anand (India) in 2012.
From: A. Papazian
Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow
Chess | 04.06.10 | 14:03
Aronyan appears to have been saved the trouble of going to Baku
International chess's governing body has confirmed that next year's
World Champion candidates' matches will be held in two countries,
saving Armenia's top player the trouble of playing in Azerbaijan.
As the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2009 Levon Aronyan is one
of eight chess grandmasters to play in a Candidates Tournament to
decide the next World Championship challenger.
The Armenian chess ace indicated in April that he won't take part in
World Chess Championship qualifying matches if Azerbaijan's capital
Baku was picked as the [only] venue. And the Armenian Chess Federation
had sent an official letter to FIDE over the matter.
Armenia and Azerbaijan warred in the early 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh
and remain at loggerheads over the disputed territory today. On rare
occasions Armenian and Azeri athletes exchanged visits, but, by and
large, the two countries view each other as hostile environments,
including for sporting events.
According to an armchess.am report, FIDE has said this week the
candidates' matches will be held in two countries. In particular,
four of the eight qualifiers are planned in Azerbaijan's capital Baku,
and the other four, including Aronyan's fixtures, in another country
that will be adjusted additionally.
Six out of Aronyan's seven rivals are already known. They are:
Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Magnus Carlsen
(Norway), Gata Kamsky (USA), Bors Gelfand (Israel) and Teimour Radjabov
(Azerbaijan).
According to a preliminary decision, the matches will be held under
the knockout system, commencing March 1, 2011.
The winner of the eight-man tournament will challenge the reigning
FIDE chess champion Viswanathan Anand (India) in 2012.
From: A. Papazian