FIDE World Chess Championship 2004

The World Championship of the World Chess Federation FIDE was in 2004 in the Libyan capital Tripoli instead. The tournament was internationally highly controversial because Israeli participants were excluded. It was the last of the five has been held since 1999 at the Co- Tournament mode under the FIDE World Chess Championship from 1993 to 2005. Winner was the Uzbek Rustam Kasimjanov, who defeated the British Michael Adams in the tiebreaker.

Prehistory

In 1976 a team tournament was held in Tripoli at the same time the Chess Olympiad in Haifa, in which several of the countries participated, which boycotted the official Olympics.

After the FIDE had been awarded in 1984 to host the Chess Olympiad of 1986 to Dubai, the Host National Chess Federation of the United Arab Emirates refused to invite the Israeli team for the Olympics. While the Olympics without the Israeli as well as other teams and individual players took place, which stayed away from the event in protest, put the FIDE General Assembly at its Congress in Dubai at the same time to the ongoing Olympics stated that in the future the organizers of a FIDE event for the granting of visas are obliged to participants of all member associations. Exceptions are only possible with the consent of three-fourths of the FIDE General Assembly. Also in the World Chess Championship 2004, a participation of all federations was provided, and the event will be held in parallel in Libya and on the nearby island of Malta. On April 27, 2004, the FIDE announced that all games take place in Tripoli and all the players would be allowed regardless of their nationality.

On 6 May 2004, however, expressed the President of the Libyan Chess Federation Mohammed al - Gaddafi, the eldest son of the President, at a press conference that Israeli participants are not invited, which he described as the " Zionist enemy ". Mohammad Gaddafi is the president of the Libyan Olympic Committee and chaired the organizing committee of the FIDE World Cup tournament in Libya.

This announcement provoked a wave of protests inside and outside the chess world. The FIDE referred to Mohammad Gaddafi's statement as a misunderstanding and claimed to have received from the Libyan side guarantees that the Israeli players could participate. However, the FIDE announced that coaches and accompanying persons of the players and journalists should not enter if they possessed an Israeli passport. In addition, entry visas can not be obtained for the Israeli players through the Libyan embassies, but only upon arrival at the airport of Tripoli.

In the case of the absence of the present Libyan visas or failing wise personal invitations, however, the airlines had refused to take Israeli players at the departure airport on board and transported. The general insurance of the President of FIDE, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov that the Israelis could participate, would not have been enough the airlines.

On 13 May 2004, the Anti-Defamation League protested in an open letter to FIDE against this discrimination and the award of the World Cup on Libya and appealed to the FIDE, either to ensure equal and safe conditions of the Israeli participants or to seek other venues. On the same day the American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan suggested in a letter to FIDE, the plan of the parallel orientation in Tripoli and Malta again and to deliver fair playing conditions. The demand for a parallel orientation in Tripoli and Malta was publicly charged by the chess federations of the United States, Russia and Israel, as well as individual participants as Boris Gulko. In an open letter to the reigning FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov Seirawan reported on 23 May 2004 by his appeal to the FIDE, to which he did not receive a response.

Another open letter to the FIDE published the Association of Professional Chess Players ( Association of Chess Professionals, ACP ) on 26 May 2004, in which they protested against the unequal conditions for Israeli players and the FIDE asked to publish the list of participants and a provide written warranty to the Libyan government that the Israeli players would be granted upon arrival in Tripoli entry visas.

FIDE responded on 28 May 2004 with the publication of a list of proposed 128 participants, which contained no Israeli players.

In an open letter in reply to the ACP Ilyumzhinov stressed on 8 June 2004 on the "importance of the orientation of the Chess World Championship " for the opening of Libya to the " international community."

Of the 13 nominated players were not at the tournament, including many of the U.S. players. The player holding an Israeli passport, a number of which enjoys dual citizenship and competes for other chess federations, for the most part refused to sign their contracts with FIDE. Another reason for cancellation was a controversial contract FIDE, which made the participants in the dark about a remuneration for their expenses.

Shortly before the start of the tournament, the Israeli Chess Federation announced a lawsuit against Libya for damages due to the exclusion of players with an Israeli passport. In contrast, the Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, FIDE, said that the Israeli players had themselves decided not to participate in the tournament.

The Swiss player Vadim Milov, who is also an Israeli citizen had to participate initially before. Milov received his official invitation until 18 June, the day of the opening ceremony. He could only arrive on the morning of the following day and three clock in the afternoon to play the first round. As Milov not consider these conditions to be reasonable, he was not traveling to.

Finally Milov sued with the support of a number of grandmasters and chess federations in February 2005 FIDE before the International Court of Sport in Lausanne for damages. The court dismissed the case, however.

Financing

The host Libya paid a sum of 2.2 million U.S. $. From this flowed 1.5 million U.S. dollars in the prize fund from which the FIDE U.S. $ 300 000 received. The remaining U.S. $ 700 000 was awarded the FIDE for the organization of the tournament. The winner received $ 80,000.

Tournament conditions

The tournament was held to 13 July 2004 at Almahary hotel on June 18. The FIDE used again the shortened time limit, which was abolished after violent protests after the tournament. The first five rounds were played very quickly at first with only two games. The semi-finals went through four games, the final six. Time controls were after ninety minutes 40 moves, then there was a bonus of 15 minutes, and from the beginning 30 seconds per train. In case of a tie back tie break decided the next round. First, two rapid games were played with 25 minutes to change your mind and ten seconds increment per train, after a re- draw two games would have been played over five minutes and 10 seconds per train; if it would then still stood undecided, a last game would have been played at the White would have had six minutes on the clock, and black five. White would have necessarily have to win, one draw black would have been on.

Participant

The tournament finally began with 124 participants, which included only two of the first 10 of the Elo rankings. The player with indented names were provided on 28 May 2004 as a participant, but did not participate. Morozevich, Milov, Hjartarson and Shulman were officially expected by the organizers to the first round, but did not travel, so that their opponents have won without a fight. Wojtkiewicz, Garcia and González García Palermo have been nominated in addition after 28 May 2004.

Result

The tournament ended with a surprise when the Uzbek Rustam Kasimjanov won the title. He defeated the British Michael Adams in the final with 1.5:0.5 in two matured 25 -minute games after it was after six games with a long reflection 3:3.

The plan was that the winner of the tournament against the world number one Garry Kasparov plays a unification fight. However, this did not take place due to inconsistencies.

External links (English)

• Mark Weeks: World Chess Championship 2004 FIDE knockout matches, results
• Boris Schipkow: The World Chess Championship 2004 Chess Siberia, results and round reports
• FIDE World Championship Knockout, 2004 to Chessgames.com