June 2002 Proposals to unify the Chess World and other stuff (angry prospects) By: The CHESS CHAMP I am sombedy who dedicated myself to chess a lot. Just call me: THE CHESS CHAMP. You may say chess is a blessing and a curse to me, I hope it's more of a blessing. I dont make any money and I never did. I did give away money for matches against my computer program anf for charitable events. But my program is not active for few years. More on that later and if you want to know more... Including the 0-0-0-0 castle, the right way to play chess. I am 24. First of all: Let's remember there is a chance there MAY BE a one champion, one undisputed champion and that is good. Dont forget it was chess publisher Yasser Seirwan who proposed this unification idea with other people's ideas. ( well, I did before him but nobody wanted to listen to me ) Once when he realized this plan is far from perfect in order to still save his face ( no offense from me to Mr. Seirawan ) he did say this plan is to unite the championship, it was not meant to make everybody happy. I guess we all know that is true. I wrote to Mr. Seirawana but there was no response. Mr. Khalifman, Mr. Anand and now Ponomariov represent FIDE champions ( including Karpov 1993 - 1999 ), we all know in 1993 Kasparov walked away ( with the title ) and we had two matches that same year. Karpov winning and Kasparov winning. In 1994 Karpov was clearly the better player but later on we all know Kasparov regained the form and crushed all the opposition in his way. Still that does not mean he was the true champion, in my opinion champion is the champion and the best player is the best player. If a champion can defeat the best player and champion is not top rated, HE IS THE BEST PLAYER AND A CHAMPION AND ALL OTHER WORDS DONT COUNT. Just because Kasparov won all those tournaments, 100 in a row, they dont mean he was the champion. But I do believe in traditional title and thus he was the champion. In the 1993 qualification match Karpov lost to Short, that loss immediately disqualified Karpov from being the true challenger. LET'S SAY IF KARPOV WON AND WON THE RIGHTS TO PLAY KASPAROV IN 93 AND KASPAROV WALKED AWAY WITH SHORT AND PLAYED SOME CRAZY MATCH, THAT WOULD NOT COUNT, NOR DO I THINK IT WOULD HAVE EVER HAPPENED, IN IF IT DID THEN KASPAROV WOULD HAVE BEEN THE CHAMPION 1985-1993 but he was a force nobody was able to stop until Kramnik in 2000. Strange as it may seem, it was Shirov who beat Kramnik and Shirov can never beat Kasparov, it was Kramnik who found the way to beat the champ and become a champ. ( I only hope he beats Fritz in the upcoming computer braingames match, THAT WAS MY ORIGINAL IDEA TO BRAINGAMES AND THEY NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED THAT OR ANYTHING ELSE... for more information INCLUDING THE UNFAIR COMPUTER QUALIFICATIONS check out the link below ) If Kramnik looses that will seriously complicate things, true it's not an official match but still to me Fritz will be the world champion, 8 games is enough and the great too many conditions Kramnik received... rest day after 60 moves, frozen program that can not be changed, one day break after each game, etc... ) Now, what about Khalifman, Anand and Ponomariov, we can't forget them, after all they won something and it was a World Championship of sorts. We dont live in 19th century anymore, a world champion must defand his title at least every 2 years ( or 1.5 years so we have a championship not only during the odd years but also during the even years, this is another great and original idea of mine ) and Kasparov did not play for 5 years for the championship. ( Same thing will happen with Kramnik and his title will have less of a meaning) We can not say those people are not champions. THE TITLE THEY WON SHOULD BE CALLED THE WORLD PLAYERS' CHAMPIONS. AND THEY HAVE THE PERFECT RIGHT NOW TO PLAY FOR THIS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THIS TRUE UNIFICATION. And that Title should remain the property of the champion with the association of Chess Governing Body (like WCA). They can not tell him what to do all the time, impose their will, their time controls and take away his title because of silly little things. But what about the former players you may ask ? THOSE PLAYERS DESERVE THE RIGHT TO PLAY. AND IT'S TIME TO SHUT UP AND DO THE TALKING OVER THE CHESS BOARD. That's why we have matches, real matches. In order to proove who is the best at least 10 games are required. In my opinion 14 games is the perfect format. THE KRAMNIK AND DORTMUND PEOPLE JUST DONT CARE, THEY JUST INVITED EIGHT PLAYERS TO THEIR TOURNAMENT... THE SEMIS AND FINALS CONSIST OF FOUR GAMES AND THEY DONT WANT TO CHANGE ANYTHING BECAUSE THOSE PLAYERS MADE ALL THE PREPARATIONS.... THAT IS GARBAGE FOR AN EXCUSE. THEIR FINAL MUST BE AT LEAST SIX GAMES. ON SUCH A TOP LEVEL THIS MEANS NOTHING AND ONE LOSS SENDS YOU TO THE PROMISED LAND... NEVER TO COME BACK AGAIN TO EVEN THE SCORE. HERE IS ONE OF MY MANY SOLUTIONS... Organize the matches between the following: KARPOV ( after all, he did not loose his title, it was taken away from him, like him or not, let's remember that ) KHALIFMAN, ANAND, PONOMARIOV. Group A: KARPOV vs KHALIFMAN 10 games Group B: ANAND vs PONO GROUP A & B PLAY AT THE SAME TIME. THE WINNER OF GROUP 'A' PLAYS GROUP 'B' 12 GAMES. THE WINNER OF THE 'AB' GROUP PLAYS KASPAROV 14 GAMES. THE WINNER OF THAT GROUP PLAYS THE WINNER OF LEKO/KRAMNIK MATCH 16 GAMES. OR... THE WINNER OF THE NEW FIDE CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYS THE WINNER OF THE AB-KASPAROV GROUP. THE WINNER OF THAT GROUP PLAYS THE LEKO-KRAMNIK WINNER. AND AT THE END, THERE IS 100% JUSTICE, WE HAVE ONE TRUE, REAL-DEAL CHAMPION, THE KING OF THE 64 SQUARES. AND NOBODY CAN SAY NOTHING ANYMORE. ONLY THEN AND ONLY THEN, WE WILL HAVE FRESH START. THE CURRENT PLAN FOR REUNIFICATION IS NOT PERFECT AND THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DOUBTS IF THE CHAMPION IS THE REAL CHAMPION... ONCE A NEW CHAMPION HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED THIS MONKEY BUSINESS CAN NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN AGAIN. THE CURRENT PRESIDENT AGREED TO REUNIFICATION BECAUSE THIS IS THE RE-ELECTION YEAR, HE WANTS TO WIN, THIS PRESIDENT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO WIN AGAIN, DONT FORGET THE PAST PEOPLE, JUST BECAUSE HE DID ONE GOOD DEED DOES NOT GIVE HIM THE RIGHT TO ANY MAJOR OR AVERAGE PRAISES. TRUE, LET'S GIVE HIM SOME CREDIT, HE HELPED CHESS IN SOME LITTLE WAY BUT IT WAS NOT THE RIGHT WAY AND THAT'S NOT ENOUGH. HIS SO CALLED CHAMPIONSHIP CAN NOT BE CALLED CHAMPIONSHIP. I SUGGEST WE GO BACK TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS... ZONALS, INTERZONALS, ETC... TO PLAY IN THE 128 PLAYER FORMAT LIKE FIDE SUGGESTED, AND WHOEVER WINS THAT CAN BE CALLED THE WORLD TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP OR PLAYERS' CHAMPIONSHIP AND HE/SHE WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO PLAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP OR PLAY OTHER TOP 3 CHALLENGERS FOR THE RIGHT TO PLAY THE WORLD CHAMPION. NOW, THE PROBLEM MAY ARISE WITH TOP PLAYERS LIKE KASPAROV, THEY THINK TOO HIGLY OF THEMSELVES AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE IS IN THEIR MINDS... THESE PLAYERS SHOULD KNOW AND NOW I AM TELLING YOU: GUYS, GET A LIFE, CHESS WORLD DOES NOT EVOLVE AROUND YOU AND WE CAN DO REALLY WELL WITHOUT YOU TOO. CHESS WAS HERE BEFORE YOU AND WILL BE AFTER YOU. At the upcoming FIDE meeting, this idea must be put on a table, I say all the chess players of the world vote now, PROTESTING WITHOUT ACTIONS IS DEAD, IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY, EVEN STATISTICS from every aspect of life PROOVE MY POINT. A faith without action is dead, any faith, in any religion. ( an example I am giving ) I can say a lot but If I dont proove what I said, what's the use ? I among many other people, I wanted to create the Chess Union a long time ago... I tried just as much as others did and that goes for GM Union, Commissioner's Office, Introduction of New Chess Rules and much more. We need somebody stable, philosophical, understanding and who has some brains. Somebody who knows chess, its history, ups and downs. -Money: Many chess players sicken me, they wait around for some silly sponsorship that will never happen and time goes bye, people die, the world changes, challenger becomes obsolete and not as strong as he used to be at the time of qualifications... Other players' dreams of fighting for this title only becomes a dream or a nightmare. These players dont play for the honor and glory of chess, they only care about the dough.,.. just play for pride and for the championship !!! SHOW THE WORLD YOU ARE THE CHAMPION, money will come later, If I had the chance... I'd play for 100$, as long as they pay for my transportation, room and board. REMEMBER MORPHY REFUSED TO PLAY FOR MONEY AND EVEN GAVE IT TO HIS OPPONENTS AFTER THE MATCH, ( remember his opponent Meade... I think that was his name, Morphy gave him all of his winnings, he knew he had family to take care of and a trip back to his home was not free either, So what if chess was not professional yet at that time... ) He beat him but gave him money for furniture, for his new marriage. Of course those were differenet times but it does not matter money is money at any time, any age, any generation. (Money just like a knife are not good or bad, it depands which hands use them, a little philosophy from me to you) WE NEED MORE GENTLEMEN FROM THAT TIME AND AGE, LONG GONE NOW... We need players who will play simuls and other charitable events for free and not to make a big deal out of it. We need the champions and the top rated players to play all other players, not just top GM's, not just his/her class, any class if that player deserves it. A loss to a less rated player should not be some kind of an upset, may be that player is a future GM ? Who knows... An opponent is an opponent, in such a case there should be a new rule for ratings, so the higher rated opponent does not loose 15 points just because of one silly game. In case of a draw no more than few points should be lost by a higher rated opponent. A draw is a draw and not a loss, that should be respected. (no draw allowed before 30 moves, except if there's a repetition or position requires it. In a chess match of 16 games, 6 openings should be chosen from my 468 Lottery, aka Chess468) That is, if after 16 games the match is tied, they play additional 6 games with 120 mins + 15 sec increments time control and if that is tied, the champion remains champion. One game for each day. The World Championship must be played every two years, let's say during the even years, during the odd years we can organize the players championship, interzonals, zonals, etc... I dont consider this knockout system thing to be a real world championship (especially with 6 games final, way too short) but a great way to find the challenger. This is the mumbo-jumbo we get but at least it's fair to call this DOUBLE ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT A TRUE D.E. TOURNAMENT FROM THE START TO THE END. -WOMEN: Similar ideas/solutions go out to the ladies. I do say S. Polgar plays the current champ and whoever wins that plays the previous champ, this is a also a serious problem that needs solving asap, women are suffering just as well and with them all of the chess family. These things need to be solved soon as well. This is part of my solution, I have much more to say. I do hope I can help the chess world. I do hope the world will listen to these ideas and I know nothing can be perfect. And we can not argue a lot. We must look ahead. The best way to argue is to show your point over the board and beat your opponent. IF ALL THE EX - FIDE CHAMPS SINCE '93 DONT PARTICIPATE IN THIS REUNIFICATION WE WILL NOT HAVE A TRUE CHAMPION, AGAIN. ALL IS AND WILL BE FUTILE. WE WANT TO ELIMINATE EVERY SINGLE DOUBT. IF YOU HAVE SOME SENSE YOU'D UNDERSTAND MY POINTS WELL. AND I AM CORRECT ALL THE WAY. Seriously: The Chess Champ Here's a Grandmaster letter to FIDE from last month... It shows some of the concerns facing the chess world I wrote about above: -Grandmasters' open letter to FIDE We, leading Grandmasters of the world, realize the undeniable significance and importance of a possible reunification of the chess world. However, we have to express our concern about the reunification plan that has just been presented in Prague. If implemented in the current form, sports principles would then be violated, as most of the top chess professionals will have no opportunity to take part in the World Championship until 2005. FIDE declared that rights and interests of all chessplayers will be taken into consideration but it is completely unclear how (and whether at all) this will be done in practice. (Eempty words as usual just to calm down the wind before the storm - Chess Champ) We hope that all parties will have enough goodwill and common sense to resolve the unjustice. We understand that the situation is complicated but at the same time, we are sure that there are better ways of reunification than the one which has been considered in Prague. We also express our concern about the fact that the Grandmasters' Committee has not been established yet, though such a body could become the media of expression for chessplayers in issues that are directly related to their professional interests. ( I agree but I still say there must be union for CHESS ITSELF, for all the chess players, not just for some money hungry grabbing freako professionals - CC ) We hope that such a Committee will be created in the nearest future. It should be delegated all rights necessary for its activities, meaning that it will not become an amorphous structure and that the election of its members should be held on a democratic basis, through a vote by the leading chessplayers of the world. It is very important that its members would be respectful, competent and fair-minded professionals. Only in such circumstances will it really be useful for the chess world. We think that this letter is one step further towards true reunification and we hope that our voice will be heard and are looking forward to a constructive reply. 27.05.2002 Vladimir Akopian Viswanathan Anand Evgeny Bareev Viorel Bologan Rustem Dautov Kiril Georgiev Igor Glek Alexander Grischuk Artur Jussupow Rustam Kasimdzhanov Alexander Khalifman Joel Lautier Peter Leko Christofer Lutz Alexander Morozevich Sergey Rublevsky Konstantin Sakaev Alexey Shirov Ilya Smirin Emil Sutovsky Peter Svidler Vadim Zvjaginsev Computer Qualifications Unanswered questions... The situation has been compared to being able to interrogate your future opponent while he is under the influence of a perfect truth serum. Worse still, the computer doesn’t know its secrets have been divulged and will continue to play the same way. (A human, knowing his secrets had been stolen, would play something new.) It seems likely that an experienced human with enough time would be able, through trial and error, to work out entire winning games ahead of time! (This has actually been done many times by amateurs and professionals against computers in the past.) The results of the subsequent negotiations and the probable results have not been clarified for the public and that is what we wish to do here, with the following questions to ChessBase. 1. Is it true that Vladimir Kramnik and his team will receive (or have already received) a copy of the Deep Fritz program that he will play against in Bahrain? 2. Is this exactly the version that Kramnik will face, or can ChessBase modify it before the match? If ChessBase must submit the final version, as rumor has it, what will be done about any errors discovered after the program is submitted? 3. We heard that the program’s opening book can be modified. What percentage of the book is it possible to change in so little time? 4. What is to prevent Kramnik and all his GM assistants from finding literally hundreds of games in which Fritz can be beaten, and Kramnik repeating eight of these games in the match in Bahrain? 5. The eight-processor machine Deep Fritz will be running on in Bahrain is probably faster than anything Kramnik will train with but can’t a slower machine imitate a faster one just by giving it more time to think on each move? 6. Is it true that there are a number of amateur chess players, rated around 2100, who would be able to beat all top programs under similar conditions? 7. Is ChessBase allowed to modify the openings or any program parameters between the games in order to avoid a repetition of games that Fritz has lost in previous rounds? 8. Will ChessBase take a team of programmers to Bahrain if they are not allowed to do anything during the three weeks they are there? 9. Does ChessBase believe that Fritz has a ghost of a chance of winning, or even drawing, the match under the current conditions? 10. Why did ChessBase agree to play a match under such conditions? Is ChessBase satisfied to take the worldwide publicity, even if the games are essentially pre-prepared by the opponent and their program is massacred?orldwide publicity, even if the games are essentially pre-prepared by the opponent and their program is massacred? More related Information: geocities.com/chesschampby2k/ChessMix.txt geocities.com/chesschampby2k/Knockout.txt