Difficult to hold annual matches: Anand
Viswanathan Anand is keenly awaiting the World Chess Federation ( Fide) elections in Tromso, Norway, on Monday to get a clear idea about his much- awaited rematch with Magnus Carlsen.
Anand lost his world championship title to Norway’s Carlsen last year at Chennai. He won the Candidates Chess tournament in March to get the right to chellenge the champion but the annual match drew no bids despite extended deadlines.
Fide later announced that the duel will be held in Sochi ( November 7- 28) with a reduced prize fund.
But the rematch can be rescheduled again if former world no. 1 Garry Kasparov who is running against current president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, comes to power. Kasparov has said that if elected, he would hold the match in March 2015 to give the tournament called the jewel of world chess enough time for publicity.
“We will see, I mean first of all he ( Kasporav) has to win the elections for that to happen. That’s something that will be decided in two days. If everything goes according to plan by Monday evening or hopefully Tuesday India time, we will get the sense where it is going,” Anand told this paper at an event here on Saturday.
Anand did not take sides between Kasporav and Ilyumzhinov saying “we will have to wait and watch” the proceedings.
“I don’t know, we will have to see. Both sides have presented their platforms and made many claims we will see,” he said.
Anand wasn’t concerned about the lack of sponsorship and seemed to toe Kasporav’s line on reconsidering holding of these annual matches.
“From 2007, I would say that the world championship cycle is catalysed considerably, before for many years it was unpredictable. Now this is the thing we have to work on, we simply can’t have these annual matches,” he said.