Chess Buzz for July 11, 1997

This Week's Topic: What's Makes a Champion?

"Your personal efforts to enhance and elevate the game of Chess are greatly appreciated by me but unfortunately I cannot and will not agree to play in this series of matches which are being organised in a farcical manner. From the first moment that this idea was announced by the F.I.D.E President I have publicly expressed my concern about the concept, the source of funding and regard as totally inadequate this system for defining the strongest Chess player in the World. "
Garry Kasparov, June 27 letter to IOC President Samaranch

This week in the buzz: What makes a champion? Just as in college football in the U.S., there can be many different ways to rank "Who's Number One?" Rating is one method, but ratings can be acquired in a lot of ways, against very strong players or very weak ones. Match play has been the traditional method of determining who the Champion is, but while everyone agrees that the Champion should meet the Challenger, the questions about conditions, formats, and just who gets to be the Challenger have not been easy to resolve. Moreover, some chess organizers have argued that single head to head events are too isolated in time--in the 6 or 7 months that it takes to qualify a single challenger, other players may rise or fall in their abilities. In this sense, the argument has been for events like the USCF's recent 1997 Interplay US Junior Invitational, or the current 1997 Cadet Championship that are more like an Olympic format, bringing together 8 or 10 or 16 of the best players for an all-play-all match. With both FIDE and the USCF opting for new championship formats this year, much of this week's buzz has to do with just what makes a champion.

Kasparov replies to IOC President Samaranch

FIDE, the international chess organization, has only recently officially allied itself with the International Olympic Committee. (In fact, FIDE is currently undertaking survey on how best to define chess as a "sport".) Along with this comes a new format for the World Championship--a gigantic tournament run something like Wimbledon, with players seeded in at different levels, and eliminations along the way. Previously both Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov had indicated that they would not play under this format, feeling that it would not produce the same quality of championship as previous head to head matches. Instead, the two began negotiations for their own private match, to take play this Fall. However, details for that event have not been finalized. Recently IOC President Samaranch wrote personally to request participation in the FIDE Championship at the end of the year. Kasparov's response, dated June 27th as reported in Mark Crowther's THIS WEEK IN CHESS, was unequivocal--he will not play under the elmination format. However, the current buzz is that FIDE Champion Anatoly Karpov may be reconsidering his earlier refusal, particularly if the K-K match cannot be arranged.

US Players Prepare for New Championship Format

This year's 1997 Interplay US Invitational Championship scheduled for the end of August in Arizona will offer a modified elmination format, with players competing in two sections, and the top two winners from each then moving on to a series of "mini-matches" of 4 games each. The two finalists will then meet in a six game match for the title. The buzz this week was that although the format will unquestionably be more exciting for the fans, it may also be harder on the players. There will be little way to prepare for specific opponents ahead of time. On the other hand, this format actually brings the US closer to traditional international championship play, since it will end in head-to-head matches, unlike previous years which were generally round robin formats. It will also eliminate the possibility of Co-Champions, a common occurrence in recent years.

Well, that's the buzz for this week.

Have a hot story for us? A trend you want us to look into? An item only chessplayers can appreciate? Write webmaster@uschess.org

• Return to Welcome Page
• Return to CHESS LIFE ONLINE
• This week's Fun Fact
• The Buzz for July 4: What's Fair in Chess?
• The Buzz for June 27: Junior Superstars
• The Buzz for June 20: Chess and Computers