Anand has put himself beyond reach in the tournament after drawing with Leko in the final round and is the new champion. Next up will be a match against Kramnik next year.
I hope Gelfand can hold on for second. It looks possible.
So does Anand now have to play a match against Kramnick? Does Kramnick have to raise
funding for such a match?
Does Topalov get a chance against Anand?
Will the next Worlds Championship Cycle proceed as currently planned?
And what about Naomi??? (Obscure TV reference)
If they stick to current plans Anand will play Kramnik in a match next year, Topalov will play the winner of the world cup in a match, then the winners of those 2 matches will play a match for the title. After that I’m not sure what the format goes to. I believe the world cup, and grand prix are involved, a tournament to select the challenger, and then a match?
That’s a mighty big ‘IF’!
When was the last time the World Championship Cycle didn’t get finagled with to appease some player or faction?
Yeah, I wish they’d go back to some format I could actually understand! I think I understand the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Sicilian better than FIDE’s methods of determining the champ!
Congratulations to Anand. A very worthy champion. I will root for him against Kramnik next year. Then against Topalev. I would root for Topalev, but he lost me with that terrible behavior he’s been exhibiting.