[Hip Priest]

Today is a rest day, of course, but there's been an intersting press conference with our two combatants:

– Vladimir, did you notice after 31...Bxf8 that it loses in two moves because of 32.Rxg4+ Bg7 33.Qc7?
Vladimir KRAMNIK: (thinks for several seconds) No I didn’t (shakes his head).

– A question to Mr. Kramnik. Grandmaster Inarkiev said that you could lose in two moves in today’s game. I wrote out a few lines from Olesha’s novel «Three fat men»: «How to fly from the earth to a star… knows our doctor Gaspar». Do you agree that in this poem the word «Gaspar» can be substituted by «Kramnik»?
V.K.: Well, yes, that’s maybe true… To be honest, I did not see Qc7… I started overlooking White’s resources earlier. Initially I wanted to play 29…Nxg6, but then White gives fantastic mate: 30.Qxg6! If 30.Rxg6, then 30…Kh8. And after 30.Qxg6+ hxg6 31.Rxg6+ Kh7 he has 32.Rg3! I have an extra move and an extra queen, but there is no defense against mate. And after that it seems I had no choice. Maybe I have some other move instead of 28…Rxb2, like 28…Qc4, it has to be checked.

– The engine gives 31…Kxf8 instead of 31…Bxf8 drawing.
V.K.: Drawing? It looked very dangerous to me… I also overlooked 33.f5! – I considered only 33.Ng5. And it turned out that after 33.f5 exf5 34.Ng5 Black is helpless! First I thought that 33…Re7 draws, but then White just checks and calmly moves Rf1, and there is checkmate. Well, I got lucky I am not losing at once. Generally it was a very nervous game. It is in principle difficult to play after such games as we had yesterday, but it can’t be helped. On the other hand, it was probably quite emotional for chess lovers.

– Veselin, what did you prepare to 31…Kxf8?
Veselin TOPALOV: I calculated a lot, but could not find anything promising... First I thought it is winning, but then I found 35…Bg5. The position is very interesting, and I probably have to make a draw.

– Veselin, did you come to the game itching for revenge, or there were other plans?
V.T.: No, I just wanted to play good chess. But when you don’t see mate in three, there is something wrong... However, 32.Qg6 was also winning, although not in three moves. I didn’t see the mate and didn’t look for it. I figured that after 31…Kxf8 there is no win. Therefore when I saw 31…Bxf8, I was so happy that almost instantly gave a check.

– On the move 41 you could force a draw by playing Ng5 instead of f5 – did you see it?
V.T.: Yes, I did. However, I kept playing for a win. Even after 41.Вxа3 the position is objectively drawish... I thought I can take a pawn by brining the king to d6, but – I got into a time trouble...

– Vladimir, could you imagine before the game that you’ll have two points after two games?
V.K.: Of course I could not think about it. My task was to get into the match, to catch my form. It is nice that I took solid lead, but there is a lot of struggle ahead; it is obvious that my opponent will try to strike back.

– A question to Veselin – how do you plan to spend the day-off? The main task is probably to forget everything?
V.T.: Generally I am good at forgetting (laughs). I stand losses well. I just need to have some rest.

– Every player makes plans for a match, especially for such a short match. Will you have to readjust your strategy to the new situation, or you’ll keep following the initial plan, despite such a poor return?
V.T.: I won’t make any changes. I play strongly, and get good positions, but one just has to convert them.

– Vladimir, while Veselin was developing his kingside attack, you moved very quickly and confidently. How much bluff was in your quick reactions? Or did you really see a defensive plan?
V.K.: Actually I just miscalculated, thinking that 29…Nxg6 is good. Of course, I rushed with 28…Rxb2: it was necessary to calculate the line, and I just roughly evaluated it, 30.Rxg6 Kh8, Black wins... I thought I am just winning, to be honest. And when I spotted that 30…Nxg6 runs into 31.Qxg6, I started feeling bad, and slowed my pace down.

– Veselin, on several occasions you moved too quickly in key positions, was it an attempt to display confidence?
V.T.: Bearing in mind my time troubles at every control, I don’t think I played quickly.

– I meant your quick reaction at critical moments of the games...
V.T.: But in those games every move was critical, and I could not spend 20 minutes on each of them...

– A question to both players: during these two games, how many times it occurred to you to offer a draw?
V.K.: We are playing such positions that there is little chance for such offers! Actually, I offered a draw yesterday, but it was based on wrong positional assessment. I thought the game is close to a draw, and started the negotiations when Veselin repeated the moves... And today’s game was so sharp that draw offers were out of question. Of course, had White abstained from 20.g4, one couldstart thinking about draw, but after that move the position becomes really sharp.
V.T.: I never offered a draw – I liked my positions in both games. I could force a draw in the first game, but I had an advantage. In the second game White had a strong attack after 20.g4, even if this move is risky.

– Veselin, I am looking at you, and you do not look like Schwarzenegger. What makes you such a superb fighter? What makes you keep fighting and never offer draws?
V.T.: One has to win games in order to win matches, and how can you win games by offering draws in better positions?

– Veselin, in my opinion you made a mistake going for immediate revenge in today’s game. One must not throwing oneself on the opponent like that!
V.T.: I see no connection between today’s and yesterday’s games. Each game has to be considered separately. And I wanted to play chess, especially having White.

[Hip Priest]

Two drawn games have taken place since then, with another rest day due tomorrow.

Topalov's problems have only intesified though: 3 - 1 down to a great player who can afford to play his naturally sensible game all the more, and with just eight games to try and tuen things around.

[Glice]

I would like to watch these games: Am I being a spazz in not being able to get them to work? I've got Java installed, but it's still being wrong.

[Hip Priest]

The live stuff isn't working for me either. I'm looking through the cards when the games are over.

[Hip Priest]

From ChessBase.com:

Topalov threatens to abandon the World Championship Match
28.09.2006 Breaking news:

Veselin Topalov, through his manager Silvio Danialov, has cast suspicion on the behaviour of Vladimir Kramnik, who is leading 3-1 in their world championship match. The Bulgarian team has examined the video recordings from the rest rooms and notes that Kramnik is visiting the bathroom, which has no video surveillance, unreasonably often. Press release.

Press Release

To the Organizing Committee
of the match Topalov vs Kramnik

To the Appeals Committee
Mr. Makropoulos
Mr. Azmaiparashvili
Mr. Vega

To all mass media

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The careful study of the video recordings from the rest rooms done by the technical experts of the Bulgarian team revealed the following facts which we would herewith like to bring to your attention:

1.After each move Mr. Kramnik immediately heads to the rest room and from it directly to the bathroom. During every game he visited the relaxation room 25 times at the average and the bathroom more than 50 times – the bathroom is the only place without video surveillance.

2.Unlike Mr. Kramnik, the World Champion Veselin Topalov spends his time mainly at the playing table. The average number of times he visited the rest room and the bathroom is 8 and 4 respectively.

A short statistical sample derived from the camera recordings in the rest room during the third game shows:

15.54 – Kramnik plays move 15
15.55 – Goes into the bathroom
15.56 – Goes out of the bathroom
15.57 – Goes into the bathroom
15.59 – Goes out of the bathroom
16.03 – Goes into the bathroom
16.04 – Goes out the bathroom
16.07 – Comes out for move 16

The behavior of Mr. Kramnik is very similar to the above during all games played so far.

The logical question arises: How many times during a game does a player need to go to the bathroom and with what regularity? The logical answer is: between 5 -10 times at the most, but not 50 as the statistics from the games played so far shows.

We would like to once again remind you that the bathroom is the only place without video or audio surveillance.

In our opinion these facts are quite strange, if not suspicious.

In relation to the above, and to ensure the best conditions for fair play and rule out all suspicions we demand:

1. To stop the use of the rest rooms and the adjacent bathrooms for both players.
2. If a player needs to go to the bathroom, he can use the public bathroom, but only with permission from the Arbiter and accompanied by an assistant arbiter.
3. The Organizing Committee should present the video tapes from the rest rooms to all journalists accredited in the press-center so that they can verify for themselves the facts described by us.

Should this extremely serious problem remain unsolved by 10.00 o’clock tomorrow (September 29th, 2006), we would seriously reconsider the participation of the World Champion Veselin Topalov in this match.
28.09.2006
Elista Sincerely:
Silvio Danailov
Manager of the Bulgarian team

[o o o]

Originally Posted by Hip Priest

A short statistical sample derived from the camera recordings in the rest room during the third game shows:

15.54 – Kramnik plays move 15
15.55 – Goes into the bathroom
15.56 – Goes out of the bathroom
15.57 – Goes into the bathroom
15.59 – Goes out of the bathroom
16.03 – Goes into the bathroom
16.04 – Goes out the bathroom
16.07 – Comes out for move 16

I am not sure I understand this bit. Or maybe I understand, but it's just too crazy.

And what could he actually be doing in the bathroom?

[Hip Priest]

The bathroom is the only place that's not covered by either audio or video surveillance. So it's possible that this could be abused - messages or advice on moves could somehow be relayed to someone wishing to exploit the situation. The top-level chess world is traditionally full of paranoia, suspicion and allegation.

It does sound silly at first, but he is going to the toilet a lot, I suppose.

The whole saga can be followed here and also on news services.

Some would ridicule this as nothing more than the machinations of the unpopular Mr. Danailov, Topalov's manager, but maybe there is an issue here that needs to be fully addressed?

Anyway, Topalov won a game today, playing black.

[o o o]

But it seems so risky (the risk of being caught) to have some device to communicate with someone outside or to arrange some other sort of communication with outside when in the bathroom (especially if it is very obvious that you go an awful lot to the bathroom), that I am bit puzzled as to how this can happen. Or maybe it's just that I do not have a big experience in cheating, so all of this is too confusing for me.

Maybe all this bathroom-going is just a way to make the opponent lose his concentration, but i would assume not everything is allowed to distract your opponent...

[Glice]

Is it not possible he's got "dietary problems"? I realise that's making excuses a bit, but then, surely there's wouldn't be anyone to give advice in this situation? Surely 'Mr Squits' is the only person who can advise him on his own game?

People have died over these sort of allegations though, haven't they...

[static-harmony]

I want to learn how to play chess.

[Hip Priest]

Nothing can be proved, but the potential for exploitation is there, and in the world of chess suspicions are aroused rapidly and allayed rarely. My personal view would be that merely to spend so much time away from the board is a little ungentlemenly, if not against the rules. Certainly, the comment can be made that to visit the toilet quite so often is highly unusual - there's no apparant medical justification, so the explanation presumably lies elsewhere.

All in all, I suspect that you are absolutely right - if these visits are not for the purposes of cheating then in all likelyhood they are a form of gamesmanship designed to distract the opponent.

[Hip Priest]

In their findings, the Appeal Committee, they state four conclusions, the first of which is: (a) To close both the toilets in the players’ rest rooms and to open another toilet that will be available only to the two players.

We now have the situation where Topalov may quit because demands are not being met, and Kramnik threatening to quit because his rights are being infringed by the above ruling: Mr. Kramnik will stop playing this match as long as FIDE is not ready to respect Mr. Kramnik’s rights, in this case to use the toilet of his own restroom whenever he wishes to do so..

[o o o]

Originally Posted by Hip Priest

In their findings, the Appeal Committee, they state four conclusions, the first of which is: (a) To close both the toilets in the players’ rest rooms and to open another toilet that will be available only to the two players.

Yes, I have just read that in the link that you gave. Dietary problems or not, they will be sharing the same toilet.

Now, what I want to find out: has Kramnik an habit of going a lot to the toilet during games? Did he act the same way during all the previous games against Topalov?

In any case, there seems to be a lot going on during this championship.

[Hip Priest]

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov accepted the proposal of the Chief Arbiter of the World Chess Championship Match Topalov-Kramnik Mr. Geurt Gijssen to postpone the Game of today. In his Letter to the players, the FIDE President calls the players to discuss the actual situation and solve the problems.


Elista, 30 September 2006

To GM V. Topalov

To GM V. Kramnik

Dear Veselin, dear Vladimir,

I accept the Chief Arbiter’s proposal and I like to invite you for a meeting in cottage 15 of City Chess at 12.00h to discuss the actual situation of the match and to solve the problems.

I am very confident, that with the cooperation of all parties involved, it is possible to continue the match.

Yours sincerely,

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
President

[Hip Priest]

Today just gets better and better:

"The issue of the bathrooms" has been resolved

Today the representatives of the two teams agreed on the allocation of the restrooms between the players. The rooms will be assigned to each player on a permanent basis until the end of the match. After this, the representatives of Topalov’s team made a thorough inspection of the room allocated to Mr. Kramnik. A detailed report of the inspection was prepared. It was signed by the Bulgarian side and the representatives of the Organising Committee.

The parties remained satisfied with the inspection.

Full story, with pictures, here.

[Hip Priest]

With all the problems apparantly sorted today saw another drawn game, which makes it

Topalov 3 - 4 Kramnik

with five games to go.

[Hip Priest]

Well well well. Topolove has taken today's game, leaving the score

Topalov 4 - 4 Kramnik

with four games to go.

[swenson clane]

...

[Tokolosh]

4-4 hmmm... It's getting exciting. The journey to the toilets was humorous.

[Hip Priest]

It's the same as the recent ball tampering incident in the cricket; some say that these things bring the game into disrepute, but really the intricacies and suspicions serve to add even more interest to proceedings.