AICF PRESS RELEASE

AICF Takes Up Linares Issue With FIDE

The All India Chess Federation has taken up the rating issue of the Morelia/Linares Chess Tournament with FIDE, the World Chess Body for excluding the World's Premier event from the April 2007 rating list. The AICF has requested FIDE to follow normal norms and rate this event as was done before. Viswanathan Anand had won this event and rating it would make him the No.1 in the World Ranking list as of April 1, 2007.

FIDE had published the list of events rated for the April 2007 list and had excluded the Morelia/Linares event. The AICF has asked FIDE to rate this event as done in the past 15 or more years. The Linares Tournament has been traditionally been included in all rating lists published by FIDE in April and excluding it this time will be injustice to Indian chess and Viswanathan Anand.

Including the Morelia/Linares Tournament will pull down Veselin Topalov (who finished last at Linares) and Viswanathan Anand would be the No.1. Viswanathan Anand himself is in Germany playing the Bundesliga for defending champion Baden Baden and was not available for comment. The AICF Secretary D.V.Sundar has taken up the issue with FIDE and expects the correction by FIDE as early as Monday.

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Published on : 31st March, 2007