HISTORY
MILLENNIUM MATCH
AN EXCITING CONFRONTATION! LIVE FROM BUDAPEST!
CONFRONTATION!
LIVE FROM
BUDAPEST!
ALL PREPARATIONS FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE MATCH ARE COMPLETED 16.12.1999
In a brief visit to Budapest, Cuban GM Amador Rodríguez, now living in Barcelona, has been able to witness the very professional way in which the match is being organized.
The official activities will start on Sunday, January 2nd. Most of us will be recovering from the new millennium festivities and the usual excesses in the meals; but not everybody! That day, at 15:00 local time in Budapest, an important press conference will take place followed by the drawing of lots to determine who will play White in the first game.
The games will begin on the following day in the ballroom of the ultra luxurious Kempinski Hotel, located right in the center of the Hungarian capital. The event is sponsored by the important German company Westfaelische Ferngas-AG (WFG), who will provide the match with the best conditions. The Kempinski Hotel is certainly impressive. It is an extremely nice place, that exceeds widely in comfort to most hotels where the best tournaments are usually played.
No words of praise are sufficient to describe the way in which this match is being organized. The organization is very professional, with even the smallest details predicted and corrected until the last consequences. On Sunday night I visited the comfortable house of Mrs. Emoke Valko, responsible of Public Relations for the match, and she gave me first hand information about the effort that is put in polishing each aspect.
The organizing committee began to work at least two months ago. In fact, on the 10th of November everything was already perfectly conceived and presented to 75 journalists of the most important press agencies in Hungary, who attended the official presentation of the match.
In this country Chess has always been a relevant sport that has gained a fixed place within the daily press. About one week ago the Hungarian team finished second in the European Team Championship played in Batumi , Georgia so their fans are still enjoying that triumph. On Dec. 8 the team members offered a press conference and four days later were invited to a popular TV program.
After so much talking about the preparations, you may ask, what about the participants? Indeed, it is time to dedicate some brief words to both gladiators. During August and September the media attention was centered on Khalifman's triumph in Las Vegas, with all games transmitted by Net64.
It is very unfair that Khalifman has not been able to collect his prize money yet, so I can imagine that the GM of Saint Petersburg will have spent many sleepless nights, since he still has to receive a bank transfer for more than half a million dollars. A lot has already been said on that subject, so I now prefer to stick to strict Chess facts.
After Las Vegas, Khalifman has only played 8 games, all of them in team competitions. His results have been mediocre. Last weekend he won his first game as World Champion against the Swiss player Pelletier in the German Bundesliga. Due to understandable reasons, Khalifman has rejected several invitations to top level tournaments, so at the moment he is very interested in showing his strength during the upcoming match. I would not rule out that at this moment he is preparing strongly helped by several well-known Russian players.
Alternatively, Leko enjoys a fantastic moment in his career. His rating has gone up to 2725, without including almost 9 points gained in Batumi that will be added in July. In October he defeated the promising German player Dimitri Bunzmann by 4-2 and a few days ago in Batumi he defended successfully the first board for Hungary scoring 6 out of 9 without a single loss.
The whole match will be transmitted live from Budapest by the highly qualified technical crew of the Spanish company Net64. Using the advanced java applet, you will be able to follow the games move by move and at the same time share your opinions and follow the advice of leading top players in Budapest, Madrid and Barcelona.
Westfaelische Ferngas-AG (WFG) will award the match winner. In case of a 3-3 draw, the players will equally split the prize money.
Budapest 16.12.99
PLAYERS PROFILE
ALEXANDER KHALIFMAN: 33 years old, born on the 18th of January 1966. International Grand Master, he belongs to the Russian Chess Federation. His current Elo FIDE Rating (Rating List of January 2000) is 2652, (+24 points). He is the current FIDE World Champion, achieved in August in Las Vegas.
PETER LEKO: 20 years old, born on the 8th of September 1979. International Grand Master, he belongs to the Hungarian Chess Federation. His current Elo FIDE Rating (Rating List of January 2000) is 2725, (+24 points). He is coached by the Cuban GM Amador Rodriguez, editor of Terra Sports Chess, and taking into account his youth and potential he is considered a firm candidate for the World Championship in the near future. He was once the youngest ever Grand Master in history when he won the title at the age of 14.
Most important results
ALEXANDER KHALIFMAN
The following tournaments stand out in his chess career:
Sverdlovsk 1987 Cat X Dordrecht 1988 Cat IX London WFW 1991 Cat XI Keres memorial 1993 Cat IX Saint Petersburg ch 1996 Cat XI Russian ch 1996 Swiss Saint Petersburg ch 1997 Swiss Saint Petersburg closed 1997 Cat XIV Denmark 1997 Cat XIV World Championship Las Vegas 1999 World Champion
He achieved his best rating (2660) in 1994. After that he suffered a few years of unstableness in which he lost an important number of Elo points: recently he has jumped back up into the chess elite, recuperating his original 2660 (*) in the provisional Elo List that FIDE has just published.
Alexander Khalifman is without doubt a very strong Grand Master. His game against Anand in the World Championships in Groningen 1997 went all over the world. In that game, the Russian GM could have changed chess history if he had converted into a win an easily won final.
(*) His final rating on January 2000 will be 2652.
PETER LEKO
In his short career the following major victories stand out:
Budapest 1993 Cat VII Dinamarca 1995 Cat XII Capablanca Memorial 1997 Cat XII Yopal 1997 Cat XII Dortmund 1999 Cat XIX World Youth (Under-20) Championship 1999
He has won countless boys, youth and minor professional tournaments
His Elo rating has experienced a constant growth during the last few years. When he reached the age of 18, he achieved a published 2670 rating, something that Khalifman has never achieved in all his career. In July, his Elo rose up to 2701, becoming part of the ‘2700 Club’. It is not at all easy to maintain this rating, and it’s even more difficult to push it up: Leko has achieved that. In January he will have a 2725 published Elo, and still maintain 9 extra points for the summer list.
PRESS CONFERENCE (6.01.2000)
The organisation team has organised a press conference today. Present were GM Amador Rodriguez who would assist Leko and six Russian lead by world no. 3 Vladimir Kramnik who would assist Khalifman. We offer you all the most interesting comments of the protagonist.
Leko comments that "during this year I hope to beat the top three players more: Kasparov, Karpov and Anand. Against the rest I don’t’ have any problems. I have beaten Kramnik quite a few times, and I’m 6 wins up against Topalov: I think that he is afraid to play against me…"
Khalifman said: "I have travelled all over the world playing chess and my favourite places are Australia, Rio de Janeiro....". On the other hand, Leko said that " my preferred place is at home in Budapest, and my other favourite home is Dortmund. The other place that I like a lot is the Antarctic, I think that it’s a very interesting place."
Khalifman, when asked about his hobbies, replied "now I only have time for going to places as World Champion, and to take care of my school. I have no free time." Leko said "when I was young I was interested in History and other things, but now I only have time to dedicate myself to my favourite hobby: chess ".
Khalifman told TERRA AJEDREZ that he was "very pleased with his chess school, where GM such as Konstantin Sakaev and Peter Svidler gave classes, as well as other famous players like Spassky or Korchnoi. The classes are in person and by Internet."
When asked about his money situation with FIDE, Khalifman said that "that problem with the checks has been dealt with. My bank has confirmed to me that a transfer has been received. Take into account that we are not talking about 1 or 2 dollars, it’s a lot of money. Also this problem has affected my play in the first games, I was very anxious. I hope to play better from now on. My preparation has not been adequate as I had this money problem in my head"
From Budapest, Net 64 Servicios Interactivos (English Translation: IM Michael Rahal)
LEKO NEWS The Realm of The Citadel : SPORTS FEATURES THE REALM OF THE CITADEL : MAIN HALL
The Realm of The Citadel : SPORTS FEATURES
THE REALM OF THE CITADEL : MAIN HALL