From the Official World Chess Championship Website (www.anand-topalov.com)

The FIDE World Chess Championship match between the reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India and his challenger Former World Champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria was set to start on the 21st April with the official opening ceremony.

CHESS CURIOSITIES (U.S. Chess Trust Commentary)

The World Champion Viswanathan Anand and the challenger Veselin Topalov are staying in seperate hotels with their respective teams.  Their teams consist of “seconds”, a term used in Europe to refer to a team of technical people who assist in the preparation of each game.  In situations like this, players travel with their own support team.

Anand has not released any information about who his “seconds” are for the match, but, it is known that he requested ten hotel rooms.

The players have already selected their chairs.  Basically, what this means is that each player was presented with a number of chairs to choose from. Due to the length of time the players are seated during the match, comfortable seating is extremely important.

On another note, you can sense the spirit of competition in the air.  Topalov has already indicated that he will not offer or accept draws – he’s playing for a win.

At this level, in chess, it’s very exciting.  I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of anticipation.  Butterflies, a bit of tightness in the chess…it’s better than football!  What do you think?

Let’s see how this all plays out.  We look forward to bringing you replay options. So stay tuned!

Note: The schedule below reflects the date and time in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Check back for more FIDE World Chess Championship Match coverage!!

SCHEDULE

April 21 – 18.00 EEST (15.00 UTC) – Official opening
April 24 – 17.00 EEST (14.00 UTC) – Game 1
April 25 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 2
April 26 – Rest Day
April 27 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 3
April 28 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 4
April 29 – Rest Day
April 30 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 5
May 1 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 6
May 2 – Rest Day
May 3 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 7 May 4 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 8
May 5 – Rest Day
May 6 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 9
May 7 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 10
May 8 – Rest Day
May 9 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 11
May 10 – Rest Day
May 11 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 12
May 12 – Rest Day
May 13 – Tie breaks

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

From the Official World Chess Championship Website (www.anand-topalov.com)

Viswanathan Anand is an Indian chess Grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion.

Anand held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002, at a time when the world title was split. He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. With this win, he became the first player in chess history to have won the World Championship in three different formats: Knockout, Tournament, and Match. He will next defend his title in the World Chess Championship 2010 against Veselin Topalov, the winner of a challenger match against Gata Kamsky in February 2009.  READ MORE >>>

Veselin Topalov born 15 March 1975 is a Bulgarian Grandmaster and 19th World Champion. In the January 2009 FIDE rating list, he is ranked first with an ELO 2780.His current trainer and manager is International Master Silvio Danailov.  Topalov became the World Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. He was awarded the 2005 Chess Oscar. In October 2006, Topalov had the second highest Elo rating of all time (2813). READ MORE >>>

“The match is taking place at the Central Military Club in Sofia, Bulgaria. The total prize fund 2.000.000 EUR, full regulations can be found here, the updated playing schedule is posted bellow.

Viswanathan Anand won the World Championship in 2000 under knockout system and held the title until 2002. In 2007 he reclaimed the throne by winning the double round-robin World Championship tournament in Mexico. He successfully defended the title in the match against Vladimir Kramnik, which was held in 2008 in Bonn, Germany.

Veselin Topalov became the World Champion after winning the first double round-robin World Championship Tournament in 2005 in San Luis, Argentina. He lost the title in 2006, following the unification match against Vladimir Kramnik in Elista, Russia. He again earned the right to challenge the World Champion by winning the 2009 match versus Gata Kamsky.

Anand has arrived to Sofia by car and asked for a three day postponement. Closed German airspace prevented him from flying by plane.
FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos in his capacity of FIDE Supervisor for the match decided to postpone the first game for one day.

The final inspection took place on Wednesday morning, followed by the press conference with both players.”  READ MORE >>>

OPENING CEREMONY

The opening ceremony of the FIDE World Chess Championship match started at 17:00 CET as scheduled.  “More than 20 TV crews and about 100 journalists were present for the ceremony.”   VIEW THE OFFICIAL PHOTO GALLERY HERE >>>

INTERVIEWS (Excerpts from Official World Chess Championship Website)

FIDE PRESIDENT MR. KIRSAN ILYUMZHINOV

Mr. President, it’s a well known fact that several countries applied to organize this World Chess Championship match. Why was Sofia chosen?

April 22, 2010, Temple-monument “Alexander Nevski”: President of the World Chess Federation FIDE Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov receives the jubilee medal of the temple and orthodox icon.

“For several reasons. Bulgaria is a country with strong chess traditions. One of the very few having World Champions in all categories – men, women, seniors. And this happened quite recently in a short time frame, providing ground for representatives of international media to claim Bulgarians as the smartest people. Secondly, every year the M-Tel masters takes place in Sofia – one of the strongest and best organized chess tournaments. The government pays serious attention developing our sport in this country. I have as well to give credit to the hard work of Bulgarian Chess Federation, presided by Mr. Stefan Sergiev. Bulgaria has demonstrated serious attitude to the applying procedure and offered the best candidacy in any aspect.”  READ ENTIRE INTERVIEW – GO TO OFFICIAL WEBSITE  >>>