After the unification match for the title of the World Chess Champion in 2006 between Kramnik and Topalov, it could have been expected the organization of subsequent World Championships would be simpler.
But it wasn’t.
After the FIDE World Championship Tournament 2005, FIDE announced that the 2007 World Championship would also be a double round-robin tournament. Top four finisher of the 2005 tournament qualified directly (Topalov being among them).
At the end of 2005, a World Cup was held. Top ten finishers qualified for the Candidates tournament, scheduled for the beginning of 2007. They were joined by Rustam Kasimdzhanov (winner of the 2004 World Championship), 5-8th place finishers of the 2005 Championship Tournament and two players with the highest average rating in the 2004-2005 period – Shirov and Bacrot.
Thus, already in early 2006, before the ‘Toiletgate in Elista’, the complete line-up for the upcoming Candidates tournament. The qualification process for the 2007 World Championship Tournament has been determined.
There was just one problem. Vladimir Kramnik refused to participate in the World Chess Championship 2005. And in the World Cup 2005. So he didn’t qualify for the 2007 tournament directly. And there was no question of the Classical World Champion participating in the 2007 CANDIDATES (say, by qualifying via rating).
That is why, before the start of the World Chess Championship 2006, FIDE took a rather strange decision. They forced Kramnik and Topalov to sign a contract according to which the loser of the match will not participate in the 2007 World Championship Tournament. From an interview with Kramnik published in Chessbase:
Frederic Friedel: Due to Elista Topalov is not playing in this world championship. Is it not – unfortunate?
Vladimir Kramnik: It is strange, but I really don’t know whose decision it was. We were talking about it before the match, and I said that it would be normal if the loser of the match would play in Mexico. But FIDE – I don’t know why, I don’t know who – made this decision. I was not fully satisfied with it, I don’t know the position of Topalov on it, before the match – now of course it is clear. It would be more logical…
F: So you’re telling me that if it were left to you you would allow Topalov to play?
K:Definitely before the match, before the agreement was made. Now it is already in the contract. It’s a rule, it’s an agreement.
F:Which contract?
K:It is in the contract which we signed for the world championship match.
F:So if you had lost that match you would not be playing in Mexico?
K:No, no, definitely not.
F: And you would have accepted this?
K: Yes, of course, because it is a contract. Once I sign something I sign. I was not supporting this idea, but they said this is our decision, it is final and you have to accept it.
(Source: Chessbase – Vladimir Kramnik On The World Of Chess (Part 2))
After Kramnik won the match, he also took Topalov’s right to participate in the tournament. As a compensation, FIDE offered the Bulgarian special privileges in the next qualifying cycle.
In any case, in the Candidates Tournament 2007, Levon Aronian, Peter Leko, Boris Gelfand and Alexander Grischuk qualified for the Championship Tournament. Together with Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Morozevich and Peter Svidler, they gathered in the Mexico City on 12 September to battle against each other for the supreme title.
The time control was 2 hours for 40 moves, an extra hour after the 40th move, 15 minutes added after the 60th move, and from there 30 extra seconds per move (increment). After the exhausting and difficult 14 rounds, with a lot of draws, Indian superstar Viswanathan Anand came out of top undefeated, with a convincing 9/14 score – a full point ahead of the second-placed Kramnik and Gelfand.
Anand had already been a contender for the throne for more than a decade (starting with his match against Kasparov in 1995). He even won the FIDE World Championship back in 2000. But this was the first time he became an undisputed World Champion.
However, he could not rest on his laurels. According to the agreement between FIDE and Kramnik, in case of him losing the title in the tournament (which did happen), he would be granted the right to a match with the winner.
Already next year, Anand was under obligation to play and defend his title.
Sources:
Wikipedia: World Chess Championship 2007
Chessbase – Vladimir Kramnik On The World Of Chess (Part 2))
Chessbase – Fide Proposes Candidates Tournament 2007
Chessbase – Veselin Topalov and The New FIDE World Championship Cycle
Chessbase – Carsten Hensel on Kramnik and The World Championship Cycle