“Deeply disappointed and surprised” at FIDE’s decision to sign a contract for the World chess championship match with the all-India Chess Federation (AICF), Norwegian challenger and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen has indicated that the fate of the match in Chennai hangs on his team coming to an agreement with the host and the world body regarding the title-clash.
In an official statement issued to chess website chessdom.com, Carlsen has regretted the “lack of transparency, predictability and fairness” in the manner the venue was fixed for the event.
On May 3, Paris had come forward to hold the event by offering 2.65 million euros (as compared to 2.55 million euros offered by the AICF) as prize-fund apart from a contribution of 800,000 euros to FIDE). — Special Correspondent
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