ACP Statement on FIDE World Chess Championship 2004 - 19.04.2004

Dear participants of the 2004 FIDE World Championship,
Dear ACP members,

We would like to inform you of the current situation regarding the upcoming FIDE World Championship. Until now, FIDE's only response to our letters has been a very succinct announcement by its Secretariat, reminding qualified players and reserves that only signed copies of the original "Player's Undertaking" would be accepted by FIDE.

During the last few days, there have been phone conversations between FIDE representatives Mr Israel Gelfer, Mr Morten Sand and the ACP President Joel Lautier, at the latter's initiative. These talks have not brought any tangible results, the FIDE representatives remained adamant that the current "Player's Undertaking" had to be signed first by the players before anything else could be discussed. A sensible decision would have been to delay the deadline for signing the contracts until all questions had been answered, however, this proposal was turned down.

In spite of our endeavours, FIDE's insistence on sticking to a self-imposed schedule and refusal to address the participants' demands might lead to the absence of several top players in the 2004 FIDE World Championship. This effectively means that FIDE's attempt at a reunification of the chess world is doomed to failure from the very beginning.

Several qualified players and reserves have informed us of their intention not to sign the current "Player's Undertaking". National federations, such as the American and the Polish Chess Federations, have expressed concerns akin to ours. The position of the ACP has not changed since our first statement on this matter: we see no reason why the players should be obliged to sign a unilateral commitment to play, as opposed to a standard contract with mutual obligations signed by both parties. It is particularly inappropriate, when still many important issues regarding the venue, the exact format of the event and other topics are as yet unresolved.

Nevertheless, it is up to the players to make their choice.

With best regards,

The ACP Board
19.04.2004