Kramnik Waves Off Topalov's Rematch Challenge

Sports | October 17, 2006, Tuesday // 00:00
Bulgaria: Kramnik Waves Off Topalov's Rematch Challenge Russian Vladimir Kramnik, who snatched the World Chess title away from Bulgaria's Vesselin Topalov in Elista, has firmly waved off the challenge for a return game. Photo by kramnik.com

Russian Vladimir Kramnik, who snatched the World Chess title away from Bulgaria's Vesselin Topalov in Elista, has firmly waved off the challenge for a return game, Russian media have informed.

Kramnik said he wouldn't even consider a rematch, and explained that he didn't want more "soap operas that could go on forever".

There are others, willing to challenge the title Topalov has already lost, the Russian explained.

World chess federation (FIDE) rules state that every former world champion is allowed to challenge his opponent should he secure the prize of EUR 1.5 M.

Topalov's manager Silvio Danailov said that Kramnik would not accept the offer, which would force FIDE to strip him of the world's only chess king title last Friday, when he announced of the challenge.

Kramnik won the title of world's best chess grandmaster defeating Vesselin Topalov on the fourth game of a tiebreak. The title was settled Friday by "rapid-play" and then "blitz" chess - shorter games relying on instinct as much as calculation, which ended 2.5:1.5.

For the past three weeks, chess fans have been gripped by the most dramatic world championship match in twenty years, that was marred by scandals over toilet breaks, and broken piping.

Topalov and Kramnik inspired reminiscences of Kasparov and Karpov, who first started the schism in the chess world back in 1993.

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