Speaking of interviews and expired titles, Ruslan Ponomariov finally got a contract from FIDE for his FIDE world championship match against Garry Kasparov scheduled to begin in Yalta on September 19. And he's not happy about it. No specifics were given in this article (in Russian, translation in the Ninja message boards by her highness jackiechan here with a few corrections and additions below it) by the sympathetic Ukrainian GM Komarov, but Ponomariov's manager, Silvio Danailov, says his young charge isn't happy with FIDE's statement that no changes will be made to the contract and that he must sign by Aug. 25th or be replaced by Ivanchuk.
Things like this are why I haven't bought my ticket to Yalta yet and it might just be too late soon. I think Ponomariov just thinks that he is supposed to protest everything or he "loses" somehow. Danailov says, "It seems to me that FIDE blatantly wish Kasparov to win in Yalta, and is fulfilling all his requirements." But he doesn't mention any specifics and I don't see how Kasparov could be gaining an advantage as long as the rules apply to both players equally. True, Pono didn't get the time control he wanted, but that was decided a long time ago. I wrote to Danailov asking about what items Ponomariov is unhappy with.
I still think this match is a big, fat gift horse to both Ponomariov and Kasparov, but Pono seems intent on giving it a dental exam. Nobody likes to be bullied or treated like a stepchild, but a gift from heaven is a gift from heaven.
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