Anand to defend title in India, Carlsen protests

Defending world chess champion Viswanathan Anand of India will defend his title in his hometown of Chennai, India against world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway on Nov. 6 to 26, 2013.

Carlsen was reportedly not pleased with the official announcement made by the world chess governing body, FIDE, regarding the choice of the venue for the title match.

In an official statement posted on the website chessdom.com, Carlsen stated that “I’m deeply disappointed and surprised by the FIDE decision to sign a contract for the 2013 match without going through the bidding process outlined in the WC regulations, and for not choosing neutral ground. The bid from Paris clearly showed that it would be possible to have more options to choose from.”

“The lack of transparency, predictability and fairness is unfortunate for chess as a sport and for chess players,” the 22 year old Carlsen continued. “My team and I will now start preparing for the match. The main thing now will be to come to an agreement with the Indian Chess Federation and FIDE regarding terms and conditions before and during the match. I really hope this process will run quick and smoothly.”

The 43 year old Anand has successfully defended his title against Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in 2010 and Boris Gelfand of Israel in 2012. Anand is also a former World Junior Champion, winning the under-20 title in Baguio City in 1987. /Correspondent Rene Bonsubre Jr