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🏆 FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament (2000)

  PARTICIPANTS (sorted by highest achieved rating; click on name to see player's games)
Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Alexander Grischuk, Alexander Morozevich, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Boris Gelfand, Peter Svidler, Ruslan Ponomariov, Peter Leko, Michael Adams, Alexey Shirov, Sergei Movsesian, Etienne Bacrot, Evgeny Bareev, Victor Bologan, Vladimir Malakhov, Zoltan Almasi, Krishnan Sasikiran, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Loek van Wely, Vladimir Akopian, Nigel Short, Aleksey Dreev, Alexander Beliavsky, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Sergei Rublevsky, Emil Sutovsky, Ilia Smirin, Alexander Khalifman, Alexander Onischuk, Alex Yermolinsky, Sergey Volkov, Kiril Georgiev, Mikhail Gurevich, Joel Lautier, Aleksej Aleksandrov, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, Michal Krasenkow, Vladislav Tkachiev, Konstantin Sakaev, Jeroen Piket, Jun Xu, Rafael Vaganian, Alexei Fedorov, Pavel Tregubov, Vladimir Baklan, Andrei Kharlov, Bartlomiej Macieja, Rafael Leitao, Viorel Iordachescu, Xiaomin Peng, Karen Asrian, Jonathan Speelman, Gilberto Milos, Boris Gulko, Smbat Lputian, Jaan Ehlvest, Utut Adianto, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, Grigory Serper, Yevgeniy Vladimirov, Hichem Hamdouchi, Alexander Galkin, Alexander Rustemov, Lev Psakhis, Joel Benjamin, Artashes Minasian, Alexander Chernin, Evgenij Agrest, Christopher Lutz, Alexandre Lesiege, Alexander Ivanov, Vladislav Nevednichy, Igor-Alexandre Nataf, Sune Berg Hansen, Hannes Stefansson, Mohamad Al-Modiahki, Alexei Bezgodov, Gilberto Hernandez Guerrero, Thien Hai Dao, Jesus Nogueiras, Abhijit Kunte, Aloyzas Kveinys, Mikhail Rychagov, Michele Godena, Rodrigo Vasquez Schroeder, Buenaventura Bong Villamayor, Emir Dizdarevic, Darcy Lima, Amir Bagheri, Pawel Blehm, Dibyendu Barua, Ivan Zaja, Fouad El Taher, Amon Simutowe, Fabian Fiorito, Imad Hakki, Aleksandar Wohl, Alexander Utnasunov, Ibrahim Hasan Labib

  WCC Overview
 
  << previous HISTORY OF THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP next >>  
  << previous FIDE CHAMPIONSHIPS next >>  
FIDE World Championship Knockout, 2000
New Delhi and Tehran

After Cycle 17, FIDE abandoned its match based championship title entirely, and created a new, tournament-based Championship Title, built around the format of the 1997 Groningen Candidates, with the difference that future tournaments in the format would be used to crown a FIDE champion rather than name a challenger. The result was something very similar to what had happened to the US championship in 1936, a key difference being that this time it was not done with the consent of the sitting title holder. Anatoly Karpov scoffed at the new format and challenged FIDE in court.[1]

 Anand and Shirov
 Anand (left) and Shirov. (photo by Associated Press)
The tournament took place from November 26 to December 28. The preliminary matches including the semi-finals were held in New Delhi, India; the final match was held in Tehran, Iran. The knockout matches were best of 2 games, except for the semi-finals which was best of four and the finals which was best of 6 games. Tied matches were decided by rapid and then blitz games. The winner of the event was the veteran Indian Grandmaster, Viswanathan Anand who defeated V. Bologan, S. Lputian, B. Macieja, defending champion A. Khalifman, M. Adams, to finally face-off against Latvian-born Alexey Shirov in the finals.

After only 4 games, Anand achieved an unbeatable lead, and was crowned the 2000 FIDE World Chess Champion.

click on a game number to replay game 1234
Anand½111
Shirov½000

FINAL SCORE:  Anand 3½;  Shirov ½
Reference: game collection Anand-Shirov 2000

NOTABLE GAMES   [what is this?]
    · Game #4     Anand vs Shirov, 2000     1-0
    · Game #3     Shirov vs Anand, 2000     0-1
    · Game #2     Anand vs Shirov, 2000     1-0

FOOTNOTES

  1. The World Chess Championships by Graeme Cree

 page 2 of 14; games 26-50 of 345  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
26. Serper vs A Bagheri  1-0262000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentE32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical
27. E Agrest vs Onischuk  0-1382000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentE39 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Pirc Variation
28. B Villamayor vs Minasian  ½-½462000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentB06 Robatsch
29. E Dizdarevic vs Psakhis  ½-½182000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentA15 English
30. G Hernandez Guerrero vs J Piket  ½-½372000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentB18 Caro-Kann, Classical
31. V Nevednichy vs I H Labib  ½-½432000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentA28 English
32. H Hamdouchi vs Vaganian  0-1612000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentC07 French, Tarrasch
33. A Aleksandrov vs F El Taher  ½-½612000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentE71 King's Indian, Makagonov System (5.h3)
34. I Zaja vs Baklan  ½-½292000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentE12 Queen's Indian
35. A Bezgodov vs Gulko  ½-½342000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentB52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky (Rossolimo) Attack
36. Chernin vs A Utnasunov 1-01462000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentD45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
37. H Stefansson vs Bologan  0-1492000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentC95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer
38. P Blehm vs Lputian  ½-½402000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentC01 French, Exchange
39. Macieja vs Speelman 1-0652000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentB17 Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation
40. A Galkin vs A Wohl  1-0292000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentB40 Sicilian
41. S Volkov vs Sakaev  1-0362000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentE25 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch
42. E Ghaem Maghami vs C Lutz  ½-½212000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentB90 Sicilian, Najdorf
43. I Nataf vs Sutovsky  ½-½412000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentB97 Sicilian, Najdorf
44. R Leitao vs Lautier  ½-½232000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentB47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) Variation
45. Benjamin vs F Fiorito  1-0462000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentC42 Petrov Defense
46. T Dao vs Ponomariov 1-0672000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentE90 King's Indian
47. M Al-Modiahki vs Yermolinsky  ½-½532000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentB88 Sicilian, Fischer-Sozin Attack
48. M Rychagov vs Bacrot  ½-½422000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentC92 Ruy Lopez, Closed
49. Adianto vs I Hakki  ½-½352000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentE10 Queen's Pawn Game
50. S B Hansen vs Kharlov  0-1402000FIDE World Championship Knockout TournamentC67 Ruy Lopez
 page 2 of 14; games 26-50 of 345  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jun-16-08  lorker: garry kasparov! ermm who else? vassily ivanchuk, and hmm... i think thats it isnt it?
Jun-16-08  cuendillar: Fischer remained winless in 1975, but does it count like a match? There's also Lasker-Capablanca World Championship Match (1921), Lasker-Janowski World Championship Match (1910), Lasker-Marshall World Championship Match (1907).
Jun-16-08  fromoort: Yep, it's red electrical insulating tape - very rare in India, Spain and Latvia. No wonder both Anand and Shirov are so happy to receive a roll as their prize.
Jun-17-08  talisman: <lorker and cuendillar> great job. alas, <fromoort> gets the FIDE duct tape prize.
Jun-25-08  fromoort: <talisman>Lol...I'll still take it. It comes in pretty useful in many situations.
Oct-24-08  hedgeh0g: <Lithuanian-born Alexey Shirov>

I thought he was from Latvia...

Oct-24-08  Cactus: Yes, he is the 'Magician from Riga version 2.0', and Riga is in Latvia.
Oct-25-08  VaselineTopLove: Doesn't chessgames have all the games from this knockout starting from round 1?

I want to see if Anand had dropped a single game in this knockout.

Oct-25-08  percyblakeney: <I want to see if Anand had dropped a single game in this knockout.>

He scored +7 -0 =9 in the classical games, and had to play rapid tiebreak only against Khalifman:

http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/a0a...

Nov-02-08  VaselineTopLove: I think Anand started considering this FIDE 2000 win to be important, especially after Kramnik beat Kasparov, because Anand never really felt he was inferior to Kramnik, Topalov, Leko or anyone else. He only acknowledged Kasparov as being the best in his generation, but probably felt he was the next best after GK, and saw no reason to degrade his own achievement once GK was no longer the champ and given that Kramnik's own match and tournament record wasn't all that spectacular (barring his win over GK).

Had Kasparov won the K-K 2000 match, I'm sure Anand would not have valued his FIDE title as much as he does...

Nov-02-08  VaselineTopLove: FIDE should have organized a re-unification match between Anand and Kramnik (two different title holders) in 2001 instead of organizing another FIDE Knockout in 2001. That way the schism could have been resolved much earlier.

Perhaps this was in the works but somehow never saw the light of day because of FIDE bureaucracy, or Kasparov's tactics at filibustering such an effort because that would leave him out, or Kramnik's refusal to defend his title so soon, just so that he could hold on to it for several years...

Nov-02-08  acirce: <VaselinTopLove> In principle it would have been a golden opportunity. However, it was obviously not Braingames' intention to unify the titles under FIDE instead of going on with their own cycle as planned, and it was obviously not Kramnik's intention to break his contract with them as the first thing he did as new champion.

Anand was not overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the idea either. He said after winning the FIDE title in Tehran that a unification match would be fine but would not solve anything at all.

Nov-02-08  VaselineTopLove: What was Kramnik's contract with Braingames? And why did Anand feel a re-unification match would not have solved anything?
Nov-05-08  hitman84: This is what Anand had to say in 2004.

<'I am always happy to try new formats'>

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail...

Nov-05-08  acirce: I was just referring to how Kramnik had agreed to defend his title against a challenger that was going to be produced by the Braingames cycle.

This is from an interview Anand gave New In Chess right after winning the FIDE World Championship in New Delhi/Tehran 2000/01.

Anand: <[...] The chess world has broken into two and there is not much I can do about it. And I prefer not to waste my time on things that I can't do anything about. That was my attitude before and in Delhi also. This was the world championship and if people prefer to think otherwise, that's fine with me.>

Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam: <People may expect a different responsibility now that you won the world championship. When Kramnik won the match in London he said that a rematch was an option but that it was not the first thing we should look for. He found it his duty to at least try to come to some reunification in the chess world.>

Anand: <A unification match is fine but it really goes back to this irony that in effect Kramnik has seeded himself into the final of a reunification match. Or I have seeded myself into this final, whichever way you look at it. A reunification match is fine but if the FIDE system holds then I have to defend it again at the end of this year, whereas his title is more open-ended. He might be champion for life if Brain Games collapses. If a reunification match is on, fine, but I don't exactly feel that I have to go to a referendum now. I feel quite legitimate. Obviously it's never going to be what it was, but we have known this since 1993. I'm just fed up going back to that.>

[...]

DJtG: <You don't feel any urge to take the initiative...>

Anand: <Well, if I play a match with Kramnik, Kasparov will still be around and this rubbish will still go on. Nothing will be resolved by this match. We'll play and then Kasparov will claim that he wants a chance, but he won't play within FIDE, blah blah blah. I mean, I'll be happy to play a match but it will resolve nothing. Perhaps after seven years of this I am more cynical. I think the chess world has almost got to the point where people want it this way.>

New in Chess 2001/1

Nov-05-08  hitman84: So, I guess one can say that Kasparov's retirement helped solve the problems created by him and FIDE.
Nov-05-08  acirce: Kramnik: <I have many ideas at the moment. This is quite problematic. What about FIDE, what about reunification? I have a contract with Brain Games and so far they have been fulfilling all their obligations, as I was fulfilling mine. If they are going to fulfil their future obligations, and I hope they will, I am going to do the same. It's a matter of Brain Games and FIDE if they want to find a solution to this problem. If they come up with an idea they can tell me and I will think about it. If not, I can't do anything, as I have a contract.> New In Chess, 2000/8

Btw, a small correction: <New Delhi/Tehran 2000/01> It should simply be 2000, of course.

Oct-03-09  amadeus: Game Collection: 2000 - FIDE World Championship KO Tournament
Oct-03-09  yalie: thanks <amadeus>.
Oct-04-10  SetNoEscapeOn: A bug of some sort, <chessgames.com>? There are 12 games listed here, and 8 say they are from 2004, when Anand didn't even participate.
Apr-24-11  I play the Fred: <After Cycle 17, FIDE abandoned its match-based championship entirely and created a new, tournament-based championship built around the format of the 1997 Groningen knockout tournament. The new format differed from the 1997 championship in that the knockout would be used to crown a FIDE champion rather than produce a challenger. The change in format was not made with the consent of the sitting title holder, Anatoly Karpov, who scoffed at the new format and challenged FIDE in court.

The tournament took place from November 26 to December 28. The preliminary matches, including the semi-finals, were held in New Delhi, India, and the final match was held in Tehran, Iran. The knockout matches were best of two games until the semi-final round, which was best of four. The final round was best of six games. Tied matches were decided by rapid and then blitz games. The winner of the event was the veteran Indian Grandmaster, Viswanathan Anand, who defeated Bologan, Lputian, Macieja, defending champion Khalifman, and Adams before facing Latvian-born Alexey Shirov in the final round.

After only four games Anand scored three wins and a draw, thus capturing the 2000 FIDE World Chess Championship.>

Just as I did for the 1997 event.

Feb-15-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  Penguincw: Shortest world championship final ever. Anand drew the first game with black, then won the next with white, and rolled over Shirov to finally clinch in just 4.
Feb-07-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  Tabanus: Dates of the four games would be 20, 21, 22 and 23 December, to judge from the reporting here:

http://www.bergensjakk.no/bs-arkiv0...

Jun-16-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  Tabanus: New link: https://gammel.bergensjakk.no/bs-ar...

I changed to those dates. At least they are more right than January 2000, which it has been until today.

Jul-28-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  Tabanus: https://web.archive.org/web/2001012... should have the right dates: 20, 21, 22 and 24 December.

<The tournament took place from November 26 to December 28.> November 27 to December 24.

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