Privileges Again

Vladimir Kramnik is raising many valid questions in his recent interview with ChessBase, for example about FIDE inconsistency and privileges given to Veselin Topalov and Gata Kamsky in the latest cycle changes.

But I am not sure if he has the moral rights to complain about these issues. He was awarded with possibility to challenge (he called it differently) Vishy Anand to a rematch after losing the title in Mexico City 2007. FIDE earlier protected him from giving a rematch to Topalov by dragging bank guarantees until the deadlines were breached. And Topalov had the right to this rematch thanks to the Elista clause that was included on Kramnik/Hansen insisting. Bulgarians threatened to sue and they would most likely win. This is why FIDE came up with Topalov-Kamsky match. And this is the answer to Kramnik's - "First of all there is this match between the two of them, which actually should never have happened – it was basically created out of nothing." - It's your fault, too!

Topalov and Kamsky are indeed privileged with guaranteed seats, irrespective of the match outcome, in the Candidate Tournament. But even without this wildcard, Topalov has excellent chances to sneak in as top rated player. Kramnik is often mentioned as the most likely pick of the organiser, being that Germany or Russia.