Kramnik drew with Topalov to nudge 4-3 ahead

Elista (Russia): Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov drew game VII, a result which leaves Kramnik with a 4-3 lead in the 12-game World Chess tournament, which has been marred by allegations of cheating and now the threat of a lawsuit.

Kramnik’s manager Carsten Hensel has said the Russian would sue Fide after the tournament concluded.

Kramnik, the classical world champion, and Topalov, the world chess champion, are playing the tournament in the sixth attempt to reunify the chess world since 1993, when then-world champion Garry Kasparov broke away from the world chess federation (Fide).

Turmoil at the tournament — being held in the poor southern Russian city of Elitsa — erupted last week after Topalov’s manager alleged that Kramnik may have been using a private bathroom to cheat.

Two days of intensive talks, however, resulted in the appeals committee resigning and Kramnik resuming playing, but he filed a second appeal to a new committee to replay game V — an appeal that was also rejected. Prior to the boycott, Kramnik won two games.

“We should like to point out that the appointment of the new appeals committee does not mean that the new one appointed has the power of overruling any decisions taken by the former appeals committee, which are absolutely final,” the new committee said in a statement on Wednesday.

Adding to the drama, Topalov insisted on holding a separate post-match news conference from Kramnik, which is a violation of the tournament’s contract.

“I do not think we should pretend we are friends,” Topalov said later. “This rule (of joint press conferences after the game) surprised me”.

Kramnik wasn’t disappointed: “It is a violation of contract, but okay, I agree to it.” (AP)