Athens - April 19, 2004

To:
Association of Chess Professionals ACP Board
Paris, France
Cc: Chess Media

Dear Board Members of the ACP,

Concerning your recent statements about the Player’s Undertaking of the 2004 World Chess Championship, we would like to inform you of the following:

a)   FIDE could not change the undertaking only at the last moment, especially since most players have already signed it. It is almost the same undertaking which was used in the previous World Championships, so any proposed changes should have been recommended in due time. The undertaking proposed by FIDE has been approved by our legal advisors and the obligations of FIDE are fully covered in the regulations of the WCC 2004 and the undertaking itself. However, FIDE is ready to implement all reasonable changes suggested by the ACP or national federations in the undertaking of the very next World Chess Championships. 

b)   About the entry visa concerns you mention for players from certain countries, please note that, as stated in the undertaking itself, any player who will not receive entry visa for Libya will play in Malta. FIDE could not announce beforehand which other players will play in Malta simply because we have not received all the signed undertakings yet. This can only be done after April 21 when FIDE will know all the names of the participants. 

c)   About the hotel prices concerns you mention, please be assured that FIDE and the organizers are negotiating for the best prices available. In the next few days FIDE will receive the final price quotes from the organizers. In any case, the hotel cost for a player who receives the minimum prize (6000 USD) will not exceed an amount of very few hundreds USD.

Sincerely Yours,

Georgios Makropoulos

FIDE Deputy President