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
