Public Hearing on July 28 2007

The FIDE Ethics Commission is to hold a public hearing on July 28, 2007, in Athens, Greece, to rule on the accusations leveled by Veselin Topalov and his manager Silvio Danailov against Vladimir Kramnik during the 2006 World Championship match in Elista, Kalmykia, and against the organisers of the World Championship and against the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in an interview with the Spanish news service ABC.In particular Topalov accused Kramnik of cheating, and presented this accusation not just to FIDE but also to the media, giving interviews and press conferences, personally or through his manager Silvio Danailov, although he was well aware that the accusation was not supported by evidence. The action was aimed at affecting Kramnik’s psychological state, in order to obtain an illegitimate advantage.Further Topalov is charged with giving an interview which defamed Kramnik, the organisers and President Ilyumzhinov. In it he said that there had been threats to his delegation; that the airport in Elista had been closed, so that they did not know how to get out of the country; that Kramnik received help during the games from fans or the KGB; that Ilyumzhinov was a businessman who needed a Russian world champion, and that he was acting on orders from higher up; that he believed Kramnik cheated even after the scandal broke; that Kramnik was using a new foolproof method to get computer assistance during the games; and that this kind of Russian technology could make Kramnik invincible in a match.