No, not the Olympics, they're still going ahead. The London bid for the 2012 World Chess Championship has been withdrawn by the potential organisers.
A great shame, since Malcolm Pein has shown himself to be an excellent organiser, establishing the London Chess Classic as a major event.
FIDE can ill afford to lose such a worthwhile bid from a major city for the championship.
Press Release:
3rd February 2011
PRESS RELEASE
Re: FIDE World Chess Championship London 2012
Chess Promotions Ltd has been in discussions with FIDE since February 2010 regarding the staging of the WCC in London. A € 50,000 deposit was paid to FIDE to secure an option on the WCC 2012 match as negotiations commenced and finance was sought.
Having secured the necessary funds, on July 21st 2010, CPL sent FIDE a formal offer and a detailed commercial contract to stage the next WCC match in London with financial terms similar to the 2010 WCC match at Sofia.
Unfortunately agreement could not be reached in the autumn. Following more discussions in London in January, CPL asked FIDE to accept the offer by Saturday 29th January 2011. No such acceptance was forthcoming. Therefore, with regret, CPL has withdrawn its offer in time for the next Executive Board meeting which starts today in Turkey in order to give the EB clarity and the opportunity to consider alternatives. The timeline to stage a WCC match before the Olympic Games in May 2012 is now too short.
CPL will continue to stage top class events in London. Dates for the 3rd London Chess Classic will be announced shortly. We have registered our interest with FIDE in staging events such as the World Rapid Championship and World Blitz Championship in London and will continue to work on bringing commercial sponsorship to chess in order to benefit our associated charity Chess in Schools and Communities.
Malcolm Pein
CEO Chess Promotions Ltd.