Breaking: Ilyumzhinov announces Candidates Tournament

Today the General Assembly of FIDE decided on a proposal for changing the current world championship cycle. Just minutes ago FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov made public that FIDE plans to organize a Candidates Tournament, which means a radical change of the current world championship cycle.

The following players would be invited for this Candidates Tournament:

• The numbers 1 and 2 of the 2009 World Cup;
• The numbers 1 and 2 of the Grand Prix;
• The loser of Topalov-Kamsky;
• The loser of the match Anand vs Topalov/Kamsky;
• The highest rated player in the world (if not already included, otherwise the next highest rated player)
• A nominee player by the organizers, at least 2700 rated.

This seems to imply that the planned match between the winner of the World Cup and the winner of the Grand Prix to determine the challenger for the world championship title will be canceled. This means those two winners won't be "just a match away" from a world championship match anymore and it also means that players like Morozevich or Kramnik have more chances to get (back) into the cycle.

According to Ilyumzhinov, the proposal "will be approved at the next general board meeting".

The FIDE President also stated that he spoke with the President of Armenia (who is in Dresden today) and it's likely that the August 2009 Grand Prix tournament will be held in Yerevan. This means Al Modiahki will be substituted by an Armenian player.