FIDE Extends Deadline For World Title Match Bidding

The World Chess Federation (FIDE) has extended the deadline for bids concerning the 2014 World Chess Championship match to April 30th, 2014. The original deadline was March 10th, but on that day FIDE had not received any bids yet. The decision was posted on Tuesday on the FIDE website. 

Today the 2014 Candidates’ Tournament will be officially opened in Khanty-Mansiysk, Siberia. The winner will play Magnus Carlsen in a world title match that is scheduled for November this year, and organizers/cities interested in hosting the match could bid for it until last Monday. FIDE has now extended that deadline to April 30th, 2014 because, as FIDE Executive Director Nigel Freeman told Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, the World Chess Federation had not received any bids:

“There are probably many who wait and see how the Candidates’ Tournament goes, and if one of their players will play the World Championship match.”

Freeman expects that especially countries who have representatives playing in Khanty-Mansiysk might be waiting for the results there, adding:

“If we have not received any bids within the new deadline either, we just have to recognize that the product is not marketable enough.”

A bid needs to contain a proposed venue and a proposed prize fund. The prize fund for the 2013 match between Anand and Carlsen in Chennai was 1,850,000 euros. Organizers need to contribute at least 20% of the prize fund to FIDE itself.

The bid needs to be accompanied by a 9-month term bank guarantee. Alternatively, a bidder can deposit 200,000 euros in FIDE's bank account by the deadline of 30 April 2014 which is refundable if the bid is rejected. In that case, another 50% of the prize fund needs to be deposited before 31 May 2014, and the balance of all remaining obligations before 31 August 2014.

FIDE will inform the bidding parties of the results within three days after April 30th, and the final contract with the successful bidder will be signed within ten days afterwards.The published dates for the 2014 World Championship match are 6-25 November, which means there will be only six months to organize it.

In FIDE's article about the bidding procedure concerning the 2014 World Chess Championship match it is written that “FIDE and Agon are extending the deadline to 30 April 2014, 13:00 GMT”, implying that Andrew Paulson's company Agon will again be involved in organizing events for the World Championship cycle. The last event done by Agon was the 2013 Candidates’ Tournament in March in London. 

At the end of January Chess.com obtained a document that suggests that Agon is secretly run by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov himself. According to the contract, which was signed by both the FIDE President and Mr Paulson, it is Mr Ilyumzhinov who owns 51% of the shares. Both FIDE and Mr Paulson have categorically denied that the contract is in effect.