One week to go

In exactly one week the first game of the 2008 World Championship Match between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik starts. ChessVibes will bring on-the-spot (video) coverage, but there's more!

The most important chess event of the year 2008 will take place in the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn. There, from October 14th till November 2nd, Viswanathan Anand from India will be defending his world champion title against challenger Vladimir Kramnik from Russia. The prize fund is 1.5 million Euro. Patron is German Finance Minister Peer Steinbr?ɬºck and main sponsor is Evonik Industries AG.

We have created a special Anand-Kramnik page where you can find all the necessary information. This page will be updated in the following weeks, as soon as new information will be available.

Coverage by ChessVibes Of course ChessVibes will bring video coverage right from the venue in Bonn, Germany. Already on Sunday, October 12th there will be an Opening Press Conference with the players at 15:00 and we'll try to bring this on video, here at ChessVibes, as quickly as possible.

The first game will be played in exactly one week, on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008, at 15:00 Central European Time (09:00 Eastern Standard Time). After the games there will be a daily press conference and we'll try to present you these here at ChessVibes also as quickly as possible!

Live broadcast We will also be able to broadcast the games thanks to a special applet we have received from the organizers. For a sneak preview, go to ChessVibes.com/live. We'll be providing a live chat functionality so that you can discuss the game as well.

This broadcast will be semi-live, with a half-hour delay. This has everything to do with the launch of the new Foidos system (see below); besides going to the playing hall yourself, Foidos seems to be the only way to follow the games live, in real-time. Even Playchess and ICC are supposed to use this half-hour delay.

Foidos If everything will work (bandwidth problems etc.) and if the creators will be able to bring what they have been promising, than Foidos will be a revolutionary way to cover a chess event. But it comes with a price.

FoidosChess is the exclusive broadcaster of the World Chess Championship. All other media had to sign a contract in which they state that they accept this, to receive press accreditation. For using Foidos you have to buy tickets: a one-day ticket will cost you 10 euros (9 if you book ahead) and a full-tournament ticket 81 euros. What do you get for this?

A day ticket gives you full access to the system throughout the day starting with players arrival, opening ceremony, the match itself, press conference, live interviews with VIP and guests, live commentator in the language of your choice (GM Yasser Seirawan in English, GMs Artur Jussupow, Dr Helmut Pfleger, Klaus Bischoff in German and GM Miguel Illescas in Spanish), live interactivity with the commentators and more.

Foidos, and especially the half-our delay for all other media, will surely lead to heated discussions on the internet. We're not absolutely sure whether the organizers will be able to hold up this system throughout the match, whether other media can be forced to delay their broadcast, because a move of a chess game is supposed to be an objective news fact which cannot be copyrighted. We'll have to wait and see!