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An index of About Chess blog articles on the 2006 World Chess Championship Unification Match, Elista, Kalmykia, between FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov and non-FIDE World Champion Vladimir Kramnik.

Kramnik - Topalov Unification Match : Week 3 • The third and final week of the unification match started with the score tied at four points each. Four more games at standard time controls were scheduled for the last week, and in case of a 6-6 tie, a series of tiebreak games at increasingly faster times. [15 October 2006]

Kramnik Wins World Championship Unification Match! • Congratulations to GM Vladimir Kramnik, who beat GM Veselin Topalov in the rapidplay segment of the match tiebreak games. [13 October 2006]

Kramnik - Topalov Unification Match : Week 2 • Veiled accusations of cheating, an unscrupulous Appeals Committee, locked toilets. The first week of the unification match ended in crisis after Topalov was awarded a forfeit point in game five. Although Kramnik was afterwards vindicated on all points, replaying game five would risk provoking Topalov's withdrawal from the match; not replaying it would risk Kramnik's withdrawal. Unable to negotiate an agreement, Ilyumzhinov imposed one. [6 October 2006]

Game Six Postponed • To avoid immediate collapse of the World Championship unification match, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov postponed the sixth game, originally scheduled for Saturday, 30 September. [1 October 2006; Elsewhere on the Web]

Head Lines? • For serious chess players it's no laughing matter, but headline writers have had fun with the events leading up to Vladimir Kramnik's forfeit of game five in the unification match. A few we've noticed are mentioned in Head lines? : 'stall tactics', 'lavatory defence won't wash', etc. etc. [30 September 2006; Join the Discussion]

Unification Match - Week 1 • Although leading Topalov by a score of 3.0 to 1.0, Kramnik did not appear at the chess board for the start of game five. A week that started with so much promise for the future of chess ended in complete failure. What will the second week bring? [29 September 2006]

Unification Match - Day by Day • We will be tracking the progress of the match in our forum: 2006 Kramnik - Topalov match. Comments are welcome! [24 September 2006; Join the Discussion]

Getting News on the Kramnik - Topalov Match • At the opening cermony for the World Chess Championship unification match, Kramnik won the right to start the first game with the White pieces against Topalov. Here are links to sites which are guaranteed to provide up to the minute news on the match. [23 September 2006; Elsewhere on the Web]

World Championship Unification Match to Start • The opening ceremony for the long awaited World Championship Unification Match between GM Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and GM Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria takes place 21 September at Elista, Kalmykia. We present the players and the schedule. [16 September 2006; Elsewhere on the Web]

Promoting the Unification Match • The most important match in recent chess history starts 21 September, and almost no one is talking about it! What should FIDE do to promote the match? [10 September 2006; Join the Discussion]

Who Will Win the Unification Match? • Vote in our new poll : Who will win the Topalov - Kramnik unification match? [27 August 2006; Join the Discussion]

Olympiad Wrap-up • Kramnik's interview in Turin [24 June 2006; Elsewhere on the Web]

Topalov - Kramnik in September! • The World Championship match Topalov vs Kramnik will be held 21 September - 13 October 2006 in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia. [16 April 2006; Join the Discussion]

World Championship Unification • No sooner had Veselin Topalov won the FIDE World Chess Championship than the pundits started speculating on a possible unification match between the new FIDE World Champion and the non-FIDE World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. [14 January 2006; Elsewhere on the Web]

Who will win a Topalov - Kramnik unification match? • Who will win a Topalov - Kramnik unification match? • What happens if the match ends with a tied score? Will it even be held? [13 November 2005; Join the Discussion]

FIDE World Championship - Veselin Topalov, New World Chess Champion! • Congratulations to the new FIDE World Chess Champion, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, winner of San Luis, Argentina! [15 October 2005; Elsewhere on the Web]

Background

The Year 2005 in Review : The World Championship

ChessChrono : 2005 FIDE World Championship, San Luis, Argentina

ChessChrono : 2004/2005 Kasparov - Kasimdzhanov match and the Aftermath

ChessChrono : 2004 Kramnik - Leko World Chess Championship match, Brissago, Switzerland

The Saga of Chess Unification (1994-2006)

The Schism: Two World Chess Champions (1993-1996)