Bulgaria's Topalov Faces Ban for Linking Kramnik to KGB

Bulgaria's chess king Vesselin Topalov may be disqualified by FIDE for three years for violating the Code of Ethics by linking Vladimir Kramnik to the KGB in an interview for Spanish newspaper ABC.

People from outside who were Russians and were far from the world of chess helped Kramnik, Topalov said in the interview. These were either amateurs or people from the secret services, he added.

They were the ones who placed the Internet cable in Kramnik's toilet, he said.

Topalov also said that he was afraid for his life while in Elista and that he would never go to Russia again.

Nobody from Kramnik's team was involved in that, that's why they deny the whole thing, he said.

Topalov suspected FIDE's president Kirsan Ilymzhinov was also involved in the plot because he was a businessman who was obeying orders because there had to be a Russian champion.

For these words of Topalov Kramnik's manager Carsten Hensel lodged a claim with FIDE against the Bulgarian chess master. Hensel said he had always respected and liked Topalov and was disappointed by the Bulgarian's claims.

He also said that there was no possibility in Kramnik's toilet for a cable to be installed because security measures in Elista were very severe and all wireless devices were strictly forbidden.

The scandal could be put out because Henzel learned Thursday that the interview with Topalov was only published online and did not appear in the paper version of ABC. Besides there are rumours the article was not verified with Topalov before publication.

If this is true, it, of course, changes things but by all means experts should deal with it, Hensel said.

Hensel's claim for disqualifying Topalov are yet another attempt to wave off the invitation for rematch, the Bulgarian chess king's manager Silvio Danailov said Friday.

Let FIDE explain to the whole chess community why the photos proving there was an Internet cable in the Russian's toilet were not published, he said.

Danailov insists that the recordings of the restrooms of the two players that also document Kramnik's unusual toilet breaks are demanded by FIDE's Commission of Ethics.